Introducing "The Lost Sessions": A Novel in Progress

I’m excited to share a sneak peek at my new novel, "The Lost Sessions", currently in advanced stages of revision. If you’ve ever wondered about the hidden stories behind the songs you love - or the untold voices lost in the annals of music history - this book is for you.

What It’s About

"The Lost Sessions" follows Sarah Rivers, a Smithsonian archivist who stumbles upon a leather‑bound journal from the 1960s, its pages filled with cryptic session notes that hint at something extraordinary: legendary songs recorded by Black artists - such as Aretha Franklin, Little Milton, and more, only to vanish from history, later reemerging under different names. As Sarah pieces together archival evidence, legal memos, and eyewitness testimony, she uncovers a systematic network of “rights clearance” operations that rewrote musical legacies.

The narrative alternates between Sarah’s first-person investigation in modern-day Washington, D.C., and third-person vignettes set in historic studios - from Columbia Records in New York to Stax in Memphis and Muscle Shoals in Alabama. Along the way, she forges alliances with the descendants of the original artists, risk­ing her career and personal safety to set the record straight (no pun intended).

Why It Matters

• Reclaiming Erased Voices: This is more than a mystery - it’s an exploration of cultural erasure and the fight to honor artists whose work has been appropriated or forgotten.

  
  

• History & Fiction in Dialogue: By weaving real industry practices with fictionalized characters and composite experiences, the novel asks: How do we tell the truth when history itself has been rewritten?

  
  

• A Call to Justice: At its heart, "The Lost Sessions" is a tribute to creativity, resilience, and the ongoing struggle for recognition and equity in art.

I’m thrilled by the progress so far and can’t wait to share the finished manuscript. Stay tuned for more updates, behind‑the‑scenes research notes, and eventually - a publication date.

"The Lost Sessions" proposed book cover