Notes From the Road — 18 June 2025
Wandering updates from my travels in Van Gogh, trails I'm exploring, photos I've taken, and more
WANDERING UPDATE
Hello Friends and Fellow Seekers of the Good True Beautiful!
These past few months have carried me across the Great Grass Sea, from the desert southwest to the lush green country of Appalachia, where I am now. I will be planted here for the next few weeks as I embark on the exciting and somewhat daunting endeavor of mailing hundreds of book-bearing boxes out across the world. Why? Because, my friends, I am stoked to announce that the first two books in my Novel Fantasy Series are in the final stages of production, and we are now at the point where I get to send out review copies to a veritable host of advance readers, reviewers, podcaster interviewers, youtube (aka “booktube”) reviewers, and the like. It is a major project, and I need a base of operations that’s just a smidge bigger than a van to accomplish the task. Thankfully, I have a buddy here who has graciously offered to let me set up shop at his place. I’m grateful, and eager to get these books out to readers.
Speaking of, if YOU are interested in getting your very own ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) of Gideon’s Dawn and Waymaker, I’d love to hear from you! The copies are free, but you’ll need to meet the following criteria to receive them:
You need to be a fan of epic fantasy fiction (think Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia),
You must agree to read the books and complete them in the months of July and August 2025.
You must post a separate reader review of each book on Amazon.com and on Goodreads.com before August 15th, 2025.
You must have an e-reader that can access and read an ePUB file (this is the standard file format for most e-readers).
That’s it! If that sounds like fun to you, just complete this short google form, and I’ll be in touch. I’d love to have you on the team. My goal is to get 100 published reviews on each book within a month of the official Launch Day (which I’ll be announcing soon, but will be after August 15th).
Thanks! Now, here are some of the trails I’ve been following in recent weeks.
TRAILS I’VE BEEN EXPLORING
Here are 5 trails I’ve been exploring recently:
READING: The Search for the Genuine by Jim Harrison. Harrison is widely recognized as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th Century—a fact I have known ever since the release of “Legends of The Fall,” a movie based on a book by Harrison of the same name. That movie is among the top 10 most impactful films of my lifetime, and I never forgot the name of the man who penned the story. Yet, for whatever reason, I never got around to reading him until this year. Here’s my one-sentence assessment: Jim Harrison’s writing is a revelation. I decided to start with this nonfiction collection mostly on account of the title, as the search for the genuine is very much what I am about these days. I’m delighted to report that the essence of the work inside lines up well with the title on the cover. As for the quality—well, let’s just say until I read this, I didn’t know the English language could do the things he does with it.
LISTENING: In keeping with my apparent obsession with collecting what I have come to call “my Brilliant Brits,” I’m delighted to share this lovely and provocative meditation on beauty from the enchanting mythologist and storyteller Martin Shaw. The meditation is called “The Trouble With Beauty,” a title I particularly love as Beauty has always been troubling for me in the sense that it has always persistently melded with the notion of God’s presence, goodness, and truth—meaning, of course, that wherever we find beauty, we find God, and that beauty is in fact a door to God, or even a face of God. But this is problematic, because we find beauty in a lot of things, situations, and people in this world that we’ve been taught are in fact very far from the divine. So, what to do with that? I’m not the first to confront this apparent paradox (I don’t believe it is any longer, actually). It was Rilke who famously wrote: “For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror which we are barely able to endure, and it amazes us so, because it serenely disdains to destroy us.” Whatever could he mean by saying such a thing? Well, all that to say: Shaw’s meditation on Beauty is a worthy addition to that larger conversation.
WATCHING: If you’ve been around here for long, you know I’m a total nut for anything scifi or fantasy. I am always reading something in one of those genres. Among my favs this past year was the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, a series of seven hilarious books that won the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards for Best Novella. They’re fast, laugh-out-loud reads embedded in a space-based whodunit crime mystery. The lead character is an artificial construct called a SecUnit (Security Unit) that has secretly (and hilariously) named itself “Murderbot.” Anyway, AppleTV is bringing the story to the small screen, with the amazing Alexander Skarsgård cast in the titular role of the aforementioned Murderbot. I’m only six episodes in, and so far I’m really enjoying it. Of course the books are better (because books are nearly always better), but the show is definitely worth recommending.
SEEING: Lady Liberty has a new little sister! The longer I have lived in the Denver Metro area, the more I have come to love the richness, kindness, and overall cool factor this city has. It seems every month I discover some new bit of awesome about this place I didn’t know about before (and I’ve been in this region now for over 20 years!). The latest I just found out about this past week: a new 58 foot (17.7 meter) statue called “Liberty” has been installed in an art park in Aurora (which is part of the Denver Metro). At a time so many are divided in our country, I love seeing this beautiful statement of “indivisibility” being planted in the heartland of our nation. Here’s a short news report with video of the art piece and its installation.
PONDERING: "If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery...isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you'll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is." — Charles Bukowski
PHOTOS I’VE TAKEN
YOUR TURN
What new trails have you been exploring lately that you would love other people to know about? Share them in the comments.
Until next time!
Michael
p.s. The Sojournist is an entirely reader-supported project I create on the go as I live on the road. Your support makes my writing possible and keeps it growing. Every time you hit “like,” it tells the algorithm to share the post more widely. Every time you share a post with someone, it spreads the word even more. Every new free subscription expands our growing tribe. Every new paid subscription keeps food on the table and fuel in Van Gogh. Whatever way you can help is hugely appreciated. Thank you.
Beautiful pics!