Tag: goth

Writing the dark wave

On By BrandonLeave a comment

Time seems to have flown by on black wings since my last post. Unfortunately, there is not much to report. I am still typing away on my new dark fantasy novel, title yet to be revealed. The middle act is coming together as I wrestle with pace and character development. It has a relatively small cast, but none of them will remain unscathed by the end of the book. I’m having a grand time forming the world of Larkwynn page by page, gothic, often dangerous, and fantastical, with shrouded mysteries yet to discover.

I finished reading Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. This was my introduction to Hobb’s writing, and I enjoyed the story and characters immensely. It is a large tome, brevity not being one of her strong suits, but I was in the mood for a rousing pirate yarn, and she delivered. I mean, who doesn’t like a good pirate story with a heap of fantasy thrown in for good measure? No really, who?

On the music discovery front, I have found new favorite goth dark wave (and -ish) bands Hallowed Hearts, Crying Vessel, a Cloud of Ravens and Batzz in the Belfry. If i had to choose, Crying Vessel is the killer of the bunch for now. Not to forget that Peter Murphy’s new album is a bell ringer for sure.

That’s it for now. Everyone keep it spooky out there.

Larkwynn and Ravenblack

On By BrandonLeave a comment

The start of another quarter crept up behind me with the point of a blade to my throat, telling me to complete what I have begun. I do my best to comply. I have reached close to the middle point of the dark fantasy novel I am writing.

I don’t like to talk about what I’m writing during the process, but I will divulge a bit. When I created the world for my story, I came up with the name Atios for it. However, by the time I had reached around the fourth chapter, I found that name had been used by someone else. Searching the web, it was difficult to tell how known Atios was to others, but in my despair, I felt the need to change it anyway. My replacement was the name Larkwynn. This time it is chiseled into stone, no matter what may come.

I received the proofs for my Kairo short story River of the Blue Carmina for Weirdbook Magazine #49. Look for it to be on virtual news stands soon.

Lastly, I recently discovered a murder of goth and goth adjacent bands that are now in heavy listening rotation (lest I give the wrong impression, I’m pretty goth adjacent myself, with a dark leathery wing overlap). The favorite discovery is probably Mono Inc. from Germany. Their album Ravenblack is simply delicious, and they have a new album coming out this year. Sirenia and Ancient Myth are great more metal sounding bands. Rounding out the parade are darkwave bands Feyleux, The Birthday Massacre and Harsh Symmetry.

May your all April showers bring melancholy gray clouds and black eyeliner tears.