Flight Of The Arn

 

 

Song:  Flight Of The Arn

Composed / Performed:  James Toller

This is the last song for The Halo Trilogy...

from book three...Halo: The Return.

The Tiger's Den - My Writing And Music Studio

 

I had just finished hanging up my guitars in this photo

(I installed the hangers directly into the wooden studs).

The electric Bass Guitar is on the left...

the Classical Guitar my son had bought me is in the center...

and the standard Electric Guitar is on the right.

And of course...

my Bass Flute is in front of the computer.

I kneeled on my bed to take this photo.  

Hopefully soon...

I will have my Medeli AKX -10 keyboard music arranger

 just to the right of where my chair is.

And even though I am still a beginner in music...

I hope to soon be able to play covers of some of my favorite songs

with these instruments.

I use the condenser microphone only to record the bass flute.

When I play the guitars...

I plug them directly into the computer interface...

even the classical guitar my son had bought me.

I had placed a contact transducer microphone in the middle of...

and just behind, the bridge of the guitar.

The sound is superior with this type of microphone for classical guitar.

(Addendum:  Actually, I had originally thought this because of the lack of a quality

universal condenser mike to record all the music.

I upgraded my mike and I now record everything with it).

For those wondering how to layer music...

I merely use the software included with the Mac...

GarageBand.

It allows you to listen to the previously laid track/s on headphones

as you record the next track.

This is how one may keep time with the other instruments already recorded...

while recording multiple layers of a song.

I then use the software included on the Mac...iMovie...

to make the music videos for YouTube.

I also use Pages...

the included software on Mac...

to write and publish from.

It is all so interesting and so much fun.

I just love my Mac computer.

Anyway, this is where I do all of my writing and music.

I have two basic modes of operation...

writing...

and music.

When I write...

I listen to beautiful music.

I spend most of everyday here.  

I have a comfortable captain's chair which is generously padded.

When I get deep into my writing...

I will sometimes sit in the chair in front of the computer

 for more than 20 hours at a time.

When I am really absorbed in writing a story...

I will often fast for a few days...

as I don't wish to interrupt my thought process by having to cook or eat...

and I will write until I get sleepy...

wake up...

and start writing until I again get sleepy...

and so on...

sometimes for days on end

(I usually do this when my younger sister has my mother for those days).

I had blacked out the window...

and insulated it from light or noise.

I am nocturnal.

I am most creative after the sun sets...

until the sun rises.

I generally write and play music by the light of the computer only...

as it aids in feeling isolated from the rest of the world...

so I may indulge myself in my world.

This is the Tiger's Den.

For me...

there is almost nowhere else I would rather be.

Until We Meet Again - Children's Chorus Version

 

This is the children's chorus version.

I haven't recorded it yet...

I may never.  I like the improvised flute and guitar version much more.

Song Of The Golden Doors

 

Song:  Song of the Golden Doors

Composed / Performed By:  James Toller

This song was played by Alex, a main character in the Halo Trilogy...

in book two:  Halo:  Dei Terra.

The song was composed by someone from the distant past.

Morning Song

Song:  Morning Song

Composed / Performed By:  James Toller

This song was composed and played by a main character

in the first book of the Kuma Trilogy.

Alex had recorded this to play on Halo as Mom and Dad awakened.

 

Earth Song

 

Song:  Earth Song

Composed / Performed By:  James Toller

This song was composed and played by Noah...

a main character in book one of the Halo Trilogy.

He had played it to remember his former wife, Natalie, and the daughter 

he had only seen in the videos Natalie had sent, and of whom he knew 

he could never see again.

Noah's Song (From HALO: The Beginning)

 

Song:  Noah's Song

Composed / Performed By:  James Toller

This song was composed by Noah's former wife...Natalie 

in book one of The Halo Trilogy.

She had composed and played this for Noah...

who was far away on the research spacecraft...Halo.

She would play this song at sunset at a lake she had named Noah's Lake...

as she remembered and missed him dearly.

Until We Meet Again

 

Song: Until We Meet Again - for flute and guitar

Composed / Performed By:  James Toller

In the first book: HALO: The Beginning...

this song was composed by Alex and Anastasia...

and was sung by all the children to Mom and Dad 

just before leaving to their new planet...Dei Terrae.

Alex and Anastasia had first performed this rendition separately for Mom and Dad.

HALO

 

Song:  Halo

Composed / Performed:  James Toller

I had composed and performed this song for 

the first book of my second trilogy (The HALO Trilogy): HALO - The Beginning.

Two of the main characters had composed and performed this song

to their future children just before they were to face an uncertain future.

It was to convey their love for them, and as a goodbye.

HALO: The Return (Third Book In The Halo Trilogy)

 

The last book of the Halo Trilogy is now available worldwide on Amazon.

