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Dark Energy – song behind the scenes

May 10, 2022 by addisonbrae

Curious how a song came out of two novels? Here’s how it happened.

Dark Energy album art

Becker Circle and its sequel, Dark Energy: Return to Becker Circle take place in the bar scene around live music. Jon, the adorable guy in one of the bands falls for Gillian, the heroine, who inspires him to write a song called Dark Energy during the Becker Circle story. As Jon told Gillian, “I wrote it about someone who had a streak of bad luck and how they changed it with good karma.” It hit me while writing the sequel. The song had to exist.

The lyrics. The song needed to reflect Jon’s deep-thinking character and his band’s rock sound. My music studies while growing up gave me a foundation, so I studied the structure of several favorite rock tunes to write the lyrics. I considered how many words are in a line, how many lines in a verse and the chorus, and decided to include a bridge. The chorus below represents the strength that helps people push past hardships that hit even the best people like Gillian.

Find someone else to conquer
What does it mean this dark energy
Dark energy won’t control my fate
Why do I deserve dark energy

Joanne Trattoria in Manhattan’s Upper West Side

The music. A Foo Fighters sound is what I heard in my head for this song. I’m lucky enough to know many talented Dallas musicians, including Brian Miller who agreed to write the music. After trying many times to get together in Dallas, we figured out we would be in New York City at the same time. Brian met my friend and me for dinner at the perfect Manhattan spot to inspire music, Joanne Trattoria, an Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side owned by Lady Gaga’s parents. We talked about how the song fit into the story, and I handed him a piece of paper with the lyrics. We walked back to our hotels on the cool, crisp, clear October 2019 evening, past the Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, Central Park, and Carnegie Hall before parting ways. By the end of the night, Brian had a tune in his head. Since he didn’t have a guitar with him, he hummed it into his phone.

Studio session

The recording. Then Covid hit. It felt like the song’s message came true. The vast, empty space in the cosmos called dark energy was trying to disrupt. We had to find our dark matter to draw everyone together and finish the song. When the Covid threat lessened, Brian connected with fellow musician, composer, and producer, Bobby Hoke, to record the music—guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums—in Bobby’s studio. It took a few sessions to get it right. After Bobby handled mixing and mastering, the song was ready to release. The photo is one of the last sessions.

The final song. Listen for the original Dark Energy version toward the end of the book trailer. Find Dark Energy by Brian Miller and Dark Energy .germans mix by Brian Miller and Bobby Hoke on your favorite music retail and streaming sites including Pandora, YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and these Spotify links:
Dark Energy
Dark Energy .germans mix

Deep thanks to Brian for writing the music and recording both songs, and to Bobby for his vision for the .germans mix and doing such an amazing job producing. Thank you, John Harrell, for the beautiful song art and Katlyn Steele for modeling. If you are a Foo Fighters fan, you will like Dark Energy.

Find your dark matter and create your dream.

Filed Under: Blogs Tagged With: .germans, amazon music, becker circle, bobby hoke, brian miller, dark energy, foo fighters, local music, music, music lover, musician, novel, pandora, playlist, reading, road trip, romantic suspense, songwriter, spotify, spotify playlist, spring break, streaming, texas music, youtube

Fiction writing secrets to grab your readers

March 22, 2022 by addisonbrae

Communicators learned two important things during COVID. First, people spend a lot of time in front of a screen. Second, how difficult it is to keep their attention. We used to have about eight seconds to hook a reader, now I suspect it’s half that.

Including stories helps grab and hold readers’ attention. They add a human element. Stories “show don’t tell,” a major focus in fiction. Would you buy the product if a restaurant spokesperson tells you how great their new sandwich is? Or would a customer eating one who says it’s the tastiest sandwich they’ve ever put in their mouth convince you? This goes beyond telling your organization’s story. I’m talking about using stories in almost all of your written and spoken content.

Telling a story is easy. Telling a story well, not so much. I suspect Hemingway would agree. For many reasons – from lack of time or confidence to not wanting to fight brand standards or executives who don’t get it – many marketing, communication, and PR pros shy away from using stories. I understand because I used to. Then I realized how powerful they are. Storytelling also gets exponentially easier with practice and a few tools.

You need three basics to tell a good story: a relatable character, a simple plot with a story arc, and tension. Even kids’ picture books, which have 500 words or less, have developed characters, follow a story arc, and include tension. This Apple Watch commercial is a good storytelling example with character, plot, and tension to spare in 68 seconds.

