Rowley's Roar #1

For today's blog post, one of the fictional characters from my novels will be sharing a few messages. No, I'm not going crazy. I'm just having a little fun with writing from the perspective of one of my characters, to explain her music.

Without further adieu, please welcome Captain Edwina "Roaring" Rowley, who shall be taking a moment to explain two songs from an album we're compiling.

Introductions

Hey little itches, I'm Captain "Roaring" Rowley. Owen thinks I should introduce myself and share a little something about my life, though I'm not sure why, since it's not very interesting.

I'm a pirate, so I lie, cheat, steal and kill to survive. I'm a shark in the great big fish tank my people call the the Solus star system. I used to be one of the pirate Queen's highest ranked lieutenants, at least before a certain trio of sisters saw fit to...well, let's just say I'm now self-employed.

However, I wasn't always a pirate. Long ago, I was a Newt Witch, one of those high-and-mighty stick-in-the-mud types that think they rule the Solus system. At the time, I was just eighteen.

Seems like a lifetime ago and in many ways, it was. Honestly, I don't even know how old I am now, because I spent a long time...nevermind. That's the subject of a song, so I guess I'll cover that another day.

Anyway, getting back to the point, I was eighteen and I'd just fallen in love, which brings me to the first song I want to talk about today...

Twinkle and Spin

I was happy and it was night. I'd just finished work for the day, plotting temporary transfer orbits between Junas and Vanenta, since the two were nearly in alignment.

To explain that, Junas is the gas giant the moon I lived on at the time orbited, while Vanenta is another that's further out. Both host quite a few moons, each roughly the size of your planet Earth, at least in terms of mass. Some are bigger than others, but they were all engineered by the great witch ancestors of the past to host human life.

The particular moon I lived on was number Thirty-Six, named Ithys, for the Goddess of Justice. Its atmosphere is a little thinner than average, like being on top of a high mountain, which will be important to my story in a moment.

At the time, I was living in a tent, because my mother had grown sick of me and kicked me off her ship, but I hadn't yet earned the money to buy my own. That was the very reason I'd been working so hard, taking any job the Order of Newts would give me, which was all low-level calculation work. Real tiring and boring, but important stuff.

Along the way, I found something interesting in the Order's orbital records, marking the fact we would be passing through a dust cloud for the next few nights. Such things are uncommon, but shooting stars are always beautiful, so I was somewhat eager to get home and let my boyfriend know, so we could watch the show together.

If I'd known even a little more about that meteor shower, I would have instead suggested taking cover. We went off to a high hill together and watched as the meteor shower became a real spectacular show, better than my wildest dreams.

Unfortunately, the thin atmosphere of Ithys wasn't enough to make the meteors burn up. I later heard that ships all around Junas had a rough time of it, but most were able to fend off the dust and rocks with protective spells strung between their solar sail masts.

I was the only one that had known it was coming, but I foolishly thought it would be fun, a sight to share with my boyfriend, Wimark, but I was wrong. If we'd lived on any other moon, that might have been the case, but not Ithys.

After a few hours, we began feeling quakes as the meteors struck ground and grew worried, but we were miles out from shelter, because we we so poor and there was nothing we could do. We held each other and waited for the danger to to pass.

One moment I was looking into Wimark's eyes with terror, while he looked into mine, but the next he was dead, hit right in the head by a space rock moving so fast, I didn't hear it until it was over. It went clean through his skull and killed him instantly. That was the only saving grace of that tragedy.

It was the single most traumatic event I've ever experienced and it set me down the path I walked the rest of my...life. Heh. That phrase seems a little ironic now, I must say, but again, that's the subject of another song.

Anyway, it wasn't long before I wrote Twinkle and Spin as the means to express my feelings and put my loss to words. At the time, I really did think I would never love again, intending to die old and lonely. What can I say, other than, "I was eighteen and stupid"? I did love again, but anyone's first love is always different and special.

So, that's how my story began. I'm feeling a little down now, so I think I'll move on to something less...painful, but here's Twinkle and Spin for you to enjoy:

Lyrics

Stars twinkle in the night,
Yellow, red and blue,
Always so very bright,
Shining just for you.

