My Heroes Have Always Been Bad Boys

Buy The Music of Chaos HERE

By P. Kirby

So, as of a few months ago, I’m a fan fiction writer. Technically, I've always been, but for the first time I have posted my fan wankery on a public venue.

What spurred this madness? This need to display my fondness for playing in another writer’s playground?

Loki. Destroyer of urban infrastructure and man of glorious purposes.

The first time I watched the movie Thor, I thought, "Thor’s pretty, but where's his story arc? He throws a tantrum, gets kicked out of Asgard, spends two days on Earth and is transformed by the power of Jane’s pretty brown eyes. Riiight."

Loki, on the other hand...had a point. Thor's been an arrogant, blowhard for a millennium, and yet all-knowing and wise Odin decides to officially make him his heir. Honestly? I think Loki showed astonishing forbearance waiting this long to spoil Thor’s party. Were it me, I would’ve strangled Thor with his red, "Doth thou mother know you weareth her drapes?" cape centuries before.

And while the fandom is full of “Loki stumbles over his conscience and is redeemed” story arcs, Loki, as I write him, is a jerk. Because, Loki without mischief, chaos and flexible ethics, just isn’t Loki. He's sex on a stick because he can't be tamed.

My affection for the big bad started early, probably before I hit puberty. The allure of the dark, the strange, the rule breaker, the cad, has always been strong. There were others, but one of my first bad crushes was Prince Lotor from the old anime cartoon, Voltron: Defender of the Universe, season one.  Eons ago, when I was but a wee fangirl, I used to run home after school to watch the show in syndication.

Voltron is a giant robot made up of five robotic lions that are piloted by a team of forgettable, goody-goody heroes. "Defender of the Universe" is a superfluous phrase since the gang spends all their time keeping the evil King Zarkon from taking over the quaint little planet of Arus. (Apparently, evil is too lazy to bother with the rest of the 'verse.) Zarkon is a one-trick pony who relies exclusively on huge robeasts for every one of his inevitably doomed attacks on the planet. (His learning curve is steeper than the Himalayas.)

Arus is ruled by the beautiful princess, Allura (because it's never a "homely" princess). The storyline suggests that she and Keith, Voltron's commander, share an attraction, but me, I glommed onto her stalker, Prince Lotor, Zarkon’s son. Lotor is a smarmy, slick, pointy-eared, blue-skinned SOB. Adolescent me could not understand why the princess didn’t want Lothor. Because, Keith, the hero? Bo-ring.

Similarly, there was the delicious Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) in the otherwise awful movie Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (1991). There’s a scene where Nottingham is attempting to force Marian to consummate their marriage, which, regrettably brings out my dark, shameful side. The woman in me knows Nottingham’s actions make him utterly unredeemable. And yet, every time I watch the scene, I think, “Oh, come on, Marian, you know you want him and not Robin ‘I can’t do an English accent to save my life’ Locksley."

Then there was that point where Nottingham tells his cousin that he will cut out Robin's heart with a spoon. To which, the cousin asks, "Why a spoon, cousin? Why not an axe?"

And Nottingham says with the yummy snippy intonation that is all Alan Rickman, "Because it's dull, you twit. It'll hurt more."

Oh, yeah. Quite often, the Big Bads get the very best lines.

Which is why they are delicious to write. Without the trappings of diplomacy, they can say all the obnoxious stuff we are all thinking, but wouldn't dare to speak. My Decadent release, The Music of Chaos, doesn't have an all-out big bad, but the characterization of the heroine's unwilling sidekick, Breas, is certainly influenced the many villains I've loved. Breas is an anti-hero, not a villain, but freed of niceties like politeness, he has absolutely no filter on his mouth.

Anyone else share my fondness for bad boys? Who are your fave villains or anti-heroes?

(For the record, I married the nice boy. I’m warped; not stupid.)

Pat Kirby's Chaotic Playlist...wait, that came out wrong...

"Lord, but I dislike poetry. How can anyone remember words that aren't put to music?" ~The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

I have a confession: I'm not a fan of poetry. So I was struck by the realization, when my husband I were discussing music, that lyrics are inextricably tied to my enjoyment of a song. Put the poetry to music and suddenly I'm a fan.

With early drafts of The Music of Chaos, when Regan O'Connell was still the typical bitter, urban fantasy (UF) tough girl, Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life" and the rest of the Fallen CD, with its themes of loss and redemption, fueled my muse.

Then the story evolved, picked up a lighter tone, and I started to poke subtle fun at UF archetypes.  About that time, I stumbled on Oingo Boingo's "Just Another Day," which subsequently became The Music of Chaos's theme song.