Your character in business writing is typically a relatable, real or made-up, member of your target audience. This builds on the persona methods marketers commonly use and communicators are starting to use in internal communications. You can dig very deep in developing characters using methods in these Writer’s Digest articles, “The 9 Ingredients of Character Development,” and “Character Development Worksheets.” For business writing, answer these four basic questions:

  1. What is the character’s vulnerable, relatable situation? What problem are they trying to solve? (e.g., adopt a child)
  2. What is their plot goal? (e.g., take advantage of their employer’s adoption benefits)
  3. What is their heart/emotional goal? (e.g., provide a safe and welcoming environment for their new child)
  4. What is their journey – how does the character change from the beginning to the end of the story? (e.g. quit their job or work with their employer to set up onsite child care)
Freytag’s Plot Pyramid

A simple plot with an arc makes the story. Freytag’s Plot Pyramid is one of the most popular story structure tools authors use. You can follow the same story structure even though your content won’t be as long as a novel.

  • Start your story with brief exposition to help readers understand the story including your character’s goal, what motivates them
  • Rising action is when you cover what works against them
  • The climax is the turning point; the character’s final push to reach their goal
  • The character does or does not get what they want during falling action
  • Resolution is the new normal

Tension keeps readers engaged. In fiction, there should be tension on every page. My favorite quick trick is to think about the character’s plot or heart goal. Whatever keeps them from achieving that goal adds tension. It could be a person, situation, or lack of something. Think of your favorite movie or novel villain. You could add an antagonist to build tension in your story.

Writing mechanics can make or break your written or spoken content. One of the last things I do before handing a manuscript over to an editor is go through a checklist that includes things like:

  • Start with a strong hook. I learned this simple three-step first-line creation process from author Dorian Cirrone. (1) Start the story with a moment of change. (2) Inspire readers to wonder what might happen. (3) Convince readers trouble or disruption will happen. Here’s a fiction example from The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson, “The apocalypse began at Starbucks. Where else did you expect the end of the world to start?” And a business example I wrote, “One drizzly March 2020 day, Gloria rode the subway to the office as usual. When she got there, she had to send her entire state agency staff home to help keep them safe.”
  • Avoid passive voice, especially important in business writing when it’s critical for the reader to know who does what.
  • Use visual nouns and active verbs. For example, “It was difficult to use” versus “The software was difficult to use” and “The company could have a problem” versus “A problem plagues the company.”
  • Vary sentence and paragraph length. Keep in mind people read on small screens. It’s easy for readers to get lost in a long paragraph that covers multiple screens.
  • Avoid overused action verbs and adjectives. For example, “We should focus on improving the customer experience” versus “We must improve the customer experience.”
  • Avoid overused adverbs (ly), gerunds (ing), and filler words. The fewer the better. Filler word examples: that, of, almost, so, had, rather, while, quite, well, just, really, which, very, but, and
  • Edit for clarity, spelling, grammar, and comma usage.

Don’t be afraid to be a storyteller. If you don’t believe me, here is a timely Ragan article by Ted Kitterman that helps build the case, How to make your writing stand out in the attention economy. The most famous authors continue to develop their craft. No one’s perfect, so don’t hesitate to keep learning and use tools to help. Email me using the contact form if you have questions.

Happy storytelling!

Filed Under: Blogs Tagged With: addison brae, author, barreyre.com, becker circle, business, business content, carol barreyre, character, character development, dark energy, ernest hemingway, fiction, hook, internal communication, mark twain, marketing, persona, plot, public relations, romantic suspsense, story arc, storytelling, tension, writer, writing

Live your fresh start

March 14, 2022 by addisonbrae

Do over. New beginning. Reboot. We’ve all had at least one fresh start. Some people run away from something horrible and have to start over. Many have no choice because they’ve lost a job. Others, like my friend who was a big inspiration for Becker Circle, run to fulfill their dreams and new beginnings. She’s now back home in England studying to become a nurse.

Then there are those who run both away and toward like Gillian, the main character in Becker Circle and Dark Energy. She escaped an abusive boyfriend to seek her dream of being strong and independent for her fresh start. Gillian schemed and worked her butt off to graduate Harvard a semester early and slip out of Boston while her boyfriend was away for the holidays. She wasn’t choosey about her destination as long as it was far away from him, came with a great job offer, and gave her room to breathe. That’s how she ended up in the trendy urban area of Dallas called Becker Circle.

This week marks the 10-year anniversary of my own personal independence of sorts. Shattered confidence. Mistakes to not relive. A new history to create. If anyone is afraid to leave a difficult or abusive relationship, you can do more than you think. Life on the other side is better than you can ever imagine.

