I grew up surrounded by water: the inter-coastal waterway (marshes) in my back yard, the Savanna River off to the left and the Atlantic Ocean a little further away and to the south, close enough that shore birds flew over my neighborhood every day. But in my adult life, I’m more often than not landlocked. Which leaves me migrating to water every chance I get now. I’m not picky, except that natural water sources enchant me more than man-made lakes ever could. When my creativity or simply my peace of mind needs a “hit,” I’m looking for water that flows, that I can walk into and touch; water that I can hear and close my eyes and still see; water that will come back to me in my dreams when I’m home and too far away again.
If you’re an artist, you know what I mean. You have a touchstone, too. Something you need to be healthy and inspired and free. If you’re a reader, you’re the same, too. That need is what draws you back time and again to certain stories. Certain authors. Certain themes.
Water is a common theme in my books. All kinds of water. Even when I write about dreams, there’s water symbolism everywhere–just wait until we talk about the dream symbolism in Secret Legacy ;o) I need it in my life. And I need to be out of my home office looking for it, whenever I don’t need to be here for work or family. Because it’s not just the water that drives me. It’s the nature around it. The isolation and belonging of it. The history and the immersion into the present. The travel and the coming home. The reality and dreaming. Water brings all those things to me.
So, I’ve embarked on a Waterfall project. (more…)
