About Ife Oshun

Ife Oshun is the author of The Angelica Brown Series. A professional writer and actor, she wrote and produced for the stage in New York and Los Angeles, for television (as a WGA intern on Star Trek Voyager and producer at Tyler Perry Studios) and produced a pilot for a Warren G reality show. She is currently working on her next novel and lives in Boston, MA.

My Muses – Van Hunt

One of my favorite all-time muses is Van Hunt. I interviewed him back in the mid 2000s, but had fallen in love with his eclectic style of music way before then.

Van Hunt

Van Hunt

When it comes to categorizing his style, it’s impossible to squeeze his discography into one genre; he covers everything from soul, to rock, to funk, to pop.

While his music is unpredictable he’s always superior when it comes to creating a specific atmosphere and evoking a mood. “At the End of a Slow Dance” is one of my favorite Van Hunt songs, and continually haunts me years after first hearing it.

 

 

Van Hunt – “At the End of a Slow Dance”

 

 

Van Hunt’s recent album is more rock oriented and has one or two tunes that’s found their way onto my current playlist for the Blood To Blood sequel.

Blood To Blood

Blood To Blood Summary from the upcoming book’s back cover

Here’s a quick preview of Blood To Blood:

Angelika Brown has a killer voice. Too bad her über-conservative parents aren’t happy when she decides to quit high school to be a pop singer. What’s worse, she’s morphing into a blood-drinking immortal and her soaring vocals can now decimate everything, and everyone, within earshot. Will she learn how to control her new powers? Or will her bloodlust cause her to kill her girl group before they reach the Top 10?

My Muses: Top 3 Muse Songs

Out of all the thousands of songs that inspire my writing, the ones that repeatedly rise to the top come from one band. As a result, several have consistently been the top 3 Muse songs that influenced my work.

Muse

Muse

Over ten years ago when I lived in Los Angeles, the local radio station WKROQ was one of the few that gave this band any love. Since hearing them, I’ve not only been a fan of Muse, I’ve also rabidly consumed every lyric their lead vocalist, and resident mad man/genius, pens.

I could rant about Matthew Bellamy’s brilliance, the band’s amazing live performances, etc. etc. but that’s another post. Right now I’d like to talk about their impact on my writing and share with you the the top 3 Muse songs that helped shape my book.

Top 3 Muse Songs
Invincible

– This song is the biggest musical thread in the fabric of Blood To Blood. It is a rally cry disguised as a love song. Absolutely brilliant. “Whatever they say, your soul’s unbreakable.”

Unintended

-This love song is one of their most haunting songs. It is the inspiration for a couple of romantic scenes in the book.

Map of The Problematique

– This song changed my writing. Seriously. In part, it was responsible for  introducing a level of darkness into the lives of my characters, particularly Justin McCarthy.

There are many more Muse songs that inspired the tone of Blood To Blood. An honorable mention goes to “Bliss” “Cave” and of course “Time Is Running Out.”

Weekly Word: Got a Problem? Change Your Thoughts!

“You are the only problem you will ever have and you are the only solution.” ~ Bob Proctor

Bob Proctor, and many others, says it’s really up to us how we react to people and circumstances in our lives. So true. No matter what you are experiencing in life the key to coming out on top is your own reaction to it.Your ideas and thoughts are what you are and what your everyday life becomes.

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Try this: If you’re unhappy with the way things are going, try changing your thoughts into the kind of thoughts you think you might have if everything was going the way you wanted. Just imagine your perfect day and how you would think, what your thoughts would be in that perfect environment. Now think that. Don’t stop. Watch what happens.

Change thoughts, change your life. That is just the start.

My Muses: Cosby Show

Inspiration for the family in Blood To Blood came from what some may consider to be an unlikely source: The Cosby Show.

Cosby Show: The Huxtable family

The Huxtables

Long ago (early 2000s), in a land far, far away (Los Angeles) when I was working on a different project (Star Trek) the idea for a TV show came to me. The family was based, in part and very loosely, on the family from the show, the Huxtables.

Since the theme of family comes up again and again in my work, it’s no surprise that the Huxtables inspired my writing. The series gave us a strong mom and dad who were both successful in the professional world, and managed to translate that success daily on the home front by making their family the priority.

Interestingly enough, when the Cosby Show first came out, some people were blown away by Black American characters who didn’t display any of the stereotypical dysfunction heretofore marketed to TV audiences. The reality of educated, upper middle-class Black American family life had been unseen on prime time. Millions of viewers became fascinated by a typical American family that was once considered The Other.

It’s the concept of Otherness disguised in the packaging of The Everyday that fascinates me.

As with the other family that inspired Blood To Blood, the element of otherness percolating within the framework of day-to-day life (or, as in the case with Dark Shadows, the ordinary percolating within the framework of Strangeness) inspires me to create characters who deal with the same issues we all deal with, but in a slightly “different” context.

Like most families, Angel Brown’s family grapples with the daily challenges of raising children into responsible adults, making good decisions, living a moral life, etc. The fact that they’re witches and blood drinkers is the stuff that makes them different, but it’s the commonality, the connection to all families, that makes them familiar.

