Thanks for the Inspiration is a type of show that appears from time to time in the regular schedule for this podcast.

As writers, we often absorb elements from the world, the places, and the people around us. We observe, we ask questions, we speculative, we listen, we watch, we feel, and we write so much of that down which gets re-integrated, like some sort of sausage creation, into the stories and words and worlds we share with our readers.

Thanks for the Inspiration episodes are an attempt to acknowledge and say thanks to the people, places, and things that have helped to either feed the muse, or perhaps just to feed the very soul and makeup of the writer behind that writing.

In this particular episode, Mark thanks Neil Peart, drummer and lyricist for RUSH and writer, for the way his work has repeatedly inspired him over the decades.

This episode is sponsored by the Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast via patreon.com/starkreflections

In his reflective thanks, Mark shares the influence that Neil Peart has had on his writing and talks about:

• How his buddy Pete got him into RUSH with the album Grace Under Pressure
• How RUSH lyrics have long been a significant part of his life (and, sometimes to the annoyance of friends), part of everyday conversation. "There is a RUSH lyric for that!"
• A column Mark wrote for a high school newspaper that was entitled QUOTH, which were articles inspired by lyrics written by Neil Peart
• Mark's friends with Kevin J. Anderson, and how the two bonded over their mutual love of RUSH and craft beer
• Re-publishing the co-authored story "Drumbeats" by Kevin J. Anderson and Neil Peart. Once in Tesseracts Sixteen, and forthcoming in an issue of Pulphouse Magazine
• Writing a story inspired by the song "Losing It" which Anderson published as editor in the RUSH-themed anthology 2113
• Re-publishing the aforementioned story "Some Are Born to Save the World" in NOBODY'S HERO.
• Peart's desire for privacy and not being treated as separate from the rest of society or in any celebrity manner
• Memories of sharing RUSH with the people that he loves
• How Peart's music, lyrics, and writing has inspired Mark in multiple ways over the years and the way that has been infused into his own creative pursuits
• And more....

Links of Interest:

• RUSH
• Neil Peart (Wikipedia)
• Neil's Website
  • Bubba's Bar N Grill
• Levack Ontario (Onaping Falls, ON)
• Mark's Blog Post about Neil: There's Somethings Here As Strong As Life
• Nobody's Hero (Story Collection)
• 2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of RUSH
• Galaxia (includes the short story "Grace Under Pressure)
• Episode 94 - Thanks for the Inspiration: Laurie Blake
• Patreon for Stark Reflections

The music for this podcast ("Laser Groove") was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0