Mary E. Lowd (the cosmos’ dog)

I’ve been writing fiction for twenty years. I’ve written a lot of books. These are the 20 published by Deep Sky Anchor. I also have two trilogies and a book about how to write furry fiction with different publishers. Learn more about all of them here: marylowd.com/books/

There’s a lot going on in “Singularity’s Edge.” It references Smile-era Van Dyke Parks lyrics, Circle Sky by Mike Nesmith, and wrestles with how something can’t be perfect until it’s over… and then all you really want is to be back in the messy middle. youtu.be/3eB1U2vy8sQ?si…

“(Don’t) Say Anything” is another idea I’ve been playing with since I was 15, and I never imagined it would turn out this beautiful. The abilities Claude Opus and Suno grant me working together have made the last month feel like an absolute waking dream. youtu.be/_d_gRDs4Ikc?si…

What is music for if not to help you imagine having both tentacles and wings? youtu.be/DbVKnAylUpY?si…

In Stranger Things, Hopper explains the concept of compromise to El by calling it “halfway happy,” and I thought that would make a good concept for a song. But of course, I went in a space opera direction with it. youtu.be/ZOgDK8YjSc4?si…

“Back in the Same Dream” is a song about how you can keep coming back to the same imaginary place in your dreams, and maybe, it’s a better place than out here. youtu.be/4hIiFxRwAYI?si…

Look if you’re gonna do a Beach Boys-influenced sci-fi album, it’s gotta have a song about surfing the cloud layers of a gas giant. So, that’s what you get with “Bright, Sharp, Fleeting,” and it always makes my day better when it gets stuck in my head. youtu.be/aZ2qF3MKINo?si…

It’s insanely satisfying to finally be able to listen to the whole song and for it to be every bit as good as I always dreamed.

I came up with the hook for this song when I was fifteen and deeply believed if I could just write lyrics good enough, I could send them to Brian Wilson and become his lyricist. I spent decades coming back to it, and I never got anywhere until now. youtu.be/on4NONlxSWo?si…

“Waiting for the World” is an answer to “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times.” And of course, it can’t reach those heights… what can? But it does have more of a sci-fi angle, so that’s worth something. We need more sci-fi music. And I’m working on that. youtu.be/P94i966pGxY?si…

“Brian’s Gone” was inspired by Mike Love’s “Brian’s Back,” and to me, it’s the real heart of the whole album. Brian Wilson’s music was the heartbeat of life. It was the warmth of the sun. What does a planet do when the sun goes out? youtu.be/PaF7I_rbTyw?si…

“Klein Bottle Water Slide” is a pretty self-explanatory title. If you can hear that title and not want to listen to the song, then… well, I can’t identify with that at all. youtu.be/nI3kcSaUYzI?si…

“Stealing Promethean Fire” is a song about how AI has made it possible for some of us to create things we couldn’t have created before. It’s about being able to make music now that makes me feel the way Brian Wilson’s music always made me feel. youtu.be/neWqgue2X4A?si…

Anne O’Malley and the Event Horizons is the first album I made that wasn’t either a soundtrack for one of my short story collections or composed of poetry I’d already written, so it was a big leap. And it turned out so well; I can’t believe it’s real. m.youtube.com/playlist?list=…

I find when I'm doing my best work, I'm invariably always thinking, "What am I even doing? Is this complete nonsense? WHY am I doing this?"

There's an objective in Diablo 4 right now that pretty much requires working with a friend, and it makes me fee like John Cusack in Grosse Pointe Blank: "I didn't get into this business to have 'associates.' ... 'Loner', 'lone gunman.' Get it? On my own. That's the whole point."

The final track on Star-Shaker’s first album is a triumphant declaration — she’s been through a lot, but she won’t be held back. She is a star, and she’s not going to be eclipsed. youtu.be/wnoBKiMxCJQ?si…

As a reptilian alien, Star-Shaker absolutely needed a song about how fresh and new everything feels after every time she sheds her skin. youtu.be/5gdTALw5Ghw?si…

I was thinking about the Tom Petty song “Free Fallin’,” and it just seemed like if you’ve got a far future, space opera reptile alien pop-star writing songs, she could do one about free fall where it’s both literal and a metaphor for her feelings. youtu.be/1yJq7IXuaa8?si…

There’s this wonderful Jim Croce song — The Hard Way Every Time — and I thought, what if it’s not just learning the hard way, but actually learning the wrong lesson? youtu.be/FP3HeHHMg48?si…

Look, algae packs are cool, and so I thought Star-Shaker should have a song about them. And then it turned out all awesome and catchy. So… take that, universe. youtu.be/7I44aY6Xz44?si…