My Playlist
When I start a new writing project, early in the process, I will often choose a particular song to serve as a sort of a mood setter for that story. Then, three or four times a week when I sit down to write, I first listen to that song. Usually, the lyrics relate in some way to the story. But I do this also for the emotional tone of the song, so that as my mood and frame of mind change from day to day and week to week, I have an emotional through-line, a sort of anchor that helps me achieve some consistency in the feel of the story.
So I thought you might be interested in a few pieces from my playlist. For each one, I include a YouTube link.
Michael Bublé – “Haven't Met You Yet”. I’m mostly a classic rock guy, with an occasional bit of reggae and blues. So I rarely listen to Michael Bublé or any singers of his ilk. But there is something in this song and his delivery of it that is fun and addictive. It was the mood anchor for my sci-fi-romantic-comedy-social-satire “The Gig of the Magi”, which is included in my collection Chasing New Suns.
Joni Mitchell, “Paprika Plains”. What you need to understand about this song is that it’s not only that the lyrics are about the Saskatchewan sky; it’s that Joni’s voice does what the Saskatchewan sky does. I don’t live in Saskatchewan anymore, and I miss standing under a clear sky and watching an awesome thunder storm approach. The way she paints the living skies with her voice transports me back there. A few weeks ago, I finished the first draft of a story inspired by this song.
Alpha Blondy, “Apartheid Is Nazism”. Among the greatest reggae musicians of all time, Ivoirian Alpha Blondy is second only to Bob Marley. In my first experiences in Africa, my friends and I had this song on all of our mix tapes. And I was still listening to it a couple of years later when I wrote the Apartheid-themed multiverse story “The Thursday Plan”. It’s also included in Chasing New Suns.
Eric Wainaina, “Daima Mkenya”. I lived in Kenya for eight years. When I moved back to Canada, I wrote a story set in that country. The Ki-Swahili lyrics of this song refer to the colours of the Kenyan flag as a metaphor for the peoples of the country and the need for unity and co-existence among them, just as different colours co-exist in the flag. I suppose the theme of the song loosely relates to the story I wrote, but honestly, I was just missing Kenya, and listening to this song felt good.
Shadi Toloui-Wallace, “This Is Faith”. I’m working on a novel that’s a prequel to “Five Days Until Sunset,” my story that won the Writers of the Future contest. In the novel, I’m exploring religious intolerance and struggles of faith.
Award Eligibility
From January through February or March each year, many of the science fiction and fantasy awards have their nomination period. For those of you with the credentials to nominate award candidates—members of SFWA for the Nebula Awards, members of CSFFA for the Aurora Awards, etc.—here’s a list of some of my 2024 publications.
“Money, Wealth, and Soil”, published in Analog Science Fiction & Fact, May/June 2024. Category: Novelette.
“Five Days Until Sunset”, published in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40, May 2024. Publisher: Galaxy Press. Category: Novelette.
“The Gig of the Magi”, published in Chasing New Suns: Collected Stories, September 2024. Publisher, Lance Robinson. Category: Short story.
Chasing New Suns: Collected Stories, September 2024. Publisher: Lance Robinson. Category: Anthology/collection.
What I’m Working on Now
As you probably know, I spend a lot of time thinking about our relationship as human beings to nature and landscapes. Lately, I’ve been working on a pair of environmentally themed short stories, one set in the Canadian prairies and the other set in the boreal forest of northwestern Ontario.
Happy Holidays
Whatever combination of Christmas, Hanukkah, Bodhi Day, Feast of Honor, and New Year’s Eve you may be celebrating, I wish you joyous celebrations and a mind-expanding year ahead.
How to Support an Up-and-Coming Writer
If you’ve read my work and enjoyed it, please consider doing one or more of the following:
Forward this newsletter to someone else you think may enjoy what I write.
If you’ve read Chasing New Suns, write an honest review on Amazon, Goodreads, or some other platform.
Go into a bookstore with the Chasing New Suns ISBN number (978-1-0688724-0-2) and ask them if they have it in stock or can get it.
If you’ve read something of mine and liked it, don’t be shy to send me a note telling me what you liked about it.
This newsletter is also available as a pdf.