Okay, I'm going to be honest here. I was kinda stuck on what to talk to that I haven't already discussed recently when I realized that three absolutely kicking songs were released recently and that I just had to talk about them on here. So please, stick with me for a few minutes while I rock your world with three new amazing songs.
The oldest of the three was released on the 17th of July. Addict is a song for Hazbin Hotel, a delightful musical about Charlie, the princess of Hell, hoping to start a hotel where she can try to redeem souls. The show pulls no punches, and the video Addict goes even further into that, into the very checkered past of Angel Dust, a spider demon porn star denizen of Hell and the hotel's first demon recruit. I totally suggest you check it out. I can't stop listening to it!
Just over a month later, BTS released their newest single, Dynamite. This is a lot hoppier than the sort of songs I usually associate with BTS, but I've got to admit, I'm kinda digging it. It's catchy as hell and quickly rising into my current favorite list. It doesn't hit you as hard as Addict but I appreciate it all the more for the bubblegum, 80's pop sound. Also, while its never a requirement for me, I really did enjoy that so much of this song was done in English, so I didn't have to find a lyric video to try to learn the lyrics, which are always what I pay the most attention to in my music. If you haven't heard it, listen.
The last song on this list came out just yesterday. I am always stupidly excited by Riots songs for League of Legends. Of all those, K/DA's Popstars remains my absolute favorite of the lot. So, imagine how stupidly excited I was when Riot started putting out new character designs for K/DA and suggesting that their newest EP would be dropping soon. Yesterday, we got about 2/3 of a lyric only video (or at least, it sounds unfinished to me) and I've heard a rumor that its because one of the new girls to the group drops a kickass chorus directly after this which we'll all get to hear when the full video is released. I can't guarantee that, but I can't wait to see if it does continue. Either way, the song, called The Baddest, absolutely rocks. I haven't wanted to stop listening to it since I first heard it.
There have been other songs that I have been falling in love with too, of course. The new Black Pink song, How Do You Like That, and of course, the RWBY, Vol. 7 soundtrack are also top-notch, just not quite as amazing as these three songs for me. Tell me, which is your favorite? Have you heard any other new releases that you can't stop bopping to? Let me know in the comments or on FB! I'd love to hear what you're unable to turn off right now.
It does not feel like its been a week since WWC finished. And even though I wasn't presenting this year and it was only online, I still finished the weekend tired and happily exhausted. The presentations were very informative and I will admit, as much as I love being up in front of people presenting along with everyone else, it was really nice to have an easier weekend where I just got to attend things again. I got a chance to talk to more than a few of my friends that I haven't seen in person since last year.
I have new ideas on where to take my novels, promotions I want to run, and different media that I'd like to explore. I have a lot of information I want to look over and listen to again. In addition to those, because it was an online event, I didn't have an hour's long trip home and could afford to stay late and chat with everyone. We talked ghost stories, met new friends, and got to reconnect with the old ones. Hearing Mark Leslie read one of his short stories was wonderfully creepy. I love a good ghost story and he provided.
The rest of the week passed in a tired blur, as it always does. Today is the first day I was able to get right back into the act of writing, though I have been doing research on a few of those ideas that are percolating. And I will say that the chapter I'm writing is turning out wonderfully. It's for Fox's Facade and a Kuzunoha chapter. Its a discussion between her and a new character introduced in this book. I'm not sure how long this new character will stick around, but he's interesting to me, more so than he was the first time I wrote him into this story.
In fact, I'm currently taking time away from it to write this post. So, I'll cut it here and get back to work getting that next book out to you faster.
Please remember, if you haven't gotten a chance to put in a review for Hunter's Gambit or Lord's Curse, I need those reviews to get my novel seen and into other people's hands. As of Friday when I checked, we still only had the one (and allow me to thank you so much for your kind words in that review) but I can't wait to see what the rest of you think!
This weekend isn't going to be what I wanted it to be.
Why? This weekend I was supposed to be attending When Words Collide. I had a great solo panel I was going to give and I had signed up to be on two or three others. I was particularly excited because it was going to be the first solo panel I ever gave at one of these events. That panel has now been moved to next year when, hopefully, Covid-19 will be nothing more than a memory.
As good as that thought is, it still doesn't quite make up for the fact that I was supposed to have all that this year.
One of the new add pictures I created. What do you think of it?
That said, the people at When Words Collide haven't hung anyone up to dry. They have planned out a full weekend of fun and free panels available online. I am not going to be on any of them, but I am more than looking forward to hanging out with everybody at them as a spectator.
I have looked over all of the panels and there are more than a few great ones. Most of mine this year are focussed on the business side of writing since my goal this year is to try and treat this more like a business than a hobby, but the ones focussed on writing look amazing as well. It makes me wish I could be in multiple places at once.
So, if you're going to be hanging out online for WWC this weekend look around and you may just see me hovering somewhere. If so, come by and say hi! There will be digital hugs for everyone!
I was in the middle of researching the hanfu revival movement when I saw some people on my FB feed start mentioning the explosion in Beirut. At first, I was saddened, but I didn't look into it until the news show I watch put out a video on it about 20 minutes later. Then I saw the video and was stunned by the damage.
What we know isn't much at this point. According to the news, the government knew they were storing over 2700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate (a chemical commonly found in fertilizer and one of the easiest explodable things to get your hands on if you need a make a bomb, according to popular belief) after the ship carrying it was abandoned by its owner in 2014. Cue to 2020 and a fire at a nearby warehouse set off the highly explosive substance with the force of a 3.1 earthquake.
The government doesn't think there was foul play, but they are still looking into it. Unfortunately, I won't have anything new to add to the mix. I just wish that someone had dealt with the chemical much earlier. That much in one place sitting that long would have gone up if someone smoked too close to it. If you have money, consider donating to whichever company you feel best handles relief efforts. There are a lot of people suffering over there, 200-300 thousand people that are now homeless and while only 134 dead have been found, its entirely likely that many more will simply never be found, leaving their families without closure. The full extent of the loss probably won't be known for weeks or years.
