Music

Christmas Stocking Sweethearts with Winnie Griggs!

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Hello, everyone, and welcome to our Cowboys & Mistletoes celebration! This year, we’re doing things a little differently—spreading our celebration over two weeks instead of one. For this first week, we’re thrilled to introduce a fun new Christmas series, Christmas Stocking Sweethearts, which we wrote specifically for this event. The connecting thread for the series is that the hero or heroine of each book is a former student of the same piano teacher, Melody Nightingale. At the opening of each book, the hero or heroine receives a package from Melody containing a very personal, handcrafted Christmas stocking and a letter written on the back of the sheet music for a Christmas carol.

Once we had our premise, we realized it would be helpful to explain a bit of the backstory about who Melody Nightingale was and why she would send these gifts to her former students. That’s how this first story came to be. I’m very pleased to present to you Melody’s story.

CHRISTMAS STOCKING SWEETHEARTS Book #1!

CHRISTMAS MELODY kicks things off with a story that not only introduces Melody, but gives us a peek into who the characters in the other books were as children

Stitching melodies of love, one stocking at a time…

In 1854 Nightingale, Texas, nineteen-year-old Melody Nightingale feels trapped by her family’s expectations. As the only daughter of the town’s founding family, she’s expected to make an advantageous marriage and take her place in society. Instead of attending the endless round of tea parties, Melody longs to share her love of music with others. She also has no interest in the eligible suitors her mother parades before her, she’d much rather discuss her favorite books with shopkeeper John Hartley.

When she discovers her housekeeper’s daughter secretly playing the piano, Melody makes an impulsive decision to give the child lessons—a choice that defies the strict social boundaries of her time. And in doing so she helps shy young Zoe find her confidence through music.

Melody realizes she’s finally found her own path, one that leads far from her family’s carefully laid plans. Ignoring her parents’ disapproval, she becomes the town’s piano teacher. It’s a calling that she pursues with great enjoyment and passion, eventually touching the lives of hundreds of students. And perhaps even that kind-hearted shopkeeper…

This heartwarming story of love, music, and finding one’s true path launches the Christmas Stocking Sweethearts series, introducing readers to the remarkable woman whose handmade gifts will touch lives for decades to come.

From now through the end of the year, this book will be available for only 99 cents!
PURCHASE HERE

 

Yes, we know. It’s that time of year when we sometimes feel less kind than we should.

Re-write the sentence in red to something less naughty and more nice.  For example:

NAUGHTY:  “Grandma’s eggnog is too thick and chunky.”

NICE: “Isn’t it wonderful Grandma is still with us to make her eggnog?”

THE TREE IS LOSING NEEDLES.

You might win this piano ornament that plays
Hark The Herald Angels Sing!

All entries will be eligible for our oh-so-beautiful Grand Prize, too!

Winners announced Sunday, December 15!

(USA Winners only, please.)

Happy Veterans Day and A New Release Coming Soon!!

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Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here.

First off I want to wish everyone a Happy Veterans Day and to thank all of our military members, both active and retired, for your service to our country. It is a day very close to my heart since not only am I married to a Navy veteran, but it is also the anniversary of the day my parents married. It would have been their 73rd anniversary today.

And just a note of trivia. I wanted to write the word Veterans with an apostrophe but knew that the official name did not include one. Since punctuation isn’t my strong suit, I looked it up and here is the official explanation:  The holiday is not a day that “belongs” to one veteran or multiple veterans, which is what an apostrophe implies. It’s a day for honoring all veterans — so no apostrophe needed.
So now I know. 🙂

 

 

 

On the book front, if you’ve been keeping up with the posts here on the blog or over in the Reader Group, you know that we’ve got a fun new Christmas series coming – Christmas Stocking Sweethearts. I’ve been privileged to not only have one of the actual stories in the series, but to be able to write the Prequel as well. The prequel sets up the series by introducing you to Melody Nightingale, the remarkable woman who defied  social conventions to become the town’s music teacher and in doing so touched  the lives of many, many students. You’ll meet 8 of her students in particular, children who will grow up to be the hero or heroine of the other books in the series.

