Started August 1992
Redmond, Oregon
After running Far View Ranch Camp in the summer of 1992, our little family of three vacationed at a timeshare provided by Robin's parents called Eagle Crest Resort. Ellen was just nine months old, but was walking quite well. Lava rock is a common interior design material in Central Oregon, and it surrounded the fireplace in our timeshare. This was frightening for us as new parents, and we covered it with blankets so Ellen could have free reign without lava rash.
Our computer was a Mac Plus, which had an 800 K floppy drive and not much else. For the first time that year, I had a little down time, and decided to do some writing. The Mac wasn't a "real" computer by today's definition. Startup was a frustrating series of floppy disk swaps resulting in an operating state that was stable as long as you didn't want to create or save something (Heaven forbid!). I opened Clarisworks (inserted floppy one, two, three, etc.), saved an initial file (ejected the Claris floppy and inserted data floppy and saved the file), then repeated the disk swap until the Mac was ready to write. Truthfully, if that had continued for years, I'd never have written Sky. A 30-Meg hard drive saved me and the story in the following year.
No, I didn't think, "I want to write a novel, and I know exactly what it will be about." After a few fun (NOT!) disk swapping reps and some random key tapping from a blank mind… I started some free writing to get ideas started. I recall no explanation for the first words to hit the floppy, but I've kept them in the final version of Sky… and I still like them.
"The sky chose to ripen."
Right now I'm trying to remember… was there a beautiful sunrise through clouds… was there something Ellen said or did that moved me to write that? I have no idea. You can make up something good if it helps.
Free writing is an invitation to be creative — no rules. If the whole of Sky coming from this tiny seed is surprising, it also validates the creative process. I recall sitting there looking at the first sentence and inviting myself to continue from the question: What is the story behind that?
Twenty some years is a long time to ponder a story. Years passed between writing bursts, sometimes triggered by feedback from early readers. Recently, as I read sections of Sky during the final editing process, I was startled to find myself moved to tears. How wonderful it was to be touched by this, and yet, should I feel this way about my own writing?
The process of writing a story brought to the surface, uninvited, a regular stream of concepts important to my life and personal growth. When characters were interacting and a concept or emotion emerged, I let it infuse into the story. I think my tears come because through the writing, thoughts and revelations have been expressed – and in reading there is a sense of validation, as if spoken to me by another.
Starting work with Kim Stufflebeam in the summer of 2014 was a key milestone for finishing the novel. His excitement and creative ideas provided motivation for publishing Sky in a unique way, using our collective intuition to take new steps. Kim saw visual depth in the story, and took the initiative to make printed prototypes as visual aids for the creative process.
In late July, 2019, Kim and I hand-created two copies of the novel including several visual and tactile elements we both thought would give depth to the experience for readers. Kim passed away unexpectedly from illness in early August, yet I sense his support and encouraging voice has endured. Late in the summer, I uploaded the first section of Sky to this website so readers could get a taste of the novel (see the Reading Room).
I continued the work Kim and I started to create multiple hardback copies by hand. By the end of 2020, I had constructed fifteen beautiful books, with most finding homes with family and friends. The milestone of 15 made me think again about our original goal to publish Sky.
A previously backburnered plan to publish a monochrome version through a print-on-demand service began to slip back into the forefront. Years prior I had set up an account on Amazon's CreateSpace, so I started again, using a monochrome copy of the latest print manuscript. After some reformatting and the addition of QR code web links to the handmade edition graphical elements, a proof was printed via Amazon's KDP website. Additioinal changes resulted in a new paperback edition that will be available to readers by February 1, with a Kindle version expected to follow. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading Sky.
- updated January, 2021