WHALE IN A FISHBOWL : "Bloom"

This is the first from a pail full of odds and ends I'll be telling you about that involves the creation of Whale in a Fishbowl.

First, and in my experience with this story, the most magical, is the music behind it. Music inspires and energizes me while I work, and I select something complementary to what I am writing, either in mood or imagery or both. As I began forming ideas (the snippets of which I will share another time), I was listening over and over to a song by Radiohead called “Bloom.” Something was calling me through the atmospheric sounds, the way a dream tells you things you know deep down but can’t always explain. As the lyrics broke through and surfaced during my process, I found the reason why. The first phrase to become distinct was “and as the ocean blooms …” I thought, the ocean blooms … the ocean blooms … I did some research. Bloom is an increase in aquatic algae. Because of its over-production due to climate change and warming, a toxin (domoic acid ) in the bloom has poisoned the ecosystem. More marine animals, including humpback whales, have washed ashore in recent years than ever before.

Here are the lyrics, sung by Thom Yorke in a voice that echoes as if it’s carried across a watery expanse:

Open your mouth wide
The universal sigh
And while the ocean blooms
It’s what keeps me alive
So why does this still hurt?
Don’t blow your mind with why

I’m moving out of orbit
Turning in somersaults
A giant turtle dies
And jellyfish float by

I concluded that it’s all from a whale’s point of view, which explained my subconscious connection. With that new understanding, I made an addition to the story based on a phrase in the lyrics (details to come in a later post). More recently, Hans Zimmer has collaborated with Radiohead to create an orchestrated version of the song for the BBC series, Blue Planet II.

The illustrator Richard Jones did a brilliant visual interpretation of the story, and I'm delighted to announce that you can preorder the book on Amazon here.
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next up:  WHALE IN A FISHBOWL : paisley patterns