songs | Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

Creative Edge – Interview – Chloey Rose

November 24, 2022
mandyevebarnett

No matter the creative process or medium, we all write. A musician writes lyrics, sings songs and creates musical accompaniments. Welcome Chloey Rose, who delves into many creative forms.

1. When did you start writing song lyrics?

I started writing songs in my early teenage years and found music enabled me to express myself in a way I couldn’t without it. I feel as humans we are all unique and we should embrace that! I enjoy watching how a song transforms from basic chords on the piano or guitar to something magical. When songwriting, I always maintain mystery behind the lyrics too, their deeper meaning remaining secret within my heart.

2. Where does your inspiration come from for your songs?

With every song I always find myself intending to share a message with the world, my songs attempt to work through significant moments in my life and those of others I have met, they are often reflective learning from experience and reiterate the power in self-belief. I am mainly inspired by the stories I hear, things I’ve experienced and collaborating with other artists/producers. I also draw inspiration from artists such as the very talented Kate Bush, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift. I was introduced to Kate Bush’s music by my Dad from a young age and when I first heard her I knew she had this magical voice which was unusual and captivating. It’s amazing to see how much recognition she is currently receiving and how her music has been highlighted through the TV Strangers Things Series. And Yes, I’m obsessed with the show too HA! Kate inspires me to strive to create my own sound and style without trying to be like anyone else.

3. Do you start with a melody or the words?

When writing, I usually experiment with certain chords on the piano and what feels right. Then I start humming the melody and the lyrics develop. The beginnings of writing a song are always the most exciting for me because it’s the unknown and I usually just flow with the process and see where it takes me. I try to write songs naturally rather than mechanically, without forcing the structure of a song. Sometimes I choose lyrics that best express what I am feeling or experiencing at that time or words that will best deliver the story and imagery that I am portraying through song. Personally, I feel writing can show vulnerability in the writer as feelings and emotions are shared and depending on whether the content is biographical or fictional. In Hopes and Dreams I was able to reveal my passion for music and personal determination to strive to achieve my ambitions through song. I always maintain a little mystery around each song’s true meaning, which I believe enables people to create their own understandings and interpretations to the songs and what it means to them.

4. Does your English heritage influence what you write?

It has definitely influenced my music, I feel a lot of my songs are inspired from the experiences I had in my hometown and the people I had met along the way. I am a Lincolnshire girl and I live on the outskirts of a historic fishing town Grimsby surrounded by the Lincolnshire Wolds and farmland. My songs such as Butterfly and Sky is Falling have a nature theme within them and many of my photographs include the background of fields and nature. Golden Sun my latest song release, supports a music video set in the beautiful English countryside.

5. Which singers/bands did you listen to as a child?

One of the main artists I’ve been influenced by since growing up is the very quirky Kate Bush, her lyrics and music always tell a theatrical story filled with emotion. I feel her performances are always captivating which always makes her stand out against others, her talent and stage presence gave me inspiration to shape my own style and sound without trying to be like anyone else. I liked and still hold in high esteem many artists, but for me it is ‘great songs’ that show great passion and emotion that I connect with even as a young girl. For instance, the outstanding film Titanic influenced my passion for music and I have funny video footage on my sixth birthday belting out Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On. Other early footage of young Chloey Rose includes renditions of Sting’s Fields of Gold and Elton John’s Can You Feel the Love Tonight.

6. How would you describe your musical style?

I would describe my music as pop, adult contemporary with a theatrical twist and music that you could hear on the soundtrack of a film or television series. Several of my songs have a folk and country feel to them.

7. What message do you want to convey with your music?

I really hope to share messages which help others relate to whether happy or sad and music that is inspirational such as Butterfly. I would like people to feel the emotion within my songs and uplifted by my music. As a performing arts and drama teacher I understand the importance of supporting young people in reaching their full potential and setting and re-setting personal goals and striving to achieve them and I feel my music is reflective of these intentions and holds truth and honesty within. Most importantly I want my songs to be relatable and people to be able to feel the emotions within my song, such as the theme of love and relationships in Hearts on the Line. I consider different themes when songwriting but intend to reflect ‘life’ and its rewards, struggles, fears, hopes and dreams in my music.

9. Will you continue exploring acting and modeling opportunities?

Absolutely! I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to do acting and modelling as well as my music. I was fortunate to be Miss Lincolnshire 2018-19 and my modelling has provided great opportunities to perform charity work. I thoroughly enjoyed attending the House of Ikon at London Fashion Week in September and am grateful for all those who support me. Acting has also been a huge part of my life and I love to perform with theatre and film experience and always feel at home on the stage. I love the excitement and challenge of working on different projects and always try to be as open-minded as possible to whichever opportunity comes along as you never know who you may meet, and these experiences continue to inspire new creative ideas.