And as a special treat, from Nov 17th-21st the book will be available to you for free!! Because the book actually goes on sale on the 16th at 99 cents I suggest you DON’T preorder – Amazon wouldn’t let me set it for free the first day it’s available. Instead wait until the 17th to order it. But make sure you order it by the 21st because after that it goes back up to 99 cents!

 

Here is more info about the book

CHRISTMAS MELODY

Stitching melodies of love, one stocking at a time…

In 1854 Nightingale, Texas, nineteen-year-old Melody Nightingale feels trapped by her family’s expectations. As the only daughter of the town’s founding family, she’s expected to make an advantageous marriage and take her place in society. Instead of attending the endless round of tea parties, Melody longs to share her love of music with others. She also has no interest in the eligible suitors her mother parades before her, she’d much rather discuss her favorite books with shopkeeper John Hartley.

When she discovers her housekeeper’s daughter secretly playing the piano, Melody makes an impulsive decision to give the child lessons—a choice that defies the strict social boundaries of her time. And in doing so she helps shy young Zoe find her confidence through music.

Melody realizes she’s finally found her own path, one that leads far from her family’s carefully laid plans. Ignoring her parents’ disapproval, she becomes the town’s piano teacher. It’s a calling that she pursues with great enjoyment and passion, eventually touching the lives of hundreds of students. And perhaps even that kind-hearted shopkeeper…

This heartwarming story of love, music, and finding one’s true path launches the Christmas Stocking Sweethearts series, introducing readers to the remarkable woman whose handmade gifts will touch lives for decades to come!

Leave me a comment – about Veterans Day, the new Christmas Stocking Sweethearts series, or anything you feel like sharing – and you’ll be entered in a drawing for any of my backlist books as well as a little surprise gift.

 

Men and Their Trucks

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I don’t know why but lately I’ve been thinking about trucks. Maybe it’s because I’ve heard so many songs that contain references to them or the fact that I live in Texas. Who knows. Part of my ruminating included the revelation that a truck is the twenty-first century cowboy’s horse. Nowadays we only see folks who work ranches riding a horse to check the far pasture fence or find a stray cow in Hallmark movies. In real life while some ranchers ride horses to cut cattle, most drive their truck, ATV, or a four-wheeler around their place, . (Please correct me if I’m wrong those of you that have working ranches or farms.)

My oldest son on the day he got his Big Blue Truck.

My oldest son bought a truck when he was in college. A couple years ago he hydroplaned in the rain during his long work commute. Thankfully, he wasn’t hurt, but his truck was totaled. As it seems is always the case, he couldn’t afford another truck with the insurance money. (His truck was paid for.) Instead, he bought a small sedan. It’s never sat right with him driving that car, despite having a truck again, he still misses that first one. His truck, merely having one, was tied to who he was—a born and bred Texan.

With that on my mind, I started looking at country songs with truck in the title. Here are some of my favorites.

