One of the joys of having young children is getting to listen to nursery rhymes several times a day.
(Yay.)
If it isn't Humpty Dumpty or Five Little Ducks, it's Skidamarinkey Dinky Do, but just in case my sarcasm flew over your head…
I AM SICK OF THEM.
And you know you've got a problem when you're reciting verses of Old MacDonald's Farm while hunched forward on the toilet at 3 AM.
Even Lady Laura — who, all things considered, is a proper "Mumzee Mum" — has reached her wit's end with them.
You know who hasn't?
Liam.
He cannot get enough of 'em.
And with Master Nathan not even sitting up yet, we've got a long way to go before someone can drag us out of this trench.
But there might just be hope for us…
The other day, Laura accidentally stumbled upon an Aussie DJ called Lenny Pearce, who has — no exaggeration — spared us a psychotic episode.
Without googling him, I suspect he's a dad, and must have endured the same misery parents the world over are experiencing with these songs.
Yet, instead of contributing to this mass of ever-repetitive noise, he did something different.
Hell, I'd go as far as saying…
HE'S CHANGED NURSERY RHYMES FOREVER.
What he does is take these old, monotonous songs and remixes them into high-energy, techno beats that aren't nearly as obnoxious to listen to a dozen times.
Most importantly, Liam absolutely loves him, too.
Is peace restored?
Certainly not.
But our sanity is… for now.
And for that, I can only say, "Cheers, Lenny."
More:
In a weird, roundabout, self-centred, and incredibly narcissistic type of way, I see some similarities between him and me.
While I might not have a pink ponytail or have a million //parents// kids following him on YouTube, I've certainly defied some norms in my genre.
"What norms?" I hear you ask.
Several.
For too long, epic fantasy has been dominated by tomes hundreds—sometimes thousands—of pages long. Too often, they're loaded with countless POVs, causing not only their arcs to drag, but the story as a whole.
That's not me throwing shade on timeless classics.
I just believe in giving readers options, that's all.
To offer an escape for those who want a break from doorstoppers and labyrinthine worldbuilding without losing the fun and misadventure of an epic.
If that sounds like you, and you want a series that thrusts you into action and keeps you there, then you can get the first four books (in ebook and audiobook) + digital world art of The Divided Region at a chunky discount here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/TDR-Bundle
Or, if you'd rather not commit to the full bundle just yet, you can start with Exiled here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/Exiled
DJJW