It's just another day / There's murder in the air

It drags me when I walk / I smell it everywhere

It's just another day / Where people cling to light

To drive away the fear / That comes with every night.

Despite the dark lyrics, the melody is jaunty and light.  The perfect expression of the tone of The Music of Chaos. "Tonight is What It Means to Be Young," from the movie, The Streets of Fire, with its slow build to a driving beat and enthusiastic chorus, practically wrote some of the story's scenes.

Regan and Jason's uneasy love affair, one of the plot's primary conflicts, developed under the influence of "Haunted" (Evanescence) and "Sorcerer" (Marilyn Martin).  Regan's insecurities about the relationship are expressed perfectly by "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked the musical.

I wrote a backstory event, the origin of Regan's antagonism towards the human Holders, fueled by the vengeance and loss of innocence expressed by the lyrics in songs like "In the Air Tonight" (Phil Collins) and "Into the Dark" (Melissa Etheridge).

Song lyrics have shaped my characters.  For instance, Talis, my dark elf, is an exile from his homeland.  The reason why--his prophetic visions--was provided by the song "Serenity" by Godsmack. While I was listening to "You Don't Know Me," Emmylou Harris's version, Talis told me (because I'm a nutty author whose characters talk to her) that he loved country music and this was one of his favorite songs.

Talis and Regan's friendship is summed up by The Pretenders "I'll Stand by You."

  

Breas is my unapologetic, angst-free vampire. Even Breas, however, has a smidgen of gooey emo under his tough shell.  "I Am a Rock" (Simon & Garfunkel) with lyrics that describe an intellectual who keeps his emotional distance from everyone, is spot-on Breas. With lyrics like, "Time will not heal a dead boy's scars," how can "For the Heart I Once Had" (Nightwish) not be about Breas?

And finally, one of the last, and somewhat bittersweet chapters, was written with Roxette's "Listen to Your Heart" in the background.

The Music of Chaos is now available now in ebook and paperback!
BUY The Music of Chaos HERE

Read Chapter 1 of The Music of Chaos HERE

3-Way Thursday with Pat Kirby!

I'm thankful for my awesome mom, who besides being my biggest fan (and Internet stalker), is the reason I grew up "horsey."

Although El Paso has sometimes been called a cow town, there's nothing particularly agricultural about it. At least, not unless you can round up tumbleweeds and dust. I grew up in a lower-middle class, Hispanic neighborhood, where the closest thing to livestock were large stray dogs.

But for some reason, my mom got it in her head that I should have riding lessons.  At the time, however, she was struggling to make ends meet on a secretary's salary.  (Unfortunately, a degree from Tulane in classical languages didn't equal "highly employable.")

She found a riding stable on the outskirts of town and every weekend, starting when I was about seven, she schlepped me out for my riding lesson.  Eventually, she started taking lessons as well.  When the stable closed, she bought our two favorite horses--Happy and Red--saving them from the slaughter house.

The common misconception about the horsey set is that we're wealthy. No, you won't find any horse owners among the urban poor. But horse crazy is an affliction that strikes all incomes, including the lower middle class.

My mom's decision to get me riding lessons was probably driven by her own horse mania. But her addiction, and mine, would produce some of the best memories of my childhood and youth. Thanks, Mom!

***

It's almost spring, the time when a young, er, youngish, er...crap....when a woman's thoughts turn to gardening.  This woman anyway.

Writers often say they have to write. I have to garden. It's a fearsome compulsion that's nearly the end of me every winter.

 

"Sticks!" I wail to my long suffering husband. "My garden is nothing but sticks."

"Here," he says, handing me the Xbox controller, "Kill something. It'll make you feel better."

Legions of zombies and purple-blooded aliens fall, but it's little comfort for the barren wasteland that is my garden. I gnaw my fingernails and stare out the window, twitching with the need for the smell of earth.

Then one day I hear it. A thrasher is singing in the cholla. Thrashers, the desert cousins of the mockingbird, are a menace as they tear up the garden in search of bugs.  But I suffer them for their lovely song that announces spring.

Before long, I'm in the hardware store, buying more little envelopes of seeds than I can ever plant. Some women buy shoes and sneak them past their unsuspecting partner.  Me, I buy plants.

"I don't remember that," says my husband, frowning at blue spray of flowers that spills over a pot.

"It, uh, came up from seed," I say.  Yeah.  Seed sprouted in a nursery in some far flung nursery in New Jersey.

Though sticks still outnumber green now, by summer my garden will be a riot of color and life.

