Happy Birthday, Jesse!

For those who visit this site regularly, you know Fridays are usually my Song of the Week day...um....when I actually get around to posting a Song of the Week, that is.  But we'll just bypass that I've been a bit remiss in that area lately.  Well, this week I'm posting a song, and for someone very special to me, Jesse Alexander.

If you've read the Conquest books, you know who Jesse is, the lead singer of the band Conquest and married to superstar singer, Evan Arden.  As stated in the stories, today, October 7th, is Jesse's birthday.  In my writing life thus far, I've worked with many guys, but Jesse is the most special to me.  He came to me stronger than anyone ever had and he stays close to me even now.  He drove me to become a  published author, and I continue to give him credit for it happening.  For that, I'll always be grateful to him.

So on his birthday, here is a song for him and Evan, Pachelbel's Canon in D, their song.  I'm sure Evan will be busting out his Stradivarius tonight for Jesse to play for him like he did that very first time :-)

Jesse, Evan, I know you guys have a special and fun day planned that will go on well into the night, but I just want to say to you, Jesse, happy birthday.  Thank you for all you've given me.



And of course, I claim no ownership rights to this song, the music, the image, video, or Pachelbel.  All belongs to the rightful copyright holders.  I do, however, claim ownership of Jesse and Evan :-)

Song of the Week - "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5

It's been a while since I posted a song or some Weekly Inspiration, so I thought I'd offer a little of both at once in this Song of the Week post, since this video has the lead singer of Maroon 5, Adam Levine, shirtless and getting his rock star swagger on.  Yeah, watching him in this video reminds me why I've written so much about rock stars ;-)  So he's the inspiration part of this post.  For the song part, this is Maroon 5's newest single, and I have to say, I kinda love it.  How can you not love a song that's paying homage to one of the greatest rockers of all time, Mick Jagger?  Not to mention how sexy the lyrics are.  It takes a little while in the video before the music gets going, almost a minute, but trust me, it's worth the wait.

For more about Maroon 5, you can check out their official website: http://www.maroon5.com/  You can also find all the links to their social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter there, and where you can purchase this song.

And now for my don't sue me message.  I claim no ownership or rights to this video, song, lyrics, music, imagery, Adam Levine (sadly), or anything Maroon 5.  All belongs to the rightful copyright holder(s).  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi

So for the Song of the Week, I'm going with one of my all time favorite bands, Bon Jovi.  Yep, I've adored them since I was a teenager, and we won't go into how long ago that was ;-)  This song, "It's My Life", is one of my favorites, but my list of favorites by them is huge.  I heard this one on the radio this week, though, and it reminded me of my love for it.

To learn more about Bon Jovi, head on over to their official website: http://www.bonjovi.com/  And you guys know the drill, here's my don't sue me message...I claim no ownership or rights to this video, song, music, lyrics, or anything Bon Jovi.  All belong to the rightful copyright holder(s).  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "Whataya Want From Me" by Adam Lambert

Wow.  What a little slice of insanity this week has been.  I'm always saying that lately, aren't I?  But it's true!  And this week I was once again plagued by computer troubles.  First it was software issues a couple weeks ago, now hardware.  Ugh.  Still, I keep working around it and trying to get some words down.  The good news is, the sequel to NATURAL INSTINCTS is nearly finished!  Woo hoo!  Real life and my computer's fits have put me really behind on it.  I wanted to have it finished by the end of May.  Yeah, it's now the end of June.  But hey, finished late is better than not finished at all, I say!

Now, on to the Song of the Week!  This week I gotta go with Adam Lambert.  He rocks, he's hugely talented, and he's a total cutie ;-)  I probably don't need to say much else, except if you'd like to learn more about him, here's his official website: http://www.adamofficial.com/us/news and you can find the link to his Twitter there, too. 

And of course, I must include my don't-sue-me message.  I claim no ownership to this song, lyrics, music, video, or images.  All belongs to the rightful copyright holder(s).  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele

I've been hearing this song on the radio for weeks, and pretty much every five minutes.  But you know, it never gets old for me.  I love everything about it; Adele's voice, the lyrics, the harmonies, the beat, all of it.  That's why I'm finally giving it a Song of the Week spot.  I just have to!  If you'd like to learn more about Adele, here's the link to her official website: http://www.adele.tv/

And as always, I claim no ownership rights to this song, video, images, lyrics, music, or anything therein.  All belongs to the rightful copyright holder(s).  Enjoy!

