Submitted photo / Jack Karson JD Eicher released his first novel, “The Lights Along Majesto,” as a companion to his latest CD, “Majesto Sessions.”

It’s not uncommon when a musician tours with another act that its music can influence the other’s writing.

So maybe it’s not a surprise that JD Eicher decided to try writing a novel after touring with best-selling novelist Nicholas Sparks.

JD Eicher’s new EP, “Majesto Sessions,” is accompanied by his first novel, “The Lights Along Majesto.” Those who preordered the CD, released Friday, learned they also would get a copy of the book for free. Those who are members of Eicher’s Patreon subscribers will get access to a PDF version of the book, and both the book and the CD are available on Eicher’s website and at his performances.

Eicher, who will play a sold-out release show for both the book and the music on Saturday at Soap Gallery, said the songs came first.

“A while back in 2016, late 2015, I wrote some songs that didn’t fit my overall sound” he said. “They didn’t feel like they made sense for me to sing. I allowed myself to push ahead on some of these songs and wondered, ‘What kind of character would sing a song like this?’ I wasn’t sure what to do with them.”

Around this time, Sparks picked Eicher to write a song inspired by his book “Two By Two,” and Eicher accompanied him on a promotional tour. On the plane trip home from that tour, Eicher started to think about the story that would connect the characters he’d been imagining while writing those songs, and he decided to start a novel.

“I wrote on the road, in the van, when I was bored in hotels,” Eicher said. “I just kept writing, carving out the narrative. I basically had the book finished in 2017. It was around 55,000 words, on the shorter end, but novel length.”

Following the lesson of write what you know, Eicher’s “The Lights Along Majestic” is the story of a working musician on the road as told from the perspective of the road manager. It’s about “four unlikely companions as they find themselves in a tour van headed all over the country and straight to hell,” as it’s described on Eicher website.

The book project was tabled for four years as Eicher focused on music. As work started on the new record, the songs that attracted the most attention were the ones that inspired the novel.

Even with that connection between the two projects, Eicher didn’t see any way he’d have time to get the book in shape for publication to release both simultaneously.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic that had derailed Eicher’s touring plans for more than a year infected his family over the holidays with JD getting sick first. His wife and two children went to stay with his in-laws while he isolated himself at home (the whole family eventually caught it).

“I decided to put my head down and edit the book,” he said. “It was a lot of hours hunched over a computer and coughing.”

With his wife, family and friends as editors and proofreaders, he was able to get the book published in time for a dual release.

Eicher laughed when asked if he invited Sparks to write a song for his book release.

“I didn’t want to put him in any kind of awkward situation (by asking for advice or help),” he said. “He certainly influenced it. He was my inspiration for wanting to give it a try. He made it seem like a doable thing if you stick to a plan.”

Despite adding novelist to his resume, singer-songwriter remains Eicher’s primary occupation.

“Majesto Sessions” is Eicher’s first album for the independent label AntiFragile, and the label’s reaction to three of the new songs — “Kamikaze,” “Back to Me” and “Cloud in My Head” — helped him land the record deal.

“Kamikaze,” which was released as a single last fall, is a playful song about an awkward attempt to capture a woman’s attention, and its release was accompanied by an equally playful video with Eicher playing opposite his wife, Cathi.

“I drank a ton of coffee one morning, way too much,” he said. “I decided to write a song on the ukulele. I’m not the first person to say this, but you can’t make a ukulele sound sad. There’s a cheerful spirit about it. I was in kind of a fun mood (when it was written), but I tabled it for a while. Then, amidst the pandemic, it made sense to put out something fun and shamelessly upbeat.”

The album was recorded at Court Street Studio in Canfield, sometimes working with owner Mike Estok, other times working remotely with a producer in Los Angeles (Ryan Humbert, leader of Akron’s The Shootouts, also produced a track).

Eicher said the song “Kaleidoscope” shaped the sound of the release, using his band (Jim Merhaut, bass, and Dylan Kollat, bass) but also incorporating digital elements.

Now that “Majesto Sessions” is out, Eicher is hoping to resume a more normal touring schedule than the last two years have allowed (he’ll hold off on the European tour that’s been on hold since spring 2020 until he’s sure it can be done without a COVID-19 disruption).

One thing that won’t happen in 2021 is JD’s Summer Songfest, the outdoor music event that started at Quaker Steak & Lube in Austintown before moving to downtown Youngstown.

Eicher said the event lost some of its momentum after being put on hold for two years, and he’s focusing his attention on the picnic / performance he does for his Patreon subscribers instead.

If you go …

WHAT: JD Eicher CD / book release show

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Soap Gallery, 117 S. Champion St., Youngstown

HOW MUCH: The show is sold out.