Like Gillian, and all of us, fresh starts come with experimentation. Downright screw-ups. Mistakes are how we know we really are starting over. When Gillian moved into Becker Circle, she made many bad choices—some even put her life in danger. She owned up to them, learned from each one, and tried to not repeat the same mistakes. She always knew they were her choices and no one else’s.

Live your fresh start!

Filed Under: Blogs Tagged With: anniversary, becker circle, dark energy, domestic abuse, ebook, emotional abuse, fresh start, independence, mental health, novel, romantic suspense, starting over

Super Bowl Passion

February 11, 2022 by addisonbrae

I recently watched an NFL football playoff game with some friends at a local pub. I enjoyed the game, but the crowd fascinated me more. They reacted to every play. Their faces radiated delight with every chicken wing they consumed. Each touchdown drew passion.

Watching their reactions made me wonder if they show the same passion, or even more, during other life pleasures. I always love a good game, but nothing can replace passion for an engaging work project, a child’s innocence, the hobby that lets you be you, or the love for your mate.

Gillian, the heroine in Becker Circle and Dark Energy, tends bar on Super Bowl Sunday. In this Becker Circle scene, at the green age of 21, she watches how people react to the most anticipated moment of their year – kickoff.

Orders stop until the game gets going, giving me a chance to observe the crowd. There’s No Panties Cherry Cosmo jumping up and down. Renee tries to distract Mike from the game, but he’s not having it. Other typically lowkey patrons yell at the TV. Kyle resumes spastic pacing. With every first down or fumble, the air fills with fist-pumping and cheers. Beer and chicken wings create the only interruption.

I’m curious how passionate these people can be about other things. Working. Relationships. Sex. My mind drifts to the two nights with Joaquin. He’s passionate, even though he doesn’t remember. Amazing warmth spreads through my body so much I overflow the beer I’m pouring, and my face blooms hotter than asphalt on an August day. I look up hoping no one notices the effect of my sexy daydream.

Then there’s a field goal by the other team. The one the table in the corner roots for. Their passion should set the bar for everyone. The corner table fills the next few hours with cheers to everyone else’s boos until they trade off when the opposing team scores.

The passion continues until the clock runs out. People at the corner table slip out with long faces just before the end of the game. The rest celebrate the victory with another round. Then another. Life goes on even though a murder may have happened here.

If you choose to watch the 2022 Super Bowl on Sunday, notice the level of passion you and your fellow sports fans display. Are their similar or even better reactions to things that really matter?

I don’t know the answers, but we can have some fun observing.

Filed Under: Blogs Tagged With: bengels, novel, passion, rams, reading, romantic suspense, super bowl, thriller

The power of books to move a nation #TxLA21 #SCBWI #PowerofBooks

April 22, 2021 by addisonbrae

Have you ever read a book that dramatically affected your mood? Maybe it was an autobiography that motivated you to change careers. It could be a book, news story, or movie that simply left you angry. Perhaps it was a novel—or even a song—that gave you the courage to face a problem relationship.

This is where I believe authors, librarians, and booksellers can help. At the minimum, books should provide an escape from whatever bleakness readers face each day.

People of all ages in every nation feel more lonely, alienated, and anxious after our experiences over the last year. Many face job loss, isolation, struggling economies, losing family and friends. Students struggle to maintain grades and continue to develop social skills with hybrid virtual and in-person learning. Plus many extra-curricular activities are canceled. The way students fare is heavily dependent on how parents cope. But adults and kids are losing their purpose.

Statistics show rises in emergency room visits for mental health issues among teens and adults as well as sharp increases in substance abuse.

  • Drug overdose deaths surged during the pandemic topping 87,000 in the 12 months through September 2020. (CDC)
  • Almost half of adults (47%) report worry or stress from the pandemic that affects their mental health, including 61% of young adults. (March 2021 KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor, Kaiser Family Foundation)
  • The number of mental-health-related emergency room visits rose by 24% for 5- to 11-year-olds and 31% for 12- to 17-year-olds between mid-March and mid-October 2020. These increases add to the rising anxiety, depression, and suicide incidents among children and teens before the pandemic. (CDC, based on pediatric ER study in major Texas metro city).
  • Two-thirds of 7- to 15-year olds had clinically significant anxiety, depression symptoms, and behavioral problems. Before the pandemic, 30% had anxiety and depression symptoms, and 20% behavioral problems. (Harvard University study of 224 children Nov. 2020-Jan. 2021)
  • 3 in 4 parents say COVID19 has negatively impacted their teen’s ability to interact with friends, and 46% of parents say their child has shown signs of a new or worsening mental health condition since the pandemic started. (C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health Poll of 977 parents of teens, Mar. 2021)

People are vulnerable. We are susceptible to fear. We’re also susceptible to encouragement and hope.

Thanks to Hollywood filmmakers, many of our new movie choices include murder, fatal illness, serial killers, scams, and dystopian worlds-one where people are shut out of their town.

Conflict is a basic component of every book (or movie). Authors are taught to include conflict in every scene; even on every page. Conflict on the page can transfer the same conflict and emotions to readers. Hate. Fear. Mistrust. When authors carefully craft how their characters deal with conflict on the page, I believe readers can absorb similar approaches. Smart reactions without hate and violence can positively impact readers’ moods; perhaps offer optimism and hope. Authors have a voice. Think about what readers will hear and use that voice responsibly.

A vulnerable customer base opens an incredible opportunity for librarians and booksellers to make a difference. Feature books that encourage hope. Promote non-fiction and fiction that inspire people toward peaceful resolutions—no matter if the story’s main conflict happens in ancient history, today, or in a futuristic world. Share lists and recommendations on social media to reach more readers. Use the power of persuasion so storytelling can impact conflict – in only good ways.

The long-term mental effect of the world’s current state on people of all ages is to be determined. I’m calling for authors, librarians, and retailers to recommend books to keep the mood hopeful and optimistic. The individual impact may feel small, but together, our hopeful voices can make a difference.

Uplifting and feel-good books:
Add your feel-good book recommendations to social media and I’ll add them to this list.

  • (book for librarians, authors, retailers that explains the effect of “high conflict” on people) High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out, Amanda Ripley, Simon & Schuster
  • 15 feel-good books guaranteed to lift your spirits, The Washington Post, Oct. 20, 2020
  • 50 happy books to read in 2020, TeachThought, May 24, 2020
  • 14 of the best feel-good books, Good Housekeeping, May 27, 2020
  • Reading as self-care: Snuggle up with one of these uplifting novels, Get Literary, February 17, 2021
  • The best uplifting books and feel-good reads, Pan MacMillan, Apr. 2, 2021
  • Feel Good Book Lists, Goodreads, updated regularly

Let’s work together to boost the nation’s mood with books!

Filed Under: Blogs

How characters find a place to call home

March 30, 2021 by addisonbrae

Sugar Creek, Missouri

Book heroines often mirror what happens in real life and return to their childhood hometowns. Some have a sense of adventure that takes them across the country or to the other side of the world. Just like us, other main characters fight to escape bad memories by moving as far away as possible.

Gillian, the heroine in Dark Energy, Return to Becker Circle, opted to leave her small-town childhood home of Sugar Creek, Missouri behind. Gillian’s world crashed when her mom lost her battle with cancer. Then she watched her father slip into the bottle. Gillian could mix the best martini of any 12-year-old. Luckily the bar where he was a regular was only a block from their house, so he could stumble home safely. Gillian left her hometown as soon as she could with a scholarship to Harvard.

Becker Circle

After graduation, Gillian headed to Dallas for a fresh start. The weather was warmer than Boston or Sugar Creek. It was a great place to find an accounting job. There were tons of young professionals. And Dallas was far away from her past.

Kross Lounge & Restaurant, Sugar Creek

I researched middle-America towns near metropolitan areas to create Gillian’s roots and found Sugar Creek. Visual mapping and websites helped me locate her schools, part-time job, newspaper where her father was the editor, home, and the bar in the next block.

Visiting Sugar Creek confirmed the town was right for Gillian. Sugar Creek has a Moose Lodge, town gazebo, and shady streets lined with pre-WWII homes. Best of all is the Kross Lounge & Restaurant, exactly the place I picture as the local bar where Gillian’s dad was a regular. It’s a place where everyone knows your name. I ate lunch at the bar and chatted with the bartender who had worked there for 19 years. When I told her why I was visiting, she agreed she would likely be the one who made sure Gillian’s dad made it home.

Blending fiction with real settings and situations helps create relatable characters. Most people who’ve worked hard to start over in a fresh place will understand why Gillian might have selected her new Dallas neighborhood home.

How did you find your place to call home?

Filed Under: Blogs Tagged With: accountant, addison, bar, bartender, becker circle, boston, character development, dallas, dallastx, dark energy, gazebo, harvard, heroine, home, kross lounge, manager, martini, missouri, moose lodge, newspaper, restaurant, st. louis, sugar creek

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