Update and Song of the Week - "Written in the Stars" by Tinie Tempah featuring Eric Turner

I'm baaaack!  Well, for now.  Hopefully for a little longer, but that's unpredicitable at the moment since my computer is in an all out rebellion against me.  It started acting wonky about two and a half weeks ago, but this week, it's really been throwing temper tantrums.  It's freezing up on me constantly, in Word and online.  Every day, I have to re-install Word to get it to open.  I've run virus scans, malware scan, other diagnostic tests...everything comes up with nothing.  Restored to system default settings, deleted unnecessary programs, still nothing helps.  It's locking up in my email, Blogger, Facebook, Goodreads, and other pages, so if you've sent me an email lately or if it seems like I've fallen off the face of the earth, that's why.  Sorry!  I think, though, I'm closing in on the problem and have figured out a back door solution to getting online.  I'm running Google Chrome now instead of Internet Explorer, and so far, it's a lot more stable.  So, it seems it's just all the Microsoft products that are in the rebellion *sigh*

But despite the fits Word is throwing, I'm still getting a few words down.  I'm working on a new rocker story that will be offered for FREE over on the M/M Romance Group at Goodreads.  They're holding an event called Hot July Days where people can post pics and write a premise to authors, hoping an author will write a story for them.  This is the image and premise I picked up.

Premise written by the poster, Mel:
Dear Author,

These two men used to be rivals.  A (country) music star who is the perfect son in law material and a volatile rock star with an attitude.  The men have been at odds for years, the media fueling their rivalry.  But somehow, their animosity turned to tenderness.  How did this happen?

Now, dear author, I realize this set up has the potential to produce a really sappy story.  I personally hate sap and anything resembling corniness.  I hope for anger, cynicism, and explosive emotions (translating to HOT sex!).  Oh, and tats and black eyeliner.

So with that premise, I'm sure everyone who's familiar with my work can see why I picked up this story to write.  You all know I'm a sucker for musicians ;-)  Only problem is, the story is turning out way longer than I anticipated!  These two are very chatty characters!  But hopefully everyone will enjoy it.

Other things I'm working on...well, pretty much just the sequel to NATURAL INSTINCTS.  I had hoped to have the first draft finished by the end of May, but between all my computer troubles and real life not playing nice, I'm way behind where I'd like to be on it.  But no worries.  I still think it's looking like it'll still release this year.

And so, that's what's been up with me.  Now on to the Song of the Week!  For this week, I'm putting up an artist I really know nothing about, Tinie Tempah.  Other than this song, "Written in the Stars", I haven't heard any more of his work, but I've really been liking this one when I've heard it on the radio, so I figured why not share it with y'all.  I did track down Tinie Tempah's website, just haven't had time to explore it.  I think I'm going to have to look into his music a little more when I get a chance.  If anyone would like to learn more about his music, here it is:  http://www.tinietempah.com/   

And even though I haven't been around for a while, you know I still have to post my don't-sue-me-message regarding the song.  I claim no ownership or rights to this song, video, imagery, lyrics, music, or anything therein.  All belongs to the rightful copyright holder(s).  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "Misery" by Maroon 5

I've been getting haunted by Maroon 5 this week.  Seriously, nearly every time I turn on the road, they're there, and when they're not, if I wait long enough, they'll come on.  But I'm not complaining!  With a lead singer like Adam Levine, how could I?  Since he and his band seem to be everywhere I turn right now, I thought, why not give them the Song of the Week spot?  I was a little torn between this song and "Wake Up Call", so you never know, they may end up getting another spot down the road ;-)

To learn more about Maroon 5, you can head on over to their official website: http://www.maroon5.com/  And as always, here comes the don't-sue-me-message.  I claim no ownership rights to this song, video, music, lyrics, images, or anything Maroon 5.  All belong to the rightful copyright holder(s).  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "September" by Daughtry

I'm giving Daughtry, one of my favorite bands, the Song of the Week spot this time around, and I'm sure it won't be the last time.  Actually, I can't believe I haven't given them a spot until now!  This song, "September" appears on their last album, Leave This Town.  It's one of their gentler songs, which is one of the things I like about them.  They can rock hard or slow things down, and sound great doing both.  If you'd like to check out more by them or see what they're up to, here's the link to their official website: http://www.daughtryofficial.com/us/home

As always, I claim no ownership to this video, song, images, music, or Daughtry.  All belongs to their rightful copyright holder(s).  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickelback

Woo hoo!  I'm actually getting a song up this week!   Yeah, it might not seem like a great accomplishment, but I take my victories where I can get them.  And for this week, Nickelback gets the Song of the Week spot with one of my favorite songs by them.  Not to mention since I've heard it four times on the radio on two different stations in the past week, after having not heard it for months, I took it as a hint it wanted to be the Song of the Week ;-)

While I was looking for the video, I discovered Nickelback doesn't like having their official videos shared, but I did find this video of just the album cover and song.  Which sometimes it's nice to just listen to the song without all the flashy, distracting video imagery.  To learn more about Nickelback, you can CLICK HERE for a huge fanclub site.  I don't know if it's supposed to be Nickelback's official website, it doesn't say, but it was the closest thing I could find, which was odd.  Usually finding websites for popular artists is super easy.

As always, I have no ownership rights to this video, song, lyrics, music, imagery, or anything Nickelback.  All belong to the rightful copyright holder(s).  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson

Woo hoo!  I'm finally getting a song up!  And it's one I have all kinds of love for.  Those who stop by regularly may remember when I put up Adam Lambert with "If I Had You" as Song of the Week, how I also went into a long digression about American Idol.  I said it wasn't until this season and with thanks to Steven Tyler that I've watched the show.  But you know, even though I've missed years of Idol, I have stayed up on the winners, and of all the winners and runners-up, Kelly Clarkson is one of my favorites.  I think she's got a great style to her, both musically and in every other way.

With this song, I love the beat and how she sings it.  But also, the lyrics remind me of a couple of my characters and their relationship.  It just hit me yesterday when I was driving and heard this song on the radio.  I was listening and then, wham!, my characters were there.  And nope, their book hasn't come out yet, but they have appeared in a couple of my other works.  Yeah, I know.  I'm being mean for not saying directly who it is.  Sorry!  It's author's privilege ;-) 

If you'd like to learn more about Kelly Clarkson, here's her official website: http://kellyclarkson.com/

And you know I have to do it; my Don't Sue Me message.  I claim no ownership or rights to this video, song, music, imagery, lyrics, or anything Kelly Clarkson.  All belong to the right copyright holder(s).  And now, enjoy!

Song of the Week - "Closer to the Edge" by Thirty Seconds To Mars

This week, I'm giving Thirty Seconds To Mars the Song of the Week spot with "Closer to the Edge".  You know, I have to admit, way back in the day before lead singer, Jared Leto, became the rock star he is now and his acting career was just taking off in the teen drama, My So Called Life, I had a huge crush on him. I guess I was about fourteen when that show was on, and honestly, he was the only reason I'd watch it.  I didn' like the rest of the show, but for him, I tolerated it and all its melodrama.  Ah, the crushes of youth.  Really, I should do a Weekly Inspiration post with him, for old time's sake ;-)

But I'm digressing.  On to the song!  "Closer to the Edge", is off their latest album, This is War.  I had a tough time deciding between this song, "Kings and Queens", "From Yesterday"...well, you get the point.  I had a hard time picking which song of theirs I wanted to put up.  I'll just have to give them another Song post down the road.  This video has a cinematic feel to it, as many of theirs do, and the concert footage is really fantastic.  To learn more about Thirty Seconds To Mars, here's their website/blog: http://thirtysecondstomars.thisisthehive.net/blog/, FACEBOOK, and TWITTER.

As usual, I claim no ownership to this video, music, song, images, or anything therein.  All belong to the rightful copyright holder(s).  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "Waiting for the End" by Linkin Park

I'm giving Linkin Park the Song of the Week spot this time around with "Waiting for the End".  This song is off their latest album A Thousand Suns, which came out in September 2010, and they actually should be releasing a new single, "Burning in the Skies" off it on March 21, 2011.  So they might end up getting a second Song of the Week spot :-)  I've enjoyed so much of their music over the years.  They really are a cool band with a sound wholly unique to them, and I think singer Chester Bennington has a fantastic voice.  If you'd like to learn more about them, here's their website http://www.linkinpark.com/, FACEBOOK, and TWITTER.