10. Do you have a message for your fans?

I just wanted to say how grateful I am for their continued support over the years and how much it means the world to me to hear their feedback on all my songs. Thank you for appreciating my Music and I love you all! x

11. Where can people find you and your music?

The best places to fine me are on:

Facebook @ChloeyOfficial

Instagram @chloeyrose

Twitter @ChloeyOfficial

YouTube @Chloey Rose

Instagram @chloeyrose

TikTok @chloeyrosemusic

Bio:

CHLOEY ROSE is a stunning, talented, and unique Musical Artist, Actress and Model. CHLOEY ROSE’s new single “Golden Sun” is out NOW on Spotify, Sound Cloud and all streaming networks. Her music video for “Golden Sun” was released September 16 on YouTube and all music video platforms.

As an actor CHLOEY played the lead role in the BBC First World War Musical production of GREENFIELDS and BEYOND. CHLOEY ROSE also was Awarded “Best Supporting Actress” in Action Film Challenge for her performance in the film GRIMSBY RV, directed by Rob Smith. As a model CHLOEY ROSE was crowned “Miss Lincolnshire” and in addition was a Finalist in “Miss Great Britain”. She placed 4th in the “50 Sexiest Men & Women in Lincolnshire”. ROSE also placed third in “Miss Northern U.K.” and was a finalist in the “Miss British Isles” beauty pageants

Creative Edge – Author Interview – Thorsten Nesch

June 24, 2021
mandyevebarnett

Your novels tend to have unexpected protagonists/settings. Was this a conscious decision or the spark of an idea that evolved? My ideas hit me just as unexpected. It is not like I want to come up with this or that like a contract writer where an idea is developed and catered to a market, I am on the other end of that spectrum. I am not in control of my ideas, and there are plenty, and many I can’t even tackle, most of them I won’t finish in my life time. The once that make it are pressing, have an immediate impact on me and when they linger over weeks I know I have to sit down and deal with them. What brings us to …

Do you plan an outline or free flow write? … this question, and yes I do. For the longest time I had to keep up a job to buy myself time to write (and food and the other trivialities), so I couldn’t just write into the blue and hope the novel turns out well somehow. I had to be sure. I could not waste any time. Early on I developed my outline technique where I work only on 1 letter sized piece of paper, which I could take anywhere (jobs etc.) at all times. Everything is on that 1 page, the entire outline, like “They steal the car”, that’s a beat, at that time I don’t know where they do this for example. Only when I see these beats work and I understand my protagonists, hear them, feel them, know them, and I clearly hear the narrating voice I start the novel. This planning phase takes between 2 and 15 years before I start writing, but then the 1st draft is the novel.

Can you explain how the process of writing with a fellow author works? Is it a chapter each or a combination of thought and writing? I did this more than once, but always we agreed one of us writes a quick first version and the other expands on that. This way the voice of the novel is not flopping back and forth – except there are 2 distinct views or narrators, then this would make sense.

What differences are there from writing a novel to a film script to a song? A song or a poem is the entire opposite to a novel to me. These happen in an instance, a spontaneous outburst in under an hour, unplanned, unmanaged, quasi anarchic in character. A film script (as well as a radio play or a theatre play) is planned like the novel, but the writing is a fraction of it. I love film scripts, I wish more people would read them and they’d become an own literary genre.

Does your music affect your writing or the other way around? All the different media I am working in influence each other, ideas bleed from one form into another (example my song “Joyride Sky” was inspired by my novel “For a Spin”, I invented a band that pops up in a number of my novels, and for the dystopian novel “2112” (working title) I am currently working on I recorded an entire album you can listen to on Bandcamp, the band is called JENNY HAS TRAFFIC. It is fun and adds to the characters.

You have been prolific in the number of publications. Are the ideas still coming as quickly? Do you have a folder of ideas pending? Oh yes, ideas come constantly, I have to dodge them, write them down and put them in the folder. That folder is full with ideas, no way I can write all of them.

What challenges do you face with language? English is my 2nd language. The biggest challenge for me as a writer is not so much the spelling, grammar, vocabulary (you can work on that), but the fact I did not grow up in the English culture, I miss out on most childhood references, sport and political events, etc. I have to live with that, there is no way I can catch up with that.

When you write songs what influences you? My mood. My mood dictates the feeling of a song. Many lyrics come from darker places, I am not a musical comedian although I wrote many funny novels and had the pleasure to experience their impact first hand during my readings in schools between Denmark and Italy.

