Tag: Guardians

New York

Brigid Huey
Photo by Louis on Pexels.com

My latest Work In Progress, which I’m calling The Guardians Trilogy for now, is set in New York. Well, a good chunk of it is anyway. My parents are both from New York, and I lived in Jersey until I was six. We frequently visited my grandmother in Jackson Heights.

Even so, I feel as if I barely know this city that is so important to my personal family history. Yes, I’ve been to the top of the Empire State Building and The Statue of Liberty, but as I began to write my story, I realized I didn’t know New York very well at all.

I’ve never had much of a desire to go back, until now. I’ve done extensive research on neighborhoods, burrows, historic landmarks, and Central Park. Now I have an itching to see them with my own eyes.

Living in the Midwest, I’m as far from the hustle of city life as can be. I wonder sometimes how I would handle moving among the crowds, navigating the subway system, or–dear God–driving in the city.

My kids are still too small to travel to such a busy place with ease. They would love it, I’m sure, but I would not be able to relax. Especially as one of my kids has a tendency to wander off! But I decided, once these books are finished, published, and world famous (just kidding), I’ll plan a trip and we’ll see all the sights mentioned in the books.

Especially the Chrysler Building and Gapstow Bridge, two very important places 😉

Music To Write By – Guardians II

Brigid Huey

I’m sitting on my deck this lovely spring afternoon, wondering where April went. Tempus fugit.

A few weeks ago, I found myself completely stuck on my latest WIP. Guardians is a young adult fantasy romance, and it’s only in the beginning stages. I mean, I’m 40,000 words in, and I have no idea how it ends. So after taking a week or two to work on other things, I came back to Guardians with fresh eyes, and a refreshed playlist.

Sometimes all it takes is a song.

In this latest installment of Music to Write By, I’m sharing an artist whose work could pretty much be the soundtrack to Guardians. Ruelle is a singer-songwriter whose music has been used all over the shop. Her work is sweeping, cinematic, and dramatic. Perfect for writing young adult romance. Here I’m sharing “The Other Side.”

I just love it. I listen to it so often my kids have the words memorized.

My musical sources are often soundtracks from films. The Marvel Universe is an excellent place to find inspiring tracks. Here’s one of my favorites:

It’s called “Bridge and Love’s Burning” from the Spider-Man Far From Home Soundtrack. I mean, is this not just fun and sweet? Perfection. Thank you very much, Michael Giacchino.

That’s it from my corner of the woods. Back soon with more music.

Take care, lovely readers.

Unexpected Roadblock

Brigid Huey
An anime woman with blue jean shorts and a red tank top eats a pasty while leaning against a windowsill. The character is Ursula from Studio Ghibli's Kiki's Delivery Service.

You might remember me writing about Guardians sometime last year. It’s my latest WIP, and so far I’ve really enjoyed crafting the story. It’s got guardian angel-like beings, magical overlords, and romance. Or at least, I thought it had romance.

My two main characters were supposed to fall in love and save each other. But they’re just not cooperating. Their romance is so…meh. I can’t seem to make their attraction believable or rewarding to read about. It’s a mess.

Meanwhile, two sets of other characters are hellbent on making their romances the center of the story. This is a new problem for me. Usually, I dream up an interaction between two characters and the rest comes from there.

So I’m more than 30,000 words into a story that I’m starting to not care about. It’s a roadblock, to say the least. I think my creative juices have just stalled a bit. Can juices stall? It’s January in the middle of a pandemic and some people just mobbed the Capital Building (yep, I went there), so maybe creative mind is just feeling a bit stifled.

For now, I’m putting it aside. Just like that wonderful scene in Kiki’s Delivery Service when Ursula says, “Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at the scenery. Doze off at noon. Don’t even think about [writing].”

And so, I’ll practice yoga and martial arts, take my kids to the park when the sun comes out, use my new watercolor pens, and stop trying to make Ella and Robbie work things out.

Maybe they’re just good friends.

Take care, dear readers. Be well.

Music to Write By – Guardians

Brigid Huey
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Pexels.com

Well, hello October. You snuck in, didn’t you?

In-between grappling with Halloween Covid choices (treat or treating? pumpkin patches?) and costume creation, I have been working on a brand new story. For those of you who are keeping track, yes, I am still in edits for my latest publication, Interrupted Plans.

This work, which I’m calling Guardians for now, is a young adult fantasy romance. I guess. Genres aren’t really my thing. I had the initial spark of an idea about three years ago, but suddenly it’s taken off in my brain and I can’t brainstorm anything else but this.

Guardians is, like all my work, a romantic tale. There are star-crossed lovers, there are magical beings, and there is a big evil dude bent on the acquisition of power. There may be two interwoven plot lines. There are definitely angel wings.

Those of you who have followed me for a while will know that whenever I begin a new project, I begin a new playlist. (Insert rant about Google’s new changes to Play Music here).

Today I want to share a few of my new musical discoveries. First up, Atlas: Hearing by Sleeping at Last:

Is that not a magical piece of music? It screams for writing. My fingers itch just listening to it. Another new favorite is Run by Ludovico Einaudi:

It is so good! Poetic and sweeping and just darn lovely. It fits one of my characters perfectly. It’s sort of become her theme song.

I hope your October is full of joy. Take care and stay well.