This project was chipped away at slowly
over the course of six long years.
It was a toil that at times cost its author
her sanity and sometimes some tears.

The start of anything new or big can feel impossible,
but after all, every song has its first note.
And there was a first word for
every writer who ever wrote.

But if we understood the trials of our adventures
from the beginning, we never would have started,
and the further we go, the more we
realize the path ahead is wholly uncharted.

As with any daunting expedition, you have
to take the first step or scrawl the first word,
even when the mere thought of writing
another feels painful and absurd.

Rosalyn’s world showed the author that telling a tall tale is
not so different from painting as she might have first thought.
Six years is a long time to write, so she’d have to be
patient with the process and willing to be taught.

At first, the white canvas mocks you, but before long,
your brushstrokes grow more confident and begin to converge,
and what began as a formless void, with time,
takes shape and a whole universe begins to emerge.

This process is often messy, and surely,
you’ll want to abandon ship, hide or rest,
but when an idea takes hold, you know you can’t
leave it to die without finishing your creative quest.
‍
Before we set sail on our journey we
must also ensure they align with our heart,
for we'll need the courage to face the
blank page of our writing or our art.

Rosalyn’s story begins with a crime,
an unsolved mystery, and a terrifying dream.
She struggles to make sense of her new reality,
but things are certainly not as they seem.

The author invented a tormented character so she
could trail behind on her most uncertain path.
And she witnessed Rosalyn follow her intuition
amidst each new challenge's aftermath.

Sometimes it’s other characters' stories that help
us understand ourselves, even when it’s fiction.
It's the actions of these beloved characters that
inspire us and ignites our own conviction.

Often our best ideas arrive in disguise simply
as curiosity for a mystery we have yet to glean.
And it’s only after we’ve inked the first words of our
investigation that we can understand what they really mean.