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The Hearts of Horses |
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Two years ago when this fine book by Molly Gloss came out, I got to read it for an endorsement. I love this book that is now out in paperback. I read it through the night, then read it the next day out loud to my husband, Jerry. Then I bought 10 copies and gave them to the people in my life I love so they could experience this beautifully written story as well.
This past weekend at a writer's workshop, I read a section from that book. And this past week, a good friend to whom I'd given the book called to say she had finally had time to pick it up and how very, very much she loved it. "I'm so glad you gave it to me," she said and she went on to sing its praises.
It's the story of a young woman making her way in Eastern Oregon as an early horse whisperer, during WWI when there weren't a lot of men around to train horses to work with cattle or to the harness. But the story is so much more. It's also about the wounds we carry, each of us, and how we may not be able to rescue every soul we meet, but we can touch the lives of the one in front of us.
Molly Gloss is one of my favorite writers. I've never read any book of hers I didn't put down when I'd finished and say to myself, "I wish I could write like that." I keep trying but best of all, she keeps writing and that's a gift to us all.
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Story Sparks
"Stories are the sparks that light our ancestor's lives, the embers we blow on to illuminate our own" |
Greetings!
Welcome to the premier issue of Story Sparks, my now and then newsletter. I hope it's fitting that the first issue is coming out in conjunction with the release of my latest novel, An Absence so Great. It's the final of a duet of stories based on my grandmother's life as an early photographer at the turn of the century.
If some of you read the first book, A Flickering Light, you'll have read that the second book is titled Shimmering Grasses. That's changed. I was never fond of that title and when the book was finished my editor happily broached the subject with the publisher of the possibility of changing it. Voila'! They did.
I explain in the author's notes where the new title comes from and I'm very grateful to writer and poet Mark Doty who allowed me to use an epigram in the front of the book which was the inspiration for the title.
My good friend Sandra Dallas, New York Times Bestselling author whose latest release is Whiter than Snow, endorsed the book with the words "...beautifully written by one of America's favorite storytellers." I hope all of those words are true.
 I also had terrific endorsements from other authors and a poet, Judy Schumacher who wrote "Stay perfectly still. Wait for it. There...the flash of words drawing you into Jessie's life. Drawing you in not only with her but sometimes as her. Jane always writes at the cellular level. Her grandmother's story is word DNA at its best." I found those words especially encouraging because one of the reasons I wrote the novel was to explore memory DNA, the stories families hand down from one generation to the next to see what insights they might have for me...and hopefully for other readers as well. Your response will be the true test of my selecting the best story sparks to blow on.
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Groping |
Someone once asked Albert Einstein how he worked. "I grope," he answered.
I like that answer because I feel like I grope, too.
I have a process. I read everything I can find about the person. I answer my three questions before I begin about intention, attitude and purpose. I make my timeline of events known about the character and the historical period. Because I usually write about real people, women primarily, I'm always trying to find out not just what they were doing and where and when but why? I'm always asking as I research, was this the defining event in that woman's life and if so, what does it have to say to women today? To me? Sometimes I don't find the answer until well after I've started to write. Sometimes I never find the answer and must speculate. This feels very awkward as though I grope.
Writer Katherine Ann Porter says she writes the last page first. She says if she didn't know where she was going she couldn't begin. "I know what my goal is. And how I get there is God's grace." Now see, I'd like that. I have this general idea of where I'm going but not the last page.
But then I came across this Arthur Miller quote: "He who understands everything about his subject cannot write it. I write as much to discover as to explain."
So maybe it's all right that I don't have all the answers when I begin. I can be delighted and surprised even as my readers are. That happened in An Absence so Great: a surprise and discovery about my grandmother's life that only made me love her more.
Groping is a good thing! |
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Scheduled Appearances |
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In conjunction with the release of An Absence so Great, I have a few events coming up. You can see the full schedule on my website but this will get your started.
- March 16 -- One Book, One Community. Jane works with classes at Sherman High School and presents in the evening at 6:30 in the Community Room of the Sherman Public School Library in Moro.
- March 28, 2:00 PM - St. Helen's Book Store in St. Helen's, Oregon
- April 8, 3:00 PM - Denver, Co. Jane is moderating a panel of WILLA Literary Award Winning Authors at the Association of Writing and Writing Programs at the Hyatt Convention Center.
- April 14, 6:30 PM -- Sherman County Read Aloud, Sherman Public School Library
- April 15, 7:00 PM -- Waucoma Books, Hood River, Oregon
- April 17, 5:00 PM -- Sunriver Books and Gifts, Sunriver, Oregon
- April 18, 1:00 PM -- Presbyterian Church, Redmond, OR Presentation on Landscapes in Jane's Literature
- May 1 -- Warm Springs, OR fundraiser for Warm Springs Boys and Girls Place
- May 15 -- Aurora Oregon, signing at 11:00; presentation at 1:00 honoring Emma Giesy; cemetery visit followed by reception at the Keil House. Reservations required for presentation and reception. www.auroracolonymuseum.org
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New Website Launched |
Click to go to my website
 | It's been awhile in the "re-making," but my new website is finally a reality. Some new features -- some old favorites. Check it out today and tell your friends. | |
Thanks for reading my initial issue of Story Sparks. Refer a friend to www.jkbooks.com to sign up for this and future newsletters and keep reading. Stories can change your life!
Jane
Jane Kirkpatrick
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