Barron Ryan
Tulsa, OK
Pianist, composer, and one of Smithsonian Magazine’s 10 Innovators to Watch in 2021
BOOK COVER
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: August 1, 2023
Genre: Adult illustrated storybook
Illustrator: Cali Ward
Publisher: Charles Patrick Books
Page Count: 36
Format, ISBN, Price:
Hardcover, 978-1-7365394-2-2, $18.99
Ebook, 978-1-7365394-3-9, $2.99
One of Smithsonian Magazine’s 10 Innovators to Watch in 2021
One of 25 artists chosen for Western Arts Alliance’s 2023 Performing Arts Discovery program
ABOUT THE BOOK
This is the true story of a song.
Don Feagin wrote the words and Barron Ryan wrote the music. But this wasn’t your average collaboration. That’s because Don died in 1981—six years before Barron was even born.
As a young songwriter and composer, Don Feagin wrote music that would be heard around the world. But his favorite person to write for was his wife, Linda. The two were building a beautiful life together, but Don was living on borrowed time. They both knew that his disease, cystic fibrosis, would take him from this world far too soon.
When Don died, Linda thought she had heard all the songs he would ever write
. . . until a chance encounter paved a path to bring his lyrics and legacy back to life.
Honey, If It Wasn’t For You is a love song, written for a wife, that a husband could no longer sing. It’s also a poignant tale of love and loss that shares the power of music to connect us with the ones we cherish—even after they're gone.
TALKING POINTS
- Why beauty matters in everyday life
- How to not starve as an artist … eventually
- The songwriting process: from big ideas to little choices
- 3 reasons to give your ideas away
- How to defy categories as an artist
TIMELY TIE-INS
June
- African American Music Appreciation / Black Music Month
- Say Something Nice Day - June 1
- Father’s Day (gift guides) -June 18
- World Music Day / Make Music Day - June 21
July
- International Reggae Day - July 1
- Uncommon Instruments Awareness Day - July 31
August
- Happiness Happens Month
- Hip Hop Day - Aug 11
- International Strange Music Day - Aug 24
September
- Classical Music Month
- National Wife Appreciation Day - Sept 17
SUGGESTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
- How did you become acquainted with the late lyricist Don Feagin?
- Why did you decide to turn the story of this unusual songwriting collaboration into an illustrated storybook for adults? Aren’t storybooks usually for kids?
- You’ve released recordings, composed classical music, and now published a book. How does all this fit within the career of a concert pianist?
- How do audiences respond when you perform this song live?
- What does Don’s widow think of this song and its release?
- At the end of this book, it says, “This book was made to share. Please do so at will.” Why is that?
- What do you hope readers will take away from this story?
BOOK DETAILS
Pub Date: May 17, 2022
Genre: Memoir / Christian Inspirational
Publisher: She Writes Press
Page Count: 304
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1647429003
Price: $15.99
ABOUT THE BOOK
In the age of social media, what does it mean to connect through a hand-written letter?
True Story: When Amy Daughters reconnected with her former friend from camp decades ago, Dana, via Facebook, she had no idea how it would change her life. Through social media, Amy learned Dana’s son Parker was at St. Jude battling cancer–devastating news, but what else do you do besides comment an “I’m so sorry,” nowadays?
But more than a comment happened, Amy woke up in the middle of the night and felt called in a way she couldn’t fully explain to write handwritten letters to Dana–someone who through time and distance, had become nothing more than several hundred other faces on her Facebook account.
When Parker died, Amy, not knowing what else to do, continued to write Dana. Eventually, Dana wrote back, and the two became pen pals, sharing things through the mail that they had never shared before. The richness of the experience left Amy wondering something: If my life could be so changed by someone I considered “just a Facebook friend,” what would happen if I wrote all my Facebook friends a letter?
A staggering 580 handwritten letters later Amy’s life would never be the same. As it turned out, there were actual individuals living very real lives behind each social media profile, and she was beautifully connected to each of those extraordinary, very real people.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A native Houstonian and a graduate of The Texas Tech University, Amy W. Daughters has been a freelance writer for more than a decade — mostly covering college football and sometimes talking about her feelings. Her debut novel, You Cannot Mess This Up: A True Story That Never Happened (She Writes Press, 2019), was selected as the Silver Winner for Humor in the 2019 Foreword INDIES and the Overall Winner for Humor/Comedy in the 2020 Next Generation Indie Awards. An amateur historian, hack golfer, charlatan fashion model, and regular on the ribbon dancing circuit, Amy — a proud former resident of Blackwell, England, and Dayton, Ohio currently lives in Tomball, Texas, a suburb of Houston. She is married to a foxy computer person, Willie, and is the lucky mother of two amazing sons, Will and Matthew.
TALKING POINTS
- Lost Art of Letter Writing – The deliberateness of a letter, honest, believable and genuine, more than Social Media could ever be. Bringing back the beautiful connection of a hand-written letter.
- How can we teach our younger generation to value a pen & stationery?
- The stages of grief and how to remain a constant and connected friend experiencing the grieving process.
- The power of prayer and finding purpose.
- The evolution of friendships and connections due to social media.
- Work from home and the disconnect it creates–how letter writing can bring back more meaningful relationships.
- Women in Sports – Amy is a decades long sportswriter–a position with its own trials and tribulations as a woman in a male-dominated field.
TIMELY TIE-INS
December
- Read a New Book Month
- National Letter Writing Day – December 7
- National Christmas Card Day – December 9
January
- Self-Love Month
- Universal Letter Writing Week – Jan 8-14
- Hunt for Happiness Week – Jan 15-21
February
- International Boost Self Esteem Month – February
April
- Month of Hope; Day of Hope – April 5
- World Health Day – April 7
- Tell a Story – April 27
- Trauma Awareness Month – May
PRAISE FOR DEAR DANA
“Dear Dana is an inspirational memoir about caring for friends near and far by reviving a lost art.” — Foreword Reviews
“. . . a captivating study regarding writing letters to friends and rethinking how people successfully bond in the modern world. An intriguing and inspiring exploration of different forms of communication.”— Kirkus Reviews
“This is a book for anyone who wonders about the differences between a Facebook friend and a Real-Life friend and who yearns to see a person’s real life behind their Facebook image. It is also about the power of prayer and the abundance of kindness in our world. But ultimately, it’s about connection and how we are all connected when we come from love.” — Rivvy Neshama, author of Recipes for a Sacred Life: True Stories and a Few Miracles
“Captivating . . . I laughed and I cried as I followed the pleasures of real mail, and the lesson hit home: Whether written or spoken, our words matter. They have the power to illuminate someone’s darkest day.” — Laurie Buchanan, PhD, author of Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth and The Business of Being: Soul Purpose In and Out of the Workplace