Skip to content

An Extreme Blog Done Gone

If Only No One Won…

Menu
  • Home
  • Author’s Commentary
    • Local Boy Done Gone
    • L Extreme
    • Timely Persuasion
  • Of The Year Music Lists
  • JLCivi.com
Menu

Category: Behind the Scenes

LX Commentary #13c: Girl In The Tower (Part III)

Posted on September 11, 2021April 10, 2022 by LBDG

Let’s pick up where we left off with the doors. SAL + MON = Salmon. The CD version of the album Songs in the Key of Animals assigns these names to each disc. The LP version subtitles the sides. L Extreme the novel pays tribute with little signs on two opposing doors Heartman finds in…

Continue reading

LX Commentary #13b: Girl In The Tower (Part II)

Posted on September 5, 2021November 22, 2021 by LBDG

One epic chapter allowed me to squeeze in a few more musical references via section breaks—either a song title from a different Benji Hughes album or a lyrical snippet, with the precedent set in previous longer chapters to give the reader a reasonable breakpoint every 10ish pages if needed. Specific to “Girl In The Tower,”…

Continue reading

LX Commentary #13a: Girl in the Tower (Part I)

Posted on August 31, 2021January 14, 2025 by LBDG

Once I decided the Heartman & Songstress fairytale would carry Side B, I knew it needed an epic conclusion. This 40 page chapter is by far the longest in the L Extreme book—essentially a standalone novella when combined with the four 4-page shorties that precede it. My original idea was to continue the silent-film nature…

Continue reading

LX Commentary #12: Mmmmmmm

Posted on August 21, 2021November 22, 2021 by LBDG

Confession: I cheated a little. On A Love Extreme the album, “Mmmmmmm” comes before “Even If” sequence wise, not after. It’s the last song on the first CD, or a little instrumental bridge between two songs on the vinyl / streaming versions. In the first draft I honored the spirit of the 37 second interlude…

Continue reading

LX Commentary #11: Even If

Posted on August 14, 2021November 22, 2021 by LBDG

“There ain’t no way you’re ever gonna find another lover like me…” Imagining Benji Hughes as Heartman crooning the loungy opening line here only yielded one possible rival: Cupid. Two mythical beings armed with bows and tasked with making mere mortals fall in love. I wanted a reason to dive a little more into Heartman’s…

Continue reading

LX Origin Story, Part II

Posted on August 7, 2021December 22, 2021 by LBDG

Like I said towards the end of Part I, after chipping away on a novelization of A Love Extreme on and off (mostly off) for a few years I had a song by song storyline that (amazingly) worked so much better than I imagined given the circumstances. I’d also come to appreciate the non-linear structure…

Continue reading

LX Commentary #10: All You’ve Got To Do Is Fall In Love

Posted on July 22, 2021July 6, 2022 by LBDG

Upon deciding to run with this fairytale interlude for the rest of side B, my storytelling goal became connecting the dots from Benji & Jessica to Benji & L while moving things towards a confrontation in “The Tower”—whatever that might turn out to be. So easy to do, right? 🙂 My favorite part of this…

Continue reading

LX Commentary #9: Do You Think They Would Tell You?

Posted on July 12, 2021November 22, 2021 by LBDG

This wasn’t supposed to happen, but ultimately it became the embodiment of the epigraph at the front of L Extreme: “Oh definitely. There is a theme there. I don’t want to say anything about it. Maybe it’s love. There is something that the whole thing’s all about.”—Benji Hughes, Artist Direct Interview, October 2008 Little did…

Continue reading

LX Commentary #8: Where Do Old Lovers Go?

Posted on July 4, 2021January 24, 2022 by LBDG

The song may be about going away, but ironically it helped pull the musical concept of the book together. It was also one of my favorite chapters to write. The lyrical breadcrumbs showed me connections to other Benji Hughes songs so clearly it made me start seeking them elsewhere. Benji & Jessica are at a…

Continue reading

LX Chapter Commentary #7: Why Do These Parties Always End The Same Way?

Posted on June 12, 2021November 22, 2021 by LBDG

“We need to call the cops somebody killed the DJ!” is the lyric from A Love Extreme at the core of this chapter. Striking the right balance of goofy and sincere for L Extreme proved challenging. Benji & C’s comedic banter worked during the initial setup where Benji has no recollection of the party (“a…

Continue reading
  • Previous
  • 1
  • …
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • …
  • 13
  • Next
New Novel: Local Boy Done Gone
a sequel to Timely Persuasion
Free Novella!
The Ballad of Heartman & Songstress
L Extreme: A Novel Based on the Songs of Benji Hughes

Buy LX

  • Bookshop.org
  • IndieBound
  • Amazon
  • Other Stores

Links

  • Author JL Civi
  • Timely Persuasion

Recent Posts

  • LBDG Commentary 32: And Then I Wrote A Song
  • LBDG Commentary 31: Buckle Up Before Double Crossing the Street
  • LBDG Commentary 30: A Denial, A L3DG(edly)
  • LBDG Commentary 29: Lyndon B. Goode
  • LBDG Commentary 28: Under the Covers

Archives

RSS LB-DG.com

  • Wilco Winterlude: Imaginary Austin Night 4
  • Untitled
  • “Just like the pied piper led rats through the streets, we dance like marionettes—swaying to the…
  • Untitled

Reviews

  • Amazon.com
  • Goodreads
  • Hot Sauce Reviews
  • None May Say
  • Providence Daily Dose
  • Scott Schnaars
  • WFG: Gavin Williams
  • WFG: Linda Schoales

Some Other Mentions...

  • Angie's Adventures
  • ARG Stats by Christy Dena
  • Coverville 465
  • Coverville 551
  • Coverville: Musically Challenged
  • Cyberpunk Review Forum
  • Enumeration Podcast
  • Fark.com
  • Joy Of Sox
  • Lostpedia Forum
  • Ollington's Oracle
  • Plime
  • PR.com
  • RPG Fan
  • The Fuselage
  • TV.com
  • Web Fiction Guide
© 2025 An Extreme Blog Done Gone | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme