In This Issue
Word Whisperings
Touching Base
WILLA Literary Award
What's in a Name
 

Social Networking
Follow Jane on: 
 Join Our Mailing List
Word Whisperings 
ToDieFor 

 

To Die For A Novel of Ann Boleyn  by Sandra Byrd (Howard Books)  2012.

 

Just as I've ventured into the mix of contemporary fiction this month, author Sandra Byrd has ventured into the world of historical fiction.  While I may have angst about my reception, Sandra has nothing to fear about hers. Her writing brings fresh images and opens doors into a period one might think has been written of enough.  One would be wrong.  I finished To Die For, told through the eyes of a friend and wardrobe mistress of Anne Boleyn, in record time, swept away to old England in a story so engaging I stopped asking myself "How did the author do that?" within a few pages.  After that, I was lost to the story reading every word, including the reader's guide, the interview and went back and read the copyright page!  I even followed the family trees provided. I just didn't want to leave this story. Amazingly, the authentic portrayal of Ann Boleyn adds a dimension to her related to the Reformation and her possible role within it. Something new in an old story, the best kind of reading.

 

"A fresh look at Anne Boleyn...readers will be drawn to the events, beautifully depicted but also to the emotions, skillfully conveyed.  A new Tudor historical to treasure" wrote Karen Harper, author of The Queen's Governess. She captures the essence of this work.  I would only add the words "flawless."     

       

Sandra lives in Washington State, right next door. I'd never read any of her titles -- she's written contemporary and teen books that you can see at  

www.sandrabyrd.com

where she also blogs.

 

 

SandraByrd

 

 

I'm looking forward to meeting her one day and reading more of her fine work.  Until then, I highly recommend her to you with the happy note that To Die For is the first in a three book series with each story told through the eyes of a wardrobe mistress.  Enjoy. 

 

 

 


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!  

                

 

Recalling Barcelona.

 

flyover

Last week, New York City hosted the World Police and Fire Games. Thousands of retired and active police and firemen (and women!) gathered to compete in bench press, golf, swimming, track, even wrist wrestling and dozens of other events in venues all around the city.  Opening ceremonies brought flyovers and fireworks and the grand entry of athletes  on August 26 and closing ceremonies  September 5. Many of the 15,000 registered athletes also participated in September 11 memorial activities at the World Trade Center site.  The twin themes this year are "to remember" and "to be grateful."  These themes seem like good threads  to weave all year long even when it's not the ten year anniversary of a tragic day.

 

This athletic competition began in 1985 by the California Police Athletic Federation, and the  competition has grown to include more than 15,000 active or retired police and firemen from around the world. In 2009 Jerry and I attended the events in British Columbia visiting lovely mountain towns like Whistler and having tea in Victoria. The games are a great vacation venue.

 

It could be that the games come to mind because my nephew just became a police officer in St. Paul, Minnesota reaching a long-held dream. We attended his graduation ceremonies with his parents and friends and couldn't have been prouder. Maybe one day he'll compete in the games.  They'll be in Ireland in 2013. Another nephew is in the Police reserves in Florida. Hey, I have a law enforcement family!

 

In 2003, the games were held in Barcelona, Spain and we were fortunate enough to travel to it. We'd never heard of the games before then.  A retired police woman and her sister, our good friend, invited us to come to Barcelona and so we did!  Besides being a part of an amazing crowd of athletes and their families from around the world, we met and fell in love with this vibrant city, the architecture of Gaudi, Barcelona chocolate, the monastery in the mountains and dozens of other places we explored while our friend competed.  The opening and closing ceremonies were as close to the Olympic events as I'm likely to encounter.

 

Long after we returned, Barcelona stayed in my mind and this month, in a book called Barcelona Calling, I wove that experience into my first contemporary novel creating a fictional character who has traveled with her sister to the games and falls in love with a Barcelona policeman. That's the story within a story.

 

Later in the month, the week the book comes out, September 19, readers will have a chance to visit a number of authors who write contemporary works, discover new things about Barcelona Calling and have a chance to earn cash and a signed book along with some gourmet Barcelona Finishing sauces. Just visit my blog to participate. www.facebook.com/theauthorjanekirkpatrick

 

The other part of the book involves my main character, Annie Shaw, who is a writer who has mistaken fame for fulfillment. She's desperate to get a bestseller (set in Barcelona).  Along with her friends (and a sister who is a policewoman who golfs!) she hopes to get attention to her work by none other than Oprah.

 

My working title for this book was Oprah Doesn't Know My Name.  We couldn't use it (trademark, suggestion of endorsement, etc) even though titles can't be copyrighted. So the title became Barcelona Calling as my character has to discover what writing really means to her...and recommit to the source of her passion.  "This is a funny, entertaining story that brings home the message of being true to yourself," wrote bookseller Deon Stonehouse in her recommending the book to the American Booksellers Association.  It's a departure for me but one that reminds me that even old rats, when given new mazes to learn, actually grow new brain cells.  I'm hopeful that entering the contemporary fiction world will grow me new brain cells.

 

At the very least, Barcelona memories have returned to my mind and like the themes of the World Police and Fire games this year, I am remembering good times and sad times and I'm grateful for the support I've had in making my way as a writer these past years.  I hope you'll recall some happy memories this season while witnessing to a tragic day and wrap those memories up with gratitude.

Touching Base
 

JaneKirkpatrick

 

 

 

Join me at one of the upcoming events! 

Check out www.jkbooks.com for new additions. 

 

 

 

 

 

  SEPTEMBER

 

  

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 Dorian in this lecture series celebrating the Astoria Bicentennial.  Visit 
www.astoria200.org for more information. Call to confirm.

 

 

WHEN:  Saturday, September 24 5:00-6:30 p.m.
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:  Wednesday, September 28, 6:30 p.m. 

WHERE:  Paulina Springs Book Store, 422 SW 6th , Redmond, OR.
WHAT:  Jane will be introducing her latest book, Barcelona Calling.  No PowerPoint, just Jane and her stories about writing, and Spain, too.


WHEN:  Thursday, September 29, 6:30 p.m. 
WHERE:  Paulina Springs Book Store, 252 W Hood St., Sisters, Oregon
WHAT:  Enjoy Jane's stories about writing the book she wanted to call 'Oprah Doesn't Know My Name' but is known as Barcelona Calling!

 

 

WHEN: September 30-October 2
WHERE:  Camp Morrow, near Wamic, Oregon - in the shadow of Mt. Hood.
WHAT:  MID-COLUMBIA WOMEN'S RETREAT titled: "The Stories of Our Lives." Open to women 18 years of age and older. Contact Joan Dudley (509) 427-5708 or [email protected] for more information.
 

 

 

 

 

 

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

WILLA Literary Award Finalist

 AnAbsenceSoGreat

Jane received the good news that An Absence so Great is a finalist for the 2011 WILLA Literary Award given by Women Writing the West.  A Flickering Light won the award last year and Jane is delighted to know she'll receive a finalist recognition at the annual conference in Lynwood, WA (near Seattle) in October.  She thinks her grandmother would be pleased as this is the conclusion to her grandmother's story as a turn of the century photographer. 

 

What's In a Name?
 

ANameOfHerOwnOne of the first things would-be writers are told to do is to give their work-in-progress a title. Something about a name establishes the hope of that future creation. It gives the work a presence even if the writer hasn't yet written a sentence. She has a title, a name and that has merit.

 

I was deeply moved during a 60 Minutes episode about the Harlem Gospel Teen Choir. The director asked each of the kids to say their name, loud and clear. One young girl just couldn't do it. Saying her name to the world demanded too much of this fragile young woman's psyche.  But the music and the support of other students and the choir organizers brought her along so at the end, she could shout her name out loud with the best of them.

 

My time on the reservation taught me much about the importance of names. There is even a ceremony among Indian people for naming. Sometimes a name is left in a will for a potential descendant; sometimes an event results in the person -- even an adult -- taking a new name accompanied by the support and love of family members.

 

When I titled the book about Marie Dorion A Name of her Own, I did so in part because I'd read a work by Washington Irving called Astoria!  Published in 1858, Irving never once used Marie Dorion's name even though she was the only woman on the overland expedition that followed six years after Lewis and Clark returned. Irving referred to her as "Dorion's woman" giving her presence only as a wife --ignoring her role as mother and a woman of strength, independence and it turned out, skill that helped save the lives of other Astorians. I'll be talking about Marie Dorion in Astoria on September 15. I hope to see some of you there.

               

In signing A Name of Her Own once, I wrote the reader's name and then added "who has a name of her own."  Two years later that woman wrote to tell me that the salutation had brought tears to her eyes. Her husband had just died and she was in the throes of defining who she was now: widow, mother, daughter...no longer a wife.  To imagine that she had a name of her own suggested a direction, she told me, and she'd just completed her degree, recovering a dream she'd given up when she'd married many years before. Now she saw her name as strong, purposeful, joyous.

Right now, I've heard from a number of young people who have finished their schooling and don't yet have jobs.  They tell me they feel lost, that they aren't where they've been and now aren't where they hope one day to be. They're no longer a student but also not yet an engineer or social worker or teacher or botanist. Madeleine L'Engle once wrote that "we are named by the choices we make."  So if we want to be wise or generous or compassionate or inspired-- or that teacher or actor -- it will depend on the decisions we make taking us toward that goal each day.

 

One of the most heart-warming Biblical stories, to me, is God's naming of God's creation. Such names spoke of their worthiness not because they did anything, but because God loved them just the way there were. I hope that wherever you are in this time of transition and uncertainty, that you'll remember you have a name of your own, are beloved, and that your name is worthy of shouting out. May you make choices this month that remind you of how important your name truly is.

Don't forget that Jane also has her first novella released inside a collection called  Log Cabin Christmas.  It's set in old Brownsville, a mill town in the Willamette Valley in Oregon and it's called "The Courting Quilt."  Look for it!

 

Warmly,

 

 Jane

Jane Kirkpatrick