The Magic of Music--More Than You Think

I’m at Conflikt, the Seattle-area filk convention this weekend, and I’m writing this post from my hotel room as we speak. The place is full of filkers, with such luminaries on hand as Cecilia Eng (guest of honor), Alexander James Adams (toastmaster), the PDX Broadsides from Portland, S.J. Tucker, Vixy and Tony, and more! And I can’t think of a better place from which to officially release Bone Walker, Book 2 of the Free Court of Seattle—because we’ve also got the soundtrack that goes with this book and with Faerie Blood, and we’ll be doing a release concert in honor of both the books and the album.

(In fact, if you see this post before 2pm Pacific time on Sunday the 1st, you can actually see that release concert streaming! It'll be available up on fansupported.tv!)

A bit of background! Some of you may recall that Faerie Blood was originally published via Drollerie Press. But when Drollerie folded and rights to our books reverted back to Drollerie authors, I resurrected Faerie Blood via Kickstarter in 2012. I made enough from the Kickstarter to support not only re-releasing that book but also to do Bone Walker. The soundtrack became a stretch goal, offered in digital form to all backers who chipped in at $25 or more.

But 2012 got complicated, since that was also the year I got my contract with Carina Press. I had to let my alter ego Angela Highland do the Rebels of Adalonia trilogy before I could unleash Bone Walker on the world. Meanwhile, medical challenges delayed my wife Dara’s ability to get the soundtrack done. But it all started coming back together the last few months, particularly the soundtrack.

See those names up there in the first paragraph? Some of those people are on our soundtrack album. And some will also be performing at our release concert. We’re particularly excited to have Alexander James Adams involved.

All of this means a great deal to me, because music is critical to the Warder universe. Most of the main cast members of Faerie Blood and Bone Walker are in fact musicians. My heroine Kendis plays violin. Her boyfriend Christopher, Warder Second of Seattle, is a bouzouki player. And Elessir a’Natharion, bard of the Unseelie Court, can pretty much play anything he puts his hands on, not to mention his long and varied history of being able to wreak havoc on mortal listeners with his voice.

The Warder lineage in general is chock full of musicians too—because when your magic constrains you to physically stay in the same city for the rest of your natural life, you need to do everything you can to keep from going stir crazy. For the vast majority of Warders, this means music. Moreover, in my universe, the grand traditions of Celtic and Quebecois music, with their vast wealth of tunes, have the additional punch of magical power. If you see a Warder busking on the street, they’re not just out there to make music. They’re channeling power into the Wards of your city. Every jig and reel is a thread of audible magic.

Because I may be an author first and a musician second—but I’m also a musician. Music has held power for me throughout my life, the power to fan my emotions, to make me sing at the top of my lungs when I’m out walking, and to heal my heart when I’m struggling. It makes me want to grab an instrument of my own every time I see my most admired musicians perform, or to get up and dance and sing along. Sometimes all three at once. (There are reasons my nickname is Anna the Piper!)

It is therefore entirely just and proper that the Free Court of Seattle, the books of my heart, should be full of music that has all that power and more.

And now, some of that music is itself unleashed. The Bone Walker soundtrack is officially available for digital purchase, and you can order the CD too if you want it. Hear it for yourself right over here on Bandcamp, and my official page for the soundtrack with a roundup of other places you can buy it is here!

Meanwhile, Bone Walker the book releases to the world this Tuesday, February 3rd! You can preorder it from Amazon for the Kindle right over here, and many more places to get it are on its official page! You can even order it in print off the Crime and the Forces of Evil Bandcamp site, here!

I hope y’all will consider checking out the book and the soundtrack—and that you’ll see something of the power I hear in music. And if you, yes YOU, would like to win a print copy of Bone Walker for your very own, answer me this question in the comments: what song, in any genre, has magic for you? One week from today, on Sunday the 8th, I will choose a commenter at random and give a copy of the book to that winner.

Thanks for listening!

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Angela Korra’ti is the author of the Free Court of Seattle urban fantasy series, and her alter ego Angela Highland writes the Rebels of Adalonia trilogy for Carina Press. Come see her geek out about Quebecois trad at angelahighland.com, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter!