Elaina James

Whenever you meet new people standard 'getting to know you' questions crop up. I hate those questions. Possibly because my answers, the real ones anyway, tend not to be all that standard. If someone asks who’s your favourite singer I know what my friends would say: Elton John, Maroon 5 or Bon Jovi. The person asking the question would probably nod in approval, because even if they weren't their favourite artist they could understand the answer. They are all well-known great artists. These answers conform within the parameters of expectation. Mine answers… well, not so much. I love country music. Are you raising an eyebrow at me right now? Don't worry you're not alone. It's actually the standard response I get. Admitting to be a country music fan when you live in the UK is a little unusual. Don't get me wrong, I'm not alone, but I just have never found another fan in a work environment. However, my music tastes aren’t restricted to o...

... (how I learnt to collaborate)  Today's guest blogger is musician Andrew Higgins from ADHMusic : First up, I confess I'm new to blogging, so even the very form is intimidating me. What is a good blog...? I don't know, so apologies for the mental stream that follows, but I thought, just go with what pops up. Lets think about lyrics and creative writing I thought. I took a creative writing course last year. The intention was to learn tools, tips, techniques on how to 'unblock' ideas and help me write better lyrics (or perhaps I should just say lyrics, as sometimes I can't seem to put a single line together. My standard problem (as someone who tends to write the music first) is that I cook up a 'good' first verse, then it runs into the buffers. I have the rhythm and melody in my head and invariably I'm trying to 'fit' words to the music. Its like a 3D puzzle to me: the music, words, and tempo all have to scan in a way that is often...

The 2015 UK Songwriting Contest results are out! I’m delighted to have lyrics in the semi-finals again this year with ‘Back to Before’. Sadly they didn’t reach the finals, but there’s always next year… You can listen to the winners from this year’s contest online at: http://www.songwritingcontest.co.uk/2015-results.html The Lyrics Only Winner was Debra Gussin with her powerful and emotional lyrics ‘Best Actor’. You can read her winning words here: http://www.songwritingcontest.co.uk/best-actor.html My favourite song in the contest this year is the Country Winner; ‘A Moment Doesn’t Matter’ by Jayne Sachs, Victoria Banks and Brett Mandel.  It’s a beautiful song, fantastic moving lyrics and a great sound. I’d love to hear more by these guys! https://soundcloud.com/uksc/a-moment-doesnt-matter I also loved ‘My Favourite Time Of Year’ by Leigh Haggerwood, which won the Music Video category. The work that must have gone in to producing this video is incredible. ...

Today I'm participating in a group blogging event to celebrate the launch of Rhoda Baxter's new book 'Please Release Me'. I loved Rhoda's 'Girl On The Run', so I'm delighted to be a small part of her big day for her new book and wish her the best of luck with 'Please Release Me', which I'm looking forward to reading. The blurb: What if you could only watch as your bright future slipped away from you? Sally Cummings has had it tougher than most but, if nothing else, it’s taught her to grab opportunity with both hands. And, when she stands looking into the eyes of her new husband Peter on her perfect wedding day, it seems her life is finally on the up. That is until the car crash that puts her in a coma and throws her entire future into question. In the following months, a small part of Sally’s consciousness begins to return, allowing her to listen in on the world around her – although she has no way to communicate....

My entries for this years songwriting contest have been submitted - and look there's even a whole day left until the deadline. Are you impressed? To be fair I submitted what was going to be my one and only entry last week. But then in a bolt of inspiration I wrote some new lyrics, which I loved even more than the first ones, and then kicked myself for having been so organised and already submitted. Which meant there was only one thing I could do... Submit a second entry. Okay so technically there were two things I could have done, the second being to simply do nothing, but inaction didn't really seem like the best way of getting my lyrics out there. Of course by tomorrow I'll be cursing myself for submitting either, as I nervously await the results and wonder why I put myself through this torment of anxious hope. Ah the tortured life of a writer. The thing is, aside from the knot in my stomach, bitten down nails and thread bare carpet from all my nervous pacing,...

You may recall a few months back I took the brave decision (ok ok so it was a crazy decision at the time, but it worked out well so now I can call it brave), to share my song lyrics (which had made it to the semi finals of last years song writing contest ) with a fellow writing student on the course I'm taking who happens to be a talented musician. He sent the recording through to me last week and I listened in amazement.  It's like hearing a song you know well on the radio and singing along, except I'd never heard it before I just knew all the words.  I still can't believe that he transformed the words on a page of my old note book into an actual song.  The music and production of the track is fantastic and hearing about all the work that goes into not just recording but producing it is incredible.  I have a new appreciation for the music industry! Two days later our writing class was considering the influence of music and images on writing, as a result our ...

My writing has taken a backseat as reality took unscheduled control of my life recently.  Juggling work, hospital visits and an overwhelming sense of worry, put everything else on hold.  Sometimes life really is just about trying to get by and make it from one day to the next. The result is that I hadn't really written much for a few months, other than some rather somber song lyrics.  It seems when I'm happy I write stories.  Happy, sad, romantic, adventurous, it really doesn't matter, the story ideas just seem to bubble away in my head, eager to break free and make it on to the page.  However, when I'm sad the stories fade away and short lines of rhyming heartache take over.  A chorus, a verse, even whole songs will come to me as I drive home or try to sleep. The start of the final term of my writing course last month however meant that I had to pull myself out of my slump and release my imagination once more, or maybe it was more a case of giving it a...

So I could have had the best idea ever, or potentially have just made the worst decision. Today I took a bold step into uncharted territory. I sent some of my song lyrics to one of my class mates on my writing course, who just happens to be an amazingly talented musician in search of a lyricist to collaborate with. Sounds perfect right? You’re probably wondering how this could ever even remotely be considered a bad decision. I mean the chance to actually have music to my lyrics (aside from the out of tune singing I attempt when I’m writing them) is a fantastic opportunity. There’s just one teeny tiny snag… we work together. No one at work knows about my lyric writing. A few know about my stories but absolutely no one knows about my lyrics and I’d kind of envisaged it staying that way. I trust that he will keep my secret to himself, especially as he’s not exactly advertising his own musical aspirations in the office, though having heard his creations I really don’t know why n...

Yippee!  I’ve just heard that I’m a semi-finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest.  Can you tell I’m completely ecstatic at the news?  The final results won’t be announced until later this year, so I’ll be keeping my figures crossed until then.  In the meantime however… Yippee! I’d actually turned my laptop on to do some work on my latest novel.  However strangely after reading the results my mind is drawing a complete blank when it comes to thinking of dialog.  In fact the only thing it seems to be able to come up with is, Yippee!   Given the character in my story has just discovered she’s the prime suspect in a murder investigation, that might not be quite the response for her to go with.