  • Getting Married to My Pick Up Truck by Rodney Carrington—the comparison between his truck’s loyalty and a woman’s is hilarious. Click here to listen.
  • Truck Yeah by Time McGraw—is just plain fun. Click here to listen.
  • My Truck by Gretchen Wilson—is one of the few truck titled songs sung by a woman. Click here to listen.
  • My Ol’ Bronco by Luke Bryan—while while the word truck isn’t in the title, a Bronco is a specific truck so I’m counting it. The line “I ain’t never gonna let her go” sums it all up. Click here to listen.
  • Boy Gets a Truck by Keith Urban—these lyrics are a wonderful love story, “Boy gets a truck. Truck gets a girl. Girl gets a midnight feeling he’s the one, one night turns to love. Love turns into one knee down, down payment on a three-bedroom house filled with the sound of little feet. Then you blink and he’s asking for the keys to pick her up. Boy gets a truck.” Wow. I wish I’d written that. Click here to listen. 
  • That Ain’t My Truck by Rhett Akins—I feel the pain and anguish the singer feels from the moment he starts singing about driving past the house of the woman he loves and sees another man’s truck at her house. Click here to listen.
  • Look at My Truck by Chase Rice—Yup, a man’s truck says a lot about him. “If ya want to get to get to know me it ain’t that hard. It’s sitting on some Goodyears there in the yard. Got some dents, got some dings, been my best friend since I was 16, baptized in dirty water, handed down to me from my father. If ya wanna know, wanna know what I’m made of just look at my truck.” More words I wish I’d written. Click here to listen. 
  • Pick Up Man by Joe Diffie—I included this one, too because a pickup is a specific kind of truck. I love the lines about the singer getting his first pick up when he was three, driving 100,000 miles on his knees, and how he moved a Barbie doll bed for the girl next door. And the lines, “there’s something about a pick up man” and “if it weren’t for trucks, we wouldn’t have tailgates” are priceless. Click here to listen.
  • We Rode In Trucks by Luke Bryan—sums up how a man’s life and his truck are intertwined. Click here to listen.
  • Mud On the Tires by Brad Paisley—again, this one doesn’t have the word truck in the title, but the tires are ones on his new Chevrolet truck but adding that to the title isn’t as catchy. ? This is one of my favorites. Brad Paisley paints a picture of him and his girl spending time with each other and getting “a little mud on the tires.”
  • I Drive Your Truck by Lee Brice written by Connie Harrington, Jessi Alexander, and Jimmy Yeary—my other favorite song with truck in the title, but grab a handful of tissues before you listen to it. Here’s the poignant story behind the song. One Memorial Day weekend, songwriter Connie Harrington heard a father on radio show talking about his son, fallen soldier, Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti, who died in Afghanistan while trying to save a fellow soldier. When asked how he would commemorate his son, the father said, he’d drive his truck. “What can I tell you? It’s him. It’s got his DNA all over it. I love driving it because it reminds me of him, though I don’t need the truck to remind me of him. I think about him every hour of every day.”
  • Click here to hear the song. Then click here to listen to “Mud on the Tires” to make you smile.

I always knew trucks meant a lot to their owners,  but after listening to these songs, it will change my writing because they’re more.

Giveaway:  To be entered in the random drawing for a signed copy of Aiming For His Heart, the Happy Clips, and the phone pocket, leave a comment about your favorite truck song or just a comment about trucks.

 

  • After a comment from MaryEllen Cox I have to add another song. Wait In the Truck by Hardy, featuring Lainey Wilson. Another wow that will hit you emotionally. Click here to listen.

My Summer Playlist

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As Kenny Chesney says in his song “Summertime,” “Perfect song on the radio. Sing along ’cause it’s one we know. It’s a smile, it’s a kiss. It’s a sip of wine, it’s summertime. Sweet summertime.” Though this year with all the over one-hundred-degree weather and the high humidity, I’m not so sure about the sweet.

Despite the heat, summer brings to mind certain activities. Boating on the lake (as a teenager I water skied on the Mississippi River), road trips, vacations, lazy beach days, picnics, hanging out with friends, and family reunions. And of course, summer needs a playlist. Here are some songs that are on my eclectic summer playlist.

  • “Margaritaville” Jimmy Buffett
  • “Waves’ Luke Bryant
  • “It’s Five O’clock Somewhere” Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett
  • “Knee Deep” Zac Brown Band and featuring Jimmy Buffett
  • “Firework” Katy Perry
  • “Pink Sunglasses” Miranda Lambert
  • “Buy Me a Boat” Chris Janson
  • “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems” Kenny Chesney
  • “Cruel Summer” Bananarama
  • “Cruel Summer” Taylor Swift
  • “Water Brad” Paisley
  • “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset” Luke Bryan
  • “Good Directions” Billy Currington
  • “Summer Breeze” Seals and Croft
  • “Toes” Zac Brown Band
  • “One Margarita” Luke Bryan
  • “Beers and Sunshine” Darius Rucker
  • “Vacation” The Go-Gos
  • “Watermelon Crawl” Tracy Byrd
  • “Under the Boardwalk” Otis Redding
  • “Wipe Out” The Surfaris
  • “California Gurls” Katy Perry

