A new dawn is on the horizon, where boundaries are broken, diversity is embraced, and an optimistic, creative vision of our future on Earth takes center stage.
EOS is a powerful solarpunk story narrated by FEAR, who tackles real-world issues concerning terrorism, prejudice, and diversity, to near-future technology surrounding sustainable energy that restores the balance between humanity and nature. This isn’t a defeatist tale. It is a look through the lens of positive futurism that showcases the courage, compassion and capabilities of humanity as equal partners in building a bridge to a better tomorrow.
Meet the Characters
Amandla Stenberg as EOS
EOS, Goddess of the Dawn, is the holographic heart of Viridis, a sentient structure built by renowned architect, Rafael Soñador. Imagine an artificial intelligence seamlessly integrated within the environment where you live and work. An emissary of sustainability designed to conserve energy in a more meaningful way during our everyday lives. An interactive search engine, an advisor, an accessible authority of global proportions wrapped in a transparent, high resolution, three-dimensional life-size image. Modeled after Soñador’s daughter, EOS is the culmination of years of research and genius. But watch her closely, for she is far more than she appears.
Swing by and leave us a comment for a chance to WIN a digital copy of RSM’s latest public album, Battle Angel!
Each Comment = One Entry
EOS Review Contest
Starting April 1st, I’ll reveal sensory-rich sneak peeks into the world of EOS, a futuristic sci fi solarpunk short story available on AMAZON for $0.99. Post a REVIEW of EOS on AMAZON by May 31st and you’ll be entered to WIN a signed copy of RSM’s Battle Angel and signed limited edition print from painter, Jenny Vyas!
Honestly, this week has been a hot mess. Between traveling for family vacation, a sick kiddo, and an unfortunate music industry debacle that, for a few days there, threatened the integrity of my EOS project, I’m tapped out. Please bear with me as I regroup and get back into the A to Z swing of things. I’ve enjoyed the first week of A to Z immensely, from meeting new talented folks, to sharing witty banter with dear friends, and look forward to the April adventures still to come.
IWSG, a community of brilliant writers led by Alex J. Cavanaugh, meets the first Wednesday of every month. Visit the Insecure Writer’s Support Group website and database! You’ll find everything from writing to marketing, along with encouragement and support!
A new dawn is on the horizon, where boundaries are broken, diversity is embraced, and an optimistic, creative vision of our future on Earth takes center stage.
EOS is a powerful solarpunk story narrated by FEAR, who tackles real-world issues concerning terrorism, prejudice, and diversity, to near-future technology surrounding sustainable energy that restores the balance between humanity and nature. This isn’t a defeatist tale. It is a look through the lens of positive futurism that showcases the courage, compassion and capabilities of humanity as equal partners in building a bridge to a better tomorrow.
A Cast of Multicultural Characters
L E T M E I N by Jenny Vyas
Every turn of the page will challenge what you believe. Every character harbors a secret that will keep you guessing till the end. A young Japanese AI specialist bearing a family burden and her curious red-headed intern who’s more than she appears. A plant geneticist from India with a tragic past and her autistic teen son with a penchant for programming. A feisty Mexican singer in her sixties who makes a mean tamale and her widowed son, a visionary green architect wielding a spectacular Spanish guitar, who honors the spirits of his lost South African wife and their sixteen year old daughter by creating the impossible.
Swing by and leave us a comment for a chance to WIN a digital copy of RSM’s latest public album, Battle Angel!
Each Comment = One Entry
EOS Review Contest
Starting April 1st, I’ll reveal sensory-rich sneak peeks into the world of EOS, a futuristic sci fi solarpunk short story available on AMAZON for $0.99. Post a REVIEW of EOS on AMAZON by May 31st and you’ll be entered to WIN a signed copy of RSM’s Battle Angel and signed limited edition print from painter, Jenny Vyas!
A new dawn is on the horizon, where boundaries are broken, diversity is embraced, and an optimistic, creative vision of our future on Earth takes center stage.
