ongwriting is one of those mysteries that keep life so interesting.   Sometimes what shows up is as much a surprise to me as anyone.   Most of my writing is done in the darkness and solitude of the

'Into the Shimmering' is a collection of works, spanning 2 decades.   The 'Shimmering' is a State of Grace. I beleive that's where songs, among many other wonders, come from and that's surely where I am when they come to me.  They are gifts.  

Here is a little of what I know about the songs. 
Sometimes it takes a while even for me to understand them fully. And sometimes they even come to mean something other than they originally did!  

For anyone interested, I will include the tunings they're in and when or how they came to be.  Underlined titles lead you to the listening samples I have posted. 

Find my way Home - Open D. Written on a snowy winter night in Vancouver, BC in 1996. It affirms the faith of a lost and wandering soul in finding its way out of the darkness and back into the light.  

A Babe Is Born - DADGAD. This one was written just in the nick of time for a midwives conference that I was asked to perform at in 1997 or so.  Up until the night before, I still had no idea what I was going to sing.  I know lots of songs with the word 'baby' in them, but hardly the appropriate context!  In the wee hours, as usual, this song was born... 

I'm Thinkin' of You - 1997 .A love song for no one in particular, based on the 'write it and he will come' theory.  And it worked!  The relationship didn't however, but that's another album... 

I fell in love with swing music at guitar camp one year when I took what I affectionately refer to as 'Swing 101'. I was messing with the jazz chords I'd learned and the lyrics just fell out. 

For guitar enthusiasts, the instrument I played on this cut was built by famous Italian inventor/instrument maker Mario Maccaferri. Django Reinhard, a famous Romani (gypsy) guitar player from France, played a guitar that was designed by Maccaferri.  On the eve of the German occupation of France, Maccaferri bought himself passage on the last ship to America. It was there, in the 1950s that he took to building, first ukeleles then guitars, made entirely of plastic which was all the rage at the time.  The ukeleles, all 9 million of them, sold well, thanks to the endorsement of TV show host Arthur Godfrey who played one on his show.  But alas, the guitars did not meet with the same success. A few decades later, a warehouse full of them was discovered in New York and are collectors items today. My producer happened to get his hands on one and it was in the studio at the time of recording.  How could I resist? 

Terry's Prayer - Feb. 98 Open G. I held the hand of a dear friend through a long, dark and sorrowful winter.  Thought he'd never come out of it.  But come springtime, 'shift' happened and the light shone for him again.  

Forever is a Long Long Time - Summer 1999. DADGBD. This song was written in 1999 during a painful time of estrangement from a man with whom I'd enjoyed a sparkling but short lived love affair.  It is a true account of our journey into Love and out the other side.  

Wherever You May Be - DADGAD . I wrote this song for my daughter, Jennifer.  I gave her up for adoption when I was 17 and met her 20 years later.  Turned out she was a musician too, a songwriter, singer and dancer.  Very thrilling for both of us.  Move over Wynonna and Naomi, we thought!  But she lived many thousands of miles away and we got to share very little time together. Two years and only 4 visits later, she became severely disabled with progressive Multiple Sclerosis and any future we may have had was denied us, a loss I will never cease to mourn. 

Faith (Don't Leave Me Now) - Sept. 1996 on the night of a Lunar Eclipse. Life, my life anyway, hinges on faith.  The confidence and strength I feel when I have it, the terror when I feel it slipping away.  I wrote this song when fear and despair were threatening to swallow me. 

Tomorrow's Lullaby - This song is from a sunnier side of life that does have faith and hope. In 1988, I saw a film called 'Cry Freedom' about Steven Biko, a black South African activist.  I was horrified by the opening scene of a township being bulldozed at dawn and masses of terrified children running and screaming as their homes and families were decimated.  I cried for weeks as the image haunted me. The result was that I wrote this song for future generations that will hopefully not have to endure such atrocities and can live their lives in freedom, abundance and safety.  I performed this song in concert with fellow songwriters Mae Moore and Rachel Page shortly after it was written. 

Mother Night - Written in Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island in 1979.  The night has always been a time of magic and mystery for me, the moon -  my muse since childhood.  Recently I had left a small island and moved to the city, where the night no longer gave me a profound sense of belonging. This urban night felt not friendly, but frightening.  I wandered alone through a park to the water's edge, with an offshore storm brewing, the wind whipping my face and danger lurking in every shadow. Or so it seemed. I scurried for home and wrote this song. 

Three Wishes - summer of '98.  This song is in regular tuning with a capo on the top 5 strings only, played in G.  I've come to realize that this song was my Dear John letter, written with much affection, for the man I was with, a hot tempered and tormented Irishman. He is a songwriter himself, and we shared great love for each other. But I knew it wasn't destined to last.  Still, I wished him well and told him so in this song. We parted the following year. On my better days, I would say this song still holds true. Other days, well, there are other songs...