Hello, everyone!

Apologies for any slight tardiness in this post; the past several days have been packed with work and other demands...including the first concert of my choir class for this semester, and my first concert of any kind since undergrad! (Note to self: Chugging two thermoses' worth of water right before performing isn't enough to counteract the effects of wearing a tux under searing stage lights :P ). Thus, given the serious need for relaxation, I've decided to take it easy with this week's tune. To fit such a mood, I give you Come Away With Me by Norah Jones, from her album of the same name (Usual copyrights apply; I own nothing!)

I came across this song and Jones' work in general very gradually a little over a decade ago; my dad would sometimes play her Not Too Late album at home or in the car, and this or that song stuck with me enough to start looking for more. Since that time, I've put together a mix mostly from her first three albums (what I've listened to from her later work is a little more pop than relax, for my taste, although that may change), which has become almost the default playlist for when I'm looking to chill out after a particularly trying week, or coming out weary yet triumphant from a writing project and want to celebrate just by resting. This song in particular has relaxed me more times than I can count, and puts me in just the right state of mind for that sometimes dull but always healing wait period between one draft and the next. Since I'm taking it so much slower this year and beyond, this list and many other relaxing tunes will be played many a time to keep me in that state.

Some of those times'll be coming up pretty soon, in fact. The cover design for All the Troubles of Home is humming along even faster than expected; March 31st is still the line in the sand, but I doubt it'll take that long. Some possible new material has come up for this draft, mainly for the prologue; we'll see by this weekend whether it works or not! Also got some great critiques for Sic Semper Tyrannis in writing workshop today, along with a number of new ideas for improving that story as well as for the next workshop draft; hoping to start both over Spring Break. Red Delta is also still doing well; before long, it might become my new bestseller! Since the others (Dillinger In Charleston, For State & Country, Obsidian & Steel) shouldn't be left in the dust, I urge you all once again to review and share these, alongside your reviews and plugs for Discarded. Meantime, I'll keep the words and news coming, like I always do!