I Wish I Had a River...

4:25 PM

 

Joni Mitchell once said that she wished she had a river she could skate away on. Many of her songs are so sad and so deep that they make me wonder if I might drown. But I get it. I get it, Joni.
 
My experience with writing Black Bird has been so different than writing The Church in the Wildwood. I wrote the first draft of Wildwood in 30 days. That's a better approach for me. Not having time to second guess myself is so much better than taking years and years and finding myself constantly making excuses or being afraid to tackle the big issues. I've worked on Black Bird since 2011 and yes, many times I've wished I had a river I could skate away on... this story guts me, but I think it will spark some interesting and important conversations.

I spent Friday and Saturday at war with technology as I tried to pull things together for the launch party for the latest Just Words anthology. My home internet couldn't handle my video uploads so on Saturday I spent ten hours at my day job office. Ten hours. Disastrous. But it was also a gift. I used that time to pull myself back into the story of Black Bird and friends...sigh...I'm even more committed than ever to get this book released when I promised to.
 
Fresh feedback from a beta reader said that "the window may be dark at the beginning of this story & seems too fogged or soiled to let the light in, but somehow the sunshine finds its way." That's the message. That's the messy truth of a redemption story and it is going to be coming at you guys SO SOON.
 
Joni Mitchell has been on this journey with me from the beginning. Her lyrics have informed many important moments throughout the book, and I don't know if you see it or not, but this photo of her skating (taken in 1976) actually looks like she may have a little bit of Black Bird in her too...
 

 

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