Guestie: Allie Burke!

Allie Burke a Cali born Writer is the Author of The Enchanters Series. Allie writes with passion. With a vigor that compels you to keep reading. Every writer has doubts at one point or another but Allie listened to her heart and continued writing. I’m sure she realizes just how great a choice she made. Allie and I “met” via Friend and Writer Christin Mowery when I Guested on Christins blog.  I have not only come to know her as a Writer but as a Friend. In the era of Twitter and Facebook a virtual friendship is what some would call it. I disagree. Show your support and #WriterLove and Like her fan page and read more about her here.

With this post she allows us into her mind and heart. I for one can say…music is perhaps the greatest muse for me as a writer. As a person. I can not be one day without it.

I look forward to sharing more of Allie’s work with you all and as we join in future projects, you will see what #epic truly is.

Without further ramblings by me here is Allie.

The choice between music and writing is… nothing.

A “passionate” Guestie by Allie Burke.

Music. It is… me.

It is my life. My muse. Inspiration. My love. It is… me.

When I say that, for approximately sixteen hours a day, music shadows my existence, I do not exaggerate. My iPod is within reach when I wake up in the morning. As I speak to my customers throughout the day, pressing the phone against my ear, I embrace the music through the other side of my head. Before embarking upon the journey that is my short walk from the office to the car, and the even shorter walk from the car to my apartment, I whip out that slim piece of equipment with an apple etched onto the back. It’s as if, I cannot survive those two minutes without the tunes. I don’t know if I can. I have no desire to try.

My taste for music is… vast. It is extensive and, does not discriminate.

I kindly ask you not to quote me on the following, as this statement which is a fact today, could be, tomorrow, merely a memory.

Rise Against is my favorite band.

Rise Against is my favorite band, today. Yesterday, it was Foo Fighters. Last week, it was Rise Against.

I have a special admiration for Tim McIlrath. Not only do I melt beneath the voice of Tim McIlrath, lead vocalist for Rise Against, but it is the person, Tim McIlrath, which I love.

I shall not sit here and label myself Allie Burke: The Anarchist. I will not claim that I agree with everything Tim McIlrath sings of, or of which he speaks. I will not lie.

I will, however, assert my belief that the passion this man has for his music, is deeper than any I, in twenty-years of life, I, a lover of everything music, have ever encountered.

Passion. It’s why we write, isn’t it?

Oh. You write because it’s “just another job”. Ha. Yeah, okay. Whatever.

Alright. Now that THAT GUY is gone. We write because we love it. Because we crave it. Because it is our destiny, because writing is a passion, and we can’t live without it.

But, I can’t live without music. And neither can Tim McIlrath. Listen to one song. Any song. Whether or not you like the genre of music, even if you couldn’t care less about music. Listen to his voice for two minutes, listen and then gaze directly in my eyes and tell me that you can’t understand why Rise Against has been the sole inspiration for my WIP.

You can’t, can you?

Yes, that’s right. (One of the) projects I’m working on at the moment, was, and is, in its entirety, inspired by Rise Against. And when it is done, you can be sure that novel will be, in its entirety, dedicated, to Rise Against. It will be dedicated to their music, their talent, their… passion for the art that has so effectively inspired me.

I love Rise Against. I do. They are my favorite band. Today.

But, while I’ve been known to bow to the sounds of A Wilhelm Scream, of Ignite (which inspired the character Daniel Linden, that whose voice opens my latest published venture, Emerald Destiny), I do not label myself a “Grunge” or “Punk” junkie.

I recently interviewed metal-core band Perception of Intent, which was an awe-inspiring experience. I was honored. The guys from Perception of Intent are widely talented, decidedly hilarious, and… you guessed it. Passionate for their music. They are one of the best out there right now.

 ForthAngel. Whooo these guys are amazing. Newly discovered, like, what, Tym? Couple days ago? Lol.

There is a special quality to this Rock/Metal/Hardcore band from Minnesota. A special quality that is… just that. They. Rock. On the surface they are metal-ish, and beneath the hardcore voices, entwined into the pitched shredding, is a passionate, melodic beauty that has the power to inspire the imagination, to embed in the mind that vivid imagery that every writer dreams of.

My taste for music is… vast. It is extensive and, does not discriminate.

Right now, I’m listening to The Black Keys. Their sound is mellow, and… I’m writing.

As you may or may not have heard, I don’t do the playlist thing.

I know. I’m sorry.

I don’t do playlists. I don’t like them. I have thousands of songs on my computer. Thousands. How on earth do you expect me to…

Never mind. Bottom line is, in the time it takes to compile ninety-two playlists, I could be writing WAY more than ninety-two words. Aside from work, husband, reading, and just, workin’ that Indie angle, my writing time is cut short as is. No playlists for me.

So, The Black Keys. (Thank your lucky stars I stopped when I did. That little playlist madness had the potential to grow into a very exhausting rant.) Mellow. No, I don’t listen to them just because they’re mellow. I listen to them because their sound is unique. Because in my head I can give myself to the beat as my eyes flutter closed. Because I like them. They’re good.

I do listen to them, while I’m writing, because they’re mellow.

The whole, pretty music during a love scene or, the scary song while writing of the epic fight? Yeah, I don’t do that either. If you do, I think that’s great. Truly. But, I just… don’t.

I’ve listened to Rise Against while writing. To Ignite. A Wilhelm Scream. Megadeth. Dio. A Day to Remember. Perception of Intent and beyond.

But, most of the time, as I write, I go mellow.

The Black Keys. The Temper Trap. 311. (I met Tim Mahoney and P-Nut once, and I’ve seen them like, four times). Bill Joel. (Seen him, too.) Florence and the Machine. Coldplay. Dave Matthews. Jack Johnson. John Mayer. Mumford and Sons. Alice in Chains.

I listen to Taylor Swift, too.

Wait. What?

Yes. I listen to Rise Against. And… Taylor Swift. I’m sorry if you think that’s ridiculous. If you will judge me as a person with a taste for music that is no taste at all. But, I love Taylor Swift. I can pin her as one of my favorites. She is beautiful. Her music… is beautiful.

“I was enchanted to meet you…”

Um. Hello. Allie Burke, here. Enchanted? Oh, yeah. You better believe I’m all over that.

Taylor Swift is a Writer. Not a Songwriter, but a Writer, Writer. I don’t know if she is aware. Probably not, or she would have written like, six books, by now. Listen to her. Her words. Google her lyrics. Taylor Swift is a Writer! I’m telling you. And when she realizes it, I’ll be the first one in line to buy her book. The first one to devour her story, and to embrace her words.

The mellow stuff. Why?

Cuz.

The music is neutral. Mellow harmonies that set the mood of my writing, but are not so overbearing that they will choose to spin the words and throw them back in my face. A middle ground. Gentle sounds and voices that inspire, that warm the heart and comfort the soul, but are… obedient. Music that is willing to stand down, retire to the background, surrender to the influence of the storytellers. The imaginary friends. The voices inside my head. (I’m aware of how crazy I sound most of the time, yes. But if you write, you know what I’m talkin’ about. Back me up here, mah people.)

But, mellow, grungy, punky or metal-ish, music is… music. It is passion. Love. I can’t write in silence. I can’t live in silence. Does this mean music is more important to me, than writing? Would I choose music?

Nope.

I wouldn’t choose writing either.

The choice between music and writing is… nothing.

Music is writing. I’m a writer. And music… is me.

Violet Midnight is currently available on paperback at Amazon & Lulu, on Kindle and on Nook. Get it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go read more about Allie here in this grrreat interview: http://wrenemerson.wordpress.com/