A few trends became apparent when I started my list. The first was that Jimmy Buffett features predominantly in summer songs. (I’d only noted five songs and he was part of three!) I hear you gasping. Yes, I know. I had that same reaction. Shocking that Jimmy Buffett and summer are linked. ? The other trend I spotted was various beverages being mentioned. Imagine, margaritas, beer, wine, and summer. Another huge shock.

I hope the rest of your summer is safe and filled with days that become warm memories, and I’ll leave with you a summer tip. Take some advice from the Zac Brown Band’s song “Knee Deep.”

“Gonna put the world away for a minute
Pretend I don’t live in it
Sunshine gonna wash my blues away

“Mind on a permanent vacation
The ocean is my only medication
Wishing my condition ain’t ever gonna go away

“Cause now I’m knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there’s a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise”

To be entered in my random giveaway for an ebook of Aiming for His Heart, my book in the Pink Pistol Sisterhood series, leave a comment telling me about your favorite summer song.

 

The Story Behind the Story of SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE and Paperback Give Away

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Good Morning (or Afternoon) and Welcome to another terribly terrific Tuesday!

Before I get into the the main part of the blog today, let me remind you that I’ll be giving away a mass media paperback of the book, SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE,to some lucky blogger.  So please come on in and leave a message.

 

I love this book.  But before I get into that love, let me tell you of another love of mine.  I think I must have been all of ten years old when I first saw the movie “Naughty Marietta,” on television.  Jeanette McDonald and Nelson Eddy.  Struck by one of the last scenes in that movie (their love doesn’t stand a chance and she and he are singing their hearts out to each other — she on the stairs, and he staring up at her),  I have always loved them.  So much so that I wanted to be an opera singer when I was about 10 — until my mother spoiled that ambition by telling me that all opera stars are not particularly pretty… (I now know this is not entirely true.)  But, it was more true, I think, during my mother’s day and age.

As I grew older, I eventually saw all of the movies they did with each other — and I became aware that these two people were very much in love.  If you don’t believe me, look at the movie, “New Moon” and their duet together beneath the trees and stars.  He can’t keep his hands off of her and she stares into his eyes with a passion that isn’t acting.

That lead me to another book entitled SWEETHEARTS by Sharon Rich, and I found out that I, indeed, was right about these two star-crossed lovers.  They were very much in love — were in love all their lives through — but due to studio (MGM) pressures and outright suppression, they never married, although in the filming of ROSE MARIE, Nelson proposed to Jeanette and she accepted.  But executives at MGM at the time weren’t about to let these two lead happy lives — they needed to sizzle on the screen…

You might be wondering what all this has to do with SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE.  Well, at the time I was writing SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE, I was reading Sharon’s book, SWEETHEARTS.  I even went to a fan club meeting…

I’ve often called SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE my musical.  Yes, yes, I know it’s only a book.  Yes, I know there isn’t a song going to jump out at you when you open the book.  Still, it’s my “musical,” inspired by Jeanette and Nelson.

I highly recommend getting and reading Sharon Rich’s book, SWEETHEARTS.  Jeanette and Nelson were on again, off again lovers, forever misunderstanding one another and thus, often going head to head — however, they remained true to each other all through their lives.  Jeanette died in her sixty’s of heart failure and Nelson soon followed her two years later.

A story told to me by someone in my church (Nelson was a member of my church) said that Nelson had come into the church shortly after Jeanette’s death, and told him that Jeanette was with him always.  Shortly after that — so the story goes, he followed her in death.

Now another interesting little tale that I thought I’d share with you comes to me from Grandfather George, who, before his retirement, was an actor.  He also taught acting classes.

