I met Rie Sheridan Rose before she was married back in 2001 or 2002 where she heard the Brobdingnagian Bards out at the late, great Excalibur Fantasy Faire.  “I was instantly transported by the music, and became one of the Brobdingnagian Bards' biggest fans,” she tells me.

She continues:

“The Bards were magical, everything worked together, but I liked the sound of the autoharp as a mainstream instrument, and the mellow vocal tones. Plus, the original lyrics were fun and fresh and fitting. ‘Johnny at the Door/I'll Drink from Dusk Till Dawn' for example was so perfectly done.  It sounded just like the traditional songs it was patterned after.”

Shortly after meeting us, she started an archive of Brobdingnagian Bards memorabilia.  She started driving around the state to see us perform.  In fact, she met her future husband, Newell, on one such adventure.  Rie quickly became a good friend too.

That's when I learned that Rie Sheridan Rose is a writer.  She writes about new worlds to visit.  She's written four novels, five poetry collections, and three short story collections, one of which features the Brobdingnagian Bards.

However, I remember when she started writing songs.  The Brobdingnagian Bards were an inspiration for her (and she for me, as you'll learn).  She composed the song “Soul of a Harper” which was inspired by a tidbit on the internet about the Irish bards under Elizabeth I, but it was written for me to sing… and eventually, I did.

“Soul of a Harper” became a regular part of my repertoire.  I even named my first album after that song which later appeared on the Brobdingnagian Bards hit album Brobdingnagian Fairy Tales.

I don't remember when I started asking her for more lyrics.  Maybe it was when she compose she composed the lyrics for “Browncoats Keep Flyin'” from our upcoming Firefly Drinking Songs album. Or maybe it was my upcoming album of Steampunk/Pirate music “Pirates vs. Dragons”.  Perhaps it was something else.

Yet, as I read her lyrics.  I got more and more excited about working with her.  That's when I asked her for lyrics for Don't Go Drinking With Hobbits.  Again, she excelled at creating something straight out of Lord of the Rings.

I'm extremely blessed to know and have her talents at my disposal when my own lyric writing runs dry.  You can and should find out more about her on her website at www.riewriter.com.

Her next book, The Luckless Prince will be out this summer. You can find some of her books on Amazon and of course, you'll also find her on Facebook.