***

I got a powerful thirst for musical libations.

Eons ago, in the 80s, the only source of music in my dusty corner of West Texas was the radio. At least, the only easily accessible music. My musical palette was limited to a couple of pop and rock stations, some country, and because it was a border town, loads of mariachi stations.  All playing the same limited playlist. No indie labels.  No folk, dance, electronica, world, punk, alt-country or alt-rock, etc.

The musical landscape of my teens was as barren as the moon.

Until CDs came along, another serious downer was the cassette tape. I have a habit of listening to my favorite songs over and ov-ah, until the song is etched into my wee brain.  Cassette tapes don't stand up well to repeated rewinding.

This musicphile loves MP3s, Internet and satellite radio, iTunes and *Pinky, my iPod

Thanks to sweet, sweet technology, I have a way to slake my thirst. At the click of a mouse, I have arrayed before me the vast panoply of musical expression. With Pinky, I can listen to a song until my ears bleed.

(*My husband thought it would be cute to buy his tomboy wife a pink iPod. One of these days, I'm painting it black, with little skulls.)

Happy Thursday! What are you thankful, thoughtful and thirsty for?

10Q Tuesday with Pat Kirby!

How did you start your writing career?
I've always had stories in my head, but the catalyst for writing them down was a succession of boring jobs. I confess, for me any gainful employment falls under "boring." Anyway, while my coworkers were busy at the water cooler, gossiping and sowing workplace dissent, I was writing my first novel.

Tell us about your favorite character from your books.
It's a tie between Talis, the dark elf, and Breas, the vampire, with Talis edging slightly ahead. Talis began as a bit character who was almost deleted in early revision. But the sneaky bastard wormed his way into my head and grew a complex, angsty back story. Since my vampires have no self-esteem issues, Talis takes up the emo slack.
Breas Montrose was written as a reaction to angsty, self-pitying vampires. He's not particularly evil, and prone to doing the right thing. But he's completely, unapologetically vampire. He's lazy, obsessed with anything on ESPN, and loves beer. Because he's tactless, he's terribly fun to write.

Tell us about your current release.
The Music of Chaos is the offspring of the aforementioned workplace ennui. It's an urban fantasy. While it has its gritty bits, it owes its inspiration to Christopher Moore, A. Lee Martinez and Janet Evanovich.
Much of the story was written as a reaction to norms in fantasy. My vampires and demons aren't (necessarily) evil. Neither are my dark elves. ("I'm not an elf," protests Talis.) The story line in The Music of Chaos isn't driven by good vs. evil, but rather the consequences of one person's tragedy.


What was your first sale as an author?
My first "good" sale (>$5) was to an illustrated print anthology called Modern Magic. The story, "Salvation in a Plastic Bag," stars Talis and Breas. (One of these days I need to write a bro-mance featuring the two.)


Do you play games? What kind?
First person shooters on XBox with my husband. We play in co-op mode, because I'm competitive and can't stand to lose. (I'm good at killing; I'm also good at accidentally marching my characters off cliffs--SPLAT!) My faves are: Borderlands (steampunk-esque setting), Halo, Gears of War, and Modern Warfare (zombie level !).


What book are you reading now?
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I'm in awe of Collins's ability to put her characters through hell.


If you were to write a series of novels, what would it be about?
The Music of Chaos is technically the first book in a series. I wrote it envisioning a six-book story arc.


What are your favorite TV shows?
We don't watch much television at Chez Kirby. Our TV viewing is via DVD/Netflix. I love Firefly, Dexter, Bones and True Blood (Eric Northman, yum). And because you're never too old to learn something, Nova Science, Independent Lens, Nature and other PBS offerings, are awesome.


What songs are most played on your mp3 player?
Josh Ritter's "The Curse," a song about a mummy who falls in love with an archeologist, is on high rotation. As are songs from Abney Park's The End of Days.

Random 10 off my Today's Mood playlist:
Snuff - Slipknot
Hall Om Mig - Nanne
I Don't Know What Love Is - Leslie Nuchow
I Will Not Bow - Breaking Benjamin
A Star-Crossed Wasteland - In This Moment
Invincible - Two Steps from Hell
Heron Blue - Sun Kil Moon
She's Always a Woman - Billy Joel
I'm Not That Girl - Wicked the Musical
White Flag Warrior - Flobots

Do you have any suggestions for beginning writers? If so, what are they?

Write the first chapter, then the next, then the next, till you get to the end. Don't futz and fiddle with early chapters. Get the whole beast on the page, then go back and revise.