October is Jaz’s Month of Happiness

 [Pumpkin by Paul-andré Belle-isle -- LEGAL USE OF THIS PHOTO LICENSED AND SECURED VIA DREAMSTIME - July 2014]

I’m a big fan of fall, and yet, October embodies the very best of the season. Oh, and let’s not forget Halloween…

It’s hard to believe that October – arguably my favorite month of the year – is half over. I must say, I’ve enjoyed the cooler temperatures, brisk mornings, and the turning of tree leaves (which, in earnest, really only began this week in central Oklahoma). There are a number of things to mention that have occurred, or been on my mind, in recent weeks.

Rapid fire. Here we go…

Recently, I entered my classroom before any of my students had arrived to prepare for an evening of lecturing on history. My typical sense of anticipation graduated to a full smile as I saw something on the whiteboard. See the photo below…

(Classroom Greeting -- PHOTO COPYRIGHT 2017 BY JAZ PRIMO)

Oh, I grinned like a Cheshire Cat. I simply adore my history students…both current and former! *Big Grin*

(Jaz’s New T-Shirts -- PHOTO COPYRIGHT 2017 BY JAZ PRIMO)

In the past week, I received two marvelous new t-shirts to add to my robust collection of casual wearables. In the photo above, you can see the “Doctor Who meets Rick Sanchez” shirt, which combines two of my all-time favorite sci-fi characters. The next shirt is an homage to Doctor #11 (the Matt Smith version) paired with an excellent shout-out to Halloween. I must concur…when one has a Tardis, who would want a simple flying broomstick?

In keeping with the Halloween theme, look below at the photo of a homemade spider that one of my staff made. It’s gorgeous! And it’s high-praise that I would accept one from Pam, given my complete fear and aversion to spiders! Truly though, it’s a beautiful work of art…

(Halloween Spider -- PHOTO COPYRIGHT 2017 BY JAZ PRIMO)

This week, I managed to track down a music track (really, it’s a song, but it’s instrumental synthesizer, so there are no words to it) that I’ve been seeking for over twenty-five years. It’s by Tangerine Dream and it’s from the soundtrack to a 1983 horror/thriller film titled The Keep. As far as the film goes, it was one of Michael Mann’s first films, and so badly edited that it’s not overly remarkable in its quality. However, one of the few amazing aspects to the film is its soundtrack, which was produced by Tangerine Dream (arguably, one of the world’s most renowned instrumental synthesizer groups). In a recent conversation, I referred to Tangerine Dream as “the Pink Floyd of synthesizer music.”

Film - The Keep (1983)

As I was saying, I have sought a particular track from the film referred to as “Stealing the Silver Cross.” What I finally discovered is that the actual music for that specific film track is not a standalone song from the group but rather a limited piece of music that was imbedded in the final portion of “Logos, Part I” from Tangerine Dream’s album Logos Live; a recording of their live concert at the Dominion Theatre in London, England in 1982. Oh, you can’t imagine my sheer joy and excitement over making that discovery!

Tangerine Dream - Logos Live Album

Anyway, I purchased the album on CD from Amazon and it should arrive this Friday the 20th. I’ve listened to cuts on YouTube but I can’t wait to hear the entire album in one contiguous piece. Believe it or not, that music will be included with other tracks that are played as I write novel content. In particular, it will be handy for my urban fantasy-based Nowhere Man Chronicles.

Finally, and perhaps more importantly for my readers, I’m actively writing!

My plan is to finish a VERY rough draft of my active manuscript by the end of this year. Oh, and when I’m not writing fresh material, I’m re-editing the first Nowhere Man manuscript so that it’s appropriate enough to send to my beta readers for their first impressions. Following that, it will go to my editor and then sent to copy-edit for preproduction and layout for eBook and trade paperback. Ultimately, I’m crossing my fingers for an early-to-mid 2018 release for it.

I can’t wait for you to meet Police Detective Peter Naughware…

Well, I’m on leave this week to write, so I’d better get back to it. But before I forget, I’ll be sure to share some photos of me in my Halloween costume, which won’t be revealed until Halloween Day.

Until later, enjoy life; be kind to those around you, and Happy Reading! Peace.