#Arista Reviews

[author-a-holmes]

A Captured Cauldron - ARC Review

A Captured Cauldron is the second book in this series, and once again RK Ashwick didn't disappoint.

It was a delight to return to Rosemond Street and reconnect with the bright, original, characters that inhabit it (Although, personally, I missed Ambrose the most!)

This time, there's a Potions Convention, and it brought back many fond memories of my own visits to Con's, so much so that even though I knew to expect the imminent kidnapping from the blurb, I was STILL shocked when it actually happened.

Book Two also has a new POV in the form of Dawn, the lovely wandmaker of Rosemond and Ambrose's best friend. I'm not always a fan of additional POVs in later books, but in this instance, it worked wonders. It gave us the opportunity to see how other people in Rosemond Street were handling Ambrose being missing, other than Eli who, for obvious reasons, was a mess.

It was also lovely to watch Dawn try and navigate the guilt she felt handling a new crush, while her best friend is missing. Overall, A Captured Caldron was a delight from start to finish. I finished the entire book in under five hours, and I can't wait to get my hands on a paperback so I can coo over that glorious cover.

I received an ARC of this book from the author, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[thepermanentrainpress]

JONAH KAGEN: GEORGIA GOT COLDER

georgia got colder – Jonah Kagen Release Date: December 2nd, 2022

Track Listing:

1. hill that i’ll die on 2. graveyard shift 3. georgia 4. barcelona 5. broken 6. colorado 7. CHEMICALS!

georgia got colder is an upbeat and emotional release. There's a mix of acoustic guitar, poignant piano, and soothing reflective vocals that make for a lovely debut EP. It's a journey of emotions and experiences, happy and sad, rapid and steady. 

The opening track, “hill that i’ll die on,” is a soft tune that sets a tone for the whole EP. It is a direct message of support to someone; a declaration of love pledging to make it through challenges and preserve a relationship. This is a positive and sweet song, very romantic and wholesome. It is a contrast to the other tunes intentionally – no doubt setting a mood and making the later songs all the more sad.

The next song is more folk sounding, especially during the chorus with some cool distortion. It starts out light and goes into a full, rising tempo. It continues the theme of standing by your romantic partner, thus the titular repetition "No matter how dark it gets, I'll take the graveyard shift." So far it's still pretty happy – we're on a high.

As we move on, the material gets slower and sadder. It's about forgetting someone and trying to reclaim memories of the past, describing past experiences and wishing to go back from the present of a broken heart. It's clear Jonah has a lot of genuine feeling and personal experience poured into these songs, and it's easy to understand his emotions released through the music. There's regret and even remorse poured into this one.

"barcelona" in the middle is my favourite of everything here. It's a very catchy tune with a very cool production style. There's lots of clicks and backing sounds in the rhythm, and I definitely got it stuck in my head. There's even the sound of a ringtone briefly during the line "Did you lose your phone?”... it's just very well engineered and has a pop sound. It's a bit different from the rest of the songs but still fits with the emotional themes. The lyrics speak of jealousy and isolation, all while someone is away on vacation. There's not a dull moment in this song, just a head banger all the way through.

Track 5 goes back to the sad and soft style. In contrast to the earlier songs, “broken” is about being lonely and "begging you to come and pull me out the fire." The singer needs to be saved and return to happier times in the past, emerging from "the ashes and smoke." It is a lament, being disappointed in past behaviour and ruining the chances. The mood is all over the place in this EP. One goes through a journey of emotions in just 20 minutes.

We continue with the geography theme in a song about "colorado." This is dominated by a minor key piano riff. There's more reflection and imagery of travel until it eventually goes into a crescendo of harmonizing instruments, the singer wailing of an experience no longer real, only in his dreams.

The final song is perhaps the most angsty and sad. Jonah drops a couple F-bombs as he repeats that he's feeling fine and it's all chemicals. It ends on a sudden note, the final line repeating this mantra. Maybe he lost his "f***ing mind" but pills ("God's medicine") will stabilize him – perhaps. Each song is short but packs a punch, the finale making a simple but tough statement on an emotional state. In the end, it is all chemicals – but they still hurt. We're left on an abrupt and sad conclusion, going from joy and sweetness to abandonment and loss of hope.

georgia got colder is a short and sweet release that takes you into the depths of Jonah's psyche. The highs and lows of romance are universal themes explored in detail. There's powerful personal description, both of physical memories and inner feelings. It's a fun and soft listen, but also tugs at the heartstrings and engages with darker elements throughout. I enjoyed this debut EP and hope to see more from Jonah's mind in the future. This is relatable music crafted by talent.

