In This Issue
Word Whisperings
Anticipation
Touching Base
Anxiety
The Writing Life
 

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Word Whisperings 
Unforgettable 

 

Unforgettable: Some of life's trickiest steps happen off the dance floor (Summerside Press, 2011) by Trish Perry

 

I couldn't be happier recommending this novel from a writer I've just been introduced to.  Trish Perry is one of the four authors participating in the Midwife legacy that will be out next year.  When I read her piece (she's writing the contemporary midwife story) I thought of Elizabeth Berg or Susan Meissner with her rich characters, intricate details woven in seamlessly and with relationships authentically developed. The story has romantic tension, is empathic without being saccharine and I was lost in the story sneaking times to read it when I probably should have been writing my own!

Unforgettable, a full length novel, is equally as engaging.  It's fine writing, great characterization and the right amount of romance and life. It's an historical novel but get this:  it's set in the 1950s.  Yes, the days of poodle skirts and cigarettes rolled up in white tee shirts is now considered historical. This is somewhat sobering for someone who can remember her slightly older sister wearing those poodle skirts.  The story is about thirty-two year old Rachel Stanhope who has opened a dance studio after the second world war.  A woman-owned business today is still a struggle but back then it was a real trial. (Even in the late 1960s I had to get my husband's permission to get a library card.)

Into Rachel's world comes Josh, ex-military,  put himself through school on the GI bill and is now a reporter hoping to make it big at the city page with investigative reporting.  He has little time for "the arts" but is introduced to Rachel's studio when he delivers his niece and nephew for their dancing class. Not knowing she's the owner/instructor, he says some insulting things about the arts but our Rachel has quick retorts that aren't mean spirited but pithy. The dialogue sings and the plot thickens.

This novel reminded me of how much I love a good read, one that makes me laugh out loud in places and causes me to tear up, too. Rachel has some secrets and some flaws and so does Josh.  How they work through them while entertaining us about the business of dancing (before there was Dancing with the Stars) and investigative reporting; and how their faith informs their struggles is deftly handled by this gifted writer. And hey, who doesn't like a story with a happy ending? I think you'll find this story Unforgettable.

 

 


Anticipation 
WhereTheLilacs

We're already anticipating the release NEXT APRIL of Where Lilacs Still Bloom. I finished the edits and the book will be out on time on April 17th.  A grand event will take place on April 20, 2012 where I'll be speaking in Woodland, WA.  You can sign up for one of two presentations (10 or 1 pm) at the Woodland, WA grange.  The cost is $35 and you'll receive a copy of Where Lilacs Still Bloom, enjoy light refreshments, have time with me AND most importantly, have entrance to the garden the day BEFORE the official opening of the gardens on Sunday.  I'll also spend Sunday at the gardens signing books and celebrating Hulda's amazing life. For more information or to purchase tickets, send a check to HKLG Special Event, in care of Judy Card, PO Box 1861 Woodland, WA 98674 or contact her at [email protected]. Indicate seating preference and whether you'd like the 10 am or 1 pm time.  Your tickets will help the work of the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens, a worthy cause.

Permission to Forward Story Sparks

 

Some of you have asked if it's all right to forward Story Sparks to friends or to print it out for others who might not have computer access.  Yes and please include my name and the section telling people how to sign up on their own.  But before forwarding, be sure your friend really wants to see it!  Lots of forwarded emails get shot around cluttering up the web and I wouldn't want Story Sparks to show up in more "deleted" items than in the hearts of readers.

Story Sparks

"Stories are the sparks that light our ancestor's lives, the embers we blow on to illuminate our own"

Greetings!  

                

 

SagoLily

When I moved from Wisconsin to Oregon in 1974 I was beginning a new life.  I'd just lost forty pounds, had completed my masters in Clinical Social Work and was hired, during a recession, in Oregon working for three county mental health programs and the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. My job was serving people with disabilities and I was terrified by how long it would take my bosses to know that I was totally inept.  (I've since learned that this is the number one fear of CEOs too, the second being fear of standing in front of people and giving speeches.) Everything was new:   new job, new home, new location, new clothes, new body and... new fears.  Even good things can bring stress.

Within a few short months, it was also true that there were new things in my marriage that were not good.

During this time of change and chaos, I often felt very alone.  I had my sister living close by but I couldn't even share with her the tumbling down of my marriage. I found myself working longer hours to avoid the issues which did little to improve the situation.  I wasn't writing then, didn't even journal, and I'd just begun a return to a spiritual path after years of wandering.

