Well, folks, the time has come to show you the cover for my next book! Just Wild Enough is due for publication on April 2, 2024. I’m really happy with how it’s turned out, and I’m excited to get it into the hands of readers as we move into spring next year.
This is a collection of poetry that explores wildness through the lens of the seasons, the elements, the four directions, and ultimately, through the mystery at the heart of it all. It invites a wander through one's own wildness, from finding songs in your pockets to befriending mossy logs to tuning your ears to ballads written by branches. Take a walk through words in this timeless collection and emerge more beautiful in your own creatureliness and more wonder-filled, than before.
The above text is from the back cover. And look at the art on the front! It’s a painting that I love by Canadian artist Barbara Brown—she’s been a supporter of my work for awhile now, and I was so thrilled when she said yes to using Cedar Intimacy, as this painting is titled, for the cover of Just Wild Enough.
I’m not sure yet how much energy I’ll have for promotion with this one—this is book number eight, and after a big push to get the word out about Collisions of Earth and Sky, my “Hey everyone look at what I’ve done, please support it!” muscles are feeling a little fatigued. Any author will tell you that being a writer of books and a marketer of books require very different skill sets. Marketing can be a lot. This is why people hire it out. But, low budget as I tend to be, I’ll do what I can and hope for the best.
So, friends, preorder if you can1, help me spread the word by telling someone else about it a time or two, and I’ll share more about it after we step into the new year. Here’s an example of what you’ll find within the pages.
Happy solstice in a few days: Darkness is deep and wide this time of year. There can be lot of time to think or too much to do, sometimes the same day. Hard things remain hard.
Solstice time is a turning, the fading of one season into the next, another rotation in the great wheel.
I said this last year, and the year before, but it’s worth repeating: Find the velvet in the long nights. Notice light where it lingers, because it does, sometimes, even during dark days. Remember that your creatureliness holds hands with the holy ordinary that binds the days together. Allow yourself to feel what’s necessary. Find the right balance of facing fierce winds outside and burrowing in blankets on the couch.
Here's to the velvety dark that’s still ahead. Wishing you enough bright icing to smooth any rough edges. May your year end be full of whatever it is you need the most. And hey, maybe that’s the promise of a new book of poetry that’ll show up on your doorstep in April.
Upcoming Events:
I’ll be doing a few online sessions with Alignment in January: register for these free events here on Jan. 17 and 28. We’ll be talking about ceremonies of the ordinary and moving into the new year with intention, and I’ll be sharing work from Collisions of Earth and Sky and a few poetry collections.
About their mission: Alignment intends to create a community of understanding among people of faith and those who seek spiritual meaning in their lives by teaching and providing experiences of and resources for contemplative spiritual practices from different faith and spiritual traditions (including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Baha’i, Native American).
The book is available to preorder via Wayfarer Books; and should be via your local indie bookshop, Bookshop.org, or Amazon as well. But preorder via the publisher if you can, as that helps a great deal. Please note the book titled “What I Saw in Heaven” is NOT by me.