Written by: Cazzy Lewchuk

[juliana-jones]

My co-author @writtenriley and I are thrilled to present our self-published novella “Over the Dragon’s Gate,” a dark paranormal romance/urban fantasy. You’ve heard of manic pixie dream girl, now get ready for sad pond-monster dream boy!

Summary: Treya has everything he needs in his pond: food, shelter, and other fish to swim with. It’s painful to wonder if he had another life once, so he ignores the fragments of disturbing dreams that plague him.

But when a boy falls into his pond, Treya discovers he’s more than a fish. He can also become a boy, and now he has a friend: the irrepressible Eli. During secret meetings in the garden surrounding the pond, Treya and Eli forge a bond that even dark magic can’t break. But when Eli starts asking questions about who and what Treya is, the two of them discover that questions are dangerous, answers have a cost, and their fates depend on unraveling the mystery of Treya’s past.

Comps: It has "That Story Isn't the Story" vibes mixed with "Room."

Word count: 44k

Books2Read

Kindle

Goodreads

Soundtrack

Content warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, death, gaslighting, memory loss, amnesia, mind manipulation, mind control, implied noncon (in the background, due to the mind control), crying (a lot of crying), vomit, underage drinking, implied/referenced drug use, car accidents, child neglect, child abuse, murder, kidnapping, imprisonment, magical imprisonment, trauma, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt (planned but not carried out), death threats, fantasy racism

“…[A] delightful read, full of magic and touching moments of humanity in the face of darkness.”

~Arista A. Holmes, author of the Fey Touched Trilogy

“This is a rollercoaster… There are thrilling twists and turns, enough mystery to keep you going, and a satisfying payoff at the end.”

~E, Goodreads review

“It’s got… a lush fairytale manner about it but hides dark secrets.”

~Oliver Ferrie, author of Sugar People

[author-a-holmes]

Sorry-not-sorry about those final chapters? :D But I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you SO much for this lovely review <3

Book Review: Changeling (Fey Touched #1)

Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of Changeling by the author and voluntarily leaving an honest review of the book.

@author-a-holmes, MY HEART!

From the very first page all the way through the closing pages, Arista Holmes tugged at not only my heartstrings but my intrigue as well. Guiding readers through a well-developed world, main characters Lizzy, Booker, and Andric have an interesting dynamic that kept me on my toes almost as much as the twists woven into the plot as they searched for Lizzy’s mother.

I wasn’t certain what to expect of this portal fantasy novel, or what the relationship between the fey and the vampires would be (as past reads like The Shadow Falls series have been touch and go for me), but the way Holmes skillfully balanced necessary details about the setting and the history between the Fey Court and Vampire Council without interrupting the plot had me turning page after page.

My only disappointment with Changeling is actually no fault of author’s, but my own. I finished this much too quickly and am eagerly looking forward to book 2 because I desperately need to know where Lizzy, Booker, and Andric’s search for Madeline Hail will take them next!

[ettawritesnstudies]

Indie Author Interview - Arista Holmes

Link to Smashwords $1.99 sale: Available through August 30th with code: E5Y9M Arista’s linktree Etta: Hi, my name is Etta Grace and welcome back to my YouTube channel. Today I am interviewing Arista Holmes and I am so glad to have her back on. I reviewed their book I think as an ARC. It’s called Changeling. It’s a young adult fantasy, portal fantasy, and it’s a lot of fun. So I’m super glad to…

[mywifeleftme]

365: Patti Smith // Horses

Horses Patti Smith 1975, Arista

There’s a man named Nicky Drumbolis who lives up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, in an apartment that doubles as perhaps Canada’s greatest bookstore almost no one has ever seen. The septuagenarian Drumbolis is short and nearly deaf, a master printmaker and eccentric autodidact linguist. For years he ran a second-hand shop on Toronto’s Queen St. called Letters, until push (the size of his collection) came to shove (skyrocketing rent) and he went north, where he could afford a sufficiently large space to spread out. Unfortunately, Thunder Bay has little market for antiquarian books and micro press ephemera, and his shop is located on one of the most crime-ridden streets in the country. And so, the transplanted Letters has no storefront—in fact, the building looks derelict, its windows boarded up and covered with what at first glance seems to be graffiti but on closer inspection resembles a detail from the cave paintings at Lascaux. Letters’ patronage is limited to the online traffic in rare first editions that brings him a small income, and the occasional by-appointment adventurer willing to make the long, long 1,400 km drive from Toronto or further abroad.

