It’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog, but I haven’t been totally quiet. I finished a novel and sent it into the query trenches. Ditto a few short stories. And I made an album.
Writing songs is different from writing fiction, but not that different. The songs I picked for Ten Mile Creek are mostly story songs. And every one is about loss. Heartache, mourning, the broken places that never made you stronger. Even the one about the rancher who got cheated by a bartender is about watching your dreams die.
They say “sad songs make you happy.” I’m not sure if happy is the word, exactly. But sometimes we need a good weeper to remind us we’re not alone. Shannon McGill, the artist who created the album cover, asked me how I wanted people to feel when they listened to my songs. I fumbled for an answer, but she knew what I was trying to say: “You want people to feel seen.”
If you’re inclined, you can visit my music site, skyealexandermusic.com, for lyrics, a little about every song, and me going all starry-eyed over everybody who played on the album. I knew there was a great music scene on Vancouver Island, but I didn’t expect to be working with some of the best musicians I’ve ever heard. You can download the album there, or just listen, or stream it on streaming platforms, or I even have CDs.
Whatever you’re listening to these still troubled days, keep singing along. It helps. I swear.
Skye Allen 