One day I walked out on the high desert that here is mostly lava rocks and sagebrush dotted with juniper trees of various twisted trunks.  I loved the hot, dry air and the scents of the desert and I sought some indication that the strains of my life would be eased.  In the middle of my walk I encountered what I later learned was a Sago lily.  They don't come up every year and usually appear without any greenery, just a single stem, following a harsh winter. They are delicate-looking as you can see but hardy.  They don't last long but finding them that day during my lunch hour was like a gift, a reminder of the simplicity of the lily and the image of endurance.  I could bloom again. That the decision to come to Oregon was a good one despite the trials. Things would get better.

They did get better even though my husband and I later divorced, a painful time.

Then I met Jerry, we married, I got a promotion and then after seven years, quit my job; he quit his and  we moved to Starvation Lane. Again found myself terrified.  Not that our marriage would end but that we couldn't succeed at what we'd planned to do there on that rugged landscape of rattlesnakes and rock.  Pursing a crazy dream? What were we thinking? The first winter in that canyon was the wettest on record and the rain and mud and snow made everything we did to build a house take extra effort. I even wrote a book about it as the challenges (and joys) were so great. I told Jerry that I'd be sure we made the right decision if Sago Lilies bloomed on the property one year.

The following spring, I walked in the field of bunch grass and sage beside the still uncompleted house and there I found my friends:  the Sago lilies.  It was a confirmation that we were in the right place, and things would get better.  And so they did.

When we moved back to Bend last November, I told Jerry that I'd know it was the right decision if Sago lilies bloomed on the property.

It's been a hard eight months:  heavy snows and then Jerry's stroke and heart attack and he was just diagnosed with emphysema and asthma.  Lots of new things to fear:  Will Jerry recover?  Can I write without Starvation Lane to inspire me? Will we adjust to suburban living again after being away for 26 years. At least we have the benefit of a renewed faith nurtured through those past 26 years as well.

Each time I walked the back forty as we call it, I did not find any Sago Lilies but  I remembered that they do not bloom every year. I was still hopeful.  Then last week, in the pond area of the yard, there they were.  Five of them spearing up through the desert to sing their song of faithfulness and hope.  Things will get better. I just need to remember the lilies.

Wherever you are in your day today, I hope you have a Sago lily moment when you are reassured that whatever the struggles and trials, you are not alone.

 

 
Touching Base
 

JaneKirkpatrick

 

 

 

Join me at one of the upcoming events! 

Check out www.jkbooks.com for new additions. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 AUGUST 

 

WHEN: August 5-7. Jane will be there Saturday, August 6, to speak at 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Hot Lake Springs Resort, La Grande, Oregon
WHAT:  Hot Lakes is the dream of renowned artist David Manuel and his wife, Lee. The old hospital has been restored to resort quality. Jane will speak at the grand opening that is also honoring the life of Marie Dorion, believed to have come through the region and perhaps rested by the hot lake on her journey two hundred years ago as part of the Astor Expedition.

 

 

WHEN:  Sunday August 7, 2:00-4:00 p.m. CORRECTION
WHERE:  Rockwall Grange, 71562 Middle Road., Elgin, Oregon
WHAT:  Right Writers Christian Writing Group - "A Visit With Jane."  Join Jane as she talks about ranching, writing and rattlesnake fighting...well, maybe mostly about writing.
 

 

 

SEPTEMBER

 

WHEN:  Wednesday & Thursday, September 7 & 8, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Albertina Kerr Center, 424 N.E. 22nd Ave., Portland, Oregon
WHAT:  "ALBERTINA'S PRESENTS JANE KIRKPATRICK." Jane will be speaking about her three latest releases: The Daughter's Walk, Barcelona Calling (both novels) and her novella "The Courting Quilt," part of Log Cabin Christmas. Do your Christmas shopping in September and have it all done! A three-course lunch will be served in the dining room at 1:00 p.m. Cost is $25 per person, advance reservations are required. Call 503-231-0216. 

 

  

 

WHEN:  September 15, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
WHERE:  Liberty Theater in downtown Astoria, Oregon
WHAT:  AN ADVENTURE IN HISTORY, SERIES V.  Join Jane as she talks about Marie Dorion in this lecture series celebrating the Astoria Bicentennial.  Visit 
www.astoria200.org for more information.

 

WHEN:  Saturday, September 24
WHERE:  Sunriver Books & Music, Sunriver, Oregon
WHAT:  Jane's first signing for her contemporary novel, Barcelona Calling.  "A book within a book about a writer's wish to become, well, famous and why that dream isn't always fulfilling."  This is Jane's 'Oprah Doesn't Know My Name' book.  Come have fun!

 

WHEN:  September 30-October 2 (Rescheduled from 2010)
WHERE:  Wamic, OR in the shadow of Mount Hood.
WHAT:  MID-COLUMBIA WOMEN'S RETREAT titled:  The Stories of our Lives. Open to Christian Women 18 and older. Contact Joan Dudley (509) 427-5708 or [email protected] for further information.

 

OCTOBER

WHEN:  October 4, 7:00 pm

Where:  Book Stop, Hood River, Oregon

What:  Jane's Columbia River Gorge introduction to Barcelona Calling.  Speaking and signing and lots of fun with Cynthia and Charlie, the store owners.

 

  

 

Visit Jane's site for more events in October and beyond.

 

Anxiety

 

BarcelonaCalling 

Next month marks a big event for me with the release of my first contemporary novel Barcelona Calling.  It's a story within a story, about a writer who confuses fame with fulfillment. She thinks if she can get Oprah to notice her latest book The Long Bad Sentence AND get her new editor to approve her latest manuscript  Miranda of LaMancha, that all will be well.  Her sister, cousin and two close friends are bent on helping her implement her schemes to become noticed, especially by Oprah. The Barcelona part is that her latest manuscript is set during the Police and Fireman World Games in Barcelona where her protagonist falls in love with a Spanish police officer.  The part about the games is actually true and Jerry and I have attended them with a friend and her sister who is a retired police officer.  We were in Barcelona for that event in 2003 and two years ago in Victoria, BC.  Just imagine the energy of 11,000 police and firemen competing in Olympic style games.  It's cool.

 

Barcelona Calling is a story about finding your place in the world, about fame and its lure and the consequences of not listening to that inner voice telling you where you ought to be.  It's meant to make people laugh...oh how I hope they do - and to give us all some lighter moments in what can be a weighty world.

 

As the release time approaches, my own anxiety goes up and I find myself asking the same questions as my character, Annie Shaw:  What if this book tanks? What if my loyal fans say, 'What? Is she out of her mind?'  It'll be so exposing! 

 

As with Annie, I have to remember that getting a bestseller or even a good review or getting Oprah to know my name (the title I really wanted, BTW was Oprah Doesn't Know My Name) is not what writing is about. It's about telling the story I've been given the best way I know how and to trust that I'm not alone in the telling. Here's hoping I can remember Annie's wisdom in the months ahead and not be afraid of doing something new.  Afterall, even old rats when given new mazes to learn, grow new brain cells.  I hope my new brain cells grew where I needed them to!

 

The Writing Life!
 

BoInCar2Bo's picture says it all. Being a writer isn't all glamour and glitz.  In fact, not much of it is.  It's daily meeting your desk wondering how yesterday's  papers got stacked like stepping stones on top of each other ( I ought to take a photograph of my desk but it's too embarrassing), managing deadlines, deciding how much time to write and how much time to respond to event requests, maintaining the stuff of life like paying bills, mowing the lawn, taking the dogs for their walks.

 

But most "work" has little overt glamour.  We have to find it in the everyday.

 

Readers bring me that every day joy. If I don't find a way to tell you how much I appreciate the notes, emails, and your smiling faces at events or book signings let me do that now.  The occasional glamour and glitz is sweet; but sweeter by far are the faces of readers from all parts of the country taking time out of their life to spend time with me and share their stories of their ancestors, of interesting things that have happened because they read one of my books.  I'll be forever humbled by the mom who told me that when she went to visit her incarcerated daughter that my books were the only things they could talk about that didn't carry painful memories.  Instead, they speculated about the characters, about choices, and how people found the strength to go on. A story that can build a bridge between a mother and a daughter is worthy work , I think.

FansKathleenClaudia

Fans with Jane

Kathleen & Claudia

 

Knowing you are there, finding the books, sharing them with friends, is a gift you give to writers everywhere.  At the Sister's Quilt how last month I asked how many in the audience were quilters and was surprised when at least a third of the seventy or so didn't raise their hands.  "Really?" I said.

 

"Someone has to be there to applaud," a woman told me.  I love that response.  We writers write but it would be oh so lonely is there weren't readers out there willing to applaud.  So thank you for applauding and for being the best glamour and glitz in my life there is.

 

Thanks for reading Story Sparks!  Please don't forget to visit the author Jane Kirkpatrick on Facebook and Bo's Blog at www.bodaciousbothedog.blogspot.com.  You can visit them and read my words of encouragement by visiting the website www.jkbooks.com...and I have a new photo there!  Enjoy the last days of summer.    

Warmly,

 

 Jane

Jane Kirkpatrick