three chords and some compelling lies

Book Progress

/ xeyeti / Leave a comment

Though it’s been a while since I talked about them, I do still write books. I finished up the first draft of Book 7 late last year; it’s with my beta reader right now. I also have a short story collection ready to put out, assuming I can figure out a cover and get one arranged.

On top of all that, I’ve started work on Book 8. It’s structured a little differently than previous Hazzard stories. Rather than this being one long case, it’ll be a series of shorter cases that all build up to something bigger. I’ve finished the first quarter or so of the book, and I have the other three sections roughly plotted in my head. It’s progressing well; I’m hoping to have it finished by the summer, ready for an autumn 2023 release. We’ll see how the process goes. I still need to get Book 7 edited and a cover made for it, and all that costs money.

So. y’know, if you haven’t already, consider buying one of my books or emailing me at crooked42 [at] gmail dot com to order a CD.

Playlist #47: Happy Birthday To Me

/ xeyeti / Leave a comment

So this coming Sunday, March 27th, is my 42nd birthday. I am getting older, as are we all, and I thought I’d use this opportunity to do a couple of things that benefit me and, possibly, you.

As you may or may not know, I like music. Not just listening, but creating. And over the past weekend, I put up an EP of songs I’ve been working on over the past couple of years: The Three Chords And Some Compelling Lies EP! It’s available through your favorite music streaming service (Spotify, iTunes, or AmazonPrime Music). Here’s the songs, along with some of my thoughts on them:

  1. Intro (Sunrise In The Badlands): The whole song is done with an E chord. It’s a bit drone-y and ambient and I did it for funsies.
  2. Unanswered Prayers: My brother Clif did the first couple of notes on the slide guitar (I did the rest of the slide stuff) and played electric on this one. Everything else was me. It’s still one of the songs I’m proudest of.
  3. Narhwal V. Unicorn: A goof of a song that I still kinda love. I like the marimba in it. Clif did his own version of the song, but left off two lines in the bridge, for which I will never forgive him.
  4. Saint Joan: An acoustic number that I’ll probably get around to going full-band electric on someday. I’m still not 100% sure on the piano bit during the verse, though it sounds great (and a little eerie) without vocals.
  5. Native Son(g): I have a complicated history with my home state. This song maybe explains part of why that is.
  6. Earthquake Weather (Acoustic): I’ve been fiddling with this song for as long as I’ve been recording my own songs. I think this is the version I’m happiest with. It’s a really simple set of G variations that I totally swiped from George Harrison.
  7. This Town Ain’t Big Enough: Written and recorded during the pandemic, it’s me dealing with anxiety and feeling cooped up for a year and a half straight. And it slaps, especially with the guitar solo from my Uncle Gert.
  8. The Quarantine Blues: Another song written and recorded during the pandemic. I started it about a month into things back in 2020, and finished it middle of last year and put it onto digital tape. It’s quiet and simple and a perfect way to end the EP, I think.