A #blogpost about #hope (and #grieving), #courage (and emotional overload), #movingforward (and #selfcare), #fortitude (and #bewilderment), #selfpublishing (and #doubt), emotional healing (and #WTF). And #splittingthesky, lol. 📚😊💪
#blog
#wegotthis
annascottgraham.blogspot.com/2025/01/re-r...
An older man, my father, smiles under a brightly coloured patchwork quilt while waiting for chemotherapy treatment. He is seated and is completely covered by the quilt, the first I ever made. Quilt is tied with cream floss, with medium blue sashes separating rows of vibrant tonals and solids.
"The Scientist" sung by Willie Nelson inspired the last chapter of Splitting the Sky. This recap started with Dad, so here it ends as he revels in my first #quilt, made for him while he underwent chemo. StS is released tomorrow. Thanks for tagging along. 💗📚🎶
#splittingthesky
#booksky
#musicsky
Plus-pattern quilt top. Plusses are in mostly solid and bold hues, surrounded by low volume fabrics, making twenty blocks. Those are framed by a two-inch yellow border, which is then framed by a four-inch royal blue border. The quilt top is displayed on a design wall made from batting, tacked onto a bedroom wall.
"The Wedding of River Song" by Murray Gold & BBC National Orchestra of Wales inspired Chapter 20 of Splitting the Sky. When making wedding quilts, I like to use the Plus pattern, very positive you know! 😊 This one heralds from August 2020. 💗
#musicsky
#booksky
#splittingthesky
#quiltsky
#joy
Yip yap: a #blogpost about the final days before a novel is released into the wild. Also about reading out loud and gratitude for a spouse's tolerance and support, lol.
#writinglife
#booksky
#splittingthesky
#selfpublishing
#creativity
#blog
#fiction
annascottgraham.blogspot.com/2025/01/last...
One black dog, Nerd, with white on its chest sits on a cement porch while a tan dog, Sassy, reclines on the ground a few feet away. Old wooden chairs are behind Nerd, a Weber kettle barbecue to Nerd's right, its lid leaning against a porch pillar. An old black screen door behind the chair on the right reveals a lamp lit inside the house. The photo is from summer 1986, of my childhood home.
"All You Zombies" by The Hooters inspired Chapter 19 of Splitting the Sky. A few years after that song was released, I snapped the shot below of the family hounds. Nerd on the porch, Sassy resting on the ground, summer 1986.
#musicsky
#booksky
#splittingthesky
#analogphotography
#dogsky
Patchwork rainbow quilt with light to dark squares from the top left corner to the bottom right of the quilt. It hangs on an aged outside laundry line, greenery surrounding it.
"No Place to Fly" by Willie Nelson inspired Chapter 18 of Splitting the Sky. The quilt below, from 2023, was for a woman who eased my brother-in-law onto another plane. Death doulas are amazing people. RIP Stan and thank you Margaret.
#musicsky
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#quiltsky
#rainbowquilt
#tbt
On a surface street the sun hangs low in the sky, large gray clouds obscuring a pale orange horizon. Power lines criss-cross the clouds, houses framing the left and right sides of the shot, a slightly wet street leading straight to the still bright yellow sun.
"Bring on the Night" by The Police inspired Chapter 17 of Splitting the Sky. No more excerpts, don't want to give away the end, but here's a shot from March 2023 in #HumboldtCounty, where I call home.
#musicsky
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#photography
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#digitalphotography
Dark gray clouds are tinged with orange on the right side of photo as the sun sets outside of the shot. The far horizon sits at the bottom of the picture, the sky a faint orange.
"Beth" by Kiss inspired Chapter 16 of Splitting the Sky. While the photo below isn't from 1976, it's certainly aged enough to be placed alongside an oldie but goodie tune. 😊 Photo taken in the early 1980s across from my home.
#musicsky
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#splittingthesky
#analogphotography
#cloudphotography
Hand-sewn English paper pieced quilt made from a dozen large round quilt blocks comprised of diamonds, squares, triangles and hexagons. The hues vary from primary shades to muted colours in a variety of cotton fabrics. Sunflowers are centered in the low volume joining blocks, solid and tonal hexagons staggering the quilt's perimeter.
"Never Be Mine" (Director's Cut version) by Kate Bush inspired Chapter 15 of Splitting the Sky. In gifting most of my quilts, one #Englishpaperpiecing fave still claims my heart, Mandolin designed by Jodi Godfrey. What a #joy it was to stitch!
#quiltsky
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#quilt
(Excerpt from Splitting the Sky, Chapter 14) "...eyes, there'd you be in the rocket, all that hair standing from your head." Esten spoke so little, his own voice was startling. He smiled. "I use to wonder if you were for real, I mean, as smart as they claimed. You were glamorous, carried such weight on those shoulders. How many young women wanted to be you, how many...." How many men loved you, he didn't say. Esten gazed at the door as if Lee and D'Rozen were fighting to get through it first. He hoped both were sleeping. "Tarryn, you need to wake up. You need to be conscious. Then you need to decide." Esten stood, couldn't believe he'd said it. Then he laughed. "That's why you're not awake, clever girl." He walked to the foot of the bed. "You probably hear everything we say, or maybe you don't, but you imagine it. Easier to stay like this than face them, or Kannen. She's a handful. How you didn't chuck her to the side of the road...." He felt a mirthful vibe, but Tarryn hadn't moved. Esten pinched one of her toes. "But she's not here right now...." (End of excerpt)
Chapter 14 of Splitting the Sky was inspired by "I Burn for You" by The Police. Here's an excerpt.
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A mostly full moon sits against blue sky with a tall redwood tree along the right edge of the shot, dramatic puffy white and gray clouds beneath it. Whispy white clouds hover above the moon, centered in the picture.
Chapter 13 of Splitting the Sky was inspired by "Day of the Moon", another Murray Gold & BBC National Orchestra of Wales tune, from Series 6 of Doctor Who. Appropriate is the untouched #moon from 5 December, 2022.
#splittingthesky
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#digitalphotography
(Excerpt of Splitting the Sky Chapter 11) "...many risks, and your brother...." D'Rozen wanted to smile, but it almost felt treasonous. Esten had never wanted to accept that much responsibility. He would have died fighting to save them, but would he have stepped over that edge, sacrificing his mind? His body certainly, but perhaps not his soul. Kash glanced at the horizon. "I'd love to drop everything, not think about home, my husband, just lay down with Mauer, let it all fall away." Then she turned to D'Rozen. "Maybe you wanted that too, chatting with Tarryn in the beginning. Then something changed, you had to make a choice. And you did," she chuckled, grasping his hand. "You did what no other pilot would've done. That's why Mauer's such a basket case." She said that softly and D'Rozen wondered if that man might be listening. "He is," she continued. "He sees all you've done, can't dream of ever reaching those depths. Or heights." She smiled. "You deserve everything you have with her. No one begrudges you that." "Yeah?" She peered at the ground, then to the sky. "You chose this...." (End of excerpt)
"Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinead O'Connor inspired Chapter 11 of Splitting the Sky. Fitting that this song title could be dedicated to the late Jimmy Carter, funny how life works sometimes.
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Tall stone ruins in Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk, England.
Chapter 10 of Splitting the Sky was inspired by "Wonderwall", by Oasis. We lived in the UK when that band was at its peak, where I began writing fiction. Pictured below are #ruins from Bury St. Edmonds in Suffolk, #England, 5 June, 2001.
#musicsky
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#splittingthesky
#analogphotography
Two stacks of English paper pieced hearts made from jewel shapes. Hearts are various hues; on top of one stack is a light blue heart with dark blue stars. The other stack is topped with a medium to dark blue heart speckled with black and gold dots.
"Message in a Bottle" by The Police inspired Chapter 9 of Splitting the Sky. These hearts are my outreach to whomever has eyes to see, as well as ears to listen. 😉
#musicsky
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#splittingthesky
#quiltsky
#Englishpaperpiecing
#hope
(Excerpt from Chapter 8 of Splitting the Sky) Esten woke as he did every morning, before dawn, the sky dark and expansive. It seemed larger at night, or during the first breaks of the morning. A new day might begin at midnight, but it didn't truly commence until the faintest light crept over the mountain. By stealth a new day stole into the sky, but what did time truly mean? It meant he was a day older, a day closer. He didn't keep track as others did, eschewing calendars and planners. He didn't own a cell phone or tablet. If Rist, or anyone else, needed him, they could track him down. Esten lived on a different plane, by another code. It was similar to Lee's, but unplugged from modern conveniences. Esten lived by sightings of the deer. They had accepted each other, but it hadn't been easy. Initially the creature had been unapproachable, but patiently Esten had outlasted its wariness, although distance remained between them. Its vibrant red coat grew glossy in summer, was lank in winter. Emerald eyes remained vigilant year-round; for nearly two years Esten had observed that creature, finding some peace in these crags and peaks, of which he traveled extensively, living off.... (End of excerpt)
"The Sound of Your Memory" by Willie Nelson inspired Chapter 8 of Splitting the Sky. I'm grateful for his 2012 album "Heroes", also imperative to this novel.
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A man repairs a piece of farm equipment. The photo is in black and white, taken in the early 1980s.
Chapter Seven of Splitting the Sky was inspired by "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" by The Police. That band permeated my teenage years. During that time I took a #photography class in high school. The photo below is my dad at work, one of our assignments.
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(Beginning of excerpt) ...in a vice, Esten wasn't going anywhere immediately. He couldn't even go back to sleep. He stared at the bottle, wanted to take another. Two or three more, but not even a dozen pills would lessen his headache, or temper his heart's anguish. Esten used to think the headaches would kill him. Now something else rocked his soul. His brother was alive, somewhere. Esten closed his eyes, the red deer peering at him. Standing on the pad, Lee gazed to the sky. Stars shone, but darkness precluded seeing anything more. He shivered, not that the night was cold, only in how certain he felt, one hundred percent sure; Tarryn was up there somewhere, all those astronauts were alive. He wondered if he was the only one who felt this way. He hadn't spoken to Kannen about it, didn't want to upset her. She had taken the explosion as had many other relatives, a quiet, careful acceptance, followed by paralyzing grief. A memorial had (end of excerpt).
Someday I'll learn to count properly. Yesterday's song was for Chapter Five. The real Splitting the Sky Chapter Six inspiration is "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" by Willie Nelson, excerpt below.
#musicsky
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#splittingthesky
Large sampler quilt made up of various English paper piecing blocks in a log-cabin design.
"Amerigo", by Patti Smith, inspired Chapter Six in Splitting the Sky. A *BEAUTIFUL* song deserves a beautiful quilt; I finished this right before lockdown in 2020 for my eldest daughter, an #englishpaperpiecing sampler, one of my faves. 💗
#musicsky
#booksky
#splittingthesky
#quiltsky
#quilt
#joy
Close-up of the full-ish moon in daytime from 21 August, 2024. Photo is untouched taken at a high zoom with a One Plus Open phone.
Chapter Four of Splitting the Sky came from "The Impossible Astronaut" by Murray Gold & BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Yes, I'm a Doctor Who fan.
I also take sky shots. Today's is from 21 August, 2024, maximum zoom, untouched.
#musicsky
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#splittingthesky
#moonphotography
#oneplusopen
Chapter three of Splitting the Sky is inspired by "Secret Journey" by The Police. A band from my youth, they meant more to me a dozen years ago when I wrote this book than how they figure into my current life. ☺️
Excerpt below from Chapter three...
#booksky
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Chapter Two of Splitting the Sky was inspired by "Moments of Pleasure" by Kate Bush.
This Kaffe Fassett/Ruby Star Society block for Alexandria is my moment of pleasure. ☺️
#epp
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#splittingthesky
A four month old baby (myself) held by her father, summer 1966. We are seated outside, sparse grass in the background.
Ages ago I plotted novels via music. Chapter One from Splitting the Sky was inspired by "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys", by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.
Dad was the first cowboy I knew.
#musicsky
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#splittingthesky
