Day Eighteen. Yes, we’ve made it halfway, and if you haven’t noticed already, there’s a small number 36 in slanted 18th-century script beside the word Striking on the cover just to the left of what I’m writing. This means 36 means something in this novel, right? Yes, absolutely, but you’ll need to read the novel to understand the number’s exact importance. Striking Balance: The Peculiar Making of Beatrice Benjamin Sophia Scott Schnell Gow is now available for purchase. To celebrate its release and the fact that it is my tenth novel, I have created a one-of-a-kind companion mixed-media art book, the Striking Balance Mixed Media Journey, but creating the book has become been more a personal challenge than anything. That said, I’m sharing the mixed media pages with you because the art created such a direct tie with the author’s, meaning my mind that it can’t help but enrich the reading experience.
Below you’ll find three opportunities to interact with the novel. First, you’ll see the chapter number and its corresponding epigraph. Second, you’ll find images including the book open to the chapter page, a digitally enhanced version of the same spread, and 1-2 detail pieces that may or may not be digitally enhanced. Lastly, you’ll see a link to the corresponding song from the Striking Balance playlist on YouTube and get to read First Lines, one or two sentences from the beginning of the chapter.
Today, we’re delving into Chapter Eighteen.
Chapter Eighteen: Jigs, Prayers, and Spaniards
From the Striking Balance playlist – Chapter Eighteen Selection:
Tyler Childers – House Fire
First Lines
“’Twasn’t fair of me.” I have unintentionally included Conall in my jig magic prayers again, and this time I have chosen to face the issue, meaning him, to apologize.
Make certain to check back tomorrow for Chapter Nineteen and remember that this is a dark fantasy. If that sounds like a warning, that’s because something wicked this way comes.
(Cackles, sprouts wings, and flies off)