Chorus:
They twinkle and spin,
Showing where you've been!

Walking back in the dark,
Tired, worn and spent,
Absent is the spark,
Heading for your tent.

(Chorus)

Gazes meet by star light,
Loved one waits for you,
In their arms take fright,
All the stars askew!

(Chorus)

You're old and lonely now,
Love lost with star's fall,
Now your head does bow,
Your heart in star's thrall.

(Chorus)

Memories never gone,
Heart tight with sadness,
Yet eyes always drawn,
Upward in madness.

(Chorus)

You can't stop them with laws,
Just shining all hours,
Effect without cause,
While your grave flowers.

(Chorus)

(Chorus)

Here's a link to the MP3 file, if you'd like to download it.

Twinkle and Spin is copyright 2026, Owen Tyme, all rights reserved, but free for your personal enjoyment. Lyrics by Owen Tyme, music generated by ACE-Step 1.5. E-mail me if you want to use it for something else.

Snake in the Grass

Ah, now for something different, why don't we talk about a real backstabbing snake in the grass? During my time among the pirates I often encountered an incredibly duplicitous woman, a viper like no other.

Captain Sophie Shade was someone I recognized from my days before I was a pirate and I knew enough to know exactly what she was. Amusingly enough, she never did seem to recognize me, though I never spoke with her in my earliest days, because I was content to observe from a distance, rather than interfere.

I never met one more utterly selfish, yet so quick to suck-up to the boss. All she ever cared about was money, but she had Matron Talbot wrapped around her little pinkie, because Shade always was such a smooth talker.

Years after I left the Order is when I met Shade again, as an extremely skilled fighter pilot, the very best I ever saw, but she'd become a pirate and I knew that was a lie, or perhaps I've got that backwards?

In truth, the little itch may have been more a pirate than I am...was, because she was exactly the same thing she'd always been: a snake in the grass. I watched her and analyzed her every move, and you know what? I became convinced she was loyal to none.

I observed her with remote-viewing spells for years on end and occasionally made a request for her to become my ship's CAG, but she always had some slick excuse to say no, while she worked her way up through the pirate queen's ranks.

You see, my requests were never on the level. It was just a chance to stir the pot and test her. That smug little itch thought she'd fooled me, because I played her so well, but I was the one using her.

I eventually began paying her to observe my fellow pirates and she became a valuable source of information to me, but I never forgot what she is and what she'll always be: a viper hiding in the grass, just waiting to strike, loyal to only her next payday.

She was the minion of all and the minion of none, a mercenary exclusively available to everyone, drawing pay from every pirate Captain I knew and Matron Talbot of The Order of Newts, useful to all, yet loyal to none. To me, Captain Sophie Shade embodies what it means to be a backstabbing traitor. She was useful, but I knew better than to ever trust her.

I now present Snake in the Grass for your listening pleasure:

Lyrics

Hidden in the grass of day,
Unseen by anybody,
Upon belly, making way,
With her green skin that's gaudy.

Chorus:
Appearance may deceive,
This viper, she smiles broad,
'Till venom thee receive,
All covered by her fraud!

"I will serve thee willingly!"
"I will do thee proud by night!"
Says the viper unto thee,
"And thy enemy I bite!"

(Chorus)

Unto thy foe she may go,
But watch her most vigilant,
Lest her loyalty she stow,
And thou shalt be left to rant!

(Chorus)

"Is the viper thine or mine?"
"Is she thy servant or foe?"
To such questions ye incline,
The answers: "Ye never know."

(Chorus)

Of this she-snake in the grass,
Know ye the truth and be free!
If share ye the word en-masse,
Her venomous fangs touch thee!

(Chorus)

Here's a link to the MP3 file, if you'd like to download it.

Snake in the Grass is copyright 2026, Owen Tyme, all rights reserved, but free for your personal enjoyment. Lyrics by Owen Tyme, music generated by ACE-Step 1.5. E-mail me if you want to use it for something else.

Tags: audio, music, roaring-rowley