EOS is a powerful solarpunk story narrated by FEAR, who tackles real-world issues concerning terrorism, prejudice, and diversity, to near-future technology surrounding sustainable energy that restores the balance between humanity and nature. This isn’t a defeatist tale. It is a look through the lens of positive futurism that showcases the courage, compassion and capabilities of humanity as equal partners in building a bridge to a better tomorrow.
Meet the Composers
Really Slow Motion, from CEO/Creative Director Agus Gonzalez-Lancharro, is a music and sound production team of experienced professionals whose main focus is Film, Game, TV and commercial media. They write, record, produce and mix under custom requests to provide powerful soundtracks and sound designs for all media projects. For editors, music supervisors or media professionals, they also have a catalog of licensablemusic for trailers available for a wide range of commercial projects.
Curious about the origins of their name? Check out Clothilde Lebrun’s 2013 interview with Agus Gonzalez-Lancharro for Trailer Music News:
Agus: “I’ve always liked paradox and incoherence in names! But in this case, it made lots of sense to me. Really slow motion footage is so beautiful, you can observe every single detail in a very cinematic way that you wouldn’t normally spot in regular motion. When I was a kid, every time I watched a really slow motion capture I would be fascinated, watching it over and over again having some sort of music ringing on my mind while watching. Once said that, Really Slow Motion merges both motion picture and music, and that’s exactly what we do.”
EOS Commenting Contest
Swing by and leave us a comment for a chance to WIN a digital copy of RSM’s latest public album, Battle Angel!
Each Comment = One Entry
EOS Review Contest
Starting April 1st, I’ll reveal sensory-rich sneak peeks into the world of EOS, a futuristic sci fi solarpunk short story available on AMAZON for $0.99. Post a REVIEW of EOS on AMAZON by May 31st and you’ll be entered to WIN a signed copy of RSM’s Battle Angel and signed limited edition print from painter, Jenny Vyas!
A new dawn is on the horizon, where boundaries are broken, diversity is embraced, and an optimistic, creative vision of our future on Earth takes center stage.
EOS is a powerful solarpunk story narrated by FEAR, who tackles real-world issues concerning terrorism, prejudice, and diversity, to near-future technology surrounding sustainable energy that restores the balance between humanity and nature. This isn’t a defeatist tale. It is a look through the lens of positive futurism that showcases the courage, compassion and capabilities of humanity as equal partners in building a bridge to a better tomorrow.
Meet the Artist
B A I T E D by Jenny Vyas
Jenny Vyas is a contemporary artist from the Chicagoland area. She is highly influenced by beauty in complex human emotions and attempts to reveal them through multiple nuances in expressions in her work. Her interest in human frailty shows in her monochromatic paintings where she creates abstracts of human silhouettes and fluctuating forms in half-light; all drawn from reality, personal experiences and memories through a process of simplification. Her artistic influences stream from music, poetry, books, artists like Rothko, Marina Abramović, JR, Andy Worhol, Jackson Pollock, Saitō Yoshishige, Maria Hafif, Da Vinci, Shakespeare and many more. Find her at Jenny Vyas, Twitter, FB, &Instagram.
Really Slow Motion – Battle Angel – Gates of Pearl – Martyn Corbet
EOS Commenting Contest
Swing by and leave us a comment for a chance to WIN a digital copy of RSM’s latest public album, Battle Angel!
Each Comment = One Entry
EOS Review Contest
Starting April 1st, I’ll reveal sensory-rich sneak peeks into the world of EOS, a futuristic sci fi solarpunk short story available on AMAZON for $0.99. Post a REVIEW of EOS on AMAZON by May 31st and you’ll be entered to WIN a signed copy of RSM’s Battle Angel and signed limited edition print from painter, Jenny Vyas!
A new dawn is on the horizon, where boundaries are broken, diversity is embraced, and an optimistic, creative vision of our future on Earth takes center stage.
EOS is a powerful solarpunk story narrated by FEAR, who tackles real-world issues concerning terrorism, prejudice, and diversity, to near-future technology surrounding sustainable energy that restores the balance between humanity and nature. This isn’t a defeatist tale. It is a look through the lens of positive futurism that showcases the courage, compassion and capabilities of humanity as equal partners in building a bridge to a better tomorrow.
Meet the Characters
Arjun Suraj-Sharma as Arjun
Arjun Kirti, autistic teenage son of Dr. Vanisa Kirti, is often found cradling hisholopad in his awkward hands, a prototype of his own design, and finds its contents far more interesting than sentient weeds. But Arjun has never shared his mother’s love of botany. Computers were the companions of a boy who thinks too much and feels too little. But he will soon discover the power of connection with an unlikely companion.
Really Slow Motion – Battle Angel – I Am Yours – Dylan Jones
EOS Commenting Contest
Swing by and leave us a comment for a chance to WIN a digital copy of RSM’s latest public album, Battle Angel!
Each Comment = One Entry
EOS Review Contest
Starting April 1st, I’ll reveal sensory-rich sneak peeks into the world of EOS, a futuristic sci fi solarpunk short story available on AMAZON for $0.99. Post a REVIEW of EOS on AMAZON by May 31st and you’ll be entered to WIN a signed copy of RSM’s Battle Angel and signed limited edition print from painter, Jenny Vyas!
A new dawn is on the horizon, where boundaries are broken, diversity is embraced, and an optimistic, artistic vision of our future on Earth takes center stage.
Fear takes us down an unexpected road in EOS (dawn), a groundbreaking Solarpunk story that challenges us to choose a creative movement of positive futurism, where we consciously turn away from the defeatist apocalyptic momentum as a global community and work towards restoring the balance between humanity and nature, while fostering a foundation of mutual respect across all cultures, creeds and chromosomes.
Join us on a journey where literature, music and art collide to create an unparalleled storytelling experience! And keep an eye out for some familiar faces from our blogging community as they make their fictional character debut in:
– EOS: Behind the Scenes –
Swing by April 1st for the EOS launch party for more details on how YOU can WIN signed Battle Angel albums from Really Slow Motion, signed limited edition prints from painter, Jenny Vyas, digital music and more!
Really Slow Motion – Battle Angel – I Am Yours – Dylan Jones
RSM’s Composing EOS Competition
Join us on April 1st to find out how YOU can join the ranks of RSM’s epic cast of composers for the upcoming public & industry Solarpunk album inspired by EOS!
Eleven years ago today, on a misty southern morning, a Muggle mother met her magical little girl. A willful bundle of beauty, the wee baby was so enamored with the waking world that she never slept for more than a wink. As her wispy charm grew, so did her uncanny ability to transform the everyday into the extraordinary. With the soul of an artist and mind of an inventor, the young girl was bound for nothing short of greatness.
She sought the stories of others, like herself, who were kind, creative and courageous. Stories that stirred her imagination. Stories that encouraged daring and dreaming. She discovered kindred spirits in the characters created by a renowned Muggle mind, and they made an indelible mark on her journey to becoming who she is meant to be.
Muggles possess their own kind of magic. It is a simple, yet powerful force of positive energy that, once cast, will guide and protect and strengthen the spirit.
The power to INSPIRE is the most potent Patronus in our arsenal―use it well.
Enter our music-inspired pitch challenge by January 28th for a chance to WIN a FREE RSM Elevation track license for your book trailer, a digital copy of the album AND signed copy of guest judge, Guilie Castillo Oriard’s The Miracle of Small Things! Swing by HERE for more details!
IWSG, a community of brilliant writers led by Alex J. Cavanaugh, meets the first Wednesday of every month. Visit the Insecure Writer’s Support Group website and database! You’ll find everything from writing to marketing, along with encouragement and support!
Humanity is at a pivotal tipping point. We are drowning in a sea of senseless violence that threatens every corner of the globe, every culture and creed. History is marred by the mistakes of ignorant minds. If we don’t learn from these mistakes, then we’re destined to follow the same mindless path, leaving only death and destruction in our wake.
