I’m a level 57 human today. Have a party favor!

Summary

For my 57th birthday, I have party favors for you. They are two songs by the fictional band The Math Turtles, for my novella Apprehension. The songs are actually written by Storm DiCostanzo of Paul and Storm, with Paul Sabourin and Daphne Always on vocals. They are hella catchy.

I am a level 57 human now! Last year, the “speak with animals” ability went wild. Elsie went from 4000 followers on Instagram to, as I write this, 111,000 followers. When I go to conventions now as an author, the first thing people say to me is some version of “OMG I love your cat.”

Same. And honestly, I would rather talk about my cat than myself. Here is the requisite cat tax — which is not your party favor.

But what’s the party favor?! I have music for you. Two songs!

It’s like this. One of the two books I had come out this year was a novella called Apprehension, and it was part of a Saga Double, with the novel Red Star Hustle, by Sam J. Miller. One of the primary characters in Apprehension is a musician in the band Math Turtles. The music played a significant role in the story and I decided to commission Storm DiCostanzo, of Paul and Storm, to write the music to go with the lyrics in the book. I told Storm that the songs were written for adults but the favorites of the band’s six-year-old so they needed to be hella catchy.

We then asked Paul to be the voice of Jax and asked the incomparable Daphne Always to be the voice of Sam. Every time I got a demo, my grin just got bigger.

Here’s the first of the two songs. “Don’t Borrow Trouble” 

Written by Mary Robinette Kowal and Storm DiCostanzo, Produced by Storm DiCostanzo, Vocals by Daphne Always and Paul Sabourin

And here’s the scene that it goes with…

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Sam used to stand like that at concerts. Hard to say if Tristan remembered since he’d only been three when Math Turtles had stopped touring, or if he’d watched vids of his parents’ band before Sam got sick. Either way, I could see my child’s joy reincarnated in Tristan’s rooted feet and that cocked elbow where he held the toothbrush in front of his mouth like a microphone.
Tristan’s voice wasn’t huge, but given his legacy, it was good.

“When I was lost in the darkness,
my fate a set course,
my love found me,
lifted the shadow
and pulled me back,
by offering this key:”

Jax stepped in with a voice like a campfire wrapped in silk.

“Don’t borrow trouble.
That’s a spiral down, down.
Turn around now, turn around.
Don’t borrow trouble.
Don’t spiral down, down.”

Sam had loved his voice and Jax had sung bedside serenades for hours in the hospital. God. Grief caught me at the worst times. I slid a thumb under my eyes to wipe away any betraying tears and glanced at our guest. Desta had turned at the balcony door, mouth parted a little in wonder.

Tristan danced a circle around his dad.

“Still I grew up afraid to love
and told my sweetheart, ‘Don’t be misled,
I can’t promise you endless summer.’
Here’s what my sweetheart said:”

Jax caught his son’s hand, and they twirled around the living room, his skirt flaring out as he sang, “Don’t borrow trouble.
That’s a spiral down, down.
Turn around now, turn around.
Don’t borrow trouble.
Don’t spiral down, down.”

Tristan’s face glowed with happiness, watching his dad sing, and he puckered up his rosebud lips to whistle an accompaniment. Harmony, even! Sam’s little boy for sure.

Jax crouched down, skirts puddling around him, so his head was level with Tristan’s, and they sang in harmony.

“Don’t borrow trouble.
That’s a spiral down, down.
Turn around now, turn around.
Don’t borrow trouble.

Don’t–“ 

A loud knock sounded on the door to the suite.

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For the next song, may I offer you “Tears in Rain.” I didn’t write all the lyrics for this one, so I encouraged Storm to go wild. 

I think he hit the “hella catchy” mark, really, really well. Don’t you?