Words About Music

Jamie’s Children is in the process of being formatted for publication. Since I self-publish through CreateSpace and am fortunate enough (or maybe unfortunate enough!) to have the skills, I do this myself. It’s a tedious and painstaking task albeit a rewarding one as I begin to see the manuscript take the form in which it will be introduced to the world. This is the part of being a self-published author which is more craft than art, though I try to make my books as visually appealing as I possibly can.

I like doing it. I re-read as I format, finding a few things (today: a quote within a quote which required single quotation marks … glad I caught that!) and changing things occasionally … a sentence which worked better by moving phrases around a bit. Trying different type faces for different elements in the book: the body type, chapter headings, section headings.

Jamie’s Children is divided into four parts. I had no dedication as yet for the book but have left a page for one, and each part begins with a separate page for the section heading. And I had a thought: why not use some thoughts on music ─ since music and musicians are once again what this story is about ─ at the beginning of the book, and prior to each section? So I’ve been looking up quotes. A lot of people have tried to express what music means to them.

I’ve used my favorite quote often: “Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music” – Sergei Rachmaninoff, my favorite composer. One many people know by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “Music is the universal language of mankind.” I love this: “Music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.” Another genius composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

I’d enjoy hearing from people who might read this blog which quotes about music you especially appreciate! Please leave a comment in the comments section or wherever you pick up this blog post. A chance for you to write some “words and music” of your own. I’ll share these in another blog post if I get enough responses.

Jamie’s Children will be released sometime in late June. Here’s one more quote, from my character Niall Logan (one of those children the book is about):

 “It’s more than music: it’s light. It’s love. It’s life.”

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