I refuse to embrace the defeatist momentum that’s infiltrated every facet of society, from profiteering politicians polluting government while preventing progress, exploitative media misleading the masses, to corrupt corporations whose insatiable greed bleeds the earth and its people dry.
WE must be the ambassadors of peace. Every voice matters. Every act of kindness and compassion combats cruelty. Every moment spent cultivating understanding, wisdom, and acceptance, is a step towards turning the tide.
Well chosen words have the power to influence and evoke change. Use that power to manifest a positive future, where we consciously turn away from an apocalyptic fate and work towards restoring the balance between humanity and nature, while fostering relationships that respect diversity.
Together, we stand on the precipice of possibility. This world belongs to all of us–it will take all of us to save it.
Wishing you & yours a peaceful, happy holiday!
Aeralie Brighton’s The Christmas Song, Cover by Ryo Ishido
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) by Aeralie brighton
Swing by Dec. 4th to enter our music-inspired pitch challenge for a chance to WIN a free RSM Elevation track license for your book trailer, a digital copy of the album AND signed copy of guest judge, Guilie Castillo Oriard’s The Miracle of Small Things!
IWSG, a community of brilliant writers led by Alex J. Cavanaugh, meets the first Wednesday of every month. Visit the Insecure Writer’s Support Group website and database! You’ll find everything from writing to marketing, along with encouragement and support!
Love Notes Art Quilt by Susan Redstreake Geary (Mom)
When is the last time you sent someone a love note? Not the hastily scrawled flirtation with glittering hearts and crinkled notebook paper meant for a middle school crush, but the sharing of something genuine.
A hand-scribbled post-it of appreciation. A thoughtful message. A supportive email. A compassionate text. A cheerful tweet. In a world where everything rushes by in a blink of an eye, we tend to lose track of what’s worthwhile.
The real currency in this world isn’t money. It’s kindness.
Our lives are a patchwork of moments connected by a running stitch of light and dark. The shade of thread is up to you. Every moment of compassion and respect, courtesy and love, brightens the pattern.
Let this be my love note to you. For your time and support, unfailing encouragement and unwavering optimism, loyal friendship and endless inspiration, and love–I thank you. You add light to my life.
Swing by Dec. 4th to enter our music-inspired pitch challenge for a chance to WIN a free RSM Elevation track license for your book trailer, a digital copy of the album AND signed copy of guest judge, Guilie Castillo Oriard’s The Miracle of Small Things!
IWSG, a community of brilliant writers led by Alex J. Cavanaugh, meets the first Wednesday of every month. Visit the Insecure Writer’s Support Group website and database! You’ll find everything from writing to marketing, along with encouragement and support!
Mexican tax lawyer Luis Villalobos is lured to the tiny island of Curaçao anticipating a fast track to the cusp of an already stellar career. But the paradise we expect is so rarely the paradise we find.
The author, Guilie Castillo Oriard, is a Mexican export herself; she transferred to Curaçao “for six months” — and, twelve years later, has yet to find a reason to leave. Her work has been published online and in print anthologies, such as Pure Slush’s 2014 A Year In Stories and gorge. THE MIRACLE OF SMALL THINGS is her first book.
