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Over the years I've been fascinated by seeing solitary shoes in unusual places. A poem I wrote five years ago grew into a short story, and then evolved into a novel.

In that novel, Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries, the hero, Brad, loses his girlfriend, Jen-Zen. He becomes obsessed with photographing lost single shoes, believing Jen-Zen is out there somewhere with the other halves of the pairs of shoes. Call it an artistic Cinderella complex. He feels Jen-Zen in the shoes’ shadows and everywhere. The story of Brad’s life is told though his remembering Jen-Zen, working in his art, and dealing with his family and friends as he struggles to overcome his grief, all while secretly listening to his heart and following the intuitive signs.

And the signs are everywhere, even in writing this book and in marketing it.

Writing the book did not stop my own sightings of lost single shoes; this week I saw a sandal on the side of the road and a beat up sneaker that had washed ashore. I’m intuitive and often pick up on people’s energy. Like Brad, I’m always finding intuitive signs. This sixth sense can be helpful as a writer, and at times, eerie or creepy, depending on your perspective.

My intuitiveness and self-awareness of this “other knowledge” became much stronger as I got into fiction writing. I found my destiny and believe it found me. It emerged in a big way with my novels. One of the whackier validations was when photographer Randy Hamilton contacted me about my book, Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries. He shared an artistic vision similar to my character, Brad. They both photographed single shoes. 

The novel itself is fictional, but I know I tapped into the real-life photographer’s energy on some level.
I sent out a press release on Randy’s birthday and he at one point wanted to be named Brad. His photo collection is named One Shoe Diaries, like the original name of my novel. Like Brad, Randy makes his living as a photographer and he’s also photographed dolphins and is particularly drawn to the ocean. His odyssey in seeking recognition for his One Shoe Diaries photo collection itself is also synchronous to my character. He’s had showings in galleries, which happened to Brad. Like Brad, he has become famous for it. In fact, Randy’s one-shoe photos were featured on CNN. While I was writing the novel I wrote a press release about Brad’s photo collection. At the time I felt a twinge of deja vu, but had no idea why or what it represented. I didn’t know the meaning until the novel was done and I got to know Randy. 

I remember a friend teasing me when I wrote the press release that I would never use it. The friend just thought it was something strange I did. Maybe it was, but it felt incredibly natural, like I was meant to do it. It helped me see the novel from a marketing perspective. I think it opened a level for channeling an artistic vision on a subconscious level. As a result of this novel and the experience of meeting Randy, I recognize I often tap into energy beyond myself when I write.

Of course, I should clarify that the novel is not Randy’s life story. I somehow tapped into his artistic vision as a photographer. Instead of needing to research how a photographer might feel when he sees the single shoes, I knew. I did let my imagination run wild with all the love-filled angst I put Brad through as he struggled to understand why his connection to Jen-Zen went beyond all logic. He learned, like his Grandma said in the novel, that "intuition is a fool’s wobble until you set it straight."

And Brad set it straight, as I try to do.

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