Words of Encouragement

An Interview with Bob Welch

2012-01-11T05:13:00.000-08:00

Bob Welch has been in my life (and Jerry's too) since 1982 when I took a writing class from him at Central Oregon Community College. Certain that I had the word "fraud" written on my forehead and that soon all would know I had no business being in a writing class, I crept into the student desk and hoped no one could hear my heart throbbing. You'd think I'd just tried to steal candy from a store!

2011

Over the course of the eight week class, some of that anxiety ceased. I was encouraged to submit a few of my assignments for publication and later that summer successfully published several of them. But whatever success came to me resulted from the kind, funny, insightful , wise and encouraging instructor of that class, Bob Welch.

Here are just a few of his accolades:

Author of 12 books.
Thirty-six years in the newspaper business.
Two-time winner of the National Society of Newspaper Columnist’s best-column award.
Two-time winner of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association’s “best writing” award.
Published in such magazines as Sports Illustrated, Runner’s World and Los Angeles Times.
His book, American Nightingale, was featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award.
He's a former adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Oregon
Founder and director of the Beachside Writers Workshop.

2011

For the past four years I've been a guest lecturer at Bob's Beachside Writers course, a long weekend on the Oregon Coast. I'd like writers everywhere to experience a weekend with Bob Welch. You'll find that same kind, funny, insightful, wise and encouraging man and broaden your writing skills while opening your heart to the dream to tell that story that simply won't let you go.

I invited Bob to be a guest on my blog this month. I hope you'll enjoy his voice as much as the thousands who read his column in the Eugene Register Guard weekly and those of us who read his books do.

Do you remember what you were thinking when your "students" walked into that class in Bend, Oregon in 1982?

I was 28 years old, the Sunday editor of The Bulletin and, though the course was called Freelance Writing, had published exactly one story. I was thinking: What are you doing here? Remember, these were the days before Bend’s population exploded; the folks at Central Oregon CC didn’t have a lot to work with, so I was the any-port-in-a-storm choice. But the fact that I’m still teaching 30 years later suggests it was a good experience.

How did you become an award-winning columnist and author? I mean, what did your mom put in your cereal that gave you the power and energy to accomplish what you have? (Bob, maybe you can tell us how many titles, columns, awards etc. here or I can add that into the intro)

Behind every dream there is what I call “dream makers,” the folks who, like a NASA rocket, give you the thrust to head into space, then break free and splash into the ocean — while you get all the glory. It’s not fair, but it’s true. And I was blessed to have a handful of these people. But I digress. What originally got me interested in writing was the Tudor Tru-Action Electric Football Set, an electric game where players buzzed around as if the team manager had put Deep Heat in their jockstraps. When it broke, I began making up my own games, racing the players around the field, announcing each play — even plopping mud on the field to give it that “authentic” feel. When I finished a game, I’d write a two- or three-sentence “story” about it and draw a “photograph” of the action. I still have a sample from Age 7.

My mother, Marolyn, gave me a Smith-Corona typewriter and a record of college fight songs. My father, Warren, made me custom goalposts out of coat hangers. What they really gave me was far more important: permission to use my imagination, which I believe is at the foundation for all writing, fiction or non-fiction. In fifth grade, for career day, my teacher, Shirley Wirth, helped me to accomplish what I wanted to do: interview Oregon State basketball Coach Paul Valenti. I walked out of that interview thinking: What can stop me now? She, like my parents, was a dream maker. So was Jim McPherson, my newspaper advisor in junior high and high school; Roberta Shaw, an English teacher at Corvallis High; and professors at the University of Oregon. I got something different from each, but the common gift was a belief in myself that I could be a writer.

Which do you prefer, writing that concise, pithy columns of 700 words three times a week or writing concise pithy 85,000 word books?

Great question. I’ve thought about this from time to time, and the answer is both. I’m that rare sprinter who likes to run an occasional marathon. The 700-word columns are like challenging day hikes. Everything happens fast. Research. Planning. Writing. The 85,000-word books are like hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. You have to pace yourself, expect obstacles and take one step at a time. But, eventually, you reach your goal. Advantage of the column: constant feedback with readers. Advantage of books: the joy of total immersion, particularly in the research part of the journey.

I know that when you worked on American Nightingale, an Oregon Book Award Finalist and a title that got us watching you on Good Morning America, you said you took over a room and color coded pages of dialogue, narrative etc. and hung the pages all around the wall to get a balance within your book and know where to revise. I was impressed with the idea of getting that inside of your story to get it right. What other practices do you use to give your readers the constant quality of your work?

I write my books on a 13-inch laptop computer and often feel a lack of perspective. So, yes, I confess to putting all 300 pages of the book on three walls of The Register-Guard’s photo studio. I had color coded various parts of the book: action, for example, might have been marked in red; dialogue, in blue; parts that didn’t include my main character, in yellow. Perhaps a half dozen other designations. Thus, when I stood there, in essence, inside my book, I noted all sorts of nuances (for better or worse) than I hadn’t noticed while it was looking at it on that laptop. I could see chapters that were too long, stretches that were too boring and needed action, pages and pages where I didn’t update the reader about what the date was — things such as this. Ironic you bring this up because I’m doing the same thing next week with another book, Resolve: From the Jungles of WWII, the Epic Story of a Soldier, a Flag, and a Promise Kept.

What would you say was your biggest barrier in getting published...or did you have any discouraging moments before you saw your first words in print?

I caught a fortunate break on my early books; a publisher actually came to me. That was a company that published only Christian-oriented books. When I decided to broaden my market, it was a steep climb. American Nightingale was turned down by 26 agents before one finally said yes. He had it sold to a Simon & Schuster imprint in two months. I found him at the Willamette Writers Conference in Portland. I highly recommend this; you pay for a 10-minute session with as many agents as you want. If you truly have a book worth publishing, you’ll get at least some nibbles and hopefully catch a fish.

Your books have been published by east and west coast publishers and you've self-published successfully as well. Which do you prefer?

I don’t think the difference between my publishers has been so much regional as scope; as I said, one, Harvest House, had an obvious Christian niche, the others — Atria and St. Martin’s Press — were broader in scope. But there’s a huge difference between self-publishing and letting someone else do that for you. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Self-publishing: You make all the decisions: name of book, look of book, time it will come out, etc. But you also have to market it yourself, get it in stores. Not easy. Finding a publisher: They market it for you, get into lots of stores. But they make most of the decisions, can be slow getting the book out and, unless you’re someone important like John Grisham or Jane Kirkpatrick, probably won’t do much to promote your book.

Wow, you put me in the same sentence with John Grisham! Thanks for that. I digress. Besides Beachside Writers, you teach other classes in writing. What made you decide to teach classes in the first place?

I had been teaching at the UO and, frankly, found it discouraging. I’m a full-speed-ahead sort of guy and I found that in a class of 16 students you might have only one or two of those folks. Too many students seemed as if they just wanted a grade; learning wasn’t that important. Meanwhile, I’d been asked to teach at someone’s workshop and decided, instead, to start my own. I love it. We’ll have 50 students and 48 of them will be totally locked in. (Nobody’s perfect.)

My favorite book of yours is Where Roots Grow Deep. I remember reading an advanced copy, out loud, while Jerry drove the car somewhere. We both laughed so hard at times he had to pull over and on more than one occasion we both had tears that fogged our eyes and required the same pause in the drive. Your ability to move people with your words is something I greatly admire. Want to tell us how you do that?

The key to triggering laughter or tears begins with being attuned to the world around you as a writer. I have this sense that ideas are like the wind and we’re all sailboats. Some people raise their sails and see where it will take them, others don’t even notice the ripples on the water. Once you have the idea, the key is to trust the story. Don’t get in the way of it. I remember this 102-year-old woman who attended Beachside Writers. She was a wonderful writer and had this young (relatively speaking) mentor named Dave who was helping her publish her works. “In Colorado,” she told me, “we had a pond and as winter hardened the swans would swim around the edges of it to slow down the inevitable freezing of it. Dave was my swan.” When I heard that, I knew I had the perfect ending for a story.” I didn’t need to say, “they had a really close relationship.” Or “she didn’t have much time.” Instead, I just told the story. Let the power be in the showing, not the telling.

What's the one book you want to write but haven't gotten around to yet? Is there a novel in your future? And what are you working on now?

My sister Linda Crew, a novelist, is always encouraging me to write a novel and, for the first time, I did start putting down some notes on one. Having been a journalist since 1976, I’ve met so many fascinating people that I could use as characters. All I need now is a plot, which is a little like starting a shipping company and saying, “I’m all set. Now all I need is the ships.” I’m toying with the idea of a book on writing, specifically about what I call painting with words — showing instead of telling. Meanwhile, weirdly enough, I will have two — maybe three — books out this fall: “Fifty-two Little Lessons from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’” (Thomas Nelson) “Resolve: From the Jungles of WWII, an Epic Story of a Soldier, a Flag, and a Promise Kept.” (Penguin). And perhaps a self-published book on my adventures hiking Oregon’s portion of the Pacific Crest Trail last summer.

If a would-be writer were to come to your Beachside Writers course in March 2012, what would you hope they would take away from that weekend?

The absolutely unwavering belief that they’re a writer and three extra pounds because of the fantastic home-cooking done by our very own Ann Schar. Plus a notebook full of information to chew on for the next year — and e-mails of folks just like them whom they can encourage and be encouraged by. Writing can be a lonely pursuit. Beachside is an island of togetherness — with campfire s’mores.

What do you hope you will take away from a weekend with writers and a focus on the writing life?

A reminder that words are powerful, important, and written by people with passions far different from my own, but literally change the world in big and small ways. I always leave a Beachside weekend drained by three days of interacting with people and inspired by the optimistic energy of writers whose abilities are far less important than their will to write. And, of course, I leave having once again been reminded that my writing student from the early 1980s — Jane something — has made her teacher proud.

Thanks for being my guest. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us that I didn't ask?

Sure. As writers, we make a difference in the world. The nurse I wrote about in American Nightingale, Frances Slanger, saved a poem in her scrapbook that says: “Drop a pebble in the water/Just a splash and it is gone/But there’s half a hundred ripples/Circling on and on./Spreading from the center/Flowing to the sea/And there’s no way of knowing/Where the end is going to be.” As writers, we are those ripples. And there is no way of knowing where the end is going to be.

Thanks for a great interview. You should have been in the newspaper business.

To sign up to attend one of Bob's courses, connect with him via social media, or learn more, visit his website or you can also email him.

A small snippet for the next Beachside Writer's Workshop:

Next session: March 2-4, 2012.
Times: Friday 6:30 p.m.-Sunday 12:30 p.m.
Location: Yachats Commons, Yachats, Ore.
Teachers: Bob Welch, Register-Guard columnist and author of 12 books, of Eugene; Jane Kirkpatrick, novelist and author of 20 books, of Bend; Roger Hite, expert on self-publishing and author more than 20 books, of Eugene; and Bunny Thompson, veteran freelance magazine writer who’s written extensively of her round-the-world sailboat voyages, of Sisters.

Thanks for spending time with my first official writing teacher! Do you have any questions for Bob?

Labyrinth Story at Trinity Bend

2012-01-05T08:11:00.000-08:00

I've written before about our beautiful home we moved into in November of 2011. One of the features that so attracted us was the labyrinth in the front yard. I just received this lovely video from the former owners of the home. It features the Trinity Episcopal congregation here in Bend discovering the labyrinth story and creating one within their church. It also features how they then moved to create an outdoor labyrinth...in our yard!

It's the perfect beginning to the new year as a labyrinth encourages us to prepare, reflect and center. I hope you'll enjoy this video and if any of you have labyrinth stories, please share them!

Barcelona Calling- Review

2012-01-04T06:16:00.000-08:00

Late last year I had the chance to interview Kathleen Ernst for my blog and to read two of her recent titles that are mysteries set in the Old World museum in Wisconsin. Kathleen is a fine writer and I'm happy to say that she read Barcelona Calling and has posted a review that I'd like to share with you. It's my first review of 2012 and how lovely that it's a positive one!

Since I'm a fan of Jane Kirkpatrick's historical fiction, I wasn't sure what to expect from this contemporary. I loved it. Ms. Kirkpatrick is stretching her creative wings and sharing a new type of story with her readers. It takes some courage for a writer to do so, and I applaud her for it.

Protagonist Annie is a novelist who finds herself struggling to meet the standards and sales that are expected by her publisher. She and her friends hatch a plan to gain attention for her latest titles by gaining the attention of Oprah Winfrey. Woven against this professional plotline is Annie's search for personal fulfillment. Did she make a mistake when she walked away from a man she met during a vacation in Barcelona? What will actually make her happy?

On the surface, this novel is a quick, light, and entertaining read.

The attempts to penetrate Oprah's inner circle are zany fun. However, this is a multi-layered novel with surprising depth. Annie's struggles to find her true purpose in life, and to identify what and who she values most highly, are poignant and finely detailed. The ending is unexpected but deeply satisfying.

In addition, this smooth-reading novel's construction is complex. The story moves forward through first-person narrative, brief excerpts from Annie's latest and somewhat autobiographical novel, and correspondence from her editor and from readers. And the writing itself is studded with wonderful gems. Early on, for example, Annie tells her friends, "I do need to celebrate this little stage along my publishing waterslide."

Anyone who enjoys books will appreciate this peek into the publishing world.

Next time you're looking for an entertaining story with a lot of heart, I recommend "Barcelona Calling."

Thank you Kathleen!

Wishing many positive messages for each of you as we begin this new year. In fact, if you'd care to share a few positive things that have already happened to you in 2012, I'd be happy to read your comments and be cheered by them.

Christmas Wishes

2011-12-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

Just sent my Story Sparks off for formatting and distribution. I hope you're on my email list (or visit the website to join up). Now I have a few more details to attend to:
Getting ready for a party at school for the English Language Learner program I've been volunteering for this past term. I've discovered that when it comes to math at least, I am NOT smarter than a fifth grader. My young charge is tutoring me!
We have friends who helped us with The Land of Sheltered Promise that we haven't seen for a long time and they are coming for dinner tonight. Hurrah!
Tomorrow I'm meeting with the pastors from First Presbyterian to explore writing our own Lenten Series book along the line of Living a Better Story or the Stories of Our Lives. Several other writers will join us for a workshop on Saturday morning that I'm supposed to lead but I'm counting on the gifts of the writers to make it a community project.
On Thursday evening I have a computer rescuer coming to help me figure out why Word is changing all my PDF files into Word so I can't open them!
On Friday, a massage. She's doing a great job on my body and get this for small world: Her dad is the father of our granddaughter's best elementary school friend AND her father-in-law is the former psychologist at the clinic when I was the director there. Great credentials!
Then Friday evening dinner with good friends who I used to work with at the mental health clinic. Jeannie is still working with me, helping with bookkeeping. Hurrah! Tax time will be so much easier next year.
Saturday is the workshop on Story; Sunday we attend our last service before flying on MONDAY to Florida! We better get packing finished somewhere in the next few days, too. It will be a warm Christmas for us with Jerry's daughter and family. We'll only miss the dogs but we have our Homestead friends tending to them while we're gone.
The new year sees me focused on my next novel as yet unnamed but it'll have a name by this time next week when I'll be working on the author's questionnaire for my publisher. This historical novel is the last in my contract with WaterBrook Multnomah so who knows where my writing will lead me. It will be my 19th novel and 21st book with them...hard to believe.
Jerry is out getting wood in; the dogs are cheering him on. The sun is shining brightly and the tree -- a Turkish Fir -- bring us great joy given to us by good friends We wish you the great peace of Christmas, the great joy of the season and the warmth of the light that is Jesus reflected in your hearts all the year through. Warmly, Jane

Behind The Courting Quilt; Day 9 of Log Cabin Christmas Blog hop

2011-11-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

Awhile back, when I was immersed in quilt lore and life, someone gave me an old quilt book. I say "old" but it was from 1984 so not that old. It was published by The House of White Birches, Inc in New Hampshire. The woman had been cleaning out her closet and found it and decided maybe it was a book I could use. My life at the time dealt with the quilts of the Aurora Colony and the four books I'd written related to that communal society that survived west of the Mississippi until the late 1880s.

As part of the promotion for those books I also wrote a short piece for an historical quilt journal about the quilting women of Aurora. While reading that journal I came across a story of a signature quilt made in the mid 1800s and the story that went with it was that each signed block had been quilted by a woman being courted by a certain man. He kept all the blocks and when he finally married, it wasn't to any of the signature-makers. He married a woman who had not made a block for him and she finished the quilt!

That story gave me the idea for "A Courting Quilt" included in A Log Cabin Christmas, which can now be claimed as a New York Times Bestselling book as of September 25, 2011!

That story was just the seed. From there the juices of creativity mixed their way in the stew of an idea.

Enter my friend's quilt book called Bible Quilt Blocks. If each of those women made a Bible quilt block rather than a signature one, and I gave them a thread salesman as the mastermind behind it, and I found a woman who owned a log cabin store who was desperate to find a way to keep in business despite growing competition, and the thread salesmen oversteps his bounds and the widow discovers she's falling in love with the scamp, I might just have a story!

I opened up that little book to the wonderful world of Bible-related quilt blocks. Each had a story to go with it and a great essay by Mary Louise Kitsen called "Biblical Quilts...an Old Tradition." In my story, I didn't mention all of the designs...there were 24 to choose from. But the one's I did chose I love. "Robbing Peter to Pay Paul." That phrase has no reference in the Bible at all! But what is of interest is that Peter and Paul were opposite personalities as portrayed in the New Testament so that quilt block would be best made with bold but opposite designs.

Storm at sea quilt block

Another favorite was "Storm at Sea". When I saw that block I thought "How did they make it appear to be a watery upheaval?" There are no round surfaces, only triangles placed in certain ways to make our eyes think they're uneven and shaped like the bottom of a boat. Jonah comes to mind? The ark? Maybe a boat where fisherman cast their nets.

While researching historical fiction I often come across the role that quilts played in women's lives. Quilts thread their way through many of my stories including The Kinship and Courage series especially AllTogether in One Place and book two, NoEye Can See. But quilts take center stage in "The Courting Quilt" set in old Brownsville, a woolen mill town of the 1800s in the central Willamette Valley of Oregon. Women still quilt there and despite its small size, there's a quilt shop right in town. To me, that's a sign of creative women bringing comfort to the community.

Yankee Dutch Quilting & Dry Goods

106 E. Bishop Way (Highway 228 at Main Street)

Brownsville, Oregon 97327

If I were to make a Biblical quilt block think I'd adapt "Road to California" a popular block during the gold rush years and call it instead "Road to Eden." This would have a double meaning for me since an old nickname of Oregon is "Eden's Gate" and Brent Walth wrote a book Fire at Eden's Gate: Tom McCall and the Oregon Story to celebrate that connection. Here I am, back to writing about writing and...quilting.

Question: If you were to "name" a quilt block based on a favorite scripture, what title might you come up with? Put on those creative hats. I know you can do it. Some of you might even be able to draw the design and bless us all with the comfort of scripture and quilts.

Post your answer or comment here and then be sure to visit Erica Vetsch @ Erica Vetsch: On the Write Path (part 2) blog tomorrow for the chance to win two copies signed by all the authors! You don't have to be a quilter to love quilts!

A Log Cabin Christmas, NYT best-seller, Blog Hop Day #6 Guest Margaret Brownley

2011-11-14T03:00:00.000-08:00

“When God said let there be peas on earth I don’t think he meant us to eat them.”

George, age 6 in Snow Angel/A Log Cabin Christmas

My husband and I spent our honeymoon in a rustic log cabin in Yosemite. It would have been the perfect honeymoon getaway had it not been for that mouse.

Standing on a chest of drawers screaming wasn't exactly how I pictured my wedding night. It was even worse the next morning when we had breakfast at the lodge with everyone staring at us.

That was the first and last time I’d stepped foot in a log cabin, so before I could write my story for A Log Cabin Christmas I had to do some research. That’s the fun part of writing but so is sharing fun facts with readers.

THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT LOG CABINS

Abe Lincoln was born in one. Okay, so maybe you already knew that, but did you also know that the first president born in a log cabin was Andrew Jackson?
Pound for pound wood is stronger than steel which makes Log Cabins virtually indestructible (except by woodpeckers and carpenter bees). They can stand up to earthquakes and are pretty much fire-resistant. A log home was the only beachfront home in the Carolinas to remain standing during Hurricane Hugo.
Log cabins were not an American invention. The Swedish bought the idea to American in the 1600s.
Providing there were trees, a log cabin could be built in days, needed no nails and was rainproof, sturdy and cheap to build. The only tool needed to build one was an ax.
Log cabin designs were influenced by the Homestead Act of 1862 which required homes to be at least ten by twelve and have one glass window.
Foundations were built eighteen inches high because it was believed that termites couldn’t climb that high. (I know for a fact that eighteen inches will not keep out mice!)
A log cabin helped win a presidential election. William Harrison made a big deal over his “humble beginnings” and used the log cabin logo (along with hard cider) to show he was a “people’s man.” Ironically, the man was born in a wood frame house.
Log Cabin syrup was introduced in 1887 by Patrick J. Towle, a Minnesota grocer. The name was chosen to honor Towle’s hero Abraham Lincoln.

Now that you know a little bit more about log cabins, here’s a short preview of my story:

SNOW ANGEL

The moment schoolteacher Maddie Parker walked into the tumble-down log cabin schoolhouse, she knew coming to Maverick, Texas was a mistake. Now she’s stuck at school with three of her rowdiest pupils during a blizzard and in terrible danger of becoming unglued.

Sheriff Brad Donovan is fit to be tied. What kind of teacher would keep her pupils after school in such weather? Now it’s up to him to rescue them—no easy task. For now he’s stuck at the schoolhouse with no means of escape. But while the storm rages outside, hearts are thawing inside.

Brad and Maddie have personal reasons for fighting their attraction to each other, but as the days drag on it becomes increasingly hard to do. Was it fate or bad luck that brought that together? Or could this have been God’s plan all along?

P.S. If have an adversity to mice don’t worry. The only furry creature in my story is a bear!

Now that I shared my log cabin story, how about sharing yours?

Margaret

www.margaretbrownley.com

Margaret is the bestselling author of more than twenty-five books. Her next book Dawn Comes Early will be released March 2012. It’s the first book in her exciting new Brides of Last Chance Ranch series.

Are you participating in the blog hop? Be sure to visit the contest guidelines and fill out the entry form to enter.

Tomorrow be sure to visit Erica Vetsch: Erica Vetsch: On the Write Path

A Log Cabin Christmas, NYT best-seller, Blog Hop Day #3, Wanda Brunstetter

2011-11-09T01:38:00.000-08:00

Wanda with her family

Today I am hosting Wanda Brunstetter for day 3 of our blog hop. Unfortunately she is not able to join us due to writing deadlines. To encourage her to remain focused to provide you with future best-selling author fiction, I offered to fill in for her.

