The Jungle Drums Are Calling

The Rhythm of Life is Beating

There are moments in life when everything suddenly clicks. A puzzle piece slides into place, a hidden pattern reveals itself, and in one cathartic moment you realise, you were following a rhythm all along.

For over a decade, Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway owned me. Seven rewrites. Countless moments of frustration, anguish (yes, real tears—don’t judge), exhilaration, doubt, and relentless obsession. But in the background, Paradiddle Publishing was already there. The domain name secured. The business name waiting, both of them untouched. Not forgotten, not discarded, just watching, waiting, lingering in the wings.

It wasn’t loud and it didn’t demand attention, it just existed, like a paradox in motion—fully formed, yet patiently waiting for the precise moment when I was ready to see it for what it truly was.

I never noticed it before, but now, looking back, it’s glaringly obvious. My journey wasn’t the chaotic train-wreck my unrelenting rumination had turned it into, it was a paradiddle!!

A paradiddle rudiment, drumming’s paradoxical rhythm. Structured, yet unpredictable. Left, right, left, left...right, left, right, right. It has such a beautiful ying and yang swing to it don't you think? (not that kind of swing, drummers—please hold your hate mail).

For years STLGOOB held my creative energy to ransom like an unrelenting conductor, shifting, rewriting, morphing, stonewalling me at every turn (as did other unnamed third parties along the way I hasten to add), refusing to let itself be final. And yet, Paradiddle Publishing sat patiently, its presence undeniable but quiet, waiting for its moment to step forward.

The calm balancing out the chaos, the focus tempering the frenzy. The STLGOOB rewrites, the pauses, the bursts of inspiration weren’t delays. They were part of the rhythm, as was the single stroke of Paradiddle Publishing, waiting patiently to balance out the double stroke of STLGOOB. The rhythm of creativity. The rhythm of life.

And now, as STLGOOB inches toward completion, Paradiddle Publishing steps into the spotlight as the double stroke, not as a sudden idea, but as something that was always meant to be.

It wasn’t just about finishing a novel or launching a publishing imprint. It was an intricate dance between control and surrender, between what I thought I was creating and what was actually shaping me all along. The see-saw of the paradiddle dance not just coexisting but unable to exist without each other.

The Twist:

Just when you thought the paradoxes had reached their peak, here’s another one for you. As Paradiddle Publishing takes its first baby steps, another rhythm begins to stir.

A new chapter, barely formed yet undeniably present has been festering in the echoing recesses of my subconscious. A quiet muse whispering about a paradox so grand, it demands its own space. Not just a paradox, but a series of paradoxes. A series of reflections, of contradictions, of truths and untruths, waiting to be told.

I won’t say more just yet—because paradoxes work best when they tease instead of tell.

And the best part of all for me is, I finally hear the rhythm clearly.

As Paradiddle Publishing prepares to take flight, I know that whatever comes next is already waiting, setting its own cadence, preparing to reveal itself when the timing is right. Because for my paradiddle paradox to exist, something must fill the void left by STLGOOB. Right, left, right, right...left, right, left, left (nod to us left handers). The rhythm of life continues...