And of course, I do not own this video, music, lyrics, song, imagery, or anything therein.  All belongs to the rightful copyright holder(s).  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga with her brand new single, "Born This Way", gets the Song of the Week spot.  Ever since I heard this song a couple weeks ago, I've wanted to put it up here, but I thought I'd wait until the official video was released.  It's out now, but after watching it, I still opted to put up just the audio of the song since the video has a really long intro.  It's a mini-movie of Gaga in a futuristic setting giving birth with a whole storyline of...well, if you want to see it, the video is on YouTube and her Facebook.  It's very interesting and creative, but I know a lot of people just want to get to the music, so I'm going with that.  I really do LOVE this song and the message she's working to get across.  Hope you all will enjoy it, too!

For more on Lady Gaga, here's her official website: http://www.ladygaga.com/, her FACEBOOK, and TWITTER.  And of course, my don't sue me message; I do not own this song, lyrics, music, imagery, or anything therein, it all belongs to its rightful copyright holder(s).  And now without further ado, Lady Gaga with "Born This Way!"

Song of the Week - "Say Hey (I Love You)" by Michael Franti & Spearhead

I just have to give the Song of the Week spot to Michael Franti with "Say Hey."  This is one of my happy songs :-)  If I've had a rough day and need a pick-me-up, this song always helps to give my mood a boost.  And it's not the only Michael Franti song I go to for that.  "The Sound of Sunshine" is another great one where it's hard to listen to and not feel good.  I'll have to remember to give that one a Song of the Week spot, also.

One of the cool things about Michael Franti is he does a lot for charities and to raise awareness for humanitarian efforts, like Soles 4 Souls and CARE.  It's really nice to see an artist using their talent and popularity to help make the world a better place.  To learn more about him, check out his official website: http://michaelfranti.com/ 

And nope, I don't own this song, video, imagery, music, or anything connected to it, all belong to the rightful copyright holder(s).  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" by Aerosmith

Sorry, everyone, I'm a little late in getting a song up this week.  Been busy, busy, busy!  But hey, here's some good news.  I might have a new FREE short story for you guys soon!

For now, though, onto some music.  Last week, all through Adam Lambert's Song of the Week spot I kept talking about Steven Tyler, and after that I decided I had to put up an Aerosmith song this week.  The only problem was, what song?  I love so many they've done.  Should I go with "Angel", "Sweet Emotion", "Living on the Edge"...   The more I thought on it, the more songs that I've enjoyed by them came to mind.  Then, over on author Ethan Day's Yahoo group, a friend posted a video for me of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (thank you again, Cinders!), and that's when I knew what song I had to put up.  This is one of my all-time favorites by Aerosmith, and I hope you guys enjoy it, too! 

For more on Aerosmith, check out their official website: http://www.aerosmith.com/  And as usual, I don't own this video, song, images, or anything therein :-)

Song of the Week - "If I Had You" by Adam Lambert

For this week's song, I'm bringing Adam Lambert with "If I Had You," as well as a confession along with it.  What's my confession you ask?  I'll tell you.  Other than the very first episode of the very first season, I've never watched American Idol.  There, I said it!  For as much as I love music, I couldn't bring myself to watch it.  Why?  Because I couldn't take how some of the contestants were treated.  After that one episode, I'd see clips of it on the news and Simon Cowell tearing people down, and it'd do nothing but irritate me.  Was I being over-sensitive?  It's possible.  But I can't stand to see anyone ridiculed, so I stayed away from the show.

Then I heard Simon was leaving and found out who was replacing him, the lead singer from one of my all-time favorite bands, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith.  So I thought I'd give Idol another chance, though admittedly, I went into it with trepidation, thinking to myself, "Please, Steven, don't be mean to these people and make me not like you anymore."  I'm happy to say, he's been great so far.  Sure, he's had a harsh moment here and there, but overall, not too bad, and he's actually been really sweet to a lot of the people.  I think Jennifer Lopez has been adorable and also a gentle judge.  Randy...he could stand to be nicer at times.  But I'm handling watching Idol much better than I ever thought I would.

So, that's my confession.  And with that off my chest, on to Adam Lambert.  Unfortunately I never saw him on American Idol, but I think it's wonderful that even though he didn't win on the show, his talent was still recognized.  He really is a fun performer.  For those who'd like to learn more about him, you can check out his website here:  http://www.adamofficial.com/us/intro

And you guys know the routine.  I don't own this video, song, or imagery.  All of it belongs to the rightful copyright owner.  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "21 Guns" by Green Day

This week's song goes to Green Day with "21 Guns."  I'll admit, for whatever reason, I had fallen out of touch with Green Day in recent years, but not long ago I heard this song again and it reminded me of them.  There's just something about it where all it takes is one listen, and it's stuck in your head.  Or that happens to me, anyhow.  I had to go with putting up a live performance of it since the embed code for studio version's official video was disabled on YouTube, but this is a good performance, I think.