When you enter, you find yourself in what appears to be a well-kept single room used bookstore, the kind there used to be dozens of in every major city. Books of every type and topic line the shelves, neatly arranged by category, and a long glass display features more delicate items, nineteenth century broadside newspapers and the like, some so fragile they seem on the verge of crumbling into dust. But this is not, Drumbolis warns you as soon as you attempt to take a book off of the shelf, a bookstore: this room is a facsimile, a tribute exhibit to as he calls it, “the fetish object formerly known as The Book.” The real bookstore lies in the chambers beyond this front room, the full catalogues of bygone presses, the one-of-one personal editions he’s assembled over decades of following his personal obsessions, the stacks which crowd his own modest sleeping quarters.

To Drumbolis, the original utility of the book as a container and mediator of information is now effectively passed; virtually every popular book in existence has been digitized, their contents instantly available in formats that are better-indexed, more easily parsed, and more readily transferrable than the humble physical book ever allowed. To desire a book is to desire possession of the thing rather than its contents, this edition, this printing, perhaps this particular copy that once passed through the hands of someone significant. He can show you the copy of John Stuart Mills’ On Liberty that was owned by Canada’s founding father John A. MacDonald, and argue convincingly that this object helped set the course of a nation’s history; or a set of Shakespeare’s complete works bearing Charles Dickens’ ex libris, which sets off a long anecdote about how Dickens liked to troll his houseguests with a collection of fake bookshelves. Drumbolis’s collection is threaded through his life like an old wizard in a fantasy novel whose flesh has fused with the roots of a tree: he eats with his books and he sleeps with them; collecting fuels his arcane research and dictates where and when he travels; 25 years ago he uprooted his life when his collection bade him, and though he’s starved for company in the frozen city it chose for him, he abides.

My own case of collectivitis is not so advanced, though Lord only knows what I’ll be like when I’m Old (I’m currently 47). And despite the conceit of this blog, I’ve seldom spent much time in these reviews dwelling on the physical properties of my records, evaluating the relative merit of pressings and the like (or even mentioning which one I’ve got). But as I sit here listening to my copy of Patti Smith’s Horses for the first time, I feel a small but definite sense of wonderment. It’s an early ‘80s Canadian pressing, so near-mint I might’ve stepped back in time and bought it new, still with what I take to be the original inner-sleeve, pale azure (to match the Arista disc label) with a texture almost like crepe paper.

It’s a delightful, surprising contrast to the iconic black and white cover portrait of Smith by her former paramour Robert Mapplethorpe. Generations of fans have stared at this image as they listened, not simply because Smith is hot (though this is undeniably true) but because the music’s visionary qualities demand an embodied locus. That a record, unlike a book, can speak aloud, has always primitively fascinated me; that this one contains what I can only describe as rituals makes it magical, this physical copy that is unique because it’s this one that is speaking to me in this moment. 

 Smith writes on the back of the sleeve:

“…it’s me my shape burnt in the sky its me the memoire of me racing through the eye of the mer thru the eye of the sea thru the arm of the needle merging and jacking new filaments new risks etched forever in a cold system of wax…horses groping for a sign for a breath…”

“charms, sweet angels,” she concludes. “you have made me no longer afraid of death.” The record becomes an extension of Smith’s body as it existed in that time—I think here of the physicality of the moment in “Break it Up” where you can faintly hear her striking her own chest with the flat of her palm to make her voice quaver. It makes me wonder how anyone could sell this thing once they have it: not because it is particularly rare or difficult to acquire, but because it’s hard for me to imagine the experience of slipping the lustrous black disc from its dressing and setting the needle down upon it as anything but a personal one. It is poetry and waves; the subliming of the idea of a rave-up; Tom Verlaine shedding his earthly mantle in an explosion of birds; John Cale; Kaye, Král, Daugherty, and Sohl; one of my boys from Blue Öyster Cult; the pounding of hooves and the Mashed Potato.

