If you could have your own singer/songwriter to love… And WIN more goodies ;o)

Can you tell from the cover of Love on Mimosa Lane that one of the central themes in the book is music? I hope so. We worked pretty had on that one (pats self on back).

More accurately, the healing, magical restorative power of music. At least it is to me, and to my central characters.  Yeah,  the book is about community and patching back together broken homes for two very special kids and still loving unconditionally when you think someone’s forever ruined your ability to be vulnerable in love, but music is a key factor for bringing everyone together in the end. Music has been a safe, deeply moving, motivational place for me my whole life. I wanted to share that.

FINAL LoML Front LowRes

Our hero in LoML is a singer songwriter. He’s given up for years his gift for moving his own soul and others with his creativity and talent and unique voice. Allowing inspiration to move within him again, because he can no longer hold it back each and every time he confronts our heroine (No, he doesn’t burst into song and dance, this isn’t a musical. But she DOES inspire him in ways only music has before ;o), is a first step toward healing for him and so many others in the book. I sense many artists are this “soul” place within their own realities, where their paintings or music or words or photographs or whatever transform more around them than they’ll ever know.

I actually patterned Love on Mimosa Lane, at least in theme, after a series of Jim Croce lyrics I’ll be sharing over the next week on my Anna DeStefano: Author Facebook page. Croce’s ability to tell a story with a few perfect words, to paint a picture with the movement of simple notes and the timber of his voice, is life transforming. He reaches into me with every song and phrase.

jim-croce-time-in-a-bottle-philips-4

At one point while drafting  the book, I included snippets of his lyrics at the opening of each chapter, to remind myself of the theme I was going for within. These had to be stripped away before publication for copyright reasons. But I squirreled away those moments (my husband says I save everything). I’ll be sharing them here and on social media. I eventually, at the end of the novel, have our hero sing a couple of Croce songs that melt hearts and reveal who he really is, soul-deep, more than he can possibly reveal without his music. I LOVE it when a plan comes together!

Can you guess which of Croce’s songs he chooses.

It’s an epic moment, symbolism-wise, even if I do say so myself ;o)

Music is an epic thing, if we let it work its magic in our lives.

I’d love to know what singer/songwriter/music can do that for you. I’d love to share the fascination (okay, borderline obsession) I’ve had with music since I was a small child. I’d love to know their are other freaks like me out there, who if they could write novels would dream and plot and fashion an entire novel around a musical theme, if they could ;o)

Which leads us to Release Week 2’s  CONTEST ;o)

Riddle me this: Who’s your favorite singer/song writer/musician? Which song’s touched you more over the years than any others?

Talk music with me, and I’ll select two winners again this time:

  • ONE randomly from all you play along
  • ONE, like before, with the most creative comment!

How to enter:

  • You can comment below (here on the blog)
  • You could post a picture of your favorite artist/album/music video on my Anna DeStefano: Author Facebook Page (Like the album cover above).
  • Or both!

What you can win:

  • 1Signed copy of Love on Mimosa Lane, OR
  • $10 Amazon Gift Certificate (to buy Love on Mimosa Lane or music or whatever else your heart desires)

CONTEST ENDS:

  • Midnight Monday, January 27th, 2014.

I’ll choose 2 winners, ONE FOR EACH PRIZE, from a combination all who enter (see Magic FB Disclaimer Words below)!

I’m DYING to read your responses.

Good luck everyone!

MAGIC FB DISCLAIMER WORDS

By commenting/participating, you release Facebook from any involvement in or responsibility for this contest.
The owner of this blog/giveaway acknowledges that this promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.

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9 Responses to “If you could have your own singer/songwriter to love… And WIN more goodies ;o)”

  1. Fern Martin says:

    Anna, you ask an impossible question to me. I listen to music everyday. I’m not sure I can choose just one song. Some days I’m thinking of my dad and just listen to really old country others it’s just for me and then anything goes (Croce, Black Sabbath, JT, pink, Whitney, KISS, Bach, the soundtrack to Wicked, Jim Reeves, you name it). In fact, I have told my kids that at any memorial they have for me (hopefully many years away), I want them to plug in my IPod, enjoy the music and sing, knowing that I’m also.

