Excerpt from Gravity

 

"Into the tight rhythmic crowd of people, he watches her. Her closed eyes are just as beautiful as when they're open. Her shiny wavy hair captures the flashing lights like fireworks over water. Everyone around him is in their own trance, pushing into each other, rubbing against each other, sweating all over each other like one big organism swaying. The crowd takes her away like a message in a bottle, floating in the ocean of people. Gabriel surrenders his body as those around him compress and take him. Hands are raised in the air but he is still, wedged between singing voices and jumping rebellious bodies.

Gabriel squeezes his way, his personal space rule is already broken and now his aura flexes like wings. Buzzed and centered only on her, he pushes recklessly towards her, setting off auras around him. He doesn't feel them. He wants only her. His Violet."

 

I love music and so do my characters. Music basically breathed life into my work. The excerpt above is part of a scene was written before I had a story for book 2, Gravity. I wrote it because I've had this scene in my head forever. I've pictured over and over again with plenty of characters and with plenty of songs. I thought it would add to book 2 perfectly, but I had to pick the right character. The character has to be physical in some way because being at a concert can be a physical experience. There's dancing and dancing close and dancing even closer. There's bodies everywhere and your personal space is violated. The character I chose, Gabriel, can't have body contact due to his hybrid ability. He's the most physical of all my characters because he's so mindful of everyone's vicinity at all times. Touching is dangerous for this character so closeness is the one thing Gabriel craves. So put this person in a concert setting with some alcohol to top it off, throw in the girl he likes and see what happens.
Gravity : A Sanctuary Novel will be coming soon. Look for twitter updates via Twitter by following me @MandaMiga

Climax

What have I been doing? Writing of course! I've complete book two of the Sanctuary novels. It's taken me a while because I've been looking at houses. My husband and I finally found one we love, so we've moved out of our apartment and are now living with my in-laws. It's been stressful because we can't just buy the house, can you believe it? It's a short sale so the process is longer because there's more stuff than usual to approve. All I know is I want to move in and blast my music up to eleven! <--(This is Spinal Tap reference, just so you know).
I work retail incase you didn't know, so not only were we moving, but I have to prepare for Christmas at work right after Halloween. Just so you know, from Halloween to January... yes January is Christmas time in retail... it doesn't stop on December 24 people. So, I'm tired and I haven't written much.

My sister Jess had been proof reading and found one doosie of an error. I was always unsure about a certain scene near the end of Gravity. As a writer, every page seems to need work so my thoughts on that particular scene didn't seem to stand out. Jess had called me out on it and I had to agree. It was lacking where it was suppose to be most climactic. I failed. I went back to my writing desk and had to fix it. I was moving and it was Christmas time in retail so I was tired. I hadn't even downloaded music in weeks. I was just exhausted. Christmas is now almost over and I finally sorted out that last scene. I'm waiting to hear back from my mom and Jess. I have my fingers crossed. I'm pretty sure they'll like it.

Three is my favorite number

Blink 182 released their Dogs Eat Dogs EP. This is a big deal for me. New music is always a tool I utilize to jump start the creative process for my stories. Blink 182 especially is important to me. Being that they are my favorite band in the entire world, using new music by them always blows my mind. They hit the right chords to my heart and their lyrics call to me like they were written just for me. I love them so much.
I'm at a point in my writing that I can use their help again. They write their music from their experiences from young teenagers to a thirty-something year-old. It makes them relevant to me and who I am. I'm a little younger than the band, but even as a 33 year-old I feel like a 23 year-old. Hopefully I don't write like a 5 year-old. What's my age again? <---that's one of their songs!


Tome DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker.
Blink-182

Book two is a Sanctuary novel. I'm not sure about the the title yet, but for now it's called Gravity. There's three main characters, troubled teenage boys who are called upon to help Violet, one of the main characters in my first book, Pull. With new music from Blink, I can revise my written work thinking in the mind set of these 16 and 17 year-old boys, who's lives seem so hopeless to them.
I call them "The Three". (Alex, Gabriel and Dash) I can't wait for you to meet them.

I've got a feeling, I've got a feeling

These broken nights and bitter ends

We would always starve and devour

Our closest friends my beautiful friends

Paranoia my paranoia

Can't let it go, it never lets me go

What am I feeling, why am I feeling

Forecast into the freezing cold

 

Dogs eating dogs, dogs eating dogs, dogs eating dogs

Dogs eating dogs, dogs eating dogs, dogs eating dogs

 

I'm the last and the first in a very sad set of eyes

To the bone, to the knees, to the factory line

I am numb to the shot, I have a crippling fear of heights

'Cause the fall sounds a lot like a symphony of cries

 

Your only hope is burning down the chapel

All getting washed out with the tide

We need to find some middle ground

It's always sex or suicide

-Dogs Eating Dogs by Blink-182

 

I wanted to make music, so I started writing.

The disc I burned today was my first draft to a series I've been working on for the past few years. The first draft of book one took the longest to revise since the it was skeletal in it's original form. It's taken many cups of coffee and 8 GB of music to help me structualize my story; define my characters. Paint my picture with words I know and words the thesaurus helped me with.
Right now, I'm listening to the most inspirational music one can listen to for such a victory. The epic sounds of Angels & Airwaves engages my imagination to what my finished book will look like. The manuscript on the literary agents desk in the yes pile. Yes, I will have my novel printed, sold in books stores. Even my book store where I currently work at. I will see in the bestsellers bay. The dust jacket baring my name and the title I feel sums my book up. One word.
Pull
My heart pulls in one direction: Up. I fell I can only go that way because I've been every other way. It feels good to complete this one step. It's one closer to ultimate victory, but I feel I already have that.

"Here I am, here we go, life's waiting to begin."

Original character art by Nami-mi

Character by Nami Mi. Revision by Orihichan.

 

Tom DeLonge sings these words in his song, The Adventure, by his band Angels & Airwaves. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to that one song. The first time I heard it, it brought tears to my eyes. Someone was singing to my heart. I've never experienced that before when  a song that wasn't sung by my mom or my grandma. Tom Delonge was always someone I looked to for answers. His band Blink-182 is my favorite band ever. When I listen to their music it was humorous, anger and touching. It was unlike anything I've hear. Every lyric and strum of his guitar and Mark Hoppus's bass was something meant just for me. At least if felt like it. The music called to me.
Now, Angels and Airwaves confirms a new chapter in my life and Tom's transition from pop punk to epic rock was something I was growing with. I was following the music and the music followed me.
The flow of the songs I listen to activated me in such a way it envelopes my heart and my mind into an expansive world that is invisible to the naked eye. I've always wanted to express myself as creatively as Tom does. I wanted to paint the picture. I wanted people to watch my mind movies. Feel what I feel. Fear what I fear. I wanted to make music, so I started writing.

My grandma's death gave me the emotional build up I need to begin. I started by logging her funeral and expressing my emotions within the pages of an old notebook. From that, I reread my work and found a movie scene complete with music and a heartfelt story.
If I can do this with something real, can I do it with something not so real?
Little did I know what was inside me was very real and so I began the story I've used thousands of times in my head while I listened to music. A story I fantasized since maybe fourteen years-old or so.
Of Course it's a love story.
Every aspect of me is in it.
You will read it one day.

"The stars in your eyes, light up the sky, With all it's light and fire inside." -Love Like Rockets by Angels & Airwaves.