Garden Paths

In 1995, grocery magnate Frederik Meijer and his wife Lena opened their great gift to the world: Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. Combining her love for botany with his love for sculpture, they created an experience that draws 750,000 visitors from around the globe. The Gardens are consistently rated one of the top sculpture parks in the world.

And on a more personal level, the Gardens are my second-favorite place on Earth. I am extremely grateful to have such an amazing collection of sculptures less than an hour from my home. I have a powerful appreciation for sculpture. It speaks to me at a deeper level than other art.

The Gardens collection is probably best known for The American Horse by Nina Akamu, a 24-foot bronze horse inspired by designs from Leonardo da Vinci (often mistakenly called da Vinci’s horse). The size of this work is impressive, naturally, but it’s the skill and workmanship that truly impressed me. The first time I saw it, long before I was a professional writer, I told myself that there was a story behind that horse, and I wanted to write it.

One night, early in my writing career, I helped Mike Resnick (then editor of Galaxy’s Edgemagazine) in setting up a printer on his computer. When we were done, he said, “What kind of editor would I be if I didn’t ask you for a story?” I panicked! As a new writer, being invited to submit a story was more than I could hope for! But I didn’t have anything that fit within their maximum length.

But I did have that idea about the story of The American Horse…

I wrote that story in two days; and Mike bought it right away. You’ll find it as the first story in this collection.

But instead of satisfying my urge, that made me want to tell more stories inspired by the sculptures in the Gardens. As my writing career progressed, I’ve kept this dream in the back of my mind, making notes as I walked the Gardens on every free weekend.

Now at last you hold those stories in this collection. Or at least some of them. The sculptures are still whispering their stories to me…

Available now from Amazon and other retailers.