JJ Russell plays music while sorting out psychological and spiritual ideas on his Youtube Channel. I encourage you to check out his songs, but also spend some time with his videos on My Goddamn Garage.
A mutual friend suggested sending him a copy of The Divine Daughter. So we got in touch with him and sent him a copy. AND HE READ IT!!
Not only did he read it, but he had some glowing, heart-warming things to say. He picked up on the Canadian threads in the book, and the poetic approach I used. But of all things, he said it felt very familiar to him, and that word familiar caught my attention. Of all the words that could kindle the heart of a writer, that struck a chord for me. If someone is going to spend hours of their precious time with my book, as if poking into the curious crags of my head, I'm glad to hear the relationship can feel like familiar old friends.
After he finished the book, we had a chance to talk. In some ways, we circled around the themes of the book and some of his videos, looking to make connections as much as anything. We are planning on doing something like this again. Now that the nervous beginnings are out of the way, we might be able to go even deeper on some of the ideas we share.