Wanda Brunstetter chose the scripture "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." Proverbs 3:5. It's the perfect scripture for her story titled "The Christmas Secret." Wanda's written many novels, both historical and Amish-themed works. Her latest novel has been on the New York Times Best-seller list...and so has A Log Cabin Christmas. The scripture fits perfectly for a story that has twists and turns and characters thrown from times of joy to times of sorrow and then, because it's Christmas, back again to that happy ending. It's like life in that way, I think. We simply can't know the ways of the Lord and we have to lean not on our effort to figure things out be willing to live with the uncertainty of the future and trust that God is in control.

A favorite writer of mine, Frederick Buechner, noted that the work of words is "to seek, to treasure and to tell secrets." That's just what Wanda's story does. Her characters are seeking answers to a troubling situation. A wedding is planned for Christmas Day but something happens to interrupt the plans. And it's the telling of a secret that opens the door for a surprise ending you'll love.

Have you ever had a secret unveiled when you least expected it? Without giving us too much detail, how would you describe your feelings when you discovered what you'd never known before!

Here's a little surprise to end today's post with... Chapter 1 of Wanda's short story from Log Cabin Christmas. Enjoy! In case you have not yet registered for the contest, be sure to visit the official rules page. If the rafflecopter entry form isn't available, just be sure check back.

The Christmas Secret
by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

Chapter 1
Allentown, Pennsylvania
1880

Feeling the need for a bit of fresh air, Elizabeth Canning opened her bedroom window and drew in a deep breath, inhaling the earthy, leaf-scented fragrance that she knew even with her eyes closed was like no other season but autumn.

When a chilling wind blew in, rustling the lace curtains and causing her to shiver, she quickly shut the window. It was too cold for the first of November. Did the nippy weather mean they were in for a harsh winter this year, or would they be spared and have only a few bitterly cold days? Whatever the case, she hoped they’d have snow for Christmas. God’s sparkling white crystals always added a little something extra to the beauty and atmosphere of the holiday season.

Through the closed window, Elizabeth heard geese honking in the distance, no doubt making their southward journey. She could almost feel their excitement as they flew to warmer territories. It never failed, spring or fall; hearing geese high in the sky stirred a thrill deep in her soul.

When a knock sounded on the door, Elizabeth turned and called, “Come in.”

The door opened, and Elizabeth’s friend, Helen Warner, entered the room. Her coal-black hair, worn in a chignon at the back of her head and covered with a silver net, stood in sharp contrast to Elizabeth’s golden-blond hair, which she wore hanging loosely down her back today. But then, Helen, who’d recently turned twenty, had always been the prim and proper one, often wearing highneck dresses with perfectly shaped bustles, like the one she wore today. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was the practical type and preferred full-skirted calico dresses, which were more comfortable when one was cleaning or working around the house. She felt rather plain next to Helen, but fortunately their friendship was based on more than the clothes they wore or their differing opinions on some things.

Elizabeth’s meticulous friend was outgoing and always seemed to have an air of excitement about her. Maybe Helen’s confident demeanor came from being the daughter of an esteemed minister of the largest congregation in Allentown, for she had a certain charisma that glowed like a halo around her. To Elizabeth, it was most invigorating, even though she, herself, was more down-to-earth.

“I thought you were going to help me clean the cabin today, but it doesn’t look like you came dressed for work,” Elizabeth said.

“I was hoping you’d change your mind and go shopping with me instead.” When Helen took a seat on the feather bed, her long, purple stockings peeked out from under the hem of her matching

dress.

Elizabeth’s brows furrowed. “There’s no time for shopping right now. If David and I are to be married on Christmas Eve, then it doesn’t give us much time to get the cabin cleaned and ready for the wedding.”

Helen’s brown eyes narrowed, causing tiny wrinkles to form across her forehead. “It’s one thing to have the ceremony in the cabin, since you’re only inviting family and close friends, but are you sure you want to live in that dreary little place? It’s so small, and far from town.”

“It’s not that far—only a few miles.” Elizabeth took a seat beside her friend. “The cabin has special meaning to me. It was the first home of my mother’s parents, and soon after Grandma and Grandpa moved to Easton, Mother married Daddy, and they moved into the cabin to begin their life together. They lived there until. . .” Elizabeth’s voice trailed off, and she blinked to hold back tears threatening to spill over. “After Mother died of pneumonia when I was eight years old, Daddy couldn’t stand to live there any longer, because everything in the cabin reminded him of her.” Elizabeth may have been young, but she remembered how empty and lifeless the cabin had felt once her mother was gone.

“So you moved to town and lived at the Main Street Boardinghouse, right?”

Elizabeth nodded. “We stayed there until I was ten, and then when Daddy got his shoemaking business going well and married Abigail, we moved into the house he had built.” She smiled and touched Helen’s arm. “Soon after that, I met you.”

“So you’re used to living in town now, and just because your parents and grandparents lived in the cabin doesn’t mean you have to.”

“David and I want to begin our life together there.” Elizabeth sighed.
“Besides, he’s just getting started with his carriage-making business and can’t afford to have a home built for us here right now.”

“I understand that, but can’t you continue living with your father and stepmother or even at the hotel David’s grandfather owns?”

“I suppose we could, but it wouldn’t be the same as having a place of our own to call home.”

Helen folded her arms with an undignified grunt. “Humph! That cabin isn’t a home; it’s a hovel. If David’s so poor that he can’t offer you more, then maybe you should consider marrying someone else. Maybe someone like Howard Glenstone. I think he’s been interested in you for some time.”

“I’m not in love with Howard. I love David, and I’d be happy living in the cabin with him for the rest of my life if necessary.” It was obvious to Elizabeth that Helen didn’t understand or appreciate how the homey little dwelling came to be. It must have taken a lot of hard work, frustration, and long hours for her mother’s father to build the cabin for Grandma and the family they’d one day have. How proud Grandpa must have been, knowing he’d built the place with his own two hands.

“I just think a woman as beautiful as you could do much better,” Helen said.

Elizabeth bristled. “Are you saying that David’s not an attractive man?”

Helen placed her hand on Elizabeth’s arm. “I’m not saying that at all. David has very nice features, and with both of you having golden-blond hair and vivid blue eyes, you make a striking couple.” She patted the sides of her hair. “Of course, I’d never be attracted to anyone who had the same color hair and eyes as me.”

“When you meet the right man and fall in love, you won’t care what color his hair and eyes are, because real love isn’t based on a person’s looks.” Elizabeth touched her chest. “It’s what’s in the heart that counts. While I do think David is quite handsome, the things that drew me to him were his kind, gentle spirit and the fact that he’s a fine Christian man.”

“He does seem to be all that.” Helen smiled at Elizabeth. “I’m sure the two of you will have sweet, even-tempered children with beautiful blond hair and pretty blue eyes.”

Elizabeth smiled. “I’m looking forward to becoming a mother. In fact, I’m looking forward to every aspect of being married.”

“Including cooking and cleaning?” Helen’s nose wrinkled.

“Yes, even that.” The springs in the bed squeaked as Elizabeth rose to her feet. “Speaking of cleaning, I should hitch my horse to the buckboard so we can go over to the cabin now.”

Helen gestured to her fancy dress. “I suppose I should change into one of your calicos first.”

Elizabeth pointed to her wardrobe across the room. “Feel free to wear whichever one you want.”

❄

David Stinner had never been one to shirk his duties, but today he was having a hard time staying focused on his work. All he could think about was Elizabeth, and how he couldn’t wait to make her his wife. They’d been courting nearly a year and would be married on Christmas Eve. He couldn’t think of any better Christmas present for himself than making Elizabeth his bride, and she insisted that getting married to him on her birthday was the best gift she could receive for turning twenty. She was everything he wanted in a wife—sweettempered, patient, intelligent, beautiful, and a Christian in every sense of the word. She would make not only a good wife but also a fine mother to the children they might have someday.

“Hey, boss, how come you’ve been standin’ there holdin’ that piece of wood for so long?”

David whirled around, surprised to see his helper, Gus Smith, standing behind him. When he’d last seen Gus, he’d been at the back of the shop, cutting a stack of wood.

“I wish you wouldn’t sneak up on me like that,” David said, shaking his head. “I nearly dropped this piece of oak for the sideboards of Arnold Higgin’s bakery wagon.”

Gus’s bushy dark eyebrows lifted high on his forehead. “Looked to me like you were just standin’ there holdin’ that piece of wood, and you’re nowhere near the body of the bakery wagon you started yesterday.”

“I was taking a few minutes to think, that’s all.”

“Thinkin’ about your bride-to-be, I’ll bet.”

David nodded, his face heating with embarrassment. He hated how easily he blushed.

“Are ya gettin’ cold feet?”

“Of course not. I was just thinking about how Elizabeth and her friend, Helen, are going to the cabin to do some cleaning today. I wish I could be there to help them.”

“Why can’t ya be?”

David glanced across the room, noting the bakery wagon he’d been about to work on. Then there was an emerald-green carriage needing a new set of wheels, a coal-box buggy that was only half built, and the town coach the banker had brought in yesterday for new axles and springs. “I have too much work to do here right now. I promised to have the bakery wagon done by the end of next week, not to mention the other orders we have waiting.” Some days could be a bit overwhelming, but David was grateful for the work and good relationships he’d been building with his customers. He was also humbled by their trust in the fine craftsman he was proving himself to be.

“Maybe you can go over to the cabin when you’re done workin’ today,” Gus suggested.

“That’s what I’m hoping to do.” David leaned the piece of wood against the wall.

Gus moved closer to David. “You still gonna live in the log cabin after you and Elizabeth are married?”

David nodded.

“Wouldn’t ya rather live at the hotel your granddaddy owns? It’d be closer to your shop and has a lot more conveniences than the cabin.”

“It wouldn’t be our own place, and all we’d have is one small room.”

“That dinky old cabin ain’t much bigger than a hotel room.” Gus snorted like an old bull.

“It’s big enough for our needs, and once my business grows, I can either add on to the cabin or have a house built for us here in town.”

Just then, David’s mother rushed into the shop, wearing no shawl around her shoulders, despite the chilly day. “Come quickly, David! Your grandfather fell from a ladder, and he doesn’t respond!” Her hazel-colored eyes were wide with fear, and a lock of reddish-brown hair had come loose from the chignon at the back of her head. David figured she must have run all the way here.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” David called to Gus. He grabbed his mother’s hand, and they rushed out the door.

If you are interested in reading more about Wanda, visit her website.
Are you participating in the blog hop? Be sure to visit the contest guidelines and fill out the entry form to enter.

Tomorrow be sure to visit Liz Tolsma at Heart, Soul & Splash of Sass

A Log Cabin Christmas, NYT best-seller, Blog Hop Day #1

2011-11-07T01:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome! I thought it was time to launch another contest as well as introduce to you some really grand authors whom I have had the pleasure of working with on my recent project: A Log Cabin Christmas.

Over the next two weeks you will be introduced to new author each day. There will be interviews, stories behind their chapter, recipes, and of course, historical tidbits!

Everything you need to know is on my Contest & Giveaway's tab. So head on over there to check out what you need to do.

When you come back I will have some links for you to check out as well as your question for today!

For information about me and my books please visit my website: www.jkbooks.com

I like to share encouraging stories about me, my husband, my dogs, my writing, & nature here on my blog. Maybe you would like to subscribe to get it delivered into your inbox or online blog reader? It's easy to do right up there on the left side of the page.

I'm on Facebook and Twitter too where I post on a regular basis, maybe I will see you there!

Lastly, if you enjoy reading newsletters from authors, Story Sparks may be just right for you. You can see some archived copies here before you make up your mind to subscribe (delivered to your email) or not.

FINALLY: here is your question for the day...
Are you ready for Christmas? What will be your favorite gift you are giving this year?

Tomorrow you will be visiting with Liz Johnson over at: I write about love and such

Blog Hop with Sheila Deeth, author of Flower Child

2011-10-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

Hosting my writer friend, Sheila Deeth today!

I met Sheila Deeth, author of Flower Child (Gypsy Shadow ePublishing, $3.99) in 2006 when she "won" me. Yes, I was a premium with my name in a bucket during Portland's Wordfest. Willamette Writers, of which I've been a member for many years -- a fine organization indeed -- had a stall as Sheila calls it at Wordfest and while she was new to the United States, a friend had given her two of my books so she put her raffle tickets into the bucket with my name on it, the only bucket author she recognized. Voila! She won me!

The arrangement then was that she was given my email (and I was told which budding author had won my hour of time) and we arranged to meet. Which we did. What a delight. I know, I was donating my time but I got so much more back hearing about her life, her love of reading, writing, running a local writer's group and meeting "her neighbors' dogs on the green."

Sheila had recently moved from the UK with her husband and sons and had finally decided to pursue a dream and say out loud that she wanted to write. She is soft spoken, shy, with lovely fly-away hair I could die for. Like many of us authors she has a tendency to diminish our dreams, worried someone will discover that we're frauds if we say we're "writers." Over tea, she bravely shared the first pages of a novel she was working on and I knew then she is definitely a writer. But I knew that from her emails that were breezy and funny and fascinating and I thoroughly expected her characters to be likewise and they are.

Gypsy Shadow is an epublisher and Sheila has three books with them, the latest being Flower Child. Here's the blurb (as we say) for the book: When Megan miscarries her first pregnancy it feels like the end of everything; instead it's the start of a curious relationship between the grieving mother and an unborn child who hovers somewhere between ghost and angel. Angela, Megan's "little angel," has character and dreams all her own, friends who may or may not be real angels, and a little brother who brings hope to her mother's world. But Angela's dream-world has a secret and one day Angela might learn how to be real. Doesn't that sound inventive?

Sheila writes fantasy and Sci Fi and she describes herself as a "mongrel Christian mathematician". I'm not sure what that is but meeting her and enjoying her company has changed my mind about what a mathematician is. I mean, I could actually talk with her! Sheila holds a Bachelor and Masters degree in mathematics from Cambridge University, England. (I'm now volunteering at a middle school in the English Language Learner program and my greatest anxiety is when we do math together. Fortunately my charge, a fifth-grader is a gem and she gets the new math. I'm just grateful for my IPhone calculator). Anyway, the first complete work I read of Sheila's is a self-published little Christmas devotional she gave me--Christmas! Genesis to Revelation in 100 words a Day combines that Christian viewpoint with the precision and beauty of math. The entire Christmas story in 100 words a day. It's a thin little book and a delight.

Sheila gave me that Christmas book when she "won" me a second time, that time at a Willamette Writer's conference where she once again took her chances and put her 6 tickets into the bucket with my name. When we met, she brought a writer friend along and three of us talked about silencing those harpies which are the greatest deterrent to getting published or even sitting down to write that creative people face. Read Sheila's version of our meetings where you can see for yourself how well she writes.

Sheila's short stories, book reviews and articles can be found in VoiceCatcher 4, Murder on the Wind, Poetic Monthly, Nights and Weekends, the Shine Journal and Joyful Online. Besides her Gypsy Shadow ebooks, Sheila has several self-published works available from Amazon and Lulu, and a full-length novel under contract to come out next year.

Now here she is with her third published novel. Flower Child promises to be an inventive story of loss, love and renewal. It's only 15,500 words so you can read it in a few hours. It's inexpensive $3.99 as a download. And ebooks are becoming more and more the face of the publishing future. So I'm hosting Sheila Deeth on her blog tour to celebrate how well she silenced those voices that told her she couldn't write and how proud I am of her that she came to believe that she is indeed a writer. Now the rest of us can discover that, too.

Sheila's next stop on Monday, is with Ruthi Cox at Ruthie Reads
You can also visit Sheila's Blog

Ulcers and their Aftermath

2011-10-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

I've been reluctant to write about this subject: my bout with ulcers last month. In part I hesitate because as a mental health person, I :"should" know about ulcers, that some are caused by bacteria (not mine!) and can be treated with antibiotics. Others are caused by excess acid and yes, stress. It's that latter one that distresses me. I "should" be able to manage my stress, right? I'm a trained professional! I know how important it is to find ways to relax, to be proactive in times of challenge and stress. And yet, there I was, totally unprepared to hear the word "ulcers." Eight of them. ( I decided not to upload the photograph of those ulcers that they gave me to impress upon me how significant they were,)
Now I often had pain in my gut but I'm also gluten intolerant and allergic to corn so when I had that pain, I thought it likely a reaction from something I ate. I didn't sleep well, often waking up at 3:00 am and not able to get back to sleep. I'd get up and work. That's how I managed that. Frequently, when I woke, I'd have pain in my side or my back along with my stomach so I'd take two Aleve and because of my heart, I was also taking a baby aspirin at night.
Enter September 8th. That morning, I had my usual routine of aches and pains and took my usual Aleve. We drove three hours for a presentation at Albertina Kerr, a non-profit I've helped raise funds for these past eleven years. I felt more tired than usual but I always perk up when seeing old friends who have volunteered at this remarkable center that serves adults and children with various disabilities and does it well.
Anyway, after finishing my presentation, I didn't feel well, nauseous in fact and my stomach was really hurting... so I took another Aleve. I didn't eat lunch and on the way home incredible pain throbbed in my stomach, my chest, my back and I still felt nauseous. But then we got home and it let up a little. The Green Bay Packers were playing. Jerry wanted to take me to the ER but...the Green Bay Packers were playing. After the game (they won!) I didn't feel I should go to the ER when I'd just endured the pain for a football game. Could it really be anything serious?
But by 12:30 I knew I wouldn't be able to manage the night and so Jerry took me in.
A CT scan later followed by a camera photographing my stomach revealed those ulcers. There were a few other things to watch too but nothing that equaled those ulcers.
My doctors and the nurses were grand and they advised me to stop taking any pain medication that had aspirin in it..at all. I was finally able to eat and keep food down and began the discovery of what I could consume that would allow the ulcers to heal. Because that's what needed to happen: they needed to heal and I needed to find ways to reduce the acid which everyone said came from stress and those pain killers.
I changed the pain killer part and then began the difficult chore: Managing stress.
It's been a challenging year with adjusting to a new home, the move, dealing with the ranch, Jerry's health issues, book deadlines, promotional activities etc. etc. I didn't think I worried all that much but maybe I do. I also didn't think my schedule was that unusual but three books out in one year, that might be a bit much (though I know other authors with four or more and they don't have ulcers!).
Still, I do things to manage stress. I exercise (though I'd gotten away from that lately). I have a quiet time with scripture and journal (though I'd gotten away from that, lately). I walk the labyrinth (though something always seems to interrupt my time there...a phone call I really should take; a neighbor whom I haven't talked with in so long is outside and I wave. You get the picture). I work at breathing deeply when there's new information about Jerry's health or turmoil in our family constellation. I eat well, I really do.
Years ago the research about stress that gave us "flight or fight" was completed with college sophomore men as subjects. Recently, UCLA began doing research on stress with women as subjects. Their two words weren't "flight or fight" but rather "tend and befriend." I rather like that tend and befriend and that's what I've found I need to do.
So on the way to a book signing, we stopped to take pictures of the fall foliage. We tended to the beauty around us. We visited the Aurora Quilt show to take in the astonishing color and design. It's like visiting an art gallery, really! We spent a night with a good friend and this morning took the dogs along to the Farmer's Market in Salem, OR where dogs are permitted. It was a delight, both the time with our friend AND time with the dogs. I'm making time for lunch with friends. Tomorrow we will help celebrate the baptism of our god-daughter's baby, Grace, and perhaps pay a little more attention to the quieter things in life. I will schedule a massage. Maybe take up yoga and have gotten back into my treadmill routine, all ways of tending to myself.
It distresses me that I had forgotten the messages of my professional life; but then I am reminded of words I gave my god-daughter this afternoon as she spoke of the challenges of mothering, being a wife, a daughter. "You are doing the best you can," I said. "You're a good mom with a compassionate heart."
I need to remember that for myself. I'm doing the best I can, I have a compassionate heart, one that needs to listen to those comforting words...along with listening to the quiet of fall foliage, breathing deeply.

And a wonderful side effect? Since I've treated the ulcers, I've been sleeping through the night.
I wish such tending for you. Warmly, Jane

.

Introducing.... Kathleen Ernst

2011-10-07T05:06:00.000-07:00

It's my pleasure to introduce you to Kathleen Ernst. Not only is she a Wisconsinite (my home state) but she's also a quilter, a social historian, an educator and a truly fine writer. Kathleen and I met through Women Writing the West where she is a past president and a finalist for a WILLA Literary Award. We have many things in common (except for that quilter thing!) and met in Madison, Wisconsin during the Wisconsin Quilt Show two years ago. (I'm a UW alum). She's written for adults and young adults and now she's written two books in what I hope will be many titles in the Chloe Ellefson Mystery series. If you receive my Story Sparks newsletter, you'll read my review which is a good one. I read these two titles while I was hospitalized for ulcers and they kept my mind off the pain so you know they have to be good.

The series is set in Old World Wisconsin, a historical site that I absolutely love visiting whenever I get the chance in Wisconsin. Entire farmsteads of different ethnic groups have been preserved and are tended by interpreters dressed in traditional dress answering questions as Norwegian farmers, Swiss cheese makers, German gardeners, etc, etc. It's like stepping back in time. Wisconsin had the largest number of immigrant groups flow into the region in 1848, just a year before it became a state. A great site if you love history...or even if you don't, you'll find great intrigue in the mysteries set within that old world and deftly handled by a truly fine wordsmith.

1. You've created a new series with truly interesting characters. I love Chloe Ellefson and really enjoyed watching her change from the first book Old World Murder to the second book recently released. Did you start with the character and put her in the Old World Wisconsin museum or did you start with a mystery?

I actually started with the setting. I started working at OWW in 1982 and stayed for twelve years, and after being gone for a while I missed both the place and the wonderful people I worked with. Once I’d decided to set a book there, I decided to make my protagonist a curator because I could write about that role with ease.

When I think about a new book, I consider both outer and inner plotlines. The outer is the mystery itself. The inner has to do with some personal issue the protagonist is struggling with. My goal is that in the process of solving each mystery, Chloe learns a little something new, which helps her grow and change from book to book. In Old World Murder, she was recovering from a serious bout with depression. In The Heirloom Murders she’s confronted with new challenges in her social life.

2. While you were the curator of collections at Old World Wisconsin, did you ever encounter a real mystery such as the ones you've place before Chloe to solve?

Crimes do happen in the museum world. Some people care about historic artifacts only in terms of market value. Fortunately, I never had to personally confront a crime—or a criminal!

In broader terms, though, I dealt with mysteries every day. So often I had the opportunity to clean or catalog a marvelous piece of folk art that, unfortunately, arrived at the historic site with no known provenance information to explain where the item came from. I couldn’t (and still can’t) look at an artifact without wondering who first made, owned, or used it. (Neither can I!) How did they feel about this object? Was it a treasured memento, or a symbol of something else? To me, the real value of any artifact comes in what it can reveal about the past.

As resources permit, curators can do some sleuthing and try to discover what clues they can about a piece. For example, we might never learn who actually painted a piece of Norwegian woodenware, but perhaps the distinct style can at least identify the region in Norway where the painter worked.

But when I was a curator I rarely had time to investigate an individual artifact. That left me to imagine my own backstory for the object. Some of those wonderings led directly to plot points in Old World Murder and The Heirloom Murders.

3. I love the references to the Norwegian bowl in Old World Murder. Did that specialized bowl actually exist and is the history of it based on fact or your wonderful imagination?

When I chose to create a mystery around the disappearance of a single artifact, I had a lot to choose from—Old World Wisconsin has thousands of pieces in its collection. I’d always admired and been intrigued by a carved and painted ale bowl on display in one of the restored Norwegian farmhouses. It had been placed on a high shelf to suggest to visitors that while such pieces of old country folk art remained prized possessions, they were not used daily.

Ale bowls were common in rural Norway during the mid-1800s, a period when mass emigration was taking place. These bowls were often ornately carved and beautifully painted in the style we know as “rosemaling.” Some have handles carved to represent animal heads—horses and dragons are common. Many found their way to the new world, despite being somewhat cumbersome and awkward to pack. Imagine trying to make choices about what to take to a new home, with only a single trunk available! These ale bowls must have been special pieces. When I hold an old ale bowl I wonder if it was made to toast a marriage, or if it rested on the coffin of a dear loved one during a funeral.

I didn’t want to use an actual artifact for my mystery plot, so I create one in my imagination, described as having handles carved to resemble cow heads. At that time I’d never seen or heard of cow head handles, so I thought I was being quite clever. Afterwards a reader sent me a picture of an old bowl with cow head handles. So much for my originality!

I’ve blogged about ale bowls, so anyone curious about them can find lots of visuals by following these links:

Ale Bowls: Migration of a Tradition

An Ale Bowl with Cow Heads

4. I'm torn between asking you about the historical pieces and the writing portions. I found your portrayal of male characters to be really strong. Roelke is a young police officer in the village of Eagle and his frustration with as well as his desire to protect Chloe are strong elements within both novels. My nephew is now a St. Paul policeman so I felt a special affinity for Roelke's struggles. Where did you get your insights about rural police work and its challenges?

I wanted to have two point-of-view characters, Chloe and a local police officer. I knew I couldn’t create a cop without help, though. I was so nervous about approaching the Eagle PD that I had a friend talk to the chief on my behalf. Fortunately he agreed to meet with me, and he’s been an enthusiastic supporter ever since.

I’ve had the chance to ask questions that directly pertain to my own plots, but much more importantly, I sometimes do ride-alongs. I love spending a whole shift with one of the officers, simply learning about how they respond to the calls. I quickly learned one of the big reasons that many cops love their work: no two days are ever the same. The cops I’ve come to know are part of the community, and work hard to make that community a safer place. Their work is hard and sometimes dangerous, and I’m in awe of what they do.

All that let me create Roelke McKenna, who is a part-time cop in the village near Old World Wisconsin when the series begins. He is young, and still has some things to learn. But he has a good heart, and truly wants what’s best both for the village and for Chloe. I think they make a good pair. Chloe doesn’t see herself as a sleuth, but she often has the historical knowledge that’s ultimately needed to solve the mystery.

5. In The Heirloom Murders, rare seeds become part of the plot. Is the preservation of ancient crops an interest area of yours or did that part of the story grow out of work being done at Old World?

I knew nothing about the importance of heirloom gardening before going to work at Old World Wisconsin. We’ve lost an alarming percentage of vegetable, fruit, and flower varieties in the last century. Once produce came to be shipped long distances, growers focused only on varieties that look good after cross-country transport. Small seed companies disappeared as agriculture became Big Business. Why is that not a good thing? We’ve lost a lot in terms of taste and diversity, but we may also have lost the only varieties able to survive the next blight to come along.

Historic sites and museums have long played a vital role in perpetuating old varieties by planting period gardens and saving seeds. The gardens become good representations of what people might have been grown a century ago, and help educate visitors about the topic. In my own garden I plant only heirloom varieties now, and it’s much more interesting!

6. I have to say that your "turning points" are the most inventive of any I've ever read. No wild car chases but rather misery in pig pens or fear in the Finnish sweat lodge. Were you hoping to find intriguing sites for those pivotal moments or did those grow out of the story line?

One reader told me her favorite line in Old World Murder was this: “Chloe did not want to die in a hog pen.” Happily, I haven’t had to struggle to find those intriguing sites for pivotal moments because the setting is so rich. I want all of Chloe’s struggles to be imbedded in the places she lives and works and visits. As I develop the story lines, lots of wonderful and unique possibilities present themselves.

7. Your previous young adult titles have won awards and you've had poetry published as well. Now you're writing mysteries and if I remember correctly, you've also published articles and essays. What's your favorite genre to write in and why do you think that's so?

Ooh, tough one. I love writing for young readers because it is profoundly joyful to see them excited about reading and history, and to hope that in some small way my books have nurtured that excitement. I love poetry because of the focus on rich and concise language; the ability to, and challenge of, telling a story in a few lines is also appealing when I’m in the midst of slogging through an unruly novel’s first draft! And I love writing novels for adults because the form allows me to explore topics and themes I’m passionate about in more depth.

I have written articles and one nonfiction book, Too Afraid To Cry: Maryland Civilians in the Antietam Campaign. While I’m enormously proud of it, I don’t expect to do another like it any time soon; I spent a dozen years doing research and one whole summer dealing with permissions, footnotes, and bibliography. At this point, I don’t have that kind of time! Many of my blog entries are essays, and I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to explore that short form there.

8. My readers often want to know about author's writing life. Could you share what a typical day might be like for you? What's the best part about the writing process for you?

A typical writing day sees me leaving the house and holing up somewhere with my laptop. I can write with background noise as long as none of it has anything to do with me.

I often set Mondays aside for catching up on email, website updates, writing blog posts, etc. Those things usually leach into other days as well. If I’ve been able to actually write all day, I often work in the evening on those odds and ends.

I’ve become pretty adept at working on more than one book at a time. I may spend several days pounding through a rough draft of an adult mystery, and then spend several more days revising my next children’s book.

9. What's your greatest challenge as a writer?

Simply protecting blocks of time to write. Notice I said “protecting,” not “finding.” I spend more time on the business of writing than I do on writing the books themselves, so preserving good chunks of time is essential. Three or four times a year I go away for a week and focus on writing—ideally in the location of whatever novel I’m working on. In addition to doing research, I find that being on the actual ground is inspiring.

10. What are you working on now? I hope yet another Chloe Ellefson mystery with intriguing complications that teach us all new things about history and the present, too.

I’m nearing completion of the third Chloe book, tentatively titled Beyond Death’s Door. Chloe accepts a weeklong consulting gig which takes her to Pottawatomie Lighthouse on Rock Island, which is a state park in Lake Michigan off the northern tip of Door County, Wisconsin. The lighthouse is remote, with no electricity, phone lines, or indoor plumbing. As you might imagine, Roelke isn’t thrilled with this idea!

Spinning 1983

In real life the lighthouse has been magnificently restored, and for the past few years my husband and I have had the pleasure and privilege of serving as live-in docents there for a week at a time. I love the site dearly, and writing this book has led me to explore new aspects of the island’s history. The historic structure, and the island’s geography, have offered plenty of fodder for those pivotal moments.

In time, I’ll get Chloe across state lines to explore other historic sites. I’m always open to suggestions! And my next children’s book will be out in September, 2012.

Thanks so much for joining me on my blog! I truly appreciate you and your writing. Take good care of Wisconsin for me!

My pleasure, Jane, and thank you for both your own books and for all you do to nurture and encourage other writers. And while I am not a Wisconsinite by birth, it is my home and I am fiercely protective of it! I’m truly grateful that my Chloe books let me shine my wee bit of lantern light on its rich history.

And the winners are......

2011-09-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone enjoyed the Facebook Author Hop last week. I certainly had fun reading everyone’s comments. I think contests that engage reader fans through participation are much more fun than just filling out forms. Hope you agree!

In case you missed some of the ways to engage with me in the future, here are a few ways to get the low-down:

Sign up for my monthly story sparks newsletter delivered into your email: sign up here
Over there on the left hand side you will find me on Facebook, twitter and two options to subscribe to my blog.
Email me anytime from my website
YouTube videos & speaking samples: Subscribe to my channel

If you have read any of my titles and once you have your copy of Barcelona Calling read, please consider writing a review at these online retailer locations.

Maybe you blog? Would you consider reviewing it on your blog, or I would be happy to do an interview for you as well.

Regarding this contest, I would also appreciate your feedback. Maybe other authors would enjoy doing something similar and your input would be helpful.

How did you hear about the contest?
Would you participate in a similar contest in the future?
Are you inclined to purchase any titles from the authors you were introduced to?

Now, for the most important information…The WINNERS! (Winners have been informed via email and have till end of day this Friday to claim their prize, if they do not, new winners will be drawn)

Drum roll please………..

Grand Prize winner:

$150.00 Visa Gift Card
Signed books from all authors on the hop
Barcelona Gourmet Sauce

Connie R.
(Connie, we have attempted emailing you at the address left, however it was returned. please email leahapineruatcomcastdotnet with your shipping address to claim your prize)

4 Runner up prize winners:

Signed books from all authors on the hop
Barcelona Gourmet Sauce

Elaine
Jackie H.
Lori S.
Marla

I hope to hear from you in the near future. More than likely there will be more contests to come before the end of the year! Thank you again for your loyalty as readers and encouragement I receive on a daily basis. May you be encouraged in return.

Blessings to each of you, Jane

Barcelona Calling Sneak Peek Chapter 2 (FB author hop contest #5- FINAL DAY)

2011-09-23T03:00:00.000-07:00

You made it! Today is the last day of the FB author hop contest! I really hope you have enjoyed meeting all the new authors just as much I have enjoyed meeting each of you.
If today is your first day here, welcome! It's not too late to enter in the contest to win $150.00 Visa Gift card and other prizes. Be sure to visit my "Current Contest & Guidelines" tab at the top of this post to see how you can play along.

Not to leaving you hanging for too long...here is the second chapter of Barcelona Calling. Don't forget to answer the question at the end. And if I have not said it enough these past 5 days....THANK YOU for being here and allowing me to share part of my world with you.

Barcelona Calling_Chapter 2
And for your viewing pleasure, here is the book trailer for Barcelona Calling. Hope you like it, and if you do, comments on YouTube would be appreciated...maybe you could also share it on your Facebook wall?

Here is your final question for the contest....Did you know all five of the authors you were introduced to this week? If not, who was new to you? Are you likely to pick up one of thier books? One last step when you leave your comment today...be sure to leave your email address! This is the only way we can get in touch with you should you be one of our winners. If you did this in a previous post then you do not have to enter it in again.

To protect you from them dang spammers...do it in this format: janeatjkbooksdotcom. If your email address is not included in your comment we will not be able to reach you and you will disqualified. (if you want to comment as anonymous, please leave your name and first initial of your last name in your comment so you can be tracked each day)

If you tweet, please tweet me!

If you are now hooked, which I really hope you are, you can order Barcelona Calling online through one of my publisher's online partners or at your local bookstore.

If you have already purchased Barcelona Calling, THANK YOU...the greatest compliment I could receive is if you wrote a review on Amazon, CBD, B&N, or wherever you purchased your copy. This is such a tremendous gift from my readers, and a blessing to hear from you.

I also want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Lisa Tawn Bergren, Neta Jackson, Rene Gutteridge & Nancy Rue for introducing me to each of you. I hope you have been blessed by meeting everyone as much as I have.

Barcelona Calling: Sneak Peek, Chapter 1 (FB author hop conest #4)

2011-09-22T03:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Words of Encouragement! For those of you who have been here all week, thanks for returning. I hope you are having a good time this week... I am! If today is your first day, you will need to visit the "current contest & giveaway" tab at the top of this post. That will tell you everything you need to do to participate to be in the runnings for the contest.

With today being day #4, make sure you have commented on the three previous posts. Just click on the "home" tab above and all 4 posts will be there.

Today just might be the day you have been waiting for...the first glimpse of Barcelona Calling (unless you have already bought it! If so THANK YOU!).

Barcelona Calling_Chapter 1

For you Twitterers...Happy tweeting! Here's your twitter link:

Today's question for commenting fun & contest entry: If you witnessed a fashion faux pas would you tell the person? Maybe you have before, or you were the victim of a fashion faux pas. Tell us about it. (if you want to comment as anonymous, please leave your name and first initial of your last name in your comment so you can be tracked each day)

Thought I would provide you again my website. Feel free to take a look, sign my guest book, or write me directly. Always a pleasure to hear from my readers, or soon-to-be-a reader.

Beautiful Barcelona; a blend of story and facts (FB author hop contest! #3)

2011-09-21T03:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Day #3 of Jane Kirkpatrick's Facebook Author Hop Contest! Is today your first day here? Welcome, you can still participate in the contest, just visit the "current contest & giveaways" tab at the top of this page. So glad you are here. Thanks for participating!

Today I am taking you with me to Barcelona! Up close and personal as I visited some sites and celebrated the USA with my friends. Come take a walk with me through the streets of Barcelona, maybe you will even smell some of the wonderful chocolate as we pass by!

Beautiful Barcelona! Las Ramblas is the walking avenue and when we stayed in Barcelona, we were just a long alley away from this vibrant, festive walk way full of street vendors, mimes, musicians and couples walking hand in hand. I imagine there were pickpockets there too but for my husband and me and our two friends, Sandy and Donna whom we traveled with, the colors and smells and sounds made it a walk to remember.

Our hotel was right off St. John's square. We stayed there a week and discovered the treasures right around us. Besides being close to Las Ramblas, we were within a few feet of a terrific chocolate shop, a bakery with meringues the color of the rainbow. A candle shop and an ice cream shop teased riders on the subway who stepped up into the plaza just a block from our door. We discovered back alleys that took us to old churches where I put a scarf over my head and entered, lighting a candle as a prayer for people I loved. Then through another narrow alley (that often had little shops behind old ornate doors) we found the entrance to an underground Roman museum. That was a highlight, it truly was! It piqued my historical gene and made me want to reread Francine Rivers Mark of the Lion series about ancient Rome. The Romans were even in Spain! I think I'd known that but forgotten until we saw the wine vats, the clay lanterns and other artifacts uncovered beneath the city.

A few blocks away was the beautiful Mediterranean sea. Barcelona is a world class harbor and a great many cruise ships depart from that harbor to visit places like France, Italy and Malta before returning their human cargo to the wharf in Barcelona. It's also a world class beach with white sand and bathing beauties of many nationalities soaking in that hot, dry sunshine.*

Or course one of the great tourist attractions in Barcelona is Antonia Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia. Gaudi designed and began building this grand cathedral honoring the Holy Family in 1882. It still has between "30 and 80" years before it's finished, the timing depending upon money raised to do the work. Each of its twelve towers represents one of the twelve disciples...and every stone is unique.

Gaudi designed this amazing cathedra structure and created a miniature upside down to affirm to skeptics that the design would hold. It's one of the most memorable pictures we took there...and the model is placed on a mirror so one can see the image as it's supposed to be with little tiny bags of sand demonstrating this singular design begun more than 100 years ago.

The bus and rail service is excellent in Barcelona and even novices like us could find our way around the city. Incidentally, underground, where the rail lines are, there are shops and shops! It's like a city beneath the city but not as ancient as that Roman one.

We were in Barcelona for the Police and Fire Games, begun in 1985 in San Jose California. Now the events, held every two years, are scheduled around the world with more than 15,000 active or retired police and firemen competing. This year's event was held in New York City; in 2013 it'll be in Ireland. Just like the Olympics, there's an opening ceremony with fly-overs and fireworks and music and the entry of the thousands of competitors. (With my nephew just becoming a St. Paul policeman, maybe one day we'll get to see him compete!)

When we were there, it was the first competition after the attack on 9/11. The host country always comes in last...and they walked in WITH the United States as a sign of solidarity. It was very moving for all of us and an unforgettable night.

Barcelona the city and the Games each play a part in Barcelona Calling. Miranda, in my book within a book, is a preschool teacher who has joined her sister, a competitor, at the last minute in coming to Spain for the games. She attends the opening night event and realizes there she is falling in love with a Barcelona policeman. Their courtship includes visiting the underground Roman City, visiting churches (and catching a guard asleep atop one of the church roofs where tourists are allowed to view the city). She and her policeman travel with his sister and two children during August, the month when most of Europe goes on vacation. They visit Lisbon, Portugal and the National Carriage museum where she discovers something about Jaime she didn't want to know. Will she accept his invitation of marriage or flee back home? Will she take a risk for love or be true to what she feels she must have in a relationship that she doesn't think Jaime will be able to deliver?

And how does that romance affect Annie Shaw, the writer in this book? As much as the book is about Barcelona, it's more about a writer's finding her way. Bookstore owner Deon Stonehouse in Sunriver, Oregon, is a voracious reader of fiction and she tells it like it is so I held my breath hoping she'd be willing to carry this book in her store. She read Barcelona Calling and loved it. She also knows some of the insider issues an author deals with. "Annie is on the fourth book of a four book contract and sales of the last two have not been brisk," Deon notes in her latest newsletter to readers. "To make matters worse, her advocate in the publishing firm, her editor, is gone and she is interacting with a new editor. Annie is afraid she will be dropped, a very unsettling fate for an author." To help her over this hump, Annie's friends brainstorm ways to get Annie's career back on track. They develop several schemes all in the effort to get Oprah to notice Annie's work. Deon writes: "Like all Jane Kirkpatrick books, Annie's story has her facing challenges and learning. But this story is very funny too! Jane has written a modern story suffused with humor and warmth."

Deon's words have made my day as we launch this new venture of risk-taking moving a writer along on journey to find what fame and friendship are really all about. I truly hope you'll enjoy it.

For today's contest entry: Do you have a quick story about falling in love when you travelled? Maybe a summer romance? If not, what about your favorite trip overseas, or yet-to-be-taken trip overseas?

Don't forget...to enter into the contest a comment must be made on each post! At the end of the contest you will have made 5 comments. Looking forward to hearing all you have to say!

Thanks for participating in this contest! (if you want to comment as anonymous, please leave your name and first initial of your last name in your comment so you can be tracked each day)

Don't forget to Tweet if you can!

Every month send out a newsletter called Story Sparks. Visit here for the archive to read a few and see if you are interested in signing up.

Interview with Jane, author of Barcelona Calling (FB author hop #2)

2011-09-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

Horray! You are back (or maybe this is your first visit?)! Either way..welcome! If today is your first visit please be sure to first visit the " contest & giveaways" tab at the top of the page. There you will find how to pariticpate in this contest. Hurry on over...we will be here when you come back.

Today I thought I would share a little bit more about myself and my journey writing Barcelona Calling. This is an interview from blogger/photographer, (she has done all my professional photos...aren't they beautiful!) Carole Marie

Whatever made you decide to write a contemporary novel after your success with historical fiction?

Good question, something I asked myself when I was half-way through with revisions and wondering what on earth I'd gotten myself into! Part of the reason for writing it was because people I admire (a former editor, a publishing friend, my husband and my prayer partners) encouraged me to write something a little lighter but that still could reach readers' hearts as my historical fiction seems to. When one of those people urged my agent to get me to consider it, I decided to give it a try and Zondervan purchased the proposal. Part of my angst is that I don't want to let all those people down in addition to wanting to reach an audience that might not read historical novels. It's a risk. But I read once that even old rats when given new mazes to learn actually grew new brain cells. So I'm hoping this process grew me some new brain cells!

Do you think your faithful readers will follow you out of history into the urban world of Milwaukee, Chicago, Denver and Barcelona, Spain?

I hope they do! I think what Barcelona Calling has in common with my historical novels are characters that people can care about, characters who make bad choices and struggle through them, and characters who learn from their mistakes. Annie Shaw (of BC) isn't a real person but she has a lot of me in her...I guess each of my characters does, the part where the character makes a poor choice and has to deal with the consequences. I also hope the detail of the international sporting event involving 11,000 police and firemen will intrigue people in the way that historical details do. How many people know of that Olympic-like competition? It's worth discovering. All my novels weave landscape, relationships, spirituality and work into the story-line and this novel is no exception.

So have you been to Barcelona?

Yes, in 2003, to watch the World Police and Fire Games. It was grand with competitors from all over the world. We attended with a friend who is a retired policewoman, who also competed. We ate the chocolate, rode the subways, got pick-pocketed, visited Gaudi's amazing structures, toured underground Rome and had the best time while she competed on various golf courses near Barcelona. Miranda, Annie Shaw's alter ego in the book, had many of the experiences in Barcelona that I did. I would go back in a minute!

You mentioned in a recent newspaper article that writing a novel without the spine of history was a challenge. What did you mean by that?

All of my novels have been based on the lives of real people or historical events that I could research by interviewing descendants and reading documents, studying historian point of view, etc. While I did interview people for this book, some who had attended an Oprah show for example, I didn't have that solid background of what actually happened from which to launch the story. I obsessed about it a lot and then my editor suggested that I imagine my character as the descendant of one of my other characters from one of my historical novels! That was genius. I knew instantly who that would be and began then giving her some of that real DNA traveling through history to contemporary times.

This novel has a story within a story. Annie Shaw is writing a novel she's called Miranda of LaMancha but her editor has other ideas for the title and for the story itself. Is that true to how the publishing world works?

Carole Marie Photography

I've always had great editors, terrific editors! And it is also true that writers don't always get the title they want for a book. Marketing and sales have a say in that. We don't always get our say about the cover...which is why some people have gone to self-publishing where they have more control. It's a delicate balance between standing firm to one's artistic voice and listening to the wise voices of people who have been around a lot more books than I have and who have my best interest at heart. No one wants to publish a bad book with an awful cover or with a weird title that doesn't peak any one's interest. Personally, I wanted Oprah Doesn't Know My Name but when it came down to it, I liked this title because of its double meaning: Annie was seeking a calling and she had reason to listen to what and who was calling her back to Barcelona and to that inner voice calling her to be true to herself.

The book has several emails sent to Annie Shaw about how her other titles have affected the readers. Are those based on your own interactions with readers?

Yes, actually, most of them are. It's one of the hidden treasures of writing, to have that reader interaction, to know that even if the book gets a bad review, there is likely someone out there who took the book into their soul and found comfort or insight or courage there. The interaction Annie has with her children's Reading Ready group is also based on interactions I've had with children and books and how much they touch their lives. I chose memoirist, poet, writer May Sarton's comment in the front matter, about her wish to beat out the critics just once rather than watch her books meet their individual reader one at a time. I suspect each writer wishes that at some point; yet it is that one reader meeting writer within each book that grants some of the most satisfying moments of a writer's life.

Annie has written three books and is trying to get Miranda of LaMancha finalized for publication. Where did you come up with the other titles for Annie's books?

Sweet Charity's Rose just appealed to me and it was Annie's big success, her first novel, written when she was in love and getting married. Don't Kick Me was something my granddaughter said jokingly while commenting on a friend who says one thing but then behaves in the exact opposite way. She pooched her bottom out and said "Don't kick me!" The Long Bad Sentence was actually the name of a horse I placed a two dollar bet on in Oklahoma City. It sounded like a writer's horse. But it didn't do anything and later I told my husband it was probably a correctional facility horse and had nothing to do with writing. I had Annie set her romance novel between a prison guard and a nurse working there...not the most advantageous setting for a romance novel -- which was just one more example of some of Annie's poor choices. Miranda of LaMancha is just a hokey title or at least I wanted it to be even though I hoped her actually writing of the novel suggested that Annie had talent.

The novel Annie's working on in the book doesn't have an ending, does it? Will you write that ending sometime?

In the first paragraph of the book Annie is reading the ending to her friends. But it's true, changes get made along the way and the reader doesn't really know how Miranda and Jamie fare in the end of that inner novel. Maybe I'll write the last paragraph for readers on this blog sometime down the road when they've had a chance to read the book. Or better, I'll ask them to write the last paragraph and I'll pick the one I think Annie would have wanted.

Thanks for sharing time with us today. We'll look forward to reading Barcelona Calling!

And THANK YOU Carole for the opportunity to be featured on your blog.

Are you participating in the contest? Great! Here is your question: If you had the opportunity to interview ANY author, who would it be and what ONE question would you ask?(if you want to comment as anonymous, please leave your name and first initial of your last name in your comment so you can be tracked each day)

Don't forget to "like" today's host on Facebook: Neta Jackson (thank you Neta!)

Tweet about the contest!

Welcome! Happy Facebook-Author-Hopping....oh and the contest too...

2011-09-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Words of Encouragement, a blog of inspiration from me, Jane Kirkpatrick. I'm so glad you are here. If you have been one of my faithful followers for years, or today is your first visit, I hope you will grab a cup of coffee, tea, or your drink of choice & relax in your favorite chair.

This week is all about getting to know each other as I hope you learn about me and I, you!

Depending on what day you are reading this post, you may have been introduced to me from another author (Thank you for being here!). So, I wanted to share just a few quick things about myself.

My previous books have been historical fiction. I take pride in doing massive research to know my landscape and story before writing it. Sometimes it may even be about my family. However, this time I decided to dabble in something a little different...contemporary fiction. For those of you who have enjoyed reading about a woman character with sa trong personality & persistent to pursue their passion with fervor, that will remain true in my new story Barcelona Calling.

What keeps me going each and every day? My loving husband, two dogs (Bo & Caesar), and you, my readers.

So, without further adieu...The rules for the contest are just a click away. See the "current contest tab" at the top of the page? Just click on that and then come back here...we will wait for you! Simply put....every day on Facebook you will be sent to visit a new author's page to check out and "like". Then come back to the blog and leave a comment based on that question for each day. Participants who comment as such on each post will be entered into the drawing...

I introduced a little of me above, but I thought I would allow someone else to tell you a bit more about me & Barcelona Calling. Here is an article from the September 2011 newsletter from Deon Stonehouse at Sunriver Books & Music:

Jane is well known and beloved for her historical fiction, books that tell the story of real women who made contributions to history. Her books inform, entertain, and keep alive the stories of women. Sunriver had a fabulous quilt show in August, so let’s mention a related book, Aurora is a non-fiction account of the quilts hanging on the museum wall and the women who created these works of art, because surely quilting is a work of art. The Emma Giesy trilogy, A Clearing in the Wild, A Tendering in the Storm, and A Mending at the Edge gives a good example of Jane’s passion for telling the stories of strong women. Emma traveled west from Missouri, the only woman in a band of scouts, made tragic choices in Willapa Washington, and eventually took part in settling Aurora Oregon. Jane has written of women doing many extraordinary things from running a wagon train to becoming a photographer in the early days of photography. But this time Jane has written something entirely different.

Barcelona Calling had a working title of Oprah Doesn’t Know My Name. Trademark issues required a different title, but the talk show maven is still a presence in the book. Annie Shaw is an author being published by a romance publisher. Understandably her publisher expects the books to follow the program, boy meets girl, boy gets girl (or vice-versa). Annie’s books don’t adhere to the format; they tell stories of people facing conflict and the choices they make in overcoming the obstacles in their lives. They are warm stories full of humanity but lacking in the girl gets boy department. As Barcelona Calling opens, Annie is sort of celebrating the completion of her latest manuscript with her sister and closest friends. But Annie is worried. She is on book 4 of a 4 book contract and sales of the last two have not been brisk. To make matters worse, her advocate in the publishing firm, her editor, is gone and she is interacting with a new editor. Annie is afraid she will be dropped, a very unsettling fate for an author.

Her friends start brainstorming on ways to raise Annie’s work to the top of the best seller’s charts. It doesn’t take them long to hit on a scheme, if they can only get Oprah to mention Annie, her worries (or at least her publishing worries) will be over. Thus begins a series of humorous escapades aimed at bringing Annie to Oprah’s notice. They are entertaining. Let me just give you one of the earlier attempts as an example. Annie has long been a cat lover, but Oprah is known to favor the canine crowd. The girls decide Annie will adopt a dog then take it to the dog salon Oprah frequents. Oprah being an ardent animal lover will no doubt be charmed by Annie and her pooch. It is a doomed quest. First of all, Annie having no knowledge of dogs selects a Jack Russell Terrier. The cute animal is sleeping peacefully in his cage at the shelter. Annie is blissfully unaware that for the Jack Russell there are only 3 speeds, sleep, cuddle, and full tilt boogie, with the last being the prevailing speed. Let’s just say that you could interpose terrorist for terrier and you would have an idea of the outcome of the dog salon scheme. No worries though, Jane Kirkpatrick, like Oprah, is an animal lover. So the terrier/terrorist is going to be okay.

Annie’s latest book is inspired by events in her personal life. She accompanied her sister to Barcelona where her sister, a cop, was competing in the International Police and Fireman’s Games. Riding a bus Annie is saved from a near robbery by a Spanish cop, sparks fly and a romance begins. But Annie leaves Jamie behind to return to her life in the states. He doesn’t want to give her up. When her agent and publisher discover the book has a real life love story, they want to exploit it for publicity.

As the schemes for becoming famous multiply Annie starts to lose sight of what made her write and of how she wants to live her life. Like all Jane Kirkpatrick books, Annie’s story has her facing challenges and learning. But this story is very funny too! Jane has written a modern story suffused with humor and warmth. Please come out and support this author as she stretches into new territory and does just fine.

Thanks Deon for a fabulous interview, and the opportunity to be introduced to you readers/listeners/shoppers again!

Participating in the contest? Here is your question: Do you read books because you like the author, the genre, or recommended by someone? (if you want to comment as anonymous, please leave your name and first initial of your last name in your comment so you can be tracked each day)

Tweet about the contest!

Barcelona Calling is already available for purchase. Ready to order a copy? Visit my publisher's site to for the links to all online retailers for purchase.

Would you consider writing a review at one of the online retail sites? Feedback is the greatest compliment, and all are welcome...be honest! Thanks again for being here and good luck with the contest!

Mariposa Lilies...these are from Utah

2011-08-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

James LeFevre took this photograph in 1965 in Utah. It's a better photograph than my little Sego Lily/Mariposa Lily. His daughter Jessie Turner is a volunteer at the Aurora Museum in Oregon and she sent this my way after reading Story Sparks. Please see the post below for more information about this lovely wild flower and then if you care to you can go to my Story Sparks archive at www.jkbooks.com and read why this little wildflower means so much to me. And if you haven't signed up for it, you can do that there! It's free.

Insights on the Sego lily

2011-08-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

Some of you who read my Story Sparks know of my love of the Sago Lily and what it meant to me. One reader said the story reminded her of theologian Frederick Buechner's "incarnate moments" when the Divine intersects with our everyday life. A good friend and wonderful writer, Susan Tweit sent me a note I wanted to share with you all: "the "sago" lily is more commonly spelled "sego" lily. It's also called mariposa lily, because those flowers on their near-leafless stalks are as surprising and beautiful as butterflies when they appear. I think the species in your photo is Calochortus macrocarpa, the sagebrush mariposa lily. Here's the entry on it from the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Research Center in Texas, one of the best databases of native plants around: http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CAMA5 BTW, the plant's name in the language of science, Calochortus (kael-oh-COURT-us) means "beautiful feeding place" in Greek, a reference to the nectar glands at the base of each petal in that bowl-shaped flower, a beautiful place for pollinators like bees, beetles, ants, and even hummingbirds to feed." Isn't that lovely? You can find more of Susan at http://susanjtweit.typepad.com/. She is a nature writer and an insightful writer of the human spirit. I thank her for helping me find more about that Sego Lily...

The Newest Officer for the St. Paul Police Department

2011-08-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

This is my family...aside from Jerry, my step-kids and grandkids, and the dogs, of course. My brother and I are the only one's left of our immediate family. My brother is on the left, his son Cohlman "Norm" is the new police officer at St. Paul, MN; his younger brother Clayton is the actor who is Hollywood bound and my sister-in-law Barb. They are as precious to me as anyone in my world and it was with great delight that we were able to spend a couple of days with them celebrating a life-long dream of Cohlman to become a policeman for St. Paul. We attended the preschool graduation of these boys and traveled back when they graduated from High School, too. But this event was special as it marked a dream come true.

Not having children of my own (though I have two great step-kids) these two boys hold a special place in our lives. It was great to be with them both and my brother and sister-in-law too.

The police band kept us entertained while we waited for the grand entrance with the 24 cadets in their blues and white gloves. The mayor spoke; the chief of police told them they'd been budgeted for so they all had jobs; their academy director spoke of her pride in their work and their efforts. Each speaker emphasized that police work wasn't about power and authority but about protection and partnerships. I like that. Then each was pinned with their new badge and several cadets received their badges from family members who were also police officers either in St. Paul or other places.

The class president also spoke and he gave a sobering number for us to consider: 113 police officer have died this year alone in the line of duty. I am so grateful there are people out there willing to serve as officers, reserves, search and rescue, Canine teams and more, the office staff and the families who send these men and women out trusting that they've been well-trained and will come home safely. But that number is astonishing and it says something about the risks people take on behalf of all of us.

I told my nephew that I would pray daily for his safety and that I expected to come to his 25 year retirement party. I'll be 90 then but hey, what better way to spend one's older years than celebrating the lives of those we love.

When you see a police officer wherever you may be (if he's not giving you his signature on a ticket...) thank them for their service, for being there. And if you happen to be in St. Paul, tip your hat to my nephew for me, will you? Thanks.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