What propelled you to start you podcast? I was the kid (14 years old) that stayed up late to listen to radio shows at midnight. I always loved the medium, for music and word. I worked for radio in Germany, and as a volunteer I had an own 4 hour show at CJSW at the University of Calgary called PolterZeitGeist where I mixed words and music. Since technology evolved digitally I was able to get the equipment and do it myself.

Can you tell us about your latest project? I received this year the Literary Arts Individual Project Grant by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts to write the dystopian novel “2112”, and I document this process on my homepage in words, photos, audio and video until February 2022.

Where can readers find you? http://www.thorstennesch.com

Is there a message you would like to share with your readers? Don’t judge a book by its cover, please read the first page. Even with my novels, because the narrating voice changes.

Bio:

Thorsten Nesch is a German author who lives in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. 2008 Nesch’s first novel Joyride Ost was nominated for Oldenburger Kinder- und Jugendbuchpreis and the Landshuter Jugendbuchpreis. 2012 the book won the Hans-im-Glück Award

Signs From Your Loved Ones…

September 7, 2016
mandyevebarnett

I found this interesting article regarding ‘signs’ we receive from the other side. Many of us find objects, such as feathers, or see butterflies or ladybirds etc. and know that is our loved one showing they are near. For me it is ‘feeling’ my parents hands holding mine especially near water. It is an echo of being a small child and them holding my hands to swing me through the waves at the beach. There are also aromas that tell me they are there – usually at times of extreme emotional turmoil.

feathers

After our loved ones cross over, they are very anxious to let us know they are okay and are aware of what is going on in our lives. If we are not able to feel them around us, they will often give us signs that we cannot ignore. The person who is given the sign usually knows he or she is receiving a message from the other side. I always tell my clients that they do not have to look for signs – the signs will come to them.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5894048

The signs our loved ones give us most often are:

They come through as an animal. Our loved ones are able to use their energy to go inside of an animal, such as a butterfly, ladybug, bird, or dragonfly – for a brief period of time. The animal does something it usually would not do, such as land on us, peck at our window, scream at us, etc.

They place common objects such as feathers, coins, or rocks in our path. Our loved ones like to place things over and over again in our path that were significant to them. I have had clients come to me who have had jars filled with feathers, coins, and objects they have found in the most unusual places.

dragonfly

They give off fragrances. We can often tell our deceased loved ones are around us when we smell their perfume, flowers, cigar or cigarette smoke, or any other familiar smell they had. There is usually no logical explanation of why the smell is there.

They make songs come on at the perfect time. We know they are around when their favorite songs come on at the right time with the exact words we need to hear. Often the same song is played in many different places.

They come to us in dreams. One of the easiest ways for them to come through to us is in our dreams. All we need to do is to ask them to come, and they will. However, we should ask them to wake us up after they come, or else we will not remember the dream. A dream that is a true visitation will be very peaceful and we will know it is truly our loved one. We will remember this type of dream in detail many years later. (On the other hand, a subconscious dream may be frightening or feel bad. This type of dream is not your loved one.)

hands

They show us the same numbers over and over. They loved to give us numbers that are relevant to them or you, such as birth dates, anniversaries – or repeating numbers, such as 1111, 2222, 3333, etc. These numbers may appear on clocks, billboards, or any other familiar place.

They allow us to feel peaceful for no reason. When our loved ones are in the room, they usually make us feel so loved and at peace. It usually happens at the most unsuspecting time, so there is no logical explanation for our sudden bliss.

They place thoughts in our head. Because they in spirit form, our loved ones don’t have an audible voice. Therefore, they give us messages telepathically. Pay attention to thoughts that just “pop” into your head. We can tell the difference between our thoughts and theirs by backtracking our thoughts. If you can find the thought that triggered the thought of your loved one, it is probably your thought. If something your loved one would say just pops in your head for no reason, it is probably him or her speaking directly to you!

They love to play with electricity. They turn electricity on and off. They like to flicker lights, turn the television and radio on and off, and make appliances beep for no apparent reason.

They make buzzing noises in our ears. Because our loved ones speak to us on a different, higher frequency, we may hear ringing in our ears when they are trying to get our attention. This is a sign telling you to listen to what they are saying.

The list can go on and on, but these are the most common ways they let us know they are around. If you haven’t received any of these signs, simply ask your loved ones to come to you to let you know they are okay. Tell them to come to you in a dream and to wake you up after the dream. The more you are aware of the messages they are giving you, the more they will continue to allow you to know they are present. Be patient and persistent, and I promise that they will give you the signs you have always wanted. They really are okay and want you to be too!

What are your ‘signs’ from loved ones?

Have you had something move, disappear or appear?