Grandfather George told me the story of MGM in those days taking a disliking to Nelson, who was forthright and honest.about his ideas.  They disapproved of the romance between Jeanette and Nelson and kept pulling them apart using lies and other devices — even blackmail to try to destroy their love.  They (executives, I guess) even arranged a marriage for Jeanette, which she later regretted — according to Grandfather George. The book by Sharon, SWEETHEARTS, also tells this story.  But this isn’t all of the story that Grandfather George related to me.  He told me that one day, (now here I have to to rely on your imagination) these two people (young people in the 1990’s) approached him, and told him the story of who they were, that they were Nelson and Jeanette and that now, at last they could be together…

I asked Grandfather George once who these people were in today’s world, but George told me they had sworn him to secrecy.  But after reading their love story (tragic though it was), it was nice to have a “happy ending.”

What does this have to do with the book, SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE?  Well, I was enraptured with their romance (and all of their movies) as I was writing this book — thus, I call this book, my musical.  Now before I go, I’ll leave you with a link to my book, SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE, but also with a link to two of the most impassioned scenes caught on film.  Enjoy!

This is the scene from New Moon, where these two sing to each other — and it literally takes your breath away.  The song is :  Wanting you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYrFvkp92Iw&list=RDLV1xpKeabZlEs&start_radio=1&rv=1xpKeabZlEs

And here’s the link to the scene that first started me loving this couple: — the song is “Ah Sweet Mystery of Life.”  Enjoy!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xpKeabZlEs&t=1s

And here’s the link to buy the book or to upload since the book is on KindleUnlimited:  https://www.amazon.com/SOARING-EAGLES-EMBRACE-Legendary-Warriors-ebook/dp/B074LWHB7W/ref=sr_1_1?crid=21FGCZL4L55Z8&keywords=Soaring+Eagle%27s+Embrace+by+karen+kay&qid=1689006713&sprefix=soaring+eagle%27s+embrace+by+karen+kay%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1&tag=pettpist-20

Now, while I’m at it, let me also post one more link to one of the most beautiful duets ever caught on film.  This is from the movie, ROSE MARIE and the song is:  INDIAN LOVE CALL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRl6_4uWsjc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8KesxHBVOU&list=RDGmCt60A9ihc&index=2

So yes, SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE is my musical.

Unexpected Joys

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I’ve admitted before I’m weird, but here is further proof: I awaken almost every morning with a song playing in my head. It might be a hymn. A song I was thinking about the previous day. One tied to my book in progress. On random occasions, the song will be a blast from my past. A song I haven’t heard or thought of in ages.

One Thursday morning, I woke up to find myself humming “I Can See Clearly Now,” by Johnny Nash. In case you aren’t familiar with it, it’s a great song that released in 1972.

I got ready for the day, still humming that song, turned on my computer, and began reading through my emails to discover one of our Pink Pistol Sisterhood authors had to drop out of the project. I was so sad by that news. She’d planned to write a book set in the 1970s.

Huh.

Was that a bit of a coincidence the song I woke up to that very morning happened to be one from 1972? One I hadn’t thought of in years and years.

I don’t think it was. I think it was one of those Godwink moments that just gives me goosebumps every time I think about it.

Within minutes or reading the email, I could hear a little voice whispering in my ear to offer to write a story during that era.

That voice was nuts!

I already had far too much on my plate. I’m way behind in my writing schedule. I couldn’t possibly consider writing this book. If I did, I’d have to jump into it with both feet and whip it out ASAP.

I couldn’t do it.

Or could I?

That little voice was very persistent throughout the day. It kept whispering “write the book,” and I kept trying to bat it away. Then I talked to Captain Cavedweller about it. I prayed about it. When I turned in for the night, I knew what I wanted to do. The next day I started writing Lucky Shot.

The story is set in the Boise, Idaho, area (the small town of Star is where our hero lives), and takes place during the summer of 1972.

Although I was a baby then, it was an amazing stroll down memory lane for me as I looked at the fashions from that era (thanks to an online Sears catalog I found from the spring of 1972), listened to music from 1972, dug out my grandma’s old 1960s vintage Betty Crocker cookbook and got down to the business of writing this story.

Writing Lucky Shot really did come at a perfect time for me, not because I had time to write it, but because I was working on it as I approached the three-year anniversary of my mom’s passing and immersing myself in all these things that reminded me of my early childhood made Mom feel so near. I almost cried the day I found a dress I remember her wearing often in that Sear’s catalog. It was just such a sweet thing for me to have that connection to her in a time that is before my memories.

So, although this book was unexpected and written on a fast timeline, it was definitely a joy and a blessing to me to have the opportunity to write it.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading it, dear reader!

 

What’s a girl to do when her aim is true?

As a registered nurse at the Boise VA Hospital, Grace Marshall is devoted to her patients, but some wounds require more than medical care. A patient too stubborn and angry to accept the help he needs storms out of her exam room, ruffling her feathers. Yet, when the man returns to apologize, something about him tugs at her heart.

Levi Gibson left for war young and idealistic but returned from Vietnam with physical scars and a haunted soul. He tries to banish the darkness brewing inside him with hard work on his family’s potato farm, but it’s a young nurse’s kindness that brings unexpected light and joy into his life. If Levi can open up to Grace and let her see his pain, could she be the key that unlocks a future full of hope instead of mere survival?

After her father sends Grace a legendary pistol, target practice provides an excuse to spend time with Levi during the summer of 1972. As his shadows overwhelm him, it will take far more than a lucky shot for Grace to hit love’s mark.

What about you?

Has anything unexpected every popped into your life and brought you joy or blessings?

 

 

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

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I loved the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as a kid (who didn’t?) and I loved watching the Rankin/Bass TV special. In fact, it’s still a Christmas tradition for me. I know all the lyrics and sing along. When they were young it drove my kids crazy, hey half of the fun, but now if I’m not singing they ask if I’m okay. ? Rudolph’s message of belonging, compassion, understanding, and everyone having something to contribute always hit home with me. I was a smart, liberal, knew-my-mind girl growing up in Dubuque, Iowa. I didn’t always fit in. I never went to homecoming or prom. In fact, I wasn’t even asked on a date in high school. I look back now and think I intimidated guys. Anyway, guess you can see why I identified with our little red nosed guy.

I was stunned to discover this classic Christmas tale that led to the Gene Autry song, was written by a Jewish man, Robert L. May. As a child, May skipped a couple grades in school, making him smaller and younger than his classmates. As a teacher, I can’t imagine how rough that was for him. Being physically smaller is difficult enough but add in developmental differences with his classmates, and  no wonder he didn’t fit in and viewed himself as a “nerdy loser.” Anyone else see foreshadowing here and a writer who would write what he knew? (Being an outsider and insecure?) Yup, me too.

Names considered other than Rudolph.

As an adult May dreamed of writing the great American novel but worked as a catalog copywriter in the advertising department for Montgomery Ward. (As an author, that sure hits home as I dreamed of writing novels while working countless other jobs to pay the bills.) In 1939, Montgomery Ward wanted to create a children’s book for its annual holiday promotion rather than give away purchased coloring book. May was given the job because of his talent for limericks and parodies. The only direction his boss gave him was to have an animal in it.

original cover of Robert L. May’s manuscript

May chose a reindeer for his main character because his daughter, Barbara loved the ones at Lincoln Park Zoo. When turned in the story of a red-nosed reindeer teased by his peers, who had exactly what Santa needed one foggy Christmas Eve, May’s boss asked him to come up with “something better.” (Okay, let’s admit May’s boss couldn’t tell an incredible children’s story from a hole in the ground.) May didn’t give up, and with the help someone in the art department and his sketches, they changed the boss’s mind. Click here to read May’s original manuscript. (It’s definitely worth checking out. 🙂 )

On its release in 1939, Montgomery Ward gave away 2.4 million copies of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Yup, million. In 1939. Think about that. Despite the book’s success, May who was heavily in debt because of his wife’s medical bills, received no additional compensation. However, that changed in 1947, when the head of Montgomery Ward returned the rights to May. Another event that year that changed May’s life and impacted the classic Christmas song coming to life was May’s sister married Johnny Marks, a songwriter. Long before Marks married May’s sister he’d read Rudolph’s story, and jotted down notes in his song ideas notebook.