2011-06-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Here we are, the three of us looking ready for June and summer weather sitting on the front porch of our Bend home. Caesar (the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, red and white) and Bo (Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. brown and white with a sort of red head) book-end me, following their first formal grooming. The weather turned out to be perfect and the photographer, Carole of Carole Marie Photography in Salem, Oregon, turned out to be terrific.
Jerry didn't feel well that day so he's not in any of the shots; but we're going to schedule another shoot as I think it's really hard to get a good picture of people and pets and Carole did a super job in my humble opinion so now I want one with Jerry included.
What I so enjoy about this shot is the way she captured the expressions of the dog's. Bo looks curious, the way he always is, sniffing and checking on things, exploring. Alert, too and maybe a little wary of what the woman with the black box was doing. Caesar looks regal, serious, almost fearsome which he only is when others are around, as though he's been assigned to protect us. He thinks he's larger than Bo and often Bo defers to him. I guess that makes him the Alfa dog. He's 100% personality as someone described the breed, spinning like a top when we're going for a walk then curling up next to Jerry as tight as he can get since my husband's stroke and heart attack. Both dogs took to Carole as though she was a member of the family so instead of the photo shoot being a bit of a trial day, it was a delight.
The anticipated "trial" comes from my belief that I take terrible photographs; but I needed new ones for the publisher to use for publicity. At an authors retreat I sometimes get to attend, one of the contests is to see how old our publicity shots are...the oldest wins. We want to hang on to those pics when our skin lacked wrinkles or our arms were slender as young trees instead of chunky as old trunks. Yet wrinkles and widening is what living looks like, isn't it? I say that often enough but sometimes I struggle to believe it.
It's no wonder we cling to what was: all around us are media messages telling us that young is beautiful, thin is in. Celebrities captured by paparazzi tend to be of youthful souls shining with promise even when they've made questionable decisions that have often brought them to notoriety in the first place. This could be one reason why saying good-bye to Oprah's program after 25 years consumed so many...here was a woman we aged with and she continued to have presence, beauty, and yes, trials she spoke about. That latter made her "one of the girls" and it's always painful when a friend moves away.
But those changes are also what living looks like.
When I look at this photograph, I am reminded of a girl of twelve wearing a pink and black checkered sleeveless dress with a boat neckline and a dropped waist. It was summer and I had a waist and a bust line and I was self-conscious of both. I went outside and met with some of my sister's friends (she was four years older than me) and the boys and girls laughed together and I think we may have all gone into the Dairy Queen in town where we played the pinball machines and ate ice cream.
Later that evening, back at home, my sister told me that one of her male friends had commented about me, had said he thought I was pretty and might want to ask me out when I was older. She said he'd watched me walk from the house and "liked what he saw."
This message panicked me. That's the only word I can think of. People were looking at me! I had reason to be wary. I wanted to disappear. Had I walked in some brazen way? Had I behaved inappropriately to have brought such attention? How could he have "liked what he saw" when what I'd seen in the mirror just before walking out was a girl with a waist and breasts that were out of proportion to my other twelve year old friends. I was a freak. What sort of person would like a freak? I vowed to cover myself with loose clothes and later -- as I look back on it now -- fat. And through the years, whenever I lost weight and began to feel better about my body, some compliment would come my way and frighten me back into old patterns.
It startles me that this day occurred more than fifty years ago. And in all those passing years there have been but a handful of photographs that I was willing to say "Hey, I look good in that picture!" Maybe I feared I'd go out and consume a pound of ice cream to put me back into my place. Usually I assumed that since those pictures of me I liked were taken by people who knew me and whom I knew loved me, that they were responsible for making me look good. I gave the person behind the lens the credit for making me look better than I knew I did.
Carole's photography may have broken something loose in me, like plaque in Jerry's blood stream.
Now, I don't know how much Carole photo-shopped me; she might have spent hours. But what I do know is that when I look at this photograph -- which brought tears to my eyes when I first saw it -- I realize I am no longer that frightened twelve year old girl wanting to hide. Maybe it's the presence of my two buddies standing guard over my gut; or maybe it's that the viewer is far enough away they can't see all my wrinkles. But I think it's more than that: I think for the first time in a very long time I might have to change the perception I have of myself and take to heart that Biblical promise that we are each "fearfully and wonderfully made."
Each of us is beautiful; and this is a beautiful day.
Warmly, Jane

Jane Kirkpatrick interviews Meg Moseley

2011-05-26T05:12:00.000-07:00

Meg Mosely has come into my life as a new author with a writing style that is spirited and warm. I invited her to be my next guest author and to talk a little about her first novel When Sparrows Fall with WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, (May 2011). I reviewed the book in my Story Sparks newsletter last month. We share a publisher and much more. The publisher will provide a free copy of When Sparrows Fall to someone who comments on this blog so comment at the end for a chance at Meg's great book.

JK: Please tell us a little about who you are, Meg? Where do you live now? What landscapes have touched your life the most?

MM: The rolling hills of California will always feel like home, but I’ve also lived in Michigan, Alabama, and now Georgia. I’m always drawn to landscapes that have something haunted and haunting about them—the desolate beauty of California’s Carrizo Plains, the endless vistas of the Blue Ridge, or the lonely forests of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Each wilderness has its unique appeal.

JK: I've been to Upper Michigan and can see those forests and there is a haunting feel to them.

You chose a difficult subject for a first novel and you infused it with heart, humor and wisdom. How did you decide to write your first novel about homeschooling gone awry and dominance within a church setting?

MM: I loved the freedom of teaching my own children at home. In the early years of homeschooling, the movement felt like the Wild West. We were a bunch of happy non-conformists, high on the love of learning and enjoying our independence. But as time went on, some strange beliefs crept in from various sources. I didn’t appreciate being told that my daughter mustn’t work outside the home or go to college, or that she shouldn’t date because “courtship” was good and dating was evil. My research led me to a steaming heap of legalism and spiritual abuse. Then Miranda wandered into my imagination, and I had to write about her journey to freedom.

JK: Your many references from favorite books were great -- books the children of When Sparrows Fall weren't exposed to but that are considered classics. You must be a big reader. What are some of the titles that affected you as a child? How did they do that?

MM: I still love children’s books. As Jack says in the novel, “That’s where everybody starts.” I have fond memories of everything from Mother Goose to every horse story the library owned. Some of my favorite books were Robert Louis Stevenson’s “A Child’s Garden of Verses,” “Sara Crewe” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and “I Am David” by Anne Holm. I loved them for the way they let me know I wasn’t the only one who sometimes felt lost in loneliness or bedazzled with happiness. Then I enjoyed them all over again with my own children.

JK: I know you're a home schooling parent yourself and that enriched the interplay of mom, Jack and kids. How did Miranda come to be so…obsessive in her life as a home school parent? I'm sure that isn't you! Have you encountered parents like her though? What are her strengths and what do you see as detriments in her desire to raise her children as faithful people?

MM: Miranda’s obsessive choices originated with her late husband, who isolated the family in order to protect them. I have met overprotective parents with beliefs very similar to his. I’ve even run into parents who don’t trust their teenagers to pick novels for themselves. I can’t wrap my mind around the kind of control that won’t let kids learn discernment by enjoying age-appropriate freedom.

One of Miranda’s failings is her tendency to over-protect her children. To her credit, though, she wants to prepare her children to face the real world with real faith. I think her shining qualities are her love for God and family, her integrity that won’t let her live a lie, and the humility that allows her to admit she has made big mistakes—as all parents do, one way or another.

JK: My Change and Cherish series about a communal society of the 1800s made me think often about the individual versus the group and the power of a leader or rather the power the group gives him/her. In one scene, Miranda is thinking of the other women in the church wondering if there are any who would stand up to him. What do you think gets in the way of people seeing the negativity that such a leader presents to the lives of his congregants? (I'm especially interested in your answer because of recent reading about a woman having this affect on a small religious group in the late 1800s in Texas).

MM: Good people who’ve been caught up in a bad situation tend to hang onto their love and loyalty for a group and its leader, even when there’s evidence of an abuse of power. Maybe the problems are compounded when the leader is put on a pedestal. His flaws are harder to see if you’re looking up to him instead of assessing him as an equal.

JK: Great response. I think that image of the pedestal says much. Mason is a dominant character in the book and we learn of him first through others which has a way of building suspense. How did you decide to approach the antagonist that way?

MM: I don’t remember making a conscious decision about approaching him that way. Actually, Mason is one of the characters I wish I’d fleshed out more completely. Even a villain has his reasons for being villainous, and I could have explored his motivations in more depth.

JK: Memory played a role in this story. I'm intrigued by how our memories can help transform us or hold us hostage. How did you come to employ memory as part of the suspense of your story?

MM:I like to wonder about a character’s past and ask myself where his emotional scars came from. Sometimes I don’t have the answers until I’ve finished writing the story, so I’m in suspense too. It wasn’t until I’d finished writing the story that I fully understood how the main characters had been shaped by long-ago experiences.

JK: That happens to me too when I write. I like the suspense of not knowing for sure what's going to happen. I loved the interplay between freedom and safety in this story and the way love helped cover them. Could you talk a little more about that?

MM: I think all parents struggle with the balance between freedom and safety. Loving parents want to keep their children from harm, but loving parents also want their children to become capable, independent adults someday. In the novel, of course, Miranda is bent on keeping her children safe, while Jack is determined to drag the whole family to freedom. They’re both motivated by love for the children.

JK: I loved your back country wisdom like "if you obey God with your whole heart you'll usually scare off the folks who want you to obey them." Were those phrases you'd heard or are they lovely imaginative phrases perfect for your characters to say?

MM:Thanks! The phrase about obeying God came out of my own head, and probably most of the others did too. I’ll admit to eavesdropping in public places, though. Sometimes a few interesting words of an overheard conversation will find their way into a story, if they’re a good fit.

JK: I love your fresh metaphors and similes, like the one when Miranda starts talking more "like a spring that had been paved over and broken open again.” Are you like a lot of writers who use their spare moments of time to think of new similes? Have you always been interested in words?

MM: I tend to scribble things down as they hit me. When I go searching for new similes, I usually find clichés instead. Yes, I’m a word geek. I can get lost in a dictionary, reading the etymologies.

JK: Me too! Finding out that family came from the Latin word famalus meaning servant changed an entire storyline for me. Is there anything more you'd like to tell us about being a novelist?

MM: Writing novels is a mixture of hard work and sheer joy. I remember laughing out loud at Joshilyn Jackson’s wonderful description of the thrill of having finished writing one. She wrote on her blog: “I made that! I MADE THAT WITH MY BRAIN!” I love that feeling, and I love to hear from readers who’ve connected with the characters who started out in my brain.

JK: Ah, the magnificent brain! How exciting that the first novel of your brain, When Sparrows Fall, is getting rave reviews. That means there'll be many more, right? What are you working on now?

MM: I never want to stop writing. I’m working on a novel about a young woman who lost her father to a deep mountain lake when she was a teenager. His body was never recovered. Now it seems he might have faked his drowning and fled to the hills. Her search for answers might explain everything but might break her heart.

JK: I'll look for that one, too! Thank so much for being a part of my blog as a guest author. I look forward to meeting you one day and until then, our paths will cross within our hearts as we tell the stories. You can visit Meg's website at www.megmoseley.com and keep up with book signings and events. Read reviews of this great novel at http://www.amazon.com/When-Sparrows-Fall-Meg-Moseley/dp/1601423551/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

And don't forget to sign up for my Story Sparks newsletter so you don't miss out discovering some of these great new authors! Meg's publisher is also giving away a free book. The name will be drawn at random from those who comment on the blog. Happy Reading!

Stepping Into Our Lives

2011-05-08T06:16:00.000-07:00

My Portraits of the Heart novels grew out of a desire to discover my grandmother and what I call memory DNA, how we shared more than eye color or a love of the arts. She too married a man with three children. She too grieved with her husband at the death of a son. My grandmother shared time with her step-children’s mother and found a way through the mine field of powerful adult relationships keeping children from being further wounded by the choices adults had made.

She stepped up well. I was an adult before I realized that people I called Aunt Winnie, Uncle Bob or Uncle Russell were actually my mother’s half-siblings, my grandmother’s step-sons and daughter. Somehow she raised her children to understand the connection between each of them as children cherished by their shared father and children loved by God. Descendants of those half-sibs tell stories of my grandmother as someone who cared for them, someone they liked being around and adored.

She must have stepped over those moments of disappointment with a forgotten Mother’s Day card focusing instead on creating new memories. She must have cherished shared laughter over a bedtime story or stepped aside allowing her step-children to have alone time with their father accepting that these were requirements in a marriage not just between her and her husband but with his children as well. I know she stepped in at times of their mother’s illnesses, sharing her comforting love.

Thirty-four years ago, when I took on the challenge of becoming a step-mother, I was buttressed by great loves, too: mine for my husband; his for me and his children; and our shared love of God. I confess, though, I had a pretty romanticized view. I dreamed of erasing the image of Hansel and Gretel’s shrewish step-mom. I had high hopes like any new bride and any new mom had.

What I hadn’t prepared for, despite my background in mental health, was reality! The painful moments of confusion and exclusion and lack of recognition. I wasn’t their mother and yet I performed motherly duties, often. I didn’t share my husband’s memories with his children so easily spoken at the dinner