We only get one heart, happy home. The place where breath comes easy, life’s complexities do not get in the way. It’s absurd to think, I can do it all, right now. You can’t, you won’t. Me, I worry over every single, mundane, idiotic thing. Some hard wiring has no fixing, we learn compromise. Writing is my heart, happy home. It keeps me grounded, sane, a kinder, more compassionate person. Living demands attention, that’s ok. For five minutes forget, and visit your happy place. The Vast Landscape thrives and Harrison lives in story. The universal themes of love, hurt, adventure, self-doubt, and inspiration are in fact, only part fiction. They are my most intimate truths, my very personal way of seeing the world. Harrison exists because you the kind reader, keep her alive. I’m humbled, grateful and always surprised by the overwhelming, positive response. I believe pixie dust and magic are waiting, invisible, barely out of reach…if we keep stretching…magic happens. I get to stay in my heart, happy place a bit longer with Georgia Pine.

 GEORGIA PINE.

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PERSPECTIVE

I wrote The Vast Landscape, the prequel to GEORGIA PINE., at a dark, scary time in my life. Harrison, the brash heroine was something tangible I could cling to. She gave me reason, to get up, to go on, to fight, a much-needed respite from what was happening in my real, everyday life. I made the conscious decision not to write about manic depression, the disease that has disrupted every neuron firing through my beautiful, chaotic mind. Bipolar Disorder, the label I detest is en Vogue. There are trending bestsellers, Oscar-winning films and sensationalized television. It’s glamourized, modernized, made to look cool. Trust me, it is not. Mental Illness is the train wreck, the ugly, cruel, exhaustive, intangible, and solitary battle. It does not discriminate, rich, poor, smart, stupid; brings grown men to their knees, ripping whole families apart. Writing The Vast Landscape freed me, to live my dreams on the page. Harrison is I, I am she mixed together so deeply, the lines disappear. The outlines blur, intentionally. Was The Vast Landscape reality, or fantasy? That is for the reader to decide. We are all disabled, broken parts, lost individuals, trying to find our way. Truth is what you know, here and happening now. There is only love, and love is the bravest character of all. Harrison is the voice in our heads, asking the important questions. Where do I fit? Why I am here? Will I love, be loved? Born with a fixed expiration date, yet we carry on. Walking this earth the best we can until we’re pixie dust. Cherished, kept alive in memory by yellow parchment, precarious, aged photographs in a cardboard box. Lives touch; intersect in the most unpredictable, meaningful ways. The essence continues, because you do. Harrison leaves the door open a crack; I seize the opportunity. To revisit my whole, healthy self a bit longer, live the mystic beach home I adore, dream eyes open. To choose hope, against the worst possible odds is the true measure of life, our greatest asset.

The story continues in… GEORGIA PINE.