THE GIFT OF MUSIC by Author Guilie Castillo Oriard
When I worked in the corporate world, I kept a sleek set of iPod speakers on my desk. During office hours, music was mellow: ballads, soft jazz, easy pop. Volume appropriately low. But come 6 (or 7, or 8… we put in long days), the decibels got free rein, and the genres shifted to the Dark Side. (Yes, Pink Floyd. Smashing Pumpkins. Lenny Kravitz. Pearl Jam. AC/DC. The Brandenburg concertos, maybe the Four Seasons. Rock it, Antonio.) +++In those last, solitary two or three hours, I got through double the work than I did in the previous ten. Less interruptions. Less calls. Less colleagues wanting to chat or bounce off ideas. But my money, for Most Influential Cause, is on the music. +++Because music makes me happy, and it does so in a way that has nothing to do with what the world insists is happiness-inducing: money, relationships, possessions, achievements. Music puts me in the right here, in the now, and the happiness I get—from the beat, the harmony, the poetry in the lyrics—comes from nothing else than the miracle of being alive. +++That happiness—that bliss—does wonders for my concentration. It puts me in the zone. +++But that’s not the only gift music brings. Though I only discovered that when I’d been writing fiction full-time for a couple of years. +++This happened: I couldn’t get a scene right. A man at a moment of melancholy. Of that weird kind of nostalgia for what never happened. And… it sounded teenage-sulky. +++No. No. +++This man doesn’t sulk. He’s a kick-ass, superstar tax attorney. Someone in love with the adrenaline of board rooms, the thrill of working under maximum pressure, of discovering a legal loophole at the eleventh hour to save a client (and their millionaire bank accounts). +++I was ready to throw the whole thing out. But my iPod, in all its wisdom, chose that moment to bring Leonard Cohen to the surface of its shuffle ocean. ++++++ He wants to write a love song ++++++ An anthem of forgiving ++++++ A manual for living with defeat… +++This man was, to paraphrase Roberta, singing my scene with his emotionless words. The whole gravelly, pseudo-upbeat mood of the song nailed the atmosphere I wanted. +++I put the song on repeat, and rewrote the scene from scratch. And there it was: the nostalgia without the sulkiness, the sense of defeat without the self-pity. +++Since then, I make Writing Playlists: scene-, mood-, even character-specific. +++In the same way we read poetry to get in touch with our edgiest, most succinct, cut-to-the-marrow syntax and lexicon, I believe through music we’re able to delve ever deeper (and more accurately) into ourselves. Music brings out magic in us, whether through memory or emotion, or both—and through imagination.
How does music influence your own creativity? If you’re a writer, have you ever used music in a similar way? How do you get in the zone? Any tips you’d like to share?
Pélagie’s coming down the walk with Al. They both smile when they see Luis, but only Pélagie speaks. “So this is your secret lair, Mr. Hotshot Tax Attorney?” +++ Luis wants to lob back the banter, but his glibness has gone the way of the wooly mammoth. Emotion is building at the base of his throat, and he realizes that what he wants, more than his bed or the snugness of his duvet, more even than to feel well again, what he needs, actually, is this woman’s arms around him. Which is mad, beyond unhinged, and not just because he’s never felt those arms, has no idea how they’d feel, and how can he need something he’s never had; no, all of that is true, and valid, but the reason it’s certifiably insane to feel this way is because Pélagie isn’t just out of his league: she’s a different sport altogether. +++ He takes hold of Al’s collar. “Thanks for bringing him back.” +++ Pélagie squints at him. “You look—not well. Bad cold?” +++ “Dengue.” There’s a certain pride in not being vulnerable to just any common virus. He kind of wishes it was malaria now. +++ The square of skin between her eyebrows furrows. “How’s the fever?” +++ “Under control.” He shrugs. +++ She comes closer, lifts her hand. Before he can back away or say anything, she’s touching his forehead. Cupping his cheek. Small and cool, that hand quiets the tomahawk army that’s taken up residence in his skull. He leans into it, closes his eyes.
Guilie Castillo Oriard is a Mexican writer and dog rescuer living in Curaçao. She misses Mexican food and Mexican amabilidad, but the laissez-faire attitude (and the beaches) are fair exchange. And the island’s diversity provides great fodder for her obsession with culture clashes. +++ Her work has appeared online and, in print, as part of several anthologies. Her first book, The Miracle of Small Things (Truth Serum Press) was published in August 2015. She’s currently working on a full-length novel. +++ She blogs about life and writing at http://guilie-castillo-oriard.blogspot.com and about life and dogs athttp://lifeindogs.blogspot.com/.
Elevation Writing Contest
Swing by Dec. 1st to enter our music-inspired writing challenge for a chance to WIN a digital copy of RSM’s ELEVATION album and signed copy of guest judge, Guilie Castillo Oriard’s The Miracle of Small Things!
WriterlySam 