What Deborah's Playing on the Piano

Saturday afternoon, I attended a lovely Hallowe'en student concert at Cabrillo College. Audience was masked, performers masked or PCR tested. So great to hear live music again! One of the pieces was a synthesizer adaptation of Satie's first Gnossienne, which I'm working on. (It was very weird. Very weird on steroids.) That reminded me it's been a while since I posted what I'm working on now. For those new to this journey, I'm an adult piano student who began piano lessons 15 years ago, my first ever formal instruction. I'm a grown up, or so the theory goes, so I get to play what I want.

Satie. Gnossienne #1. It's a hoot. One measure that goes on for pages, with directions like "Postulez en vous-même" (wonder about yourself). Lots of repetition of the motifs with subtle differences of expression.

Gillock. "Silent Snow" from Lyric Preludes in Romantic Style. Gillock was primarily a teacher. These short pieces are beautiful and fun to play as they challenge technique. The one I just started requires exquisite control of dynamics and pedaling. Gillock's pieces are a great prep for composers like Debussy and Satie.

A couple of Schubert waltzes. They're like "bon-bons" or Chopin Lite.

"Warg Scouts" from Howard Shore's music for The Hobbit. The dwarves are running for their lives, Radagast is trying to lure the orcs on their wargs away, and Gandalf is scheming to get his part to Rivendell. Pounding rhythm. Am I nuts? When I looked at the piece, I went, "Ack!! I can't possibly!!!" So I'm tackling it slowly with the metronome under my teacher's guidance. Might take a couple of years to get it up to tempo (quarter note = 180, agitated) but it will do wonders for my technique. And be soooo much fun!

Bach Invention 14. If I skip a day, it falls apart. Otherwise, I'm focusing on the way the motif bounces back from one hand to the other, detached notes in one hand but legato in the other.

Debussy. "Claire de Lune." Be still, my heart. I'm about a page away from playing it straight through and then we get to work on dynamics, speed, and expression.

When I have time, I work on my past repertoire. Current favorites are "May It Be" (Enya), Debussy's "La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin," Satie's 1st and 3rd Gymnopédies, a transcription of Ashokan Farewell, and a bunch of music from LotR.

Very Short Book Reviews: A Delicious Fantasy, a Noir Detective SF Murder Mystery

 The Liar's Knot, by M. A. Carrick (Orbit)

 If you, like me, couldn’t get enough of the Renaissance Venice-like world of The Mask of Mirrors, dive right in! The Liar's Knot picks up the story during a brief pause, a moment of uneasy peace. The evil House Indestor may be finished, but an ancient darkness still weaves through the city’s filthy alleys and jewel-bright gardens. Ren (aka the Black Rose and a bunch of other alter egos), Vargo, and Grey Serrado (aka The Rook) each have their own gifts, weak points, and suspicions as they are drawn together. To say more is to risk spoiling the unfolding of secrets. Take my word for it, though. This sequel is just delicious!

Titanshade, by Dan Stout (DAW)

 Dan Stout’s debut novel is a quirky, gritty cross between noir detective and science fiction. The protagonist, Carter, is a mostly-disgraced homicide cop perpetually on the verge of either a fight or a collapse from ignoring the long-term physical injuries. His beat is the oil town of Titanshade, once booming but now on the break of bankruptcy as the wells run dry. The city's future hangs on an inflow of cash from the reclusive amphibians known as Squibs. The action opens with the murder of the Squib ambassador, there to negotiate for the creation of wind farms to replace the dying oil industry. Lots of conflicting interests here. Carter’s less than thrilled when he’s paired with a junior cop, an alien Mollenkampi with several sets of jaws who is a really nice person.

The real strength of this novel lies in its worldbuilding, the innovative ways in which scarce resources create impoverishment, especially a society that includes a diversity of races. It’s definitely worth checking out, especially if cross-over mysteries appeal to you.

 

 

 

5-Star NetGalley Reviews of The Laran Gambit

ARCs of The Laran Gambit are still available by request on NetGalley. The early reviews give it 5 stars!

"This was such a well-done scifi novel, it had everything that I was hoping for. It does the mind-control technology being used well and was what I was hoping for. "

"The Laran Gambit is science fiction from a master voice. Sure to please fans of this author and genre."

Short Book Reviews: A Great New Supernatural Mystery Series

 Uncanny Times, by Laura Anne Gilman (Saga)

This new turn-of-the-20^th-Century supernatural hunter series boasts engaging characters, a gigantic magical hound, and a murder mystery. Siblings Rosemary and Aaron Harker come from a long tradition of hunting monsters. When an elderly cousin dies under mysterious circumstances, they journey to a small town, along with their oversized hound, Botheration. On the surface, the death appears to be natural, but as Hunters of the uncanny, the Harkers know something sinister is at work. At every turn, their investigation leads nowhere, even when one corpse after another turns up.

That’s the setup, but it falls short of conveying my experience of reading the book. Gilman’s a skillful writer, and here she perfectly balances the tension of a murder mystery with exploring a world that’s just enough skewed from the mundane to be endlessly fascinating, and best of all, to hang out with three really interesting characters (I definitely include the dog in this category!) Even the minor characters bring vivid quirks that deepen the journey through this town and its mysteries.

Despite the dramatic elements, plot twists, and escalating danger, the pacing is measured rather than thriller-taut, yet I found myself turning page after page, reluctant to put the book down. If the opening of a novel is an invitation to the reader, Uncanny Times provides superb hospitality, chapter after chapter. I hope this is only the beginning of a long-running series of the Huntsmen adventures.

 

Proofreading The Children of Kings

Here's an image from late 2012. Cleopatra left us the next year at the ripe old age of 20.

Here I am, complete with Cat Muse, working my way through page proofs of The Children of Kings.

Cleopatra is almost 20 years old, and I've had her since she was 8 weeks. She's moving very slowly these days but still loves to curl up with me while I work. She's so thin, I've covered her with the edge of the afghan for extra warmth.