    With that being said, Orleans..Still the One is what I want to sing, have played at weddings or just think about for my husband. We will be married 34 years on Feb. 16 this year. Wherever has the time gone??

    I remember when Jim Croce died. Oh how I cried. I was a young teenager and was so romanced by his words. I still am. Photographs and Memories, Time in a Bottle and Operator are still in my active playlist. It’s so nice to know he hasn’t been forgotten.

    This book looks very interesting. Law just might be my kind of guy….

    • His story is so sad, Fern, when you think that his son was so young when JC died, and his career was only then starting to take off.

      And, BTW, it’s no coincidence that Law Beaurmont’s initials are LB.

      Can anyone tell me why???

  2. anne says:

    Music is soothing, calming and makes my days a delight and combine this with a memorable and profound novel and I am captivated. The music of Patrizio Buanne makes my world complete. His voice transports me to other realms, allows me to dream and soothes my heart and soul. His talent, charm, charisma and voice is incomparable and unique. When I was ill for a year I knew what would allow me to sleep, function and motivate me to achieve my goals. His songs, Il Mondo and many others lifted my spirits when I needed sunshine and hope. Love on Mimosa Lane has this ability as well. best wishes and much happiness, and enjoyment.

  3. Skye says:

    I listen to a lot of different music and find inspiration in a number of different songs, but for the major singer/songwriter/group who has had the most number of songs that I’ve used as themes in my life, I’d have to choose Freddy Mercury and Queen. I cried when I heard that Freddy had died. His last album, which he wrote while he was dying and then left for the rest of the group to finish afterward, both inspires me and brings me to tears. It’s beautiful.

  4. Angie M says:

    I too am a great lover of music. It has shaped me and there are certain songs that just take me back to a time or place in my life every time I hear them.

    My favorite singer/songwriter is Elton John. He has written with several composers but his longest and most amazing collabaration has been with Bernie Taupin. Amazingly, these two men met through their record company at the time! A few months ago, Elton John talked to Rolling Stone about some of their songs and he happened to mention my favorite, We All Fall in Love Sometimes, from the Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy album. He said that he was in love with Bernie when they wrote it, which was no surprise to me because I feel that love each time I hear the song. I sang this song to my college boyfriend on the beach, badly!

    I loved Law and Kristen! I was sad to finish the book and can’t wait for the next book in the series!

  5. Joyce M. says:

    I enjoy listening to Josh Groban. My favorite song is The Prayer.

  6. Valerie M says:

    Music is embedded deep in my soul and has the power to move me, bring me up when I’m feeling down, bring me to tears with a haunting melody or lyrics that ache with emotion. Music has brought me to my knees and has made me jump for joy. Music is the reason that I began to write again ten years ago, easing me through a dark and difficult time with grace and dignity. Music gave me a purpose to move on and move through the muck so that I could emerge from the fog a better, stronger person. Music is the common thread that weaves my life together with those that are closest to me. Music can whisk me through time to my youth in just a few notes and deposit me into a beautiful memory of long ago or excite me with a new melody that gradually steals its way deep into my soul, inspires me and stirs my senses for eternity. Music makes me dream, conjure, and fabricate a world where the inhabitants take me scene by scene through their lives as my fingers fly furiously over the keyboard trying to keep up with the movie in my mind so that their story can be told. And it must be told. In short…music makes me live and feel and write. I would be nowhere without it.

  7. Valerie M says:

    Anna,
    Sorry, I got carried away in my prose on the previous post and neglected to mention my favorite singer, my muse, if you will. He is a British singer/actor who most Americans are unfamiliar with, and his name is Michael Ball, not to be confused with Micheal Bouble. Ha!! He originated several roles on Broadway and the West End which include Marius from Les Miserables and Alex from Aspects of Love,to name (to me)the most memorable. He has a voice that soothes and inspires, and as I said in the previous post, is the reason I came back to writing. I highly recommend you give him a listen. You surely won’t be disappointed!
    I thoroughly enjoyed reading the blurbs from Love on Mimosa Lane that you posted recently. Your characters are rich and full and sucked me right in! I look forward to reading the book in its entirety…soon! ;-)

  8. Winners Announced, My Friends!

    Here: http://bit.ly/1i7demR.

    Congrats. Now, let’s Release Party some more ;o) Keep checking back every day for more chances to win!

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