I suppose what I’m describing is a fetish, my pleasure in acquiring these things and writing these reviews the hard and strange work of finding life’s joy in its dusty corners. This year has run through my fingers like water, as it seems they all do now. But on my good days, all these words behind me and the records in front of me seem like a document of abundance.

365/365

[scotianostra]

My favourite Scottish singer, Jim Diamond was born on September 28th 1953 in Bridgeton, Glasgow.

Born to Sarah (nee Harper), a seamstress, and Lawrence, a firefighter, who would habitually get up to sing at parties, we all had a relative like this didn't we? Apart from his father, his earliest musical inspirations were soul music greats such as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. By the age of 14 he had joined his first band, The Method, and later he became lead singer of the Glasgow group Jade, touring the country playing club and college gigs. Then he embarked on a European tour with the band Gully Foyle (he had seen their advertisement for a lead singer in Glasgow’s Evening Times), which included some dates supporting Procol Harum.

His next stop was a quintet called Bandit, who were signed by Arista Records but they swept away by the emergence of punk rock. Bandit's one album was enough to prompt the NME’s reviewer, Tony Stewart, to comment that he was “an inspired and remarkable vocalist who projects himself well, displaying not only a passion for the music but a staggering range, which he uses fully”.

Bandit split up soon afterwards, but Diamond and Bandit’s guitarist, Danny McIntosh (now Kate Bush’s husband) went on to work with Alexis Korner. Word was spreading about Diamond and his powerfully expressive singing, and he was invited to fly to Los Angeles to form a band with the guitarist and David Bowie collaborator Earl Slick and the drummer Carmine Appice, who had been playing with Rod Stewart, but before the project could come to fruition, Diamond was in demand again, returning to England to form PhD and embarking on the series of hits that sealed his reputation.

Then Diamond contracted hepatitis, which prevented him from touring and prompted PhD to split. In 1984 he was back in action as a solo artist, triumphing with the No 1 heartbreaker I Should Have Known Better, often remembered for its soaring “I-I-I-I-I” chorus, which believe it or not, I pride myself on singing welle, The single, which was from his album Double Crossed , earned him a nomination for an Ivor Novello award.

Diamond’s career cooled after his intense burst of success in the early and mid-80s, although in 1985 Diamond went to No 1 again with the celebrity ensemble The Crowd on You’ll Never Walk Alone, a charity record for families of the victims of the Bradford City stadium fire. In 1986 his second solo album, Desire For Freedom, delivered the No 5 hit Hi Ho Silver, a song commissioned for Boon, starring Michael Elphick, and featuring yet another of Diamond’s catchy choruses, this time set to a briskly pumping reggae beat.

In 1993 he released the album Jim Diamond, which reached No 16 on the UK charts, and went on tour performing acoustic versions of his catalogue of songs. In the late 90s he teamed up with the saxophonist Chris “Snake” Davis, renowned for his studio work with M People, George Michael, Paul McCartney and many more, and they performed as The Blue Shoes. With the Hammond organist Paul Birchall, they also worked on Diamond’s 2005 album Souled and Healed. In 2009 PhD reunited to record a new album, Three.

In 2011 Diamond joined up with a group of Scottish musicians, including veterans from Wet Wet Wet and the Proclaimers, to record City of Soul, a collection of soul music cover versions to raise money for Cash for Kids.

Sadly on n 8 October 2015 Jim Diamond passed away as a result of a pulmonary edema – a build-up of fluid in his lungs. The family later said they were unaware he was unwell, his daughter Sara said “Dad was quite a private man, he didn’t court celebrity, and the only reason he did what he did was because he loved making music." adding “Dad’s song (I should have known better) went to Number one at the same time as Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas was released.

“He was over the moon, but told everyone to go and buy the charity single.” Sara added that the one thing her dad enjoyed using his fame for was to help others. She said: “Dad was always very aware of how lucky we had been as a family, in terms of health and wealth.

“He was very passionate about helping charities. He saw it as his duty to do what he could to give something back.”