Robert May autographs copies of his bestseller, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” and a sequel, “Rudolph Shines Again,” on Dec. 11, 1969.

Marks added music to the story, and knew he had something special. However, Gene Autry apparently channeling May’s boss who “wanted something better” than Rudolph’s story, wasn’t keen on the song. Thankfully, his wife persuaded him to record the second biggest selling Christmas song of all time (White Christmas is number one) for the “B” side. (From my research, it appears If It Doesn’t Snow on Christmas was the “A” side and who’s even heard of that Christmas song? I hope he thanked his wife for her foresight.) Click here to listen to the Gene Autry song

 

Some articles I read claimed May and the Rudolph story is sad. I disagree. Yes, May had a difficult life, but he channeled that into something truly special. No, he never wrote the great American novel, but he wrote a great American Christmas carol that still inspires children and adults today. A pretty great legacy, I’d say. Plus, as an added bonus, Rudolph took care of May and his family for his life and beyond.

 

Now that I’ve learned the history behind the song, I love Rudolph’s story even more and it’s message seems even brighter.

 

 

Musical Inspiration

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Today I’m giving you an insight on how music occasionally influences my writing. But it’s not how you might expect. I don’t write with music on because if I like a song, then I start singing along. Then my train of thought is shattered. Like now. I’m sitting in Starbucks writing and “Defy Gravity” from the musical Wicked has come on. Excuse me while I sing under my breath…

Okay, I’m back. However, occasionally songs play a big part in my stories. In To Marry A Texas Cowboy, George Strait’s “Here For A Good Time” became my hero’s theme song. Despite knowing Zane’s backstory and him almost taking over a couple books in the series, when I started his story, I couldn’t grasp him. He put up a good front, even from me. But when I heard “Here For A Good Time” Zane’s personality and fears fell into place.

Zane had a rough past. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t read To Marry A Texas Cowboy, but Zane’s dad was a piece of work and his mom wasn’t a winner either. To cope or survive really, he lived in the moment. Everything was about having a good time. That drove his actions and his life.

Here For A Good Time

Source: Musixmatch  Songwriters: Bubba Straight / Dillon Dean / George H Strait

I’m not gonna lay around
And whine and moan for somebody that done me wrong
Don’t think for a minute
That I’m gonna sit around and sing some old sad song
I believe it’s half-full not a half-empty glass
Every day I wake up knowing it could be my last

I ain’t here for a long time
I’m here for a good time
So bring on the sunshine, to hell with the red wine
Pour me some moonshine
When I’m gone, put it in stone “He left nothing behind”
I ain’t here for a long time
I’m here for a good time

Folks are always dreaming about what they like to do
But I like to do just what I like
I’ll take the chance, dance the dance
It might be wrong but then again it might be right
There’s no way of knowing what tomorrow brings
Life’s too short to waste it, I say bring on anything

I ain’t here for a long time
I’m here for a good time
So bring on the sunshine, to hell with the red wine
Pour me some moonshine
When I’m gone, put it in stone “He left nothing behind”
I ain’t here for a long time
I’m here for a good time
I ain’t here for a long time
I’m here for a good time

 

And speaking of Wicked, when attending that musical, the solution to the same problem with my heroine, Maggie in Bet On A Cowboy hit me. When Elphaba sang “I’m Not That Girl” I instantly knew everything about Maggie. I even whispered, “she’s Elphaba” right there in my Broadway seat.

Maggie believed love wasn’t in her future. She was just too plain, too average in every way to attract a man’s notice. As the director of a Bachelor type reality show, she’s surrounded by beautiful, outgoing, extraordinary women and is constantly reminded she doesn’t measure up. The mindset Elphaba shows in “I’m Not That Girl” guided Maggie’s actions and interactions in life.

 

I’m Not That Girl

Source: Musixmatch  Songwriters: Schwartz Stephen Laurence / Sandford Steve

Hands touch, eyes meet
Sudden silence, sudden heat
Hearts leap in a giddy whirl
He could be that boy
But I’m not that girl

Don’t dream too far
Don’t lose sight of who you are
Don’t remember that rush of joy
He could be that boy
I’m not that girl

Every so often we long to steal
To the land of what-might-have-been
But that doesn’t soften the ache we feel
When reality sets back in

Blithe smile, lithe limb
She who’s winsome, she wins him
Gold hair with a gentle curl
That’s the girl he chose
And Heaven knows
I’m not that girl

Don’t wish, don’t start
Wishing only wounds the heart
I wasn’t born for the rose and the pearl
There’s a girl I know
He loves her so
I’m not that girl

I shouldn’t be surprised songs have helped me grasp my characters and their relationships. Songs have always spoken to me and helped me make sense out of life. Why shouldn’t they do the same with my writing?

To be entered in today’s random giveaway for the car coasters, air freshener, and signed copy of Family Ties leave a comment on what song has or could serve as a theme for you?

The Origin of a Few Children’s Songs

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We all grew up singing songs and some are quite old. Adam and Eve probably had some that they relied on if the truth was known.

In my current work in progress, my heroine and her sister start an orphanage for kids left without parents during a frightening yellow fever epidemic. The year is the fall of 1867. With the recent loss of their parents, the children are very distraught. Maura Taggart finds that singing is one thing that seems to help. So of course, I got curious and had to dive into research.

Here’s what I found.

Mary Had a Little Lamb was written and sung in 1830.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star – 1838

Old McDonald Had a Farm – 1706

London Bridge – 1744

Hickory Dickory Dock – 1744

Frère Jacques – 1780

I remember singing in French “Frère Jacques” in the first grade and still remember a few of the words. It translates into “Are You Sleeping, Brother John?” I loved this song and I felt very grown up singing in French. HA! Doesn’t take much to impress a small child.

I was amazed at how far back these songs go. The children in my orphanage grow to love singing so Maura makes it part of a daily routine along with painting. Children love creating and they can forget the sad turns their lives have taken for a little while.

I’m really enjoying this story. I have no release date yet so I’m just having fun. Some of the children become very difficult to stay put. They’re not allowed around in the front but that’s exactly where they want to be. One day they find a puppy tied to a sign and insist it’s a gift from God to let them know their parents still love them and are watching over them. Then, they discover various other items that help make life easier for the orphans. But who is the mysterious benefactor? It’ll keep you guessing.

What other songs did you grow up with? A lot of these started out as poems or nursery rhymes before someone put music to them. I’d love to discuss this. I’ll give away a $10 Amazon gift card to someone who comments.

Game Day – Musical Word Play

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Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here. It’s Game Day!!  Always a fun time. And since I love word games (I also love math games but I’m aware I may be in the minority there 🙂 ) I thought we’d play one that combines wordplay and music.

This is going to be super easy – take the letters in EITHER your first or last name (or both if you’re feeling ambitious!) and list a song that starts with that letter.  Here’s an example using my name – I used both my first and last names because I wanted to cover more songs (and yes I’m a BIG Randy Travis and Beatles fan 🙂 )

Whisper My Name (Randy Travis)
In My Life (Beatles)
Nowhere Man (Beatles)
Norwegian Wood (Beatles)
I Told You So (Randy Travis)
Eight Days A Week (Beatles)

Girl (Beatles)
Revolution (Beatles)
If I Didn’t Have You (Randy Travis)
Good Day Sunshine (Beatles)
Get Back (Beatles)
Somewhere In My Broken Heart (Randy Travis)

So now it’s your turn. I can’t wait to see what musical choices you make.

And everyone who plays along gets entered in a drawing for their choice of any book in my backlist