Dos Oruguitas – Sheet Music

I enjoyed the music in Disney's animated feature Encanto. The music, which was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is arranged here as a musicbox-style lullaby to be played on a kalimba, though other C-Major instruments could easily adapt it. Hope you enjoy it! —M.M. https://youtu.be/G03jkK5y8a4 dos_oruguitasDownload

Dune—Sheet Music

My favorite film of 2021 was Dune: Part 1. Hans Zimmer did a great job creating a score that sounds both alien and desert-like. This is an arrangement of some of my favorite themes from the score for piano. You can find a PDF of the sheet music below as well as a link to...

Books of 2021

This year I listened to many books and read a couple. Despite the emphasis on audiobooks, I still say that I have "read" a book when I've actually listened to it. Here's a list of the books I consumed this year along with a short note about each. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars...

The Monocle Review

First, some background. I love funny reviews. Plop me in front of a solid list of odd-ball, mis-fire, indignant reviews, and I'll sit there and laugh and laugh and laugh. Some writing friends and I were talking about online glasses and contact retailers and a perfect, beautiful review popped into my head. I wrote it...

Come Thou Fount—Sheet Music

https://youtu.be/kA2TqHUoOQc I recently arranged the classic Christian hymn "Come Thou Fount". After several requests, I put together a quick video as well as PDF sheet music, available for free download. This music is appropriate for worship services and concert settings alike. If you choose to use the arrangement, I would ask that you give proper...

Monarch Dreams

One cocoon, three weeks, and eight monarch dreams later— one windowsill moth. —M.M. Have you checked out @thescifihaiku on Instagram yet? I'm still doing other projects, but that is where most of the exciting stuff if happening these days.Photo Source: Here

Featured on NaNoWriMo.org

I recently wrote a piece for the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) blog that can be found here. In the post I share how flash fiction has helped me become a better writer and overcome writer's block. Let me know what you think! What have you found most helps you to overcome writer's block and...

Scifi Haiku Project Live @thescifihaiku

For the past year and a half I have been intermittently working on a new project. The project is one part science fiction, one part haiku, and one part micro fiction. I call it "scifihaiku". Long-time followers may recognize a few of the pieces from Smiles in the Sky, but 98% of the content is...

Shadows of Self—Book Review

Never fear, no spoilers here! Shadows of Self is the 5th Mistborn book, the second in the Wax and Wayne series by fantasy author Brandon Sanderson. It follows rough-and-tumble lawman Waxilliam "Wax" Ladrian in an old west-inspired setting as he grapples with an unknown foe who appears bent on bringing down the city. Here are...

Ah, February

Ah, February— beneath your hailstones and frostbite I can tell you are all wooly socks and warm coco. —M.M. _____________Artwork credit: Rob Dudley