ONE YEAR of FORD KNOWS!
60 Posts…
Over 30,000 eyeballs on my words…
And hundreds of new friends and comrades on this wonderful, maddening, delightful, inspiring if sometimes horribly flawed platform.
I’m still thrilled I heard about Substack just as my previous newsletter platform collapsed, but I’m not going to spend any time at all on the missteps and foibles which raised so many hackles among our fellows, or on a 2023 recap.
I will just say, though, that when I switched to Substack and started FORD KNOWS, I never imagined the number of people who generously grant me their time and attention every week would grow by 1000% in such a short time, or that I would be earning a modest income on my writing one year later.
To all of you, I offer my deepest gratitude. Your kind and generous support means everything to me. 💋💋💋
The Year Ahead
I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response to the new fiction I’ve been posting.
Here is a look at what you can expect in 2024:
LAMB
Lamb will continue this year with new episodes every other week or so.
I am writing it as I go—“Brave!” I once declared to
when he admitted his serial novel “Harmony House” was also not finished as he started publishing. Check out the adventures of his eco-house reality show contestants, or his other serial novel, the AI-thriller “The Memory of My Shadow” too—Ben is a damn fine writer, and has been a tireless supporter and inspiration to me. I call him the Godfather of Substack.I was also greatly inspired by
and his serial fiction projects—“Precipice” and “Brae’s Meteorite”—which both unfold slowly and exquisitely, building entire worlds scene-by-scene, and deeply investing his readers in the journey of his characters. Thanks to Nathan, I realized I could tell many shorter stories, rather than a single long one, creating a narrative collage and character arc with both tension and depth. Nathan’s a pip, and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.Thank you to all for the love you’ve shown to our little Lambchop, and his nameless, narrating friend, “D.”
#GAYstack
I mentioned a while back that I wanted to find a cute name for the queer content on Substack. Since it’s not one of their standard discovery categories, I thought I would do some research and try to bring writers and newsletters with an LGBTQ+ focus into one directory.
I’ll be posting Notes for suggestions once I get going, but in the meantime, maybe you can help me choose a name for it. Here’s a poll for you to vote on—I’m suddenly leaning toward #Qstack as more inclusive, but what do YOU think?
Song of Myself
I will continue posting a link to each of the 52 verses of Walt Whitman’s classic poem “Song of Myself” all year, with commentary in my discussion Thread. Links appear at the bottom of each Friday post; this week, at the bottom, is verse three.
You are warmly invited to read along, make Comments of your own, or just read my and other people’s Comments as we explore the ideas of democracy and spirituality as illuminated by Uncle Walt in ways which continue to resonate up to recent times.
The Help
For many years, I was in the interior design business, which was a Bizarro World all its own. I have a few stories from those days, and will soon begin sharing them now and then, as the fit takes me. Hold on to your tassels!
GIVEAWAY WINNERS!
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the Anniversary Giveaway—there were 43 entries in the contest, and I’m so excited to share with three winners the following prizes, a few of my all-time favorites.
“Little, Big” by John Crowley
''A book that all by itself calls for a redefinition of fantasy.''
— Ursula K. Le Guin
“O Caledonia” by Elspeth Barker
"A surreal, hilarious, and dark story of a troubled adolescence deep in the wilds of Scotland. I once decided to become friends with someone on the sole basis that she named “O Caledonia” as her favourite book."
—Maggie O'Farrell, author of Hamnet
“Leaves of Grass” by Walt Whitman
“I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit & wisdom that America has yet contributed.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
AND THE WINNERS ARE:
🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁
Yay! Congratulations!
🥳💃🎉🎈🪅
(Personal emails to the winners to follow.)
DISCUSSION: What we talk about when we talk about “Song of Myself”
SoM, v. 3 | “Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul.” | AUDIO
Congratulations on a year, Troy! And congratulations on the success of FORD KNOWS, it is much deserved.
It’s been wonderful reading your hilarious, insightful, genuine, and deeply entertaining pieces ever since I came across your Substack. And I look forward to reading much more in the future :)
I am so glad I found you here Troy, it has enriched my life, your writing and outlook are a breath of reality and fresh air. Congratulations on the success of Ford Knows. I look forward to reading about your adventures in designland. It is SO far from my little, rural mountain life that I love to live vicariously.
I am unable to do polls on Substack. It's a frustrating glitch that seems unique to my account. I vote for Qstack and I think trying to create that category is much needed. Well done.