Healing Music
G.R. Lyons
In writing Illumined Shadows, I told myself that I was finally going to write a book that didn’t draw a single thing from my personal life. Well, the joke was on me, because it happened anyway, just like it always does. There’s always something—big or small—that manages to creep into whatever story I’m on. After eighteen books, I thought it would have stopped happening, but Illumined Shadows was no exception.
Though this book is the last in the Treble trilogy, it was the first of the three that I thought up. Vic was already an established minor character in my Shifting Isles series, and when I started thinking about his backstory, I knew it was going to get pretty dark, especially when the idea of Colby came along. Ryley was also established from SI, and was linked to Vic, while Zac was given only brief mention. Still, it gave me three connected characters who had already been noted as being in a band. Three musicians. Only fitting they called themselves Treble.
So I initially thought that giving their trilogy a musical element was entirely incidental. Looking back now, and especially considering the way Vic’s story turned out, there was a lot more of my own life trying to sneak into the story than I intended.
Like Colby, the boy whom Vic rescues, after dealing with a sexually-abusive situation, all I wanted was to hide out from the world. Maybe even leave it. In Illumined Shadows, Colby spends the first part of his rescue hiding out in his room in the dark, where he’s safe. But he’s not really living. Not even close. He may be free of his captors, but he’s as good as dead. He’s merely existing.
That was me. For a long time. I hid away and drifted in darkness and emptiness, not wanting to live, not wanting to step outside whatever tiny shell of safety I managed to conjure up and lock myself away in. There just didn’t seem to be any point. I wanted to die.
And nearly did.
Until something finally pierced the darkness, and reminded me that there were still beautiful things in the world left living for.
Like music.
It was one particular song on an album by my favorite band—an album I’d owned for months but never actually listened to because the darkness was so heavy, I just couldn’t bear pursuing any kind of pleasure—that broke through and gave me a wake-up call. The song made me realize that if even just this one, tiny, beautiful thing existed in the world, there was still a reason to live. It might only be a small reason, but it was a reason nonetheless. It got me starting to look for other reasons. Slowly but surely, I escaped the darkness and lived again.
Just like Colby finally comes out of his room, on his own initiative, for the first time, when he hears Treble play. He’s never heard music before, and the beauty of it is so exquisite to him that he braves the light and the presence of strangers just to experience more of it. It’s the promise of more music that keeps him coming out of his safety net, day after day, until he slowly but surely finds more things to love and to live for.
Do you have a favorite song? One that moves you, or just gets your blood pumping? One that makes you cry or inspires you to get active? One that has words that speak to your soul? Go play that song. Right now. Just close your eyes and give yourself a few minutes to simply enjoy the sound. Shut out the rest of the world, and immerse yourself in something beautiful.
And, if you’re willing, share that song with me. Email me at grlyons at grlyonsauthor dot com, or catch me on social media. I’d love to know what moves you.
Length: 100,000 words approx.
Treble & The Lost Boys Series
Book #1 – Ice On Fire – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Book #2 – Heavens Aground – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Blurb
When Victor Lucius was sixteen years old, a few cruel words out of his mouth led to a brutal tragedy, one that Vic has been trying to make up for ever since. Now, working as a missing persons expert, Vic tracks down and rescues people from abandonment or abuse, trying to alleviate the guilt constantly weighing him down.
His latest case—a boy who was kidnapped at the age of two and then held captive for nineteen years—is by far the darkest of his career. If there’s any chance of Vic finally redeeming himself, helping this boy might be it.
But rescuing Colby from his basement prison is only the beginning, and brings a whole new struggle to Vic’s life:
Temptation…
(Note: This story takes place in a fictional world, the same as in the Shifting Isles Series. There are multiple gods, different names for the days of the week, etc. A glossary is included.)
While daylighting as office manager for the family auto repair business, G.R. Lyons can often be found working on one of multiple manuscripts or desperately trying to keep up with the TBR pile.
Anarcho-capitalist, quietly ‘out’ trans guy, former belly dancer, coffee guzzler, highly-sensitive introvert, CrossFit enthusiast, and lover of m/m romantic fiction.
Email: grlyons@grlyonsauthor.com
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