This will contain some links and pointers to things I find of interest to me. Hopefully I'll keep you guessing on my personality cause I am generally all over the place (How the hell do you think I get Mohawk Indians battling evil in a seaside town in Northern California?! ...whooops! I let that slip.) I get inspired and spin out on some of the craziest stuff. You'll see...

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Okay now for some of my musical influences:

You get chances in life that profoundly affect you. Sharing the stage with this man touched me deeply. He was warm and infinitely engaging. His music (recordings, dvds and performances) are in constant rotation on my iPod and iTunes library (in fact, he signed the back of my iPod). He also was incredibly generous with my granddaughter Keely who speaks of him to this day with deep affection (his recordings are on her iPod as well... probably the only 6 year old who avidly listens to
Jose Cura).

So his music is an inspiration for my novels as well. Stephanie Meyer can have her 'Muse'... I'll stick with the classics (thank you very much).

Bravo, Maestro, Bravo!

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This artist is one of my absolute favorites. I discovered him like many when his first US release hit the US around 2005 or 6 (I can't remember exactly). It was called 'Sometimes I Dream' and the title track to the album was worth the purchase price alone. I was thrilled to find his work. The only problem is that some of his stuff can ONLY be found in Greece (his home country) so a lot of my purchases have come from there. But his work is well worth the effort. I have linked to his site because I actually reference Mario in my first book of the series. One of the characters is actually an ex Cirque du Soliel performer (an aerialist) and one of his signature numbers is a 'fantasy' piece I concocted of Mario Frangoulis and Sarah Brightman singing a tune actually recorded by Opera Babes based on the theme from 'Scheherazade'. It was a complete fantasy of mine to pair up Mario and Sarah.

Oddly enough, Sarah chose Mario to accompany her on her US tour to promote 'Symphony' (her latest CD - see below). AND I MISSED IT! Grrrrr! I didn't find out about it until she had already whipped through the SF Bay Area. Ah well, what's one more regret?

So, just a heads up that when the book gets published (and it will from what I can tell from the feedback I am getting from other published authors) Mr. Frangoulis makes an appearance (well his voice does anyway) as he is a particular favorite tenor for that character (yes, the association is drawn from my own opinion). So I hope you look into Mario's site and see if what he does appeals to you as much as it does for me.

Mario Frangoulis... Enjoy!

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Okay, I was hooked on Sarah from way back in the Phantom days. But her solo albums have grown to be among my favorites in my HUGE collection of CD's (well over 3000 of them physically in my library, Digitally I am pushing well close to the same amount and as for old fashioned vinyl... well I have thousands of those as well... just so you get an idea of how hard it is to climb the list to the top).

Sarah has crossed over (along with Mario - see above) to become what is labelled as a 'popera' star. The blending of Pop and Opera genres. I hope you enjoy her site. As I stated in Mario's section above both Sarah and he have an entry in the book at a pivotal stage (well their 'song' does anyway).

Sarah Brightman - See what she's been up to...

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First up on my Bit N Pieces... a really NAUGHTY site. One that tickled me from the first moment I found it. FURNITURE PORN! NOT for the faint hearted... LOL! Tell the kiddies they have to be in bed early then get your groove on with this little gem. Don't say I didn't warn ya!

You'll never look at the house hold chairs the same...

Too funny for words...

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