RIP Jim Diamond, dubbed "Scotland's Ray Charles.

[author-a-holmes]

Agreed! If you want me to HIRE you, at least have the decency to start with that instead of having a whole conversation before springing a "fee" on me.

Fuck that. Even if I was inclined to pay for reviews (Which I'm not!) I definitely wouldn''t consider someone who tried to walk me through the door and then slam it behind me with a gotcha like that.

I think they must be trying to rely on people who feel too awkward to back out at that point. People who feel that they may have misunderstoood, and now feel obligated to continue with the transaction.

And it really annoys me, and I sure you can tell from what's turned into a mini rant.

I am quite malcontented with instagram "professional book reviewers" that comment on posts now under the guise of interest in a book, and when you send them the link, they only then give up the information that they are expecting money for some "professional" service. You come onto my photo and ask me to buy reviews? Such a lack of decorum. I understand these are difficult times financially, but it lacks dignity to beg strange authors you've never interacted with before to please please please please please pay them money for a service they weren't even shopping for.

[lacunafiction]

Hey!

I just saw you've got a release date!

I was watching the COG forums religiously after you submitted it, but I got sucked into my final edits for my book the last couple of months and lost track.

But the DUST TRAIL of be heading for steam, and adding it to my wishlist, was probably visible from space!

Congratulations! I can't WAIT to play the full game! Seems like an idea time for me to have another two, three, or four run through's of the Demo in preparation! <3

Hi Arista!

I hope you're doing well. 💚

Your kind message means so much. I'm touched that you have not only been checking for news about Book One, but also instantly added it to your wishlist on Steam. 🥰 Thank you! I will truly be so happy when readers get the chance to experience the full story since there is a lot in store for you all. I apologize for taking a while to reply back to you; I've been reviewing art, Patreon content, and working on long-form character descriptions in advance of the release! :D

I wish you the very best with your book. I can appreciate how challenging yet rewarding an endeavor it can be, but you did it, and I think it's something to always be so proud of. 💐 Happy holidays!

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: October 16, 1989

Lyrics:

I don't know where my baby is

But I'll find him, somewhere, somehow

I've got to let him know how much I care

I'll never give up looking for my baby

Been around the world and I, I, I

I can't find my baby

I don't know when, I don't know why

Why he's gone away

And I don't know where he can be, my baby

But I'm gonna find him

We had a quarrel and I let myself go

I said so many things, things he didn't know

And I was, oh, oh, so bad

I don't think he's coming back, mm, mhm

He gave the reason, the reasons he should go

And he said things he hadn't said before

And he was, oh, oh, so mad

And I don't think he's coming back, coming back

I did too much lying

Wasted too much time

Now I'm here and crying, I, I, I

Been around the world and I, I, I

I can't find my baby

I don't know when, I don't know why

Why he's gone away

And I don't know where he can be, my baby

But I'm gonna find him

So open hearted, he never did me wrong

I was the one, the weakest one of all

And now I'm, oh, oh, so sad

I don't think he's coming back, coming back

I did too much lying

Wasted too much time

Now I'm here and crying, I, I, I

Been around the world and I, I, I

I can't find my baby

I don't know when, I don't know why

Why he's gone away

And I don't know where he can be, my baby

But I'm gonna find him

I'm going to find him, my baby

Been around the world and I, I, I

I can't find my baby

I don't know when, I don't know why

Why he's gone away

And I don't know where he can be, my baby

But I'm gonna find him

I did too much lying

Wasted too much time

Now I'm here and crying, I, I, I

Been around the world and I, I, I

I can't find my baby

I don't know when, I don't know why

Why he's gone away

And I don't know where he can be, my baby

But I'm gonna find him

I've been around the world

Looking for my baby

Been around the world

And I'm gonna, I'm gonna find him

Songwriter:

Been around the world and I, I, I

I can't find my baby

I don't know when, I don't know why

Why he's gone away

And I don't know where he can be, my baby

Andy Morris / Etterlene Jordan / Mark Dwayne Debarge / Ian Devaney / Lisa Stansfield / Paul Hardcastle

SongFacts:

"All Around the World" is a song by English singer, songwriter and actress Lisa Stansfield from her debut studio album, Affection (1989). It was released as the album's second single on 16 October 1989 by Arista Records. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Devaney and Morris. The song received favorable reviews from music critics. Songwriters, Stansfield, Devaney and Morris, received the 1989 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. "All Around the World" was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards. Additionally, Stansfield was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. The song became the first of two UK number-one singles for Stansfield (the second being an appearance on George Michael and Queen's "Five Live" EP) and the first of eight top-ten hits she would achieve in that country.