 

 

Weekly Word: Failure, Failure. FAILURE.

Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success. ~ Denis Waitley

Anyone who knows anything about failure know that it has the power to temporarily render you hopeless. No matter how enlightened and present a person is, there is always that split second where everything just sucks.

Epic Fail

Weekly Word: Failure, Failure. FAILURE.

Weekly Word: Failure, Failure. FAILURE.

 

But what happens after the split second of darkness? Does it stretch out to become a few seconds… or a few days… or a couple months? And then what? After an epic fail when do you pick yourself up and try again?

“Failure” is no big deal; honestly it’s like an opinion. Everyone has one; most have many. As a writer I’ve had so many I can’t remember them all! And I don’t consider them failures at all, because I always picked myself back up and kept going in a more informed way. How many times have you heard of folk who hit rock bottom, supposedly, right before something wonderful happened for them? If that person hadn’t picked themselves up would they have achieved success?

Donna Summer: All You Need Is The Voice

“The voice to me is the greatest gift… You need no other instrument, all you have to do is sing…and it’s there.” ~ Donna Summer

When I saw this quote from the late, great Ms. Donna Summer I thought it was a perfect, concise summary of how Angel Brown feels about singing.

Early in Blood To Blood, Angel says singing was her waking dream… “the only thing I could see myself doing forever.” Throughout her struggles she holds on to the only thing she has – her voice. Even when it turns against her.

Like Donna Summer, a classically trained singer who made a name for herself in the Top 40, Angel embraces the music of the soul even as she belts out bubblegum pop.

RIP Donna Summer, and mad love to all true singers who dare to live their dream.

Donna Summer – “I Feel Love”

Muse 2012: Grub Street

You all know I’m a big fan of Muse but this post’s about a writers conference I recently attended.The annual conference is put on by Grub Street, an independent writers’ center in Boston, and has quite a reputation.

Especially thought-provoking was a talk given by Richard Nash:

Whether it’s a multi-day conference or a local writers’ support group, these types of events are beneficial for writers, both aspiring and seasoned. There’s nothing like being in a room with 3000+ writers or a room with just 3 writers for making new connections and getting invaluable information on the business side of writing. Thanks, Grub Street!

Weekly Word: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger

A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot. It has to go though the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain. ~ Mildred White Struven

The process of transformation

The process of transformation

Blood To Blood’s heroine, Angel Brown, goes through epic struggle in order to pursue her dream of becoming a singer.

As I wrote about her struggles I thought of my own life challenges and the conflict my friends were experiencing. There is no way you can go through life without encountering what Iyanla Vanzant refers to as “The Valley.” During those dark times, you discover what your soul is truly made of.

The dichotomy is amazing: on one hand you don’t want to experience the pain (who does?), and on the other hand the pain, heartache and hard knocks are exactly what makes you stronger, more brilliant and takes you to a level you otherwise wouldn’t be.

Kelly Clarkson says it nicely in her song “Stronger”:

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, stronger
Just me, myself and I
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn’t mean I’m lonely when I’m alone


Lyrics | Kelly Clarkson lyricsStronger lyrics

The fire of transformation happened to Angel, me and I’m sure you can tell a story or two about your own personal trials.

Just remember once you get on the other side of the tunnel, show your gratitude and say thank you to that hardship for helping you become the butterfly you are today.

My Muses: Cocteau Twins

One music act that has influenced my art (writing and visual) consistently is Cocteau Twins, a Scottish 80s goth band. I first got into them through a roommate and almost immediately fell in love with their sound. Although no Cocteau Twins tunes appear on

Cocteau Twins

Cocteau Twins

my Blood To Blood playlist, I still listened to them while writing.

For those of you that don’t know, there were no twins in the group. The lead vocalist, Elizabeth Fraser, is probably best known as the voice on Massive Attacks’ classic “Teardrop.”

They disbanded some time in the late 90s, and I always thought it was a crime that a band with a sound this ethereal never got the recognition it deserved. Many would agree, the music is timeless and atmospheric.

My go-to albums are the darker ones where Elizabeth doesn’t bother to sing real words but somehow the lyrics are packed with life-changing meaning.

Treasure is my breathless favorite and features a number of songs that are on the playlist to the follow-up to Blood To Blood

 

  1. “Ivo” – 3:53
  2. “Lorelei” – 3:43
  3. “Beatrix” – 3:11
  4. “Persephone” – 4:20
  5. “Pandora (for Cindy)” – 5:35
  6. “Amelia” – 3:31
  7. “Aloysius” – 3:26
  8. “Cicely” – 3:29
  9. “Otterley” – 4:04
  10. “Donimo” – 6:19

My Top 3 from this album…

1. “Donimo” always leaves me wanting more. This one song has inspired a number of scenes involving angels:

2. “Pandora” I cried when I first heard this. Sometimes I still do:

3. “Lorelei” – Rather happy but just as ethereal

Very Honorable Mentions:

“Pearly Dewdrops Drops” What human words can describe this song? Surely this is the sound of something Higher.

“Musette and Drums” Sheer brilliance. Best with headphones at the moment when darkness softly devours the last of the daylight: