It's here! Pre-order Voyage of the Pleiades

The cover for the book is a painting by Marianne North, “Burning Bush and Emu Wren of Chili” licensed from the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. Marianne North is mentioned in the book and would’ve been Linnea’s contemporary.

We all have secret names we do not claim.

As children we observe the world around us to help build the elements of our sense of self. Who am I? What does it mean to be this person? These elements change and alter with time, with the expansion of our experiences, of our world. But is there a part of us that always remains secret?

One of those first elements I established of my personality was that I was a writer. It didn’t matter if I was a good or bad writer because I wrote for myself. I’m sure in those early years when we were asked what our career would be, I said writer, but at some point, external voices silenced that answer. For most of us of a certain age, any career aspirations that tended toward the creative, were discouraged. “How are you going to pay the bills?” “You know that only those with a unique talent are able to survive on their art?” Especially for those who grew up knowing what it was to live on the edge of having our needs met, they weren’t unreasonable questions.

I stopped publicly claiming the identifier of writer. I didn’t stop writing, far from it, but it became secret. Through academic degrees and the development of a professional career, I kept writing. There was the writing I did for public consumption and there were my separate clandestine efforts.

There was an evening when we were on Chiloé Island watching the sun set over the breaking waves of the Pacific. On the breeze were the scents of coastal plants, the screech of seabirds and the distant honk of penguins. And something shifted within me. A crack in the pavement and the first tendrils of growth.

It took eight years, many shifts in circumstances, and a stubborn love and commitment to the written word. The first time I introduced myself as writer, there was a frisson of wholeness, as if I finally slipped the invisible cloak I’ve always existed beneath. In the past three years, other pieces of my writing have been published, but today I am finally able to offer my book. My heart on a platter.

What the Voyage of the Pleiades is not: a high-brow work of literary fiction. What it is: a fictional romp through history that I’ve gently nudged and reformed. There are botanical and historical esoterica. There is also an exploration of emotions, identity, and the realities of life during the late 19th century. Friends; there is cussing and adult interactions. I understand if this isn’t your thing. I’ve attempted to create a book that will allow the reader to escape for a little while, to experience another country and another time, to hopefully make you stay up too late to read just one more page. My aspirations were to make something that feeds your soul and your imagination. I hope that I’ve done that with the Voyage of the Pleiades.

Pre-order now! This link will take you to my Linktr.ee where you have multiple options for purchasing. Thank you for your support! I’ll be offering signed bookplates, more information on those coming soon.