     This is the third, and last book of The Halo Trilogy.  The story picks up with the efforts of the residents of Halo to repair Halo Mountain after the war, and to meet the rapidly approaching deadline to leave the planet.  During their efforts to advance their progress, Queen Lena advances her efforts to attack Halo Mountain to enslave the inhabitants.  The story then becomes one of the progression of the survivors of the first war as they make their way back to Earth, and of their subsequent adventures once on Earth.  HALO: The Return, closes all open plot lines and answers all questions as to what had happened, as well as all what would happen for the future of all of mankind.  Characters from the first book, second book, as well as the new characters introduced, find their place, and are fully resolved in this final story of the trilogy.  It is filled with adventure and heart warming interludes which give color to the characters as well as to the story.  It is a strong finish to the great adventure that is The Halo Trilogy.

James Toller Author's Page

HALO: Dei Terrae

 

The second book of the Halo Trilogy is now available 

on Amazon worldwide.

In this book, the people of Halo having just arrived on their new planet...

Dei Terrae, must organize themselves and start civilization anew.

They have only one hundred and twenty years before the space station Halo makes it's

near pass of the planet, and so, for them to advance their technology from the beginning 

and through the space age so they may meet Halo.

This is a story of a civilization which eventually splits and where one evolves

while the other devolves, and an eventual war breaks out.

It is filled with the many manifestations of the human condition...

of the basic drives which motivate or which conditions people to operate in different ways.

This book explains many unanswered questions of book one...

and sets up the final book of this trilogy beautifully.

I am currently writing the final chapters of book three...

and I expect to receive the copyright about three months after I submit it...

and shortly thereafter...

I will publish it.

The characters are involved with technical challenges...

but most of all...

with human ones.

The innovative approaches in dealing with their problems...

and in the way the two societies diverge as a result of their operating values

are colored by the thought processes and emotions upon the inhabitants.

Although this is Sci-Fi...

it is also a deep story of the human condition.

Book One Of The Halo Trilogy: Halo: The Beginning

 

This video is on my YouTube Channel:  James Toller

In it, I describe this book, as well as the basic story line of the Halo Trilogy.

It is available on Amazon.

The Kuma Trilogy: My First Independent Critical Review

 

Song:  Holding On To Yesterday

Group:  Ambrosia

     This review of my first trilogy:  The Kuma Trilogy, was done by an independent author, book reviewer, and blogger from London, England.

Rose Auburn

 

The Kuma Trilogy

By James Toller

4*

The Kuma Trilogy is a work encompassing three books:  The Kiss, A Great Love and Tiger Mountain.   The books follow the literal and spiritual journey of the titular main character, Kuma Svensson, a man born and raised in Hawaii to a Japanese mother and Scandinavian father.  Alongside Kuma’s story, each book has a sub-plot/s involving different characters and their lives. The majority of these separate narratives become entwined and connected with Kuma’s story.  

The Kuma Trilogy is a mammoth, thought-provoking and visionary work.  In The Kiss, we meet Soo Jin and her friend Ha Rin in the side narrative that runs alongside our introduction to Kuma.  The prose involving both girls has a dreamscape, immersive atmosphere enhanced by the beautifully realised Korean setting.    In this first instalment, as with the others, the writing is simply structured and quite naïve which complements the allegorical quality of the story.  Kuma’s time in rehabilitation and the characters he meets there, especially Kimo whose teachings are integral to the novel, are powerful and set the foundations for the next two books.     A Great Love finds Kuma in Kyoto, living with and training the monks of Kita Temple.   Parallel to this, is the story of Tatsuko and her family and the relationship between them and Kuma is both inspiring and heart-breaking.   Tiger Mountain is the most ambitious of the three stories and resultingly, has a subtly different tone.   It’s a fantastical premise; the designing, building and managing of a large, self-sufficient, utopian community of disabled children, carers, teachers, medics, gardeners, general staff and their families on, up and in a mountain.    Personally, at times during Tiger Mountain, I found Kuma becoming a touch controlling with a whiff of a Bond-esque villain about him which was probably more to do with the environment.    Mr Toller is extraordinarily conscientious in explaining and describing the logistics and infrastructure of Tiger Mountain; the depth of imagination and planning from a writerly point of view is boundless but it did become a little exhausting in places and consequently, the pace was a touch slow.  However, the profundity and scope of this triumvirate of stories cannot be underestimated.   It is clear from the narrative the sheer inventiveness, originality and personal insight that Mr Toller has brought to bear in this work; the subjectivity shines through on several occasions and it is not a weakness in this instant, quite the opposite.   Technically, it was obvious that every consideration, plot strand and, I think, indeed every word, had been carefully thought out and the editing was faultless. 

The Kuma Trilogy is a monumental novel that provides an intensely spiritual and intellectually stimulating read.  

Available on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle.