Author Christine M Knight’s Blog
THE ROAD TO TRUE NORTH
Christine M Knight uses the British spelling system in all of her work.
The lyrics forRoad to True North were written for my third novel ‘Song Bird’. It’s a song for Nikki Mills, the central character. It reflects the next stage of her life’s journey and her quest to provide a better life for herself and her son. I also wrote music for the lyrics. The song will be engineered and produced late September 2014 by Shane Edwards at Karma Sound Studio in Thailand. Shane has a special talent for recognizing the emotional build in a song and how to get it and for solving the puzzle involved in crafting a song. I consider myself lucky to have him working on this project for me.
Here the full song at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dagny
CHORUS Travelling down the golden road.
I’ll be staying true to that course.
There’s no looking back
To where I came from.
I’m heading for a better life.
Music interlude: 8 bars
VERSE
Sometimes,
When I’m on the road,
The going is easy
And the road hums.
At times,
The road is steep
With twists and turns.
It’s such a grind!
When the whirlwind blows,
It won’t sway me off course,
‘Cause my compass is set
To true north.
It guides me
Through the dark days,
Life’s maze.
I’ll stay on course.
CHORUS
I’m on my way down
The golden road
Through a land
Of glitter and gloss.
I’ve got my eyes wide open
So there’ll be
No straying.
I’m on my way down
The golden road
Through a land
Of glitter and gloss.
I’ve got my eyes wide open
So there’ll be
No mistaking
The manufactured and the false.
BRIDGE
Wiser now than before,
I’ve learnt life’s lessons;
I know the score.
I’m in control of my destiny.
I won’t let trouble get the best of me.
Music interlude: 4 bars
CHORUS
I’m on my way down
The golden road
Through a land
Of glitter and gloss.
I’ve got my eyes wide open
So there’ll be
No straying.
I’m on my way down
The golden road
Through a land
Of glitter and gloss.
I’ve got my eyes wide open
So there’ll be
No mistaking
The manufactured and the false.
Music interlude: 8 bars
© Christine M Knight
A big thank you to the very talented song bird, Ingrid Oram, for her help. She put down the guide vocals so that the vocalist in London, Dagny, could hear the song and lay down the vocal track. I also consider myself very lucky to have their help in getting the vocal tracks down. Both vocalists are very talented.
My publisher also commissioned a purpose written song for ‘Song Bird’ through crowd sourcing. There were a lot of music submissions; the entries all sounded great. HIGHLIGHT PUBLISHING chose The Golden Road by Justine Camilleri and Chris Gale, Melbourne, from the highly competitive field of entries. It is a great song.The lyrics were the result of a number of discussions between Justine Camilleri and me about the imagery that I used in ‘Song Bird and the plot.
Way Ward Films are creating the promotional video for ‘Song Bird’.
‘Song Bird’ is a sequel to ‘Life Song’.
In ‘Life Song’, Mavis (stage name: Nikki Mills) awakens to life’s possibilities after six years of hardship and anguish. I used a twist on the Sleeping Beauty archetype, but it’s life’s opportunities that bring her back to life not the kiss of a prince. Mavis’ name means song bird. This novel is about the music in life – songs of joy and tribulation – and the complex nature of love.
While ‘Life Song’ explores the complex nature of love, it is not in any way a novel in the romance genre. ‘Life Song’ is about Mavis’ return to flight through song after years of having her wings clipped and being grounded. In ‘Life Song’, she realizes that just because men are attracted to her, she doesn’t have to fall into their arms or beds. Other things matter more to her at this stage of her life. The story is set between 1996-1998.
Set between 2000 and 2002, ‘Song Bird’ picks up Mavis’ story once she has become an international singing sensation and gold record artist. As part of her transformation, Mavis formally changes her name to Nikki Mills although family and close friends still call her Mavis. Having dreamed of and worked for the better life that stardom brings, she discovers that her reality is very different from what she had imagined.
Determined not to be caged by the fan and media circus, Nikki struggles to protect her son, maintain their relationship and lifestyle, and find time for love. That struggle is made more difficult by the unearthing of a dark secret from her past.
Can she withstand the media storm? Will she transcend her past? How will she resolve matters of the heart?
Note: ‘Song Bird’ does not belong to the romance genre. It belongs to Australian Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, and Women’s Fiction. My publisher believes it is a novel for both genders and that modern male readers no longer require the protagonist to be male.
The world-wide launch date for ‘Song Bird’ is 2nd February 2015.
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