I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to perform in Macon this Saturday to celebrate of the life of Macy Easom, a precious four-year-old girl diagnosed with hepatoblastoma who passed away at the age of five.  Music4Macy and the Macy Easom Cancer Research Foundation were established  in her honor to fund the research to increase the survival rate of children diagnosed with hepatoblastoma and other pediatric cancers.

Curing pediatric cancer is a cause very near to my heart.  My nephew, Eli, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 3.  The diagnosis was devastating for our family.  The joy and fun of Eli's childhood was replaced by chemo, spinal taps, and endless trips to the hospital.  Thankfully, Eli was able to make a compete recovery and is now a smart, talented, funny 13 year old.  

I feel extremely privileged to help build support and awareness by participating in Music4Macy.  Please visit their website to find out more: ​princessmacy.org.

The spark of inspiration can take so very many forms - a phrase, a bit of melody, the beauty of nature, a great book, a broken heart.  As a writer I’ve been inspired by all of these things but lately it seems that draw many of my ideas from spoken and written word.  

Growing up, I was a gangly four-eyed wallflower with my nose perpetually stuck in a book.  I was slightly-to-moderately afraid of most social interactions so I escaped as much as possible by reading.  As a teenager, I remember buying CD’s, breaking open the case, and studying the lyrics.  I thought everybody did that.  I thought that’s why they printed them in the first place. 

Because I love words, I’m always listening and looking, eager to find a phrase or expression that sounds interesting.  It happened today at the post office when the postal worker asked me what all those letters meant at the end of my name.  I rattled off my official title as a speech therapist but then quickly added, “Just a lot of letters that cost me a lot of money and took a lot of time.”  Something about that phrase struck me as interesting so I did my writer’s work and as soon as I got back to my car entered those words into my lyric idea notebook into Evernote.  

Several months ago, the phrase “bad blood” popped into my head.  Such a rich expression!  I wrote that down too.  A few weeks later, I was banging a rhythm on my guitar and tried those words out.  Here’s what it sounded like after developing the idea over a couple of writing sessions. 

So always be on the look out for those things that inspire creative thought and if you have some time, share what inspires your writing.  

One of the most interesting things about the creative process is the ideas that fuel the process.  It's the spark that gets things going and it can come from the most mundane sources.  In this instance it was my very bad kitty, Skipper, that help me write one of my newest songs.  Here's the CXCW link that explains it all.  Enjoy!

It has been a productive couple of days, mainly, because Sunday I actually allowed myself some writing time (an hour to be exact).  I haven't written more than a few lines for about three months now.  I stopped writing for a very practical reason.  I have enough songs for an album and I really needed to spend time nailing them down instead of churning out new ideas.  

You know, something very horrible that happens when I get very busy doing lots things and don't do the things that give my life meaning - I turn into a busy little achiever.  To-do lists begin to appear out of nowhere and deposit themselves all around the house.  I become ever-so-slightly neurotic about irrelevant things like rearranging furniture and an expert at find other projects that take time away from my priorities.  But when I realign and devote time to the things that are most important in my life, certain wonderful things begin to happen.  I start feeling more settled, the to-do lists stop distracting me and life becomes vibrant.   

So here's wishing you space and time to pursue the things that you love and all the joy and peace that comes with a happy heart!

I hope you enjoyed every bit of merry brightness this Christmas season.  Now as we look ahead to new things, I thought it would be a good time to introduce my website and blog.  Check back often to stay up-to-date with songwriting, my performance schedule and other updates.  No promises but it might get interesting!