In 2003, "All Around the World" was included on Biography: The Greatest Hits. In 2014, the remixes of "All Around the World" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-releases of Affection, Face Up and on the People Hold On … The Remix Anthology compilation (also on The Collection 1989–2003).

The song came down quickly and on low budget. The vocal part was made in only two takes and real strings were put on afterwards. The song is largely influenced by American singer-songwriter Barry White. As a tribute to him, they made a spoken intro on "All Around the World" like the one on the album version of White's "Let the Music Play", only shorter.

Stansfield co-wrote the lyrics of "All Around the World" with her former bandmates Ian Devaney and Andy Morris from Blue Zone. In a 2019 interview, Stansfield recalled the process when the song was made:

I came into the studio, and Ian was messing around at the piano. He had a melody, and I just started singing: "Been around the world and I, I, I…" Everyone laughed but Ian said, "Wait, it's really good, that." It just came into my head – it was nonsense, but had a really good feel to it. "I, I, I" became the main hook. We'd no idea how massive it would become.

The song was released as the second European single on 16 October 1989. It was remixed by Yvonne Turner, Eddie Gordon, Paul Witts and Steve Anderson. In North America, "All Around the World" was released as the first single on 15 January 1990 and included remixes created by The 45 King and Richard Sweret. In Japan, the single was released on 7 February 1990. Stansfield went on to become the first white British woman to reach number-one on the Billboard R&B chart, the American black music chart. A music video was made to accompany the song, directed by Philip Richardson.

[blogmistermusic]

Throwback Review: álbum "Whitney" de Whitney Houston

El magnate musical Clive Davis quedó impresionado por el talento de Whitney Houston tras verle cantar junto a su madre en un club nocturno neoyorquino y no tardó en ficharle en su sello discográfico Arista. La joven cantante hizo su debut en el mundo de la música en el año 1985 con el álbum «Whitney Houston», que pese a su tímida respuesta inicial por parte del público acabó alcanzando el #1 en…

Ver en WordPress

[author-a-holmes]

ARC Review: The Signature Move

By Cassandra Diviak aka @queen-kass-the-writer

The Signature Move is the first contemporary romance of Cassandra Diviak’s that I’ve delved into and I have to say I’m not in any way disappointed. While I wouldn’t call ‘Sports Romance’ my preferred genre, Diviak is able to bring characters to life with a vivacity that grabs you immediately.

The Signature Move explores themes of domestic violence, parental neglect and emotional abuse, eating disorders, and the worst kind of ex-boyfriend, but with a light, delicate, touch that handles the difficult subject matters with care and careful consideration.

Woven over and through these heavy topics is the kind of beautiful romance I’ve come to expect from Cassandra, bringing a much needed lightness to the story, despite it’s origins within the bounds of an enemies-to-lovers trope. Logan and Ava capture your heart quickly, and their rivalry on the rink will have you rooting for one, or both of them sooner rather than later!

Alongside our main couple is a cast of diverse characters that are a delight to get to know, and gave a warm, underlying, ‘Found Family’ feel to the town of Waybrook.

Overall, a 10/10 read from the wonderful Cassandra Diviak!

Check out some more reviews, and maybe add this wintery romance to your TBR over on Goodreads...

The Signature Move Releases on January 17th! Ebook & Preorders available at Amazon now!

[juliana-jones]

My co-author and I are thrilled to present our self-published novella “Over the Dragon’s Gate,” a dark paranormal romance/urban fantasy. You’ve heard of manic pixie dream girl, now get ready for sad pond-monster dream boy!

Summary: Treya has everything he needs in his pond: food, shelter, and other fish to swim with. It’s painful to wonder if he had another life once, so he ignores the fragments of disturbing dreams that plague him.

