Possibly one of the most imaginative and darkest movies that I have ever had the pleasure to see was Guillermo Del Toro’s masterpiece “El laberinto del fauno,” or more commonly referred to as “Pan’s Labyrinth.” This movie utterly swept me off my feet. I saw the film at our local theater with oddly enough, my mom, and a friend from work. While it wasn’t quite what they had anticipated because of the level of darkness in it, I was enthralled by the story, the characters, and of course, the exquisite music composed by Javier Navarrete.
Month: January 2012
Uppity Updates!
Good morning, readers!
I wanted to take a brief moment this morning to update you on a few of my projects!
1st: I am over 1/3 of the way through editing and revising “Aequitas.” There’s allot of rewriting going on but I’m pleased to say it’s shaping itself into the book I want. Give me at least another month with it and we’ll be ready to publish!
2nd: I’ve chosen the official book cover for “Aequitas.” However, I won’t unveil it until just before the book’s release. It needs a bit of tweaking before then.
3rd: I’ve been asked to do another wonderful reading in Portland in March! Details will soon emerge about that event.
4th: I’m making progress on “Night Time, Dotted Line.” For those of you unfamiliar with this work, it is my indie-travel novella that I’ve been working on for nine months. People who went to Slainte Wine Bar and Lounge in November last year got a chance to hear me read a piece of it. I spent a couple days last week writing crazily on it.
And that is all I have for you so far! Stay tuned for more information about my progress on “Aequitas.”
Tomorrow will be my weekly Inspiration Through Music blog post. I’ll be focusing on Javier Navarrette’s score of “Pan’s Labyrinth.”
Until then,
KSilva
Homemade Pizza: One Victory for January
COOKING ADVENTURES #4: HOMEMADE PIZZA
Good evening, readers!
I’m sitting here in my computer chair with a full stomach and a slight case of indigestion. It’s been over an hour since I finished eating my homemade pizza… and I’ve got to say that I am extremely pleased with the way this cooking adventure turned out. This marks one victory for the month of January after three disastrous creations. However, if this heartburn continues, I may have to amend that statement…
I chose to make an Italian sausage and green pepper pizza for this week’s adventure. I will first note that it has been over ten years since I’ve made a homemade pizza. And I wouldn’t even count the one I made then as “homemade” necessarily. It was in a Home Economics class in middle school and I was partnered with three other people. I’m pretty sure I didn’t do much other than wash the dishes and put the thing in the oven. So, in spirit, this is really my first time making a pizza.
The Monstrum Chronicles Cast… I Wish
Good evening, readers!
A while back, I promised to write a post showing you a few of the choice actors I would pick for some of the main characters in The Monstrum Chronicles series. Everyone will imagine a different person filling the characters shoes, but to me, these are the people who I envision every time I write their characters. This is meant to be a short, fun post. I’ve honestly been so crazy busy this past week I haven’t been able to blog much. And that makes me a silly goose. Once I get passed this week, I’ll be able to focus a little bit more on things and I’m excited for that! But… back to the casting of the Monstrum Chronicles…
Hurricane: Inspiration Through Music
Good afternoon, readers.
On this week’s Inspiration Through Music song, I’ll be focusing on one particular song that heavily inspired one project of mine. This untitled project (from now on called U.P.) is on the back burner while I finish The Monstrum Chronicles. I usually like to work on many different projects all at once. But the U.P. is a big idea with many characters and many plot threads. The Monstrum Chronicles is similarly complex and a longer series. I can’t focus on both at once so alas, this will have to wait.
30 Seconds to Mars released an utterly beautiful song a few years ago in 2009 entitled, “Hurricane.” While the lyrics are powerful and dig straight to the heart, the main controversy over this song was attributed to the music video that Jared Leto released for it. The video doesn’t have anything to do with the inspiration that I drew from the song so I won’t be discussing it.
An Ode to the Morning
There are three things that I wake up to nearly every morning.
The first is that I often get to enjoy mornings like this.
The sun is just beginning to rise on the horizon and the sky bathes in a pink hue. Lavender clouds float by, blissfully unaware that the sun will soon climb higher and their color will drain to white. When the sun does rise, a slanted ray careens in through my window, slapping down on my table and my heater. It works its way around the room as the hours goes by, warming everything in its path.
The second is my sacred cup of hot coffee.
