A Waltz for Helena's Choice

Helena's Choice is a historical romance that I wrote for my MFA Creative Writing thesis back in 2015 and later revised and published in 2017. It is a sweet love story set in both England and Greece during the 1830s.

Here is the narrative on Amazon's page: 

Oxford, 1837.
Helena Cadfield expected a quiet return from boarding school, perhaps a cup of tea and a mildly awkward family dinner. Instead, she got a funeral notice and a mystery: her father had died in Greece while digging up ancient ruins on land that once belonged to her mother.

With her inheritance reduced to academic curiosity and a pair of sturdy boots, Helena takes a job as a governess to fund a daring journey to war-torn Greece. Before leaving, she promises to return to her charming, safe, and very English suitor, Allan Murphy.

Greece is in transition, the treasure hunt is tougher than expected, and then there’s Aristotle, a handsome archaeologist with opinions and a talent for making Helena forget everything she thought she wanted. Together, they dig up more than artifacts; they unearth chemistry, conflict, and possibly, love.

Helena does return to England, as promised, but finds that life at home has been busy in her absence.

With one foot in ancient Greece and the other in the drawing rooms of England, she must decide:
Does she choose the predictable future she pledged to, or the wild, uncertain one her heart won’t stop chasing?

Helena’s about to discover that the greatest treasure might not be buried after all.

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A little back story on my music: Over the years, I stored several of my songs either as music movies (made from Yamaha or piano recordings) or as musical notes in a notebook or on Noteflight, but many were never published. The waltz comes from a 1981 composition I did after taking a music composition course in university. I recently discovered the music composition notebook and found this song. Since then, I have started making music videos with Suno's help (Suno Pro). 

The waltz is inspired by Helena's Choice. I hope it inspires you, too!

Waltz for Helena's Choice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4gia-o_PqY

Besides YouTube, the waltz is available on Amazon, Apple, Instagram, and other sites via 

Distrokid.

Here is the Amazon link to Helena's Choice: t.ly/qXxfN

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Official Booktrailer of Helena's Choice on YouTube: t.ly/36PlL

The book trailer for Helena's Choice was made using a combination of AI platforms: First, I composed the music and lyrics, then produced the music video on Suno Pro. Then I used openart.AI (Pro version) to create images from Claude Sonnet and combined everything in iMovie. It was a labor of love and creativity. I enjoyed it very much. I hope you enjoy this short film also. If you've read the book, I would love to hear from you!

My New Music Videos

 I am pleased to share that I have set several of my poems to music I composed years ago, turning them into songs. 

Let me give you the historical context. I started composing music when I was sixteen, aided by the fact that my family had received a piano from my older sister after she moved into a house that had one, and they did not have a use for it. That is when I began learning to play it. I literally taught myself to play the notes. Every day after school, I would sit at the piano and learn the notes. Then I started composing my own music. During that time, I was also writing poetry, but did not compose songs. 

Later, in college, when I minored in music, I took a composition class and some piano lessons. I still have my composition notebook with the music I wrote for my class. I also played viola in orchestras throughout my adult life, as well as chamber ensemble groups, taught music, and later, switched to violin playing.

When I was older, I wanted to store my music, and I did so using Noteflight (about a decade ago), as well as on my Yamaha synthesizer. Then I had uploaded a few of them on Youtube.  Noteflight gave me the opportunity to write my music, print it out, and download it.

More recently, actually almost a week ago, with the help of Suno, an AI platform, I was able to upload my audios and lyrics and produce the music. Suno gave me options to choose from. It has really pushed my creativity to a level I have not experienced before. It is quite inspiring.

The result is that I have produced high-quality videos that have taken my music and lyrics to another level. I hope that my songs have found a home. I hope people will enjoy them as much as I do!

Lately, I have been digging up more of my old songs and producing more. When those are done, I plan to compose even more. I have more than 60 poems that could easily be added to new music.

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Here are some of my "new" converted songs, produced with assistance from Suno on YouTube. They are also available on my own Youtube channel, on Amazon and Apple, as well as on Instagram and other sites. I used Distrokid to distribute them.

1) Wishing You Were Here on Christmas Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VHCqPbwzA4

This was a song I wrote after my husband passed away. It was my first Christmas without him.

The original 2013 video is on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAP6W-rqTm8&list=RDIAP6W-rqTm8&start_radio=1

2) The Life of a Rose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vvecu5hQ04

   ---This was a song I composed and played on the piano, and joined the poem to it. Its older version is on my Youtube channel.

3) Flowing River: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK3XXeJddkE

   ----This is another poem I wrote after my husband passed.

4) The Silence of a Beating Heart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjdbEfwsAnk

   ---This is a new composition, where I took an older poem that I had written after watching war footage. It is a stark reminder of what war means to the soldiers and to their families. It has a devastating price to humanity.

5) Peace: I Searched Deep Within: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3ab0iiZT7A

 --- I tend to write inspirational poems and add them to soft, relaxing, and soothing music. This one is about our relationship with God inside of us.

I'd be happy to hear from you if you do go and listen to them. Feel free to share them with others if they resonate with you. 

Have a blessed day! - Patty Apostolides