Jacksonville based songwriter-performer Rebecca Day has released her debut novel, Derelict, a crime, mystery read with a female sleuth fighting small town corruption and avenging her father’s untimely death.

The frontwoman of local swampy-tonk sister duo The Crazy Daysies has been hard at work on the novel for several years in between touring, songwriting, and recording:

“I played with the idea in my head for awhile before I actually sat down and wrote the book. For the first few years of my music career, I kept tunnel vision playing as many shows and writing as many songs as possible. I read a book a couple years ago by Ari Herstand who’s a big-time independent artist, and he stressed the importance of not boxing yourself in creatively. After reading that book, I got serious about writing it and spent a lot of late nights up until five in the morning working on it, then I’d head to a gig. I just became really determined to get it done no matter what.”

Rebecca has spent most of her life studying creative writing. She graduated high school from Jacksonville arts school Douglas Anderson, and grew up being exposed to writing of all kinds by her mother, a poet and freelance writer. Derelict is a follow up to The Crazy Daysies’ 2017 album release, Mile Markers.

Though Rebecca has had a few different opportunities to sign with record labels over the years, she has remained an independent artist, determined to retain ownership over her creative works and freedom over her creative process. With this philosophy in mind, she founded Rebecca Day Music and Publishing Company in 2018, officially representing all her original work under her own publishing house.

While this represented a business milestone for her, it also represented an artistic one as well:

“Sometimes people assume certain things about me when they first see me. They assume I am trying to get out to Nashville and become the next Taylor Swift or Carrie Underwood. But once they have a conversation with me, they understand I’m not trying to follow in anyone’s footsteps. I’m charting my own path. And it’s part of a movement of creative individuals who refuse to give up their freedom for potential fame.”

Rebecca has now added ‘published author’ to her list of credentials. Debut novel Derelict follows South Carolina detective Cassy Cordoba on a wild journey in the small town of Liberty as she takes over a local lead detective position her father once held years before. As she returns to where her family’s bond deteriorated due to the work of a sinister killer and a case that was never solved, she secretly vows to revisit the case her father never had the chance to close, and clear her family name once and for all.

Derelict is available on Amazon in paperback and ebook format. Signed copies are also available in Rebecca Day’s official The Crazy Daysies Facebook store on their artist page, and at indie arts blog Indie Art South.

For more information about Rebecca and her work, check out thecrazydaysies.com.