Grace Ombry

Novelist

Tag: Saint Wozniak

Ellie observes Saint while peeling carrots

“Saint” – Pilate – State of Love & Trust

May 19, 2019 /

Author’s note

State of Love & Trust - review

State of Love & Trust, a novel by Grace Ombry

I’m serializing the first 10% of State of Love & Trust here on my blog. It’s a story about Pearl Jam fans in Detroit’s oldest neighborhood, Corktown.

Begin with the first installment. This post is #4 in the series.

 

Chapter 3 – Pilate – “Saint” (part 1)

Ellie – Detroit, Mich. – Friday, June 30, 2006

Saint caught me dangling his codpiece over the kitchen wastebasket. He stomped in and snatched it from my hand. “You wouldn’t dare.” He half smiled, clutching it to his chest.

“Yeah, actually I would.”

“Harsh. You know I need it.” His round eyes were all innocence. “You were really gonna toss it?”

“Yup. Don’t leave it on my counter again. Man, that’s just gross.”Continue Reading “Saint” – Pilate – State of Love & Trust

Yield bus
Ellie's painted Yield bus

“On the Bus” Getting in Tune – State of Love & Trust

May 16, 2019 /

Author’s note

State of Love & Trust - review

State of Love & Trust, a novel by Grace Ombry

I’m serializing the first 10% of State of Love & Trust here on my blog. It’s a story about Pearl Jam fans in Detroit’s oldest neighborhood, Corktown.

This is the first installment.

Ellie – Detroit, Mich. – Tuesday, May 20, 2006

I pulled the Yield bus into a rest stop somewhere between Grand Rapids and Detroit. Seeing Pearl Jam three times in four days was the kind of thing I lived for, but at two in the morning after the third show, I was cracked.

“C’mon you guys. Break time, then someone else has to take a turn driving this beast.” I tossed a pillow at the futon where my boyfriend Reece was kicking back, smearing marshmallow fluff onto an Oreo.Continue Reading “On the Bus” Getting in Tune – State of Love & Trust

describing fictional characters - a reader's image of Ellie and Saint
Ellie Rafferty, laughing with her friend (and fellow Pearl Jam fan) Saint Wozniak.

Character Drawings

September 14, 2016 /
Wednesday evening, 63° and clear
Listening to My Morning Jacket, Grab a Body

This morning my daughter Charlotte, who is away studying agriculture at Michigan State University, texted some images to me. She’s currently reading  State of Love & Trust and was inspired to draw this story’s characters. This got me thinking about the keys I use when describing fictional characters.

A little backstory: I have always written, and Charlotte has always drawn. I still have the first person she ever drew, which looked like a smiling potato with stick arms and legs. That was pretty impressive detail for a two-year-old.

Throughout much her childhood I’ve been working on one novel or another, and the roots of State of Love & Trust go back to when she was still in elementary school. She always asked if she could read my story, and I always said yes … when you’re 18. But as it happened, I put that manuscript away for a lot of years and began polishing it for publication shortly after she’d left for college.Continue Reading Character Drawings

No Code, Yield Vinyl and copyright permission on lyrics all in one day.
Pearl Jam's No Code and Yield arrived together the same day I got copyright permission on lyrics by Pearl Jam.

A Banner Day

September 8, 2016 /

In My Pearl Jam Universe

Thursday night, 70°F
Listening to The Rolling Stones, Let It Loose

Or how I got copyright permission on lyrics from Pearl Jam

How many times have you been told that you can’t put lyrics in your novel? That it’s impossible (or at least prohibitively expensive) to obtain copyright permission on lyrics? If it’s important to your novel, then it’s worth the effort to try. I did, and it wasn’t nearly as difficult as people claim. I’m so glad I didn’t let their negativity discourage me.

First things first: you absolutely must get copyright permission on lyrics before you publish them in your manuscript. Not only is it the right thing to do, it’s the law.

On August 17, 2016, I made a post explaining why the words of Saint Wozniak’s Whipping tattoo were left out of my novel, State of Love & Trust. In short, his tattoo is the first stanza of the Pearl Jam song, Whipping, and therefore protected by copyright.  At the time I wrote that post, I was well into the process of attempting to obtain permission from music publisher Hal Leonard. Based on everything I’d read while researching copyright issues, I fully expected it to be too expensive. But I had to at least ask. Those lyrics fit Saint’s reckless, hard headed character too perfectly for me to not at least try to get them included.Continue Reading A Banner Day

Using copyrighted lyrics -- and Eddie Vedder singing Whipping
Eddie Vedder performing Whipping with Pearl Jam in 1998.

Saint’s Whipping Tattoo

August 17, 2016 /
Wednesday afternoon, 81°F and partly sunny
Listening to CSNY The Loner/Cinnamon Girl/Down by the River

Some thoughts on using copyrighted lyrics

[UPDATE: When I wrote this post on using copyrighted lyrics, I was doubtful that I’d be able to obtain the proper permissions. Happily, Pearl Jam and music publisher Hal Leonard came through, granting me permission to include these lyrics in my novel. Lesson: If you want something, it’s worth asking for.]

In the first chapter of my novel State of Love & Trust, the character Saint Wozniak peels up his Mother Love Bone tank shirt to reveal the entire first stanza of Whipping inked in a neat typewriter font on his shoulder blade. Those lyrics, which he says are his favorite, matter to the novel. Yet they are not included anywhere in the text, and for good reason.Continue Reading Saint’s Whipping Tattoo

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