On Finding One's Voice, part the second and counting

Today's picture is a jumble of things. Artwork by my father, Rudy Carrasco, as a book cover for Party of Dreamers by Robert Lowry, turned into a poster for The Sims2 by me.

Said poster hung in a Sims2 house made by me, based on a floorplan for one of the original Levittown houses, for a Secret Santa gift on a Sims forum. Lots of things all mushed together to make the image for this entry. Which has nothing to do with any of the above.

Nor, strictly, does the new video song from Ben Folds and Nick Hornsby (with Pomplamoose) but I stumbled across it on my morning interwebs rounds. Then again, I adore Ben Folds' voice, both singing and artistic (plus his gorgeous piano work) and the way he has of encapsualting a whole life in a few minutes of music. Have him cowrite songs with Nick Hornsby, who wrote the book and script for About A Boy, one of my favorite movies ever, and it's an early birthday present. Stick an extra surprise song out there and I am already over the moon.

I was surprised to see one of the comments left after the video mentioning that while it was a good song, the viewer felt "like a lazy loser" because of the lyrics. :headscritch: I found it inspiring and encouraging, reminding me that I don't have to settle for the mundane. Your mileage, unless you are a clone of me, may and should be different. I love digging beneath the surface, down deep to where it may get a little uncomfortable (a college roommate dubbed my very first ms "how to completely mess with somebody's life in five hundred pages or more." She was right.) but when we find the root of the problem, that's where the healing can begin, and the climb up to the HEA.

Though I don't hold with the concept of a muse, if I had one, she'd be British. Trust me on this. Part of it comes from having Scottish neighbors from infancy through elementary school and my parents' rather international circle of friends. (Hello, Mrs Bloomer, wherever you are, and thanks for the UK influences.) The vast majority of my characters call the British Isles home (good for a historical author these days) and well, it feels like a natural fit. That sensibility that life can be hard at times, and if we're going through hell, well, we keep going; that resonates.

One song on the new Lonely Avenue album hit me right in the gut. "Picture Window" may be triggering for those who have had a seriously ill loved one, but what struck me was the "yes, that's exactly how it is" in certain moments, that struggle of anger and hope.

Very black moment, eh? Definitely something that speaks my language, and the combination of the New Year's fireworks seen from a hospital window has loads of perspective. Filing this one away for future inspiration.