Wicked is a novel, a Broadway musical, and now a movie. I heard about the musical first (years ago), and then I learned it was a novel. Beyond being told it was a prequel to The Wizard of Oz about the Wicked Witch of the West and, to some extent, the Good Fairy, I knew next to nothing about it—except for the songs “Defying Gravity” and “Popular.” I knew so little I thought “Defying Gravity” was the final song in the musical! Well, it turns out it was the final number in the movie, but that’s because the movie is a part one. We movie-only people will get the rest of the story later this year.
So, that’s my introduction for Wicked. What does it have to do with the title of this post? Everything. As demonstrated by Wicked, stories can be told in many ways. The novel uses the written word. The musical is performed live by people on a stage. The movie uses visuals and sound, similar to a play but static—which is more similar to the book. Every medium offers something unique.
Here in Kestra Pingree Land, I like to tell stories through words—books. I only made eBooks and paperbacks in the beginning. Then I got an audiobook deal, and I was able to listen to The Lost Princess of Howling Sky, my words and story but performed by excellent narrators. It was a surreal experience, almost like the story had become brand new, because these narrators brought their interpretations, lent their creativity.
I loved it.
I even started listening to audiobooks. I’ll admit, I’m not always there for the performance in an audiobook—sometimes audio is the only way I can find time to read—but there really is something satisfying about a good narrator telling you a good story. It got me thinking.
Before I was so focused on writing books, I spent a lot of time doing other creative things like drawing and music. Since my favorite things all came back to stories, I eventually decided writing was what I should spend most of my time on, because I have a lot of stories in my head that I want to share and writing seemed the best way to share them. I still believe that was the right choice for me, but it hasn’t stopped me from drawing—creating visual art—and singing/writing music. In fact, I’ve slowly been bringing all of my creativity together. My art background has helped immensely with designing my book covers, and when I decided to take the plunge and record my first audiobook, I was able to add an awesome easter egg: an original song.
Awash with Summer Roses has a special place in my heart. It’s a story I wrote, designed the book covers for, narrated, and composed/performed a song for. In the perfect world, it’d also have interior illustrations done by yours truly, but one step at a time. I think I just might get there someday, combining all of my passions into each story I write. Even if I don’t, I hope I’ll eventually have the money to hire amazing artists and narrators so all my stories can be multimedia awesomeness. Just like Wicked has fans for the novel, musical, or movie, Awash with Summer Roses was able to reach readers who otherwise wouldn’t have found it had it not been available in audio.
The more art, the better!
Thank you for all the love you’ve given Awash with Summer Roses. I hope you’re eager for more of my stories, because I have more coming. Many more.
