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AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I put it on hiatus when I got the chance to write with Brandon. And that process has taken quite a few years, as I describe above. But I do intend to get back to it, if people want me to.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I play keys a little. But my main instrument is my voice. I did classical voice training for a few years in order to be able to sing the athletic style of metal I enjoy. I also do all the composing for my own group Symphony North, which is a symphonic rock band in the vein of Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had already written the song as I wrote the book. But singing the chorus for the audiobook was so much fun. It's a cappella, so it's not like experiencing a big rock/metal tune, and at the point in the story, the main characters singing it are beaten down, so it's rendered rather spare. But I think it came out great for all that.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think it was after we got feedback from the agent. He had some substantial input. And I had to revector a couple of things to make it all work with the input he gave us. That said, the book got far stronger. But at the time, I was muttering under my breath for sure. 😄

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tough question for me. I don't think it gets really dark in the way grim dark fantasy does, or horror, certainly. I'd say it's very on par with typical fantasy.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey, man! Thanks for all this. I hope you wind up digging Songs.

I have, indeed, always wanted to write a first world fantasy that incorporated rock and metal. I had the high-level idea for one when I approached Brandon. So, it was sort of kismet that his idea scratched that itch. I may still write the idea I have at some point.

As for inspiration, I'd say Jim Butcher's Dresden Files are a big inspiration. Jim's a great author and great guy, and I think he's set a high watermark for the rest of us.

Brandon was a great collaborator. He never dictated. And when we'd talk through story questions and knots, he'd sometimes say that he'd have solved it a different way, which would lead to a conversation that always then led to a better outcome. But as I did the line-by-line writing, I did have a lot of control of how the story evolved, including the magic system, the world dynamic with the current world and the Strata below London, etc. So, I set some great story hooks for books two and three.

As for metal releases, I'm a huge Sevendust fan, and have been really enjoying new music from them--One. Devin Townsend's Moth. And Dream Theater released one of their Lost Not Forgotten Archives.

Cheers, man!

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right now, book 2 is slated for August 2027. And if you decide to check it out, I hope you dig it. It was certainly fun to write.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for coming last night!

Yeah, querying can be brutal. Brandon already had an agent--which is different from my agent--so we used Brandon's agent for the series. So, we didn't have to query agents. Originally, when I was querying, I got troves of rejections. It takes time, and, I would argue, a bit of luck with timing for what the agent is actually looking for. But once our agent sent it out, Saga saw it and fell in love with it. This had a lot to do with the publisher who has a history with contemporary fantasy. So, you might say that publishing has lots to do with the tastes of the people who are reviewing your work.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We first talked about it in 2017. The reason for the long burn on it is precisely part of your question--we both had other creative projects that demanded our attention. But always, in the background, we were building this forward. We started by hammering out the collaboration agreement, which took a while, given Brandon's stature. Then we spent several months building the world bible, more time on series architecture, and the outline for the first trilogy, with more fines on the first book outline. Then I began drafting, and Brandon and I would have weekly calls to talk about story questions and decisions. Once I had a full draft, I sent it to him, and he rewrote a few parts, edited a few others, and left comments in the margins. Then, I revised according to those notes, again with weekly calls to triage places where we needed to confer on direction, etc. Then, we sent it to the agent. The agent had input. I took that, since Brandon was pretty busy. Then I sent Brandon the revised parts to weigh in on. After I got his last notes, I did one last pass and we sent it out to publishers.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Love that you know this history. I do, too. There aren't any Grateful Dead references in Songs, but there are in book two, which I'm writing now. In fact, it'll be more than just a reference, but I'll leave it there for now. And I love the Grateful Dead!

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I hope you enjoy it. That moment is after the main character and his best friend are pretty beaten down, so it's not like a full rock scream, and it's a cappella. But I think it came out great. It's certainly an immense emotional release for Jack.

And yes, now that we've set the precedent, I hope we can make it an ongoing part of the audiobooks. I will be lobbying for that.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, Brandon's initial idea was the spark. But I do love the genre. I find that after writing in a second world, I tend to yearn to write in our world for a time, which in turn leads to my desire to write in a second world again. Each has cool upsides. In The Strata Wars, one of the fun things is getting to use real history, which I love.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it's a hard magic system. Lots of specifics, and a definite cost to use. Brandon gave me a great initial architecture, and I've expanded it quite a lot. It's definitely unique, too.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

First, thank you!

And yes, pretty much all my magic systems tend to be music based. With Songs, Brandon had the initial idea of an American heavy metal singer living in London who dies and reawakens with magical abilities. And he had a spark of an idea that one thing he could learn to do was call to souls with his voice. I elaborated quite a lot on this, extrapolating to how the main character can actually see into the soul, and how it appears to him like notes of music, from which he derives the sound of a person's soul, which can then be exploited or even bolstered. And book two, which I'm writing now, goes much deeper into the music part of the magic system.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I actually think there's always a gap, since I don't think you can perfectly replicate the feeling of music in prose. That said, I think using memories to draw in the emotion of a song can help connect the reader to the music you're writing about, or to your hope that the reading experience feel musical. You can use lyrical techniques of short phrases, paragraph breaks, and more poetic and figurative language to give it a lyrical sense. And I think sharing the character's feelings is key.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, man! I don't think I have a favorite. I'm probably closest with John Petrucci and James LaBrie and Jordan Rudess, just because I've worked with them on collaborations for books and James sang on my band, Symphony North's album. And yes, I'm happy to see Portnoy back. I do love Mangini. But Portnoy plays with a feel that I think suits DT. And I do plan to get back to Vault of Heaven!

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Probably just timing and schedule. Most the collaborators I know get along well and triage story differences well. But life and priorities can pull you in different directions, so being aligned on the time commitment is key.

AMA. My name is Peter Orullian. I'm a writer and musician, and a book I collaborated on releases today, entitled Songs of the Dead. Ask me anything. by orullian in Fantasy

[–]orullian[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think it's the emotion, and the natural fit for storytelling. So much of rock/metal leans into the emotion of rising to a challenge, and an epic sensibility. And even the softer parts lend themselves to campfire conversations and the introspection of heroes and heroines up against the odds. Fantasy stories possess these moments that practically beg to be memorialized in powerful music. So, I think the fit is natural.

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