Author’s Notes – Southern Cross
Southern Cross is the conclusion to my first novel “Northern Lights,” which was a huge challenge for me and quite an eye-opening experience as well. Along the way, I’ve realized that I can’t shape my writing into any cookie-cutter versions that are simple, short, and sweet. I have no desire to change my writing style just to make my book more easily marketable, more accessible, or maybe even remotely successful. In the end, I’ve decided to just write the way I like to and let the story take me wherever it wants to go.
If you haven’t guessed already, I’m never in a big hurry to get anywhere, and that has translated into how I tell this story too. I just want to write about what is important to me, and let the chips fall where they may. It might take a little longer to get somewhere, but when it’s all said and done, I’ll be able to look back and be content with what I’ve done. If you’d like to join me on the journey, then I’m happy to have you do so. If not, I’ll be fine getting there on my own too.
Southern Cross has been just as much work as my first novel. Of course, it is the natural and necessary conclusion to Northern Lights. I hesitate to call it a “conclusion” though, because I can feel another chapter of the story bubbling up inside me. In fact, I think there might be quite a few more chapters to write before this one eventually winds down to the grand finale. We’ll see.
Anyway, at the end of Northern Lights, a lot of things were left hanging up in the air. It wasn’t a happy ending by any means. The lovers were left torn apart. Things came to a sudden and uncertain end. There had to be more, right? There’s even an unopened letter left lying on the trail that’s just begging to be read in a follow-up sequel. Well, that happens of course, and it required some careful consideration on my part to make it come about. In the end, it necessitated that I break a few boundaries along the way too. I’m not totally comfortable with that, but it is done nonetheless, so I hope you’ll understand and give me a little grace here. After all, I just hinted that Southern Cross probably isn’t the end either, so the characters haven’t finished becoming who they are by any stretch of the imagination, and they still have a lot of growing and changing to do in the future, if I live long enough to make it happen.
Probably the biggest elephant in the room regarding “Southern Cross” is that it took me to a place I’ve never been before: New Zealand. Even now, I’m not really sure if I pulled it off or not, but being a fairly stubborn Scandinavian from the Upper Midwest, I dove headfirst into it anyway. It wasn’t easy, but I did a lot of research about the history, culture, language, people, and lifestyle of New Zealand. I’ve learned a lot, but I fully admit that I’m still no expert by a long shot. One thing’s for sure, though. I’ve fallen in love with all things Kiwi, which is no surprise to me. I kind of knew it would happen, and yeah, it did. Now, I’m itching to visit the island paradise down under and experience it for myself – just in the real world this time. Meanwhile, this printed version will have to do for now, which I sincerely hope you’ll find enjoyable as well.
As you wade into the story, you might wonder what I’m actually doing in there. At first, it doesn’t sound too appetizing. My main character seems to wander aimlessly about, silently suffering, displaying a lot of confusion and angst, maybe even openly pouting about his bad luck in life. Then, things slowly begin to pick up, and only about a hundred pages in do things start to make some degree of sense. Well, that’s how life is sometimes, and for me, that’s how it’s been most of the time, even now in my old age. I still don’t know what’s going to happen. I still don’t have all the answers. I haven’t figured it out yet, not even close.
In the story, Leo (that’s me) takes off on a plane across the Pacific Ocean in hopes of rekindling what he and Esther fell into the previous summer. As he does, or did, he (and I) had absolutely no idea what would happen. Truly, I didn’t. I had no idea what he would find, where he would go, who he would meet, or what would end up happening. That might sound kind of irritating and confusing, but it wasn’t. It was a totally exciting journey into the complete unknown for me.
At first, the story was like a maze, like a labyrinth with walls towering above me that seemed to block the way. As I trudged on, I held onto the hope of finding my way out of that mess. It was like a delicate string, so thin and fragile, yet the only thing available, so I kept on inching forward. To my surprise, the string didn’t break, and I didn’t lose hope either. As I kept moving ahead, I encountered one surprise after another. At first, the surprises were like tiny blessings, like little moments of inspiration, but as they continued to pop up here and there, they became bigger and more significant.
The journey wasn’t easy, but it was wonderfully rewarding. As the story moved along, the surprises became more random, more creative, and more out-of-the-blue than I ever could have dreamed. It was a lot of fun to wake up each day and start writing into the wild blue yonder, and eventually, end up somewhere completely new by the end of the day. I don’t know how else to explain it, but that’s what seemed to happen along the way. I was confronted by an endless series of overwhelming obstacles that appeared to tower up all around me, but they were tempered by other surprises that crossed my path and helped me to keep pressing forward.
That’s what life is like for me these days. I’m walking ahead into the unknown, into the wild blue yonder, uncertain as to what will happen next, as to what will cross my path, as to what is coming up around the next curve in the trail. I’m a bit surprised that I’ve become so open to that kind of idea, more accepting of the fact that I don’t need to have all the answers, that there is still so much to learn, and that my future doesn’t depend on what I can achieve on my own. The future is still a mystery to me. It’s ever-changing, wide-open, and full of hopeful possibilities. Anything, absolutely anything is possible. Yeah, that’s how I see life now, and I sincerely hope that you’ll see it like that too.
Before I sign off, there’s one more thing I think I should say here. To be completely honest, Southern Cross is actually more about me than I’d like to admit. That little fact makes me squirm in my seat just a bit, but it’s the truth, and I just thought you should know about it too. If someone wanted to, I’m sure they could analyze the story and find all kinds of hidden quirks, glaring flaws, and strange angles to my peculiar mindset tucked in between the lines of the pages. I’m fine with that, but it’s not really necessary. The story isn’t that important, and actually, it’s really just meant for me anyway. So, with that being said, I just hope you enjoy the story and find some encouragement in it, some degree of truth that resonates with you, or some words of wisdom to hold on to. If so, then yeah, this journey I’ve been on for the past twelve months has been totally worth it.
Sincerely,
Leo Solstrom