Hiring a bard!

When writing “A Songbird’s Tale”, I knew that I wanted there to be a musical element to the book. I wanted there to be a song that had a really strong impact on the main characters. Something that our little Songbird could return to at later points in the story as a way to comfort others or to bolster her own courage.

Spoiler alert, I’m probably one of the least musical people on the planet. I have no idea how to read music, play an instrument, and I certainly can’t sing well. That’s just not where I’m a Viking, and that’s OK! I have other talents in other areas. Never-the-less, I tried very hard to write my own lyrics to the song in my book. To put it politely, it was trash.

Initially I went to Fiverr and shopped around for a singer/songwriter to help me with my lyrics. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Fiverr, but in the end, I got what I paid for, and I wasn’t happy. To credit the musician I worked with, he was quick, and he tried his best to workshop my existing lyrics, but I could tell he wasn’t… “in the know.” Pretty sure that guy has never read a fantasy novel or played a game of D&D in his whole life. That song will never see the light of day if I can help it. Sorry Fiverr musician, I know you tried.

I needed someone who read Lord of the Rings, who went to Renaissance Festivals, who enjoyed Dungeons & Dragons... I needed someone who truly understood nerd/geek culture. I needed… A Bard.

Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, we have the fabulousness that is YouTube. There are wonderful, amazing people on YouTube sharing their hard work and creative endeavors for the rest of the world to enjoy, free of charge! Some of you may remember a while back when Sea Shanties suddenly became very popular and were all over TikTok and YouTube. (I’m going somewhere with this, I promise.) Enter… Rowan the Bard, who makes absolutely delightful Star Shanties. (A Star Shanty is a Sea Shanties… about Star Wars!) I have to credit Dustin for finding this guy, because when I heard his stuff it was apparent that he was brilliant and clever and skilled and an absolute perfect fit. This was the man I needed to write my song for me. He would 100% get it.

But. Would he agree to help me?

After a small amount of internet stalking (aka, visiting his YouTube, Facebook and Patreon pages), and some encouragement from Dustin and Phil, I decided to reach out. You never know if you don’t ask, right? So I sent him an email asking if he was taking commissions outside of Patreon and explained that I was writing a fantasy novel, and I really needed help writing a song for it, would he be interested in doing the lyrics and possibly also recording it as well. (And if I could possibly have commercial rights to said lyrics?)

Well, guess what! He totally took the job. We exchanged emails and I described what I was wanting for the song and a couple weeks later I had the most amazing lyrics I could possibly hope for. A few weeks after that I had an actual recorded song with instruments and vocals and everything. Let me tell you, THE SONG IS SO. FREAKING. GOOD. When I listen to it, I get goosebumps. Every time.

And that, dear readers, is how I hired a real life bard to write a song for my book.

Arthur Rowan (or Rowan the Bard), was an absolute rock star to work with and I was so beyond pleased with the result of his work. I cannot say enough good things about him or his work or recommend him enough. Seriously. Ultimately, we would love to get lots more songs from him for the world of Galhadria. As of right now I believe Dustin has also reached out to commission more songs.

If you want to check out Rowan’s work you can find him on YouTube and support him on Patreon.

Till next time dear readers, enjoy the song “How Many Souls” and go support a bard!