I wake up at six sharp every morning. I put the coffee on and go back to bed, listening to it brew in the kitchen. By the time I’ve gotten up again twenty minutes later, the coffee is ready. A spoonful of sugar (Mary Poppins much?), and a splash of milk. I go and sit in the dulcet sunshine, letting the light soak into my skin as I take my first sip of coffee. Any sluggish thoughts I may have had are neatly organized, the snarls of sleep are banished to their darkened corners, and the smooth taste of french roast and vanilla blends on my palette delightfully.
The third thing that I wake up to, always, is the lemon-eyed demon.
Always conniving, mischievous, and silly, the lemon-eyed demon has become the master of the apartment. He beats on my bedroom door at six o’clock when my alarm goes off. Even when my alarm doesn’t go off, he ensures that I’m bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for work. He’s an intelligent little bugger. He plays fetch, opens doors, kills plants (including cacti), lies in wait in the unlikeliest of places to spring an attack, moves his toys and boxes around, and sabotages any and all attempts to take him to the vet’s office. He does, however, have positive points.
Lemon Jelly is aware of my emotions and feelings always. It’s like we’re psychically linked. He loves to snuggle in the late morning hours when the sun is just hitting his preferred spot on the pull-out computer mouse board for my desk. It gives me a chance to concentrate on my writing without having to chase him around. He’ll follow me from room to room, making sure that I always have company (and that he’s always paid attention to) and he will occasionally curl up and sleep at the end of my bed at night. The animal shelter that I got him from told me he’d never be a lap kitty. Guess what? He’s proved them wrong. If I’ve got a movie on, he’ll flop down on my legs and watch it with me.
His sobriquets include Jelly Belly, Demon Jelly, Squeaker, and the much preferred, Grey Goose. He is, more often than not, a wonderful pet and friend to wake up to everyday.
~KSilva
Buckwheat Pancakes… meh…
COOKING ADVENTURES #3: BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES
Good evening, readers.
Yes. You’ve assumed correctly. I managed to screw up buckwheat pancakes. I’m in no way proud of this. In fact, I’m beginning to get fed up. The recipe was practically idiot proof. And to my knowledge, I followed the instructions exactly. I’m not sure how it turned out so wrong.
Vox: Inspiration Through Music
Good evening folks!
Well, I realized today that it’s impossible for me to choose only 5 songs to talk about for Vox. My first book is incredibly special in that I listened to so many varied songs and artists while composing each chapter. Allot of music isn’t even listed on the website under the soundtrack list. What I’d like to do is choose the songs that had the most meaning to me (which will definitely be more than just 5) and explain what it was about them that inspired certain things in the book. So relax back in your computer chair, get a warm mug of tea, and venture forth into Inspiration Through Music!
Remembering ‘Midnight Farm’
Good evening, readers!
A couple of nights ago, I was listening to some lovely music on my Rachel’s station on Pandora. Rachel’s is a little known instrumental band. I’ll detail them more in tomorrow’s Inspiration Through Music post…
As I sat listening to them, I let my mind wander and found myself imagining a farm at night. A blue blanket of darkness basked the quiet world and the animals were fast asleep in it. I always imagine for some reason that I’m standing in my kitchen in the darkness of this farmhouse, staring out my backdoor at the tall grass in the field, which gently sways in a light breeze. The moon is full and highlights a stretch of land that rises up into hills before fading into clusters of trees.
The kitchen I’m standing in isn’t the one I have now, nor is it the one I had growing up. It’s the kitchen of my dream house. The walls are painted navy blue. Old antique furnishings are placed around the room, and small red and yellow accents can be picked out here and there. It’s large and homey and smells of a recently cooked potroast or a warm sugary dessert. I can see myself perhaps twenty years from now living in this old farmhouse on a tranquil country road in Maine and sigh with anticipation for it.
Then the song is over and I open my eyes.
Cheesecake… Next time, It’s Coming From a Box!
Food Adventures #2: Cheesecake
Dear God. I’ve just spent the last four hours in the kitchen trying to cook not only my very first cheesecake but also my dinner. As you can probably guess, I had some trouble… again.
Allot of this I’m blaming on the fact that its Friday the 13th. That and I was cooking with a headache. But really now, let’s go back to the beginning, shall we?
The Kat At Night 