Music Before the Money

I always put prologues - the mini-chapter before Chapter One - in my novels and a lot of very good authors do . . . and don’t.Some use prologues as a backstory, informing the reader what happened before the story actually begins. Detractors claim that the writer eliminates suspense from the story, and that prologues are a waste of paper.

Here is what Carolyn Jewel, a successful romance writer and writing instructor, has to say about the subject: “Prologues are often deliberately confusing and vague. The writer knows she can’t be straightforward because otherwise, the other 300 pages aren’t necessary. In which case, you don’t need a prologue.”

I don’t pretend to be as successful nor as novel-savvy as Carolyn. Her success speaks for itself. But here is how I use prologues:

• 1) The Salient: A Novel of the Great War - puts the reader right at the start of a battle, a teaser.

• 2) Rockets of the Reich - Backstory and teaser - I put in a tour by Adolph Hitler to a crashed American bomber. This is his only appearance but it teases the reader to read more and also gives an understanding on why Hitler wants to speed up the rocket program. Flipping back and forth to this wouldn’t work for me.

• 3) The Millennium Man - none

• 4) Beneath the Plains of Abraham - retells an historical event to set the stage for a modern-day occurence.

Each of these four novels has a different beginning and only one has a backstory. In each case the subject and the story dictated the inclusion, or exclusion, of a prologue. In my opinion, it’s the writers’ choice.

At a seminar I attended outside Sedona, Arizona in 1995 I saw a woman in physical pain being comforted by another woman who was running her hands over the pained area. In a few minutes the sufferer began to smile and then she sat up. I was told that the person who helped her was practising Reiki. Reiki, it was explained to me, is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing by the “laying on of hands.” It is based on the concept of “life force energy” that flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If the life force energy is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means “God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power” and Ki which is “life force energy”. So Reiki is actually “spiritually guided life force energy.”

Is this like acupuncture? Reiki healers differ from acupuncturists in that they do not try to unblock a person’s ki but to channel the ki of the universe so that the person heals. The channeling is done with the hands and no physical massaging is necessary since ki flows through the body of the healer into the patient via the air. The reiki master claims to be able to draw upon the energy of the universe and increase his or her own energy while performing a healing. Reiki healers claim to channel into “diseased” individuals for “rebalancing.”

Is it just another New Age way of bilking money or does it work? Well, it has the attention of The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) which is sponsoring studies to find out more about Reiki’s effects, how it works, and diseases and conditions for which it may be most helpful.

This is one of those subjects that’s more personal in scope. Seek out a Reiki practitioner and try it out. They won’t bite . . . because they don’t actually touch you.

You have had a few practices under your belt and you want to find a place to play. Well, depending if you are a band or a doing it as a solo there are many options. My first three gigs in a band were at house parties. This is before videos so no one really knew how good or bad we were because we showed up with drums and guitars. Then it was a small dance here and there.

If you are doing a solo the venues are far greater but you are the focal point for success or failure. I started out at a Greek restaurant playing for $30 a night plus a meal and beer. I expanded this to include my brother in the payment scheme as he had been on strike for two months and food was getting scarce. His meal and beer was included.

Actually, this is not a bad way to go. Make a deal with a club or restaurant to play one night a week for whatever he can pay you. Here is what you get:

1) Ongoing feedback for your act

2) A place to build up your songs

3) A chance to meet new people and build up your fan base

4) A place where other owners can come and see you.

But most of all enjoy it. You get to play you own stuff and build up your own style in your own comfort zone. Just do not get too comfortable.