Rich Conversations: 017. Milly Moves to the Farm

Show notes from episode 017 of Rich Conversations.

Milly Moves to the Farm released today, but the process behind Milly Moves to Farm started last year in November at the Chicago book release party for my previous book, Homeless but Human. I was sitting at a table, chatting with Ken Ferguson, and he mentioned that he’d like to make a children’s book. He’s a super talented artist and illustrator. I said, “Well, I have an idea for one.”

Many of us have had the experience of being around our grandparents and listening to their stories – often repeated stories. It’s no different for me. My grandma talks fondly about her childhood living in the city of Milwaukee but then having to move to the country and live on a farm. It wasn’t easy. And, of course, nothing was truly easy in America during the Great Depression and World War II. I’ve wanted to bring her story to life for a while, and teaming up with Ken allowed me to do it.

I enjoy exploring my rural and urban backgrounds in my writing. I grew up on a farm and have lived in Chicago for over 10 years. Each has a special place in my heart. I’ve come to accept that I’m both a country boy and a city boy, and I don’t have to choose between the two because I need them both in my life. They each have unique values that I strive to embody, and I hope that I can be a vehicle to communicate them to the communities I’ve been a part of and the ones I continue to grow.

One of the best parts of creating Milly Moves to the Farm has just been sitting down with my grandma and listening to her stories. Spending time with her. There was one time, back in January, when it snow stormed the night before. I wore snow pants and boots and trudged up her driveway and chatted with her all afternoon. I think it’s so important that we learn from the experiences of the people that came before us. We can better understand the history of our country and our people. It illuminates the context of our own time, allowing us to appreciate the hard work, sacrifices, and progress that’s occurred. It encourages us to ask ourselves what we can do for the future. I mean when my grandma moved to the farm, there was no electricity, no indoor plumbing, and no tractors. They worked the land with horses – whose names were Billy and June. When I go back up to the farm in Wisconsin to help during planting and harvesting seasons, I can ride inside an air-conditioned and heated tractor cab and listen to podcasts, music, or audiobooks on demand for twelve straight hours and then call it a day. It’s so important to understand how we got here.

Another awesome part of creating Milly Moves to the Farm was working with Ken. He’s super-talented, and I’m grateful that we’ve crossed paths. I mean it’s incredible to describe what I’m thinking in a scene and draw a few stick figures, and then he’ll draw for like 30 seconds and show it to me, and I’ll be like, “Yes! That’s it!”

It’s been cool to develop a creative relationship—and friendship—with another artist. I feel like we possess a similar philosophy and outlook on life that’s focused on positivity, openness, and helping our communities, but our sources of learning just vary. It’s interesting how he’s able to watch cartoons and anime and read comics and graphic novels and find deep meaning behind them. And then he shares it with me. He’s really passionate about it. I’m grateful for that. It inspires and motives me and allows me view life through a different lens.

This whole year, we met once or twice a week but we’d see each other in passing because we both moonlight as bartenders. I’ve learned a lot through our meetings. Often, we’d get sidetracked from the book and discuss life, philosophy, and whatever else. Sometimes we’d take “field trips” to the Art Institute or the Chicago Athletic Association or an art book fair or music shows—the last one we went to was Miami Horror back in November. I was able to score an extra ticket, and I was excited to share it with Ken because Miami Horror is probably the music I’ve listened to most over the past year—aside from the Beatles. It’s pretty upbeat and groovy but kind of deep and dreamy at the same time. It’s a lot of fun.

But the creative process is all wrapping up now, and I’m so proud and excited to share what we’ve been working on for so long! I’m eager to see young readers learn about life on a farm and of a time of much hardship in America. The principles of positivity and resilience have been on my mind for a while and to be able to express that through my Grandma’s story and Ken’s art is humbling. It’s really cool.

Milly Moves to the Farm is available now on Amazon. If you order soon, you should be able to have your copy in time for Christmas for that special young loved one in your life. Looking around the corner to 2020, we’ll have signing and in-person events. We’ll keep you posted on that.