I’ve been up to my eyeballs editing with Deborah Mokma. We’re working on the final edit and proofreading of The Winter Loon. Some writers hate this phase, but not me. I love to dig in and examine every word and phrase. The drawback is that this process is soaking up all my time and energy, and I’ve been neglecting my blog.

I’m excited to have an accomplished and artistic team helping me to self-publish my novel, The Winter Loon: Deborah Mokma, editor; Chris Mole’, cover designer, and Maggie McLaughlin, book designer. I’ll write more on these talented women and the self-publishing process as it unfolds.

In the The Winter Loon, the protagonist, Ruth Thompson, struggles with committing to the woman she loves. She faces this challenge in the 1930s before advocacy, before the terror of the McCarthy era and before the historical change in America that has led to gay rights and equality. I want to get it right because even though so much has changed over the years, there is still a long way to go. Young people still wrestle with feeling different and confiding in family and friends. Bullying hasn’t stopped and in some areas of the United States, the simple joy of choosing the flavor of a wedding cake is threatened.

I’ve been a bit depressed lately, carrying around a sense of dread with all that is going on in the world and here in the U.S. One thing lifts me up when I get down and that is music. I’ve been listening to Bob Marley songs, full volume. Who can help but move their body to the Reggae beat and his voice? He has a legacy all over the world for his music and philosophy. In Serbia there is a statue of him with the inscription that reads:

Bob Marley Fighter for Freedom Armed with a Guitar

Turn up the volume and dance to one of my Bob Marley favorites:

ONE LOVE

 

One more to share:

Israel ‘IZ’ Kamakawiwo’ole

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW/WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

What songs lift you up when you’re feeling down?