Hello, all!
My apologies for any delay in this post; I spent this past weekend and most of Monday in bed with the flu (the first time I've been definitively sick in five years, as it happens), which I probably caught on the flight back from Florida last week, and am only now somewhat back to normal. Despite this delay, I am back in full swing on edits for my Scifi/What-If draft All The Troubles of Home (I even managed some while still battling fever :) ). In a bit of celebration over this, and my coming out of illness (and, of course, given the genre of both ATTOH and Discarded), I present as this week's song Special Delivery, from the Halo 3 ODST Soundtrack (Usual copyrights apply; I own nothing!)
Any Halo fans out there will recognize the tune; for those who don't, it plays near the very end of the game, when you've gone through multiple dangers and discoveries as several different characters, and are finally on your way to safety, with things still grim, but on their way to triumph. The entire soundtrack for this particular Halo game is noticeably different from those of the others in the series: somewhat darker and noir-like at points, yet also jazzy and energizing, perfectly fitting the story, mood and action(s) of the game. These four themes are all present in this song, reflecting the excitement, danger, bleakness and hope that defines the level it's played on, the game itself, and the series as a whole. It kept me going through the rough patches on Discarded, and is doing the same right now for ATTOH. I've played it many times as part of my usual mix for Scifi-themed writing work, but often find myself clicking to it just when I need a moment's introspection, a nostalgia fix, or a confidence booster when the Outside World intrudes in the wrong way(s). Thanks to the effect(s) of this song, and so many others like it in the soundtracks and playlist, I've stayed the course on both the above drafts, and will continue to do so on many more once these have both been published!
As mentioned, ATTOH work continues at a steady pace, and I am still aiming to have the draft in beta-ready form by the time PhD classes resume on the 22nd of this month. I'll be sending it out to a few trusted editors and readers soon after; if anyone is interested in joining the effort, drop me a line here or on my author page(s)! Otherwise, just keep up the sharing, commenting, and reviewing!