A Change In Tune

Violinist Victoria Pearson dreams of attending Johann Conservatory of Music in New York City for graduate school. As the oldest of five sisters, she hopes to escape her Midwestern college town and hectic family situation to fulfill her passion in life—music. But when she decides to participate in Belton University's Concerto competition to bolster her chances of acceptance, Victoria finds herself competing against her sister Adrienne and lifelong cellist friend Jerry Chang. This sets in motion a rivalry that questions the roles of sisterhood, friendship, and maybe love. Victoria wants to maintain the rigors required of a professional classical musician without losing her family and friends, not to mention her sanity, in the process. The demands of her large family might hinder her ability to achieve her dreams. What sacrifices will she make to reach her goals, and are they worth the cost? A new, twenty-first-century generation of little women takes the stage in A Change in Tune.

Trill is tall, shy, and awkward. Only music makes her feel at ease. And she loves to create music on different types of instruments--like using cooking pots as drums. Full color.

After dropping out of art school Andy finds himself unemployed and living with his overbearing parents, but things become more interesting when he is offered an unknown job from two strange out of towners.

"A handbook for compassion... a Must-Read Music Book.” —Rolling Stone Country "Generous and big-hearted, Gauthier has stories to tell and worthwhile advice to share." —Wally Lamb, author of I Know This Much Is True "Gauthier has an uncanny ability to combine songwriting craft with a seeker’s vulnerability and a sage’s wisdom.” —Amy Ray, Indigo Girls From the Grammy nominated folk singer and songwriter, an inspiring exploration of creativity and the redemptive power of song Mary Gauthier was twelve years old when she was given her Aunt Jenny’s old guitar and taught herself to play with a Mel Bay basic guitar workbook. Music offered her a window to a world where others felt the way she did. Songs became lifelines to her, and she longed to write her own, one day. Then, for a decade, while struggling with addiction, Gauthier put her dream away and her call to songwriting faded. It wasn’t until she got sober and went to an open mic with a friend did she realize that she not only still wanted to write songs, she needed to. Today, Gauthier is a decorated musical artist, with numerous awards and recognition for her songwriting, including a Grammy nomination. In Saved by a Song, Mary Gauthier pulls the curtain back on the artistry of songwriting. Part memoir, part philosophy of art, part nuts and bolts of songwriting, her book celebrates the redemptive power of song to inspire and bring seemingly different kinds of people together.

She’s just a small town girl, with big mythic dreams. Starr Weatherby came to New York to become… well, a star. But after ten years and no luck, she’s offered a big role – on a show no one has ever heard of. And there’s a reason for that. It’s a ‘reality’ show beyond the Veil, human drama, performed for the entertainment of the Fae. But as Starr shifts from astounded newcomer to rising fan favorite, she learns about the show’s dark underbelly – and mysterious disappearance of her predecessor. She’ll do whatever it takes to keep her dream job – though she might just bring down the show in the process.

From the author of the acclaimed Roll with It comes a moving novel about a girl with a sensory processing disorder who has to find her own voice after her whole world turns upside down. Lou Montgomery has the voice of an angel, or so her mother tells her and anyone else who will listen. But Lou can only hear the fear in her own voice. She’s never liked crowds or loud noises or even high fives; in fact, she’s terrified of them, which makes her pretty sure there’s something wrong with her. When Lou crashes their pickup on a dark and snowy road, child services separate the mother-daughter duo. Now she has to start all over again at a fancy private school far away from anything she’s ever known. With help from an outgoing new friend, her aunt and uncle, and the school counselor, she begins to see things differently. A sensory processing disorder isn’t something to be ashamed of, and music might just be the thing that saves Lou—and maybe her mom, too.

Set in the mid-1970s, this musical odyssey and coming-of-age story follows the adventures of a struggling rock band as they try to make it big. Band leader Daniel Travers' life is a mess and he can't find a way out. His band, the Killjoys, is going nowhere and the amphetamines he's popping are making him crazy. Then out of nowhere, an agent calls with a week-long gig at a hot club in Washington where he was told Jimi Hendrix and Heart got their starts. With an imagined Pete Townshend whispering encouragment, Daniel and the Killjoys are off to a tumultuous week filled with inner-band turmoil, a cheating club owner, bar-brawling bikers, and lots of women.

Written in the psychedelic era, Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out is Timothy Leary at his best, beckoning with humor and irreverence, a vision of individual empowerment, personal responsibility, and spiritual awakening. Includes: Start Your Own Religion Education as an Addictive Process Soul Session Buddha as Drop-Out Mad Virgin of Psychedelia God's Secret Agent o Homage to Huxley The Awe-Ful See-Er o The Molecular Revolution MIT is TIM Backwards Neurological Politics "Trickster is a major figure in American Indian folk Wisdom. Also in Sufi Tales … a certain type of "rascal"-with a grin and a wink (and wisdom beyond wisdom) … in the Zen tradition this is known as the School of Crazy Wisdom … Timothy Leary-in his own inimitable way-has become the twentieth century's grand master of crazy wisdom …" - Dr. Jeffrey Mishlove

The last century has seen radical social changes in Ireland, which have impacted all aspects of local life but none more so than traditional Irish music, an increasingly important identity marker both in Ireland and abroad. The author focuses on a small village in County Clare, which became a kind of pilgrimage site for those interested in experiencing traditional music. He begins by tracing its historical development from the days prior to the influx of visitors, through a period called "the Revival," in which traditional Irish music was revitalized and transformed, to the modern period, which is dominated by tourism. A large number of incomers, locally known as "blow-ins," have moved to the area, and the traditional Irish music is now largely performed and passed on by them. This fine-grained ethnographic study explores the commercialization of music and culture, the touristic consolidation and consumption of "place," and offers a critique of the trope of "authenticity," all in a setting of dramatic social change in which the movement of people is constant.