Episode 27: A Conversation with Maia Sharp

Most folks don’t have the kind of year singer/songwriter [Maia Sharp](www.maiasharp.com) just did. In addition to ending a 20-plus year marriage, she uprooted her life, moved from LA to Nashville and wrapped up the recording of her newest album Mercy Rising in late 2019. But that’s not all. In between a tornado blew through her new neighborhood in March 2020 and during the subsequent recovery and rebuild, she caught the coronavirus before most of us knew how deadly it could be. So yeah, Maia’s been through more than most over the last few years. And thankfully she’s made it through with Mercy Rising. This episode of For Songs is a true writer’s workshop. Maia’s the quintessential songwriter, looking for inspiration wherever she can, and not waiting to get it out. We talk about the development of Mercy Rising and four songs in particular, including one driven by an interaction with best-selling author Cheryl Strayed. Maia walks us through the songwriting process from beginning to end in disarming detail, so to all those aspiring writers out there, get those pencils and listen in!