But when a boy falls into his pond, Treya discovers he’s more than a fish. He can also become a boy, and now he has a friend: the irrepressible Eli. During secret meetings in the garden surrounding the pond, Treya and Eli forge a bond that even dark magic can’t break. But when Eli starts asking questions about who and what Treya is, the two of them discover that questions are dangerous, answers have a cost, and their fates depend on unraveling the mystery of Treya’s past.

Word count: 44k

Comps: It has "That Story Isn't the Story" vibes mixed with "Room."

Smashwords

Kindle

Kobo

Goodreads

Content warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, death, gaslighting, memory loss, amnesia, mind manipulation, mind control, implied noncon (in the background, due to the mind control), crying (a lot of crying), vomit, underage drinking, implied/referenced drug use, car accidents, child neglect, child abuse, murder, kidnapping, imprisonment, magical imprisonment, trauma, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt (planned but not carried out), death threats, fantasy racism

Soundtrack

…[A] delightful read, full of magic and touching moments of humanity in the face of darkness. ~Arista A. Holmes, author of the Fey Touched Trilogy

This is a rollercoaster… There are thrilling twists and turns, enough mystery to keep you going, and a satisfying payoff at the end. ~E, Goodreads review

It’s got… a lush fairytale manner about it but hides dark secrets. ~Oliver Ferrie, author of Sugar People

[fuchinobe]

I posted 11,493 times in 2022

272 posts created (2%)

11,221 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@gold-rydia

@healyourselfnmove

@nannaea

@crewneck

@holespoles

I tagged 1,232 of my posts in 2022

#house - 97 posts

#funk - 59 posts

#japan - 58 posts

#deep house - 50 posts

#soul - 41 posts

#disco - 36 posts

#downtempo - 33 posts

#jazz - 32 posts

#balearic - 32 posts

#personal - 23 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#if you’re actually a fiscal conservative i don’t understand why you’d support financially insolvent policy to funnel money to a few vultures

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

(1992, Columbia, 44 74352)

107 notes - Posted June 18, 2022

#4

(1990, Arista, HNO 1)

126 notes - Posted February 5, 2022

#3

(1995, Nite Grooves, KNG-46)

Remix by Kerri Chandler. Released to cross promote Samurai Shodown for the Neo Geo system

132 notes - Posted October 21, 2022

#2

(2001, Not On Label, SNM-01)

Bootleg mix by Jay Denes

303 notes - Posted March 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

(2002, Not On Label, SDA 001)

From a Sade bootleg comp.

425 notes - Posted July 22, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[holyfilamentagain]

I)1999: Melt-Banana: Charlie (A-Zap records)

Taraf de Haidouks: Honorable Brigands, Magic Horses & Evil Eye (Crammed Discs)

Rahsaan Roland Kirk: Natural Black Inventions-Root Strata (Atlantic)

Germs: Complete Anthology (Slash) II)2000:

"A Patch of Blue"--soundtrack, Jerry Goldsmith (Mainstream Records)

Rachmaninov--Variations on a theme by Corelli, Op. 42 (Ashkenazy; Decca Records)

Darius Milhaud--Six Petites Symphonies (Koch International)

Jerry Reed--Oh What a Woman! (RCA)

Futurism & Dada Reviewed (Sub Rosa) III)2000:

The Gil Evans Orchestra: Into the Hot (Impulse)

The Best of Godzilla 1954-1975 (GNP Crescendo)

Marvin Gaye: Troublemansoundtrack

The Hammer Quatermass Film Music Collection (GDI)

Luigi Nono: Como una ola de fuerza y luz (Deutsche Grammaphon) IV)2001:

SHOSTAKOVICH PLAYS SHOSTAKOVICH---7 preludes & fugues for piano (Hall of Fame)

THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR SOUNDTRACK---Michael Legrand (United Artists)

THE CARETAKERS SOUNDTRACK---Elmer Bernstein (AVA)

KAGEL: "1898" & Music for Renaissance Intruments. (Deutsche Grammaphon 20/21) V)Spring 2002 (26 March, 2002):

Pink Floyd: Atom Heart Mother (Capitol)

The Beach Boys: Hawthorne, CA (Capitol)

The Omen-Deluxe Editon(soundtrack): Jerry Goldsmith(Varese Sarabande)

Erik Sanko: Past Imperfect, Present Tense (JetSet)

Intestinal Disgorge: Drowned in Rectal Sludge (Lofty Storm) VI)Winter 2003:

The Outer Limits (TV Soundtrack)--Dominic Frontiere (Crescendo)

Fado de Lisboa 1925-1936 Vol. 1 (Heritage)

Edgard Varese: The Complete Works (London)

Furry Lewis, Bukka White and Friends: Party! At Home (Arcola)

Goblin: Zombi--Dawn of the Dead (Cinevox) VII)Summer 2003:

Sammy Davis Jr: The Wham of Sam (Reprise)

The Tony Williams Lifetime: Emergency! (Verve)

Stravinsky: Threni (Stravinsky conducting) (Columbia)

Black Music of South America: In Praise of Osala And Other Gods (Nonesuch)

Swans: Filth/Body to Body, Job to Job (Young God Records) VIII)Spring 2004:

Alfred Schnittke: String Quartet #4--the Alban Berg Quartet (EMI)

Funkaphonix vol 1-6 (Electrostatic Records)

Simon Diaz: Tonadas (Palacio)

The Wailers: KSAN Live Broadcast Oct 1973 (bootleg)

Julian Bream plays Villa-Lobos: Guitar Concerto and Five Preludes (RCA) IX)WInter 2004:

Bjorn Lanke: The Contemporary Solo Double Bass, Vol 3 (Simax)

Africa & the Blues--connections & Reconnections (Neatwork)

Morton Feldman: String Quartet No. 2--the Flux Quartet (Mode)

White Elephants & Golden Ducks---musical treasures from Burma (Shanachie)

Dave Brubeck: Angel Eyes (Colombia) X)Winter 2006:

Kurt Schwitters: Ursonate (Wergo)

Art Blakey: Night in Tunisia (Blue Note)

Cream: Wheels of Fire (Polygram)

Charles Ives: Three Places in New England--Leonard Slatkin (RCA Victor)

Jimi Hendrix: Band of Gypsies (Capitol) XI)Winter 2006:

Sly Stone: Seventh Son (Vamp Soul)

Mavis Concave: XIV:1-Scabs (Realicide Youth Records)

Nels Cline Singers: The Giant Pin (Cryptogramophone)

Sparks: Hello Young Lovers (In The Red Records)

New Music in Quartertones-Ives, Hampton, Lybbert, Macero (Odyssey) XII)Spring 2008:

Betty Davis (Light In The Attic Records)

Marcos Valle-Antologia (EMI)

The Story of Modern Farming-Someone New (d'Autres Cordes)

Rihanna-Good Girl Gone Bad (Def Jam)

Morton Feldman- Three Voices for Joan La Barbara (New Albion) XIII)Spring 2009:

The Stooges-Fun House (Elektra/Asylum, 1970)

Dennis Wilson-Pacific Ocean Blue (Sony/BMG, 1977)

2 Foot Yard-Borrowed Arms (YardWork, 2008)

Curtis Mayfield- Curtis (Rhino 1970/2000)

Martha Wainwright-I Know You're Married…(Zoe, 2008) XIV)Winter 2010:

Paul Desmond: Desmond Blue (RCA Victor)

Hanne Hukkelberg: Blood From A Stone (Propeller Recordings)

Annette Peacock: I'm The One (RCA)

Igor Stravinsky: The Flood (Columbia)

Jucifer: If Thine Enemy Hunger (Relaps Records) XV)Winter 2012:

Elliot Smith: Figure 8 (Dreamworks)

Julius Hemphill: Dogon A.D. (Arista)

Nilsson: Greatest Hits (RCA)

Ornette Coleman: Skies Of America (Columbia)

Jerry Goldsmith: The Sand Pebbles Soundtrack (20th Century Fox) XVI)Winter 2014:

Moods Of Marvin Gaye (Motown)

Charles Bukowski Uncensored (Caedmon)

Alfred Schnittke String Quartets 2 & 3 and Piano Quintet (Arabesque)

Kris Davis: Massive Threads (Thirsty Ear)

www.soundcloud.com/sannety

[ettawritesnstudies]

Sharing old blog posts while I'm on hiatus: I really enjoyed this fae/vampire fantasy book that breaks a lot of conventional cliches

If you want to support my work, leave a tip or buy stickers on my Kofi!