“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
–Henry David Thoreau
Saint Joseph Elementary School required all textbooks to be covered. Brown paper bags were the most prevelant covers but ocassionally extravagance would rule the day and we would purchase covers at Mr. Stark’s five and ten. Now that I’ve dated myself, I’ll get to the point. A store bought cover protected my eigth grade history book. A photograph of a soldier with a daisy dropped into the barrel of his rifle donned the front. Superimposed alongside the soldier was the above quote from Thoreau. That quote became my mantra, not just for that eighth grade girl but throughout my adulthood.
Creativity is the drummer that drives me, and it is constant. At a young age I started with writing poetry. When I was a teenager, two of my poems were accepted into a poetry anthology for young writers. My father paid for them to be published only after a lecture on the meaning of vanity press. I didn’t care, I just wanted my poems in a book.
I graduated from Keen State College with a degree in English and a concentrations in writing and design. I worked for a small New Hampshire newspaper as a correspondent, photographer, and ad designer. I began a graphic design career for a national publication after I typeset the display ad and applied for the position before the newspaper went to press. All the while I wanted to write a book. I just didn’t know what my book would be about.
From graphic design and photography I moved into fine art. My photographs became a tool to use for subject matter to paint. I displayed my work at summer art shows, restaurant walls, and dentist offices knowing I would go back to writing but still I searched for something to write about.
The pivotal event that launched my book writing came during the summer of 2018. My husband and I purchased a thirty-one foot cabin cruiser with the goal of cruising down the eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida. I knew an adventure like that would be inspirational, and interesting. I chronicled everything from the day we took possession. It was time to write that book.
The book about our journey developed into a deeply personal exploration of my life during a very difficult time. I learned a lot about myself and about writing from the heart. Painting and photography continue to occupy some of my time. Travel inspires all of my creative energies. As I persue publication of my first book, my head is filled with ideas for another book. Our next trip should help that historical fiction along.