Addison Brae

Author

romantic suspense

Dark Energy – song behind the scenes

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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.

Live your fresh start

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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!

Super Bowl Passion

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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.

Whistle Bitch’s playlist

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Whistle Bitch can whistle a tune to fit any situation. Her real name is Makinzie. She’s one of my favorite Becker Circle and Dark Energy characters. She earned the nickname from her coworkers because of her amazing talent and ability to brings smiles to any stressful situation with her tunes.

Makinzie is a server and bartender (and cook when they’re in a pinch) in Pinkie’s Too and the George & Dragon, the two bars where these stories take place. A real bartender in an all-night bar/diner near the Space Needle in Seattle inspired Whistle Bitch because she whistles while she works.

Here is Whistle Bitch’s playlist, in the order the songs show up in the two books. Take a listen. This playlist is 45-minutes of music that will make you dance and smile, just like Whistle Bitch does in the book. Curious what situations triggered Makinzie to whistle these songs? Both books are available on most ebook retail sites.

Find Becker Circle & Dark Energy – Whistle Bit*h’s Playlist on Spotify.

You are the Sunshine of my Life by Stevie Wonder
Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen
Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley
Holiday by Madonna
You’re Gonna Miss Me by 13th Floor Elevators
Tequila by The Champs
9 to 5 by Dolly Parton
Material Girl by Madonna
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
Cheers (Drink to That) by Rihanna
The Twilight Zone Main Theme by Geek Music
Dark Energy by Brian Miller
Dark Energy .germans remix by Brian Miller and Bobby Hoke

The last two songs are bonus tracks I co-wrote to go with the books. Jon, the adorable guy in one of the bands falls for Gillian, the main character, who inspires him to write a song called Dark Energy in the Becker Circle story. As Jon explained the song to Gillian, “I wrote it about someone who had a streak of bad luck and how they changed it with good karma.”

Listen for Track 12 (on Spotify) toward the end of the book trailer. If you are a Foo Fighters fan, you will like Dark Energy.

Find your beat today with a little music.

Who shoots a book trailer in a bar during a pandemic?

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We do. Sometimes I wonder if it was dark energy that kept creeping in and disrupting our efforts.

The Dark Energy trailer script had been written for months. The talented actors who played Gillian and her boyfriend Jon in the Becker Circle trailer had already agreed to reprise their roles. A friend was the exact Pinkie I envisioned. With a little coaxing, he accepted the offer to play Pinkie. We were looking into bars to use as the location.

Then COVID.

Restaurants and bars closed. People quarantined. The book released in June, and we didn’t give up.

In July, bars had to close again. We took a chance and asked a bar owner we know if we could shoot in his bar while it was closed. He said yes. We jumped on a date when the location and small cast and crew were available. We found some great props and gathered a few extras. We took a late afternoon into the evening to shoot several scenes.  

Editing takes specialized equipment and skills to put the right footage together to tell the story, record voiceover, select music, and add cover art, publisher information, and a purchase link. Do you recognize the green computer code as the trailer begins? A brilliant addition!

This trailer is extra special because of the song Dark Energy you hear toward the end. The song plays a huge role in both novels since the main character inspired the song. Look for Dark Energy by Brian Miller (Amazon, Spotify) and Dark Energy .germans mix by Brian Miller and Bobby Hoke (Amazon, Spotify) on your favorite music retail and streaming sites.

There’s no better way to bring a story to life than with film. That’s why some authors create trailers to help market their books. The experience creating this trailer was completely different than the one for Becker Circle. Book trailers of this quality are possible for me since I’ve assisted with hundreds of videos in my day job, but especially because of my good friend who’s an experienced, talented videographer.

This trailer is surrounded by talent. Dustin Grant, Pink Mouse Blue Mouse Productions, produced, directed, and edited the video. John Harrell of Harrell Creative art directed it and designed the art cards and album art. Katlyn Steele plays Gillian, including voiceover, and Rafeal Villagas plays Jon. This is Vermaine Howard’s acting debut as Pinkie. Numerous amazing friends pitched in as crew and also extras that make the neighborhood really come alive. I’m grateful to everyone who helped make it happen!

The trailer for Dark Energy turned out better than I could have imagined. My favorite words during the process…

That’s a wrap! 

Fictional song now real

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Dark Energy .germans mix featuring Brian Miller & Bobby Hoke lyrics by Addison Brae from the Becker Circle novel series

Music has always been a part of my life. All the way through school I played instruments, took part in church choir. My favorite tunes were on while I did homework. The songs that inspired me most calmed my nerves before the most dreaded college finals. My first marketing job was radio and music video promotions for a major record company. But I never had enough talent and drive to be a professional musician.

Music also inspires me. It’s always playing in the background while I write. Dark Energy and Becker Circle take place in the bar scene around live music. Jon, the adorable guy in one of the bands falls for Gillian, the main character, who inspires him to write a song called Dark Energy in 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 Dark Energy: Return to Becker Circle. The song had to be written in reality.

The song symbolizes the dark energy and dark matter theory in the cosmos. Dark matter allows gravity to pull stars, suns, planets, and other matter together the way I see some people draw us together. Dark energy is the vast empty space that opposes dark matter. It slips into the voids of our lives trying to disrupt like it pushes matter apart attempting to destroy our universe.

I never dreamed I would become a songwriter. Thanks to Brian Miller and Bobby Hoke, Dark Energy has music and is recorded and released. Listen for this version toward the end of the book trailer. And now we have Dark Energy .germans mix by Brian Miller and Bobby Hoke, released on March 5.

The chorus below (and all of the lyrics) represents the strength people possess that can help them push past economic, emotional and other hardships that strike even the most careful and good people.

Chorus
Find someone else to conquer.
What does it mean this dark energy?
Dark energy won’t control my fate.
I don’t deserve this dark energy.

Deep thanks to Brian for writing the music and recording both songs, and to Bobby for his vision for the .germans mix and for 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.

You can 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 Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, and Apple Music.

Find your dark matter and enjoy the songs.