About 4 a.m. one wintry morning, a coyote loped along the side of Interstate 40 through the Pigeon River Gorge, unperturbed by my passing car. His gait was purposeful and intent.
Where was he going? Where had he come from? Where was his pack?
I gripped the steering wheel and focused on the dark road, worried I would round a bend and discover a rockslide covering the lane. It happens more than you want to know in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
That chance encounter evolved in my mind to form the opening chapters of Jaxon With An X—a child, equally focused, stumbling through the snow.
Where was he going? Where had he come from? Where was his pack?
I can’t explain the creative process any better than that.
The publishing process, however, is much clearer thanks to an amazing team who helps me cross the finish line.
Once again, I had the pleasure of working with Lynn McNamee’s Red Adept Editing team as we took Jaxon from drafts to book.
Content Editor Angie Lovell’s probing and thought-provoking questions shaped the characters and tightened the story. She gets the pleasure of asking me why a character does what he or she does.
Line Editor Kate Birdsall and Proofreader Kristina Baker have the unenviable task of challenging sentence structure and my somewhat creative uses of commas.
The cover artwork is the creation of the incredibly talented Glendon Haddix of Streetlight Graphics. His ability to capture the loneliness and journey facing young Jaxon astounds me.
A mighty team of advanced readers devoured the book and offered their encouragement and error-catching eagle eyes. The story is richer because of their efforts.
My head cheerleader Todd Fulbright asks me every day how my stories are coming together and is my sounding board for thoughts. When I get stuck, we can bounce the ideas around until he helps me see the path forward. He’s already seen the outline for my next book and asks me daily how it’s coming.
And finally, dear reader, I thank you as well. I appreciate the emails and notes, the subscribers to my newsletter, the commenters on my stories, and the friends on social media. Your encouragement and kind words motivate me every day to sit down and write.
D.K. Wall