Besides a love story, at the heart of Flowers and Stone is music—creating it, performing it, loving it, and living it.
Luke Stone was a songwriter. While he performed many cover tunes, his true passion lay in writing and performing his original songs.
In the book, I describe what Darlina saw the day she moved into Luke’s house.
EXCERPT – Chapter 8:
Hours later, as she put her belongings away in the empty dresser drawers Luke had provided, Darlina paid more attention to the details of her new home. When she had been there before, she didn’t notice the Akai reel-to-reel tape recorder sitting by the bed or the Colt 45 long barrel pistol that hung from the iron bedstead in a custom tooled black leather holster. Next to it hung a large Bowie knife, also housed in a black leather sheath. On the wall above the bed was an authentic Civil War sword, complete with CSA engraved on the handle, protected by a silver metal holder. She remembered the Martin guitar that sat beside the bed, which was still there.
Luke pointed to the recorder, “Lots of times in my sleep, I dream songs, so I sit on the side of the bed, grab the ol’ guitar, and turn on the recorder. When I listen back the next day, I usually have no memory of what I recorded, but that way, I don’t lose the song.”
She was fascinated by this kind of creativity. “I hope you won’t stop doing that just because I’m here. It won’t bother me at all.”
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As an author, I now understand the creative process much more than in 1970. Often, I dream of story ideas, so I keep a pen and paper beside the bed or record notes on my phone.
I’m sure you’ve all had similar experiences where the best story idea hits you at 4 a.m. You have to jot it down for fear of forgetting it. I’d love it if you’d share an instance where this has happened to you.