And since I'm all about making life easy, if anyone wants to see what the band's up to, click here for their website: http://www.greenday.com/  If you head over there, you'll see they have a new live album coming out March 2011 titled Awesome as F**k. 

On a completely separate note, I just checked our Inspiration poll, and we've got a three-way tie going between Leonardo Corredor, Gackt, and Baptiste Giabiconi!  Unless some last minute votes come in, we're going to have three winners!  If we do end up in a tie, I'll have to decide if next week I want to do one massive Weekly Inspiration post with the winners, or if I want to run a quick poll between them to get one to come out on top.  Decisions, decisions.

But now, back to the Song of the Week.  As usual, I claim no ownership rights to this song, video, or anything attached to Green Day :-)  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "Ice Cream Truck" by Cazwell

Finally, the week is coming to an end.  For me, it's been a long one, and so I thought I'd put up something fun for the Song of the Week, "Ice Cream Truck" by Cazwell, an American rapper and songwriter.  I saw this video a couple months ago and I've been meaning to feature it here because the song has such a fun, sexy, cute vibe, but for some reason I haven't gotten around to sharing it yet.  Too much music, not enough time!  But, now is Cazwell's time. 

With this video for "Ice Cream Truck", I should say if you don't want to see guys dancing in their underwear, shaking and showing their booties, being silly and doing sexually suggestive things, you might want to pass on this one.  Okay, I can see some of the confused looks saying, "Why wouldn't we want to see that?!", but hey, I never know who's going to stop by here, so I have to warn the unsuspecting ;-)  For those who'd like to learn more about Cazwell, here's the link to his official site: http://cazwell.com/

And now, your Song of the Week, Cazwell with "Ice Cream Truck."  And also my don't sue me message, I don't own this video, song, images, or anything therein.  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "Carmen Fantasie" and "La Califfa" performed by David Garrett

I'm putting up two songs for this week, both performed by renowned virtuoso, David Garrett, "Carmen Fantasie" and "La Califfa." 

David gets the Song of the Week spot for a few reasons.  First, he's my favorite violinist.  No matter what he plays, classical to rock covers, you can truly feel the emotion of the music.  The first time I heard him play "La Califfa", it honestly brought tears to my eyes, it was so beautiful.  And even after all this time, it still does from time to time.  The second reason David's up this week, I'm working on a new story about a classical violinist.  He's good inspiration :-)  And the third reason, and probably the main one, I'm currently in mourning that David is finally on tour in the U.S., he's coming to a city near me, but I can't go to his concert.  Yes, that heartbroken wail you just heard in the distance, it was me. 

His newest album, Rock Symphonies, is available at iTunes, Amazon, and tons of other retailers, and his website is loaded with info.  If anyone would like to check it out, here's the link to his official site: http://www.david-garrett.com/

As usual, I don't own the music, the video, the imagery, or anything tied to David Garrett, including tickets to his concert.  I'll get over it.  Really, I will.  Probably.  But now, without further ado, I present David Garrett.  Enjoy!

Song of the Week - "Tonight" by Enrique Iglesias featuring Ludacris

Ah, Enrique Iglesias, the Song of the Week spot is all his this week.  If only the video of him water skiing naked, as he promised to do if Spain won the World Cup, wasn't so dark, blurry, and bouncing all over the place, I'd put that up instead of one of his songs.  But hey, I'm still giving him a round of applause for being a man of his word and following through on that bet.  Hmm, you know, I might have to do a Weekly Inspiration with him.  I'll store that thought for later.

With this song, I thought I'd put up the clean version, and my personal preference, the explicit version.  The song and video for both is the same, only one particular word in the chorus is different, so you can take your pick of which you like better.  And the video itself has some naughty going on, so I'll give a warning to any who might not want to see it.  It was kind of tricky finding the actual video with the explicit version, and on every single one I watched, it freezes up at around 3:15 into the song, but I think everyone can get the idea of the song regardless ;-)  For those who'd like to learn more about Enrique, here's his official website: http://www.enriqueiglesias.com/, and this song is available for download on iTunes.

And of course, I have no ownership to this song, video, imagery, or anything connected to Enrique Iglesias.  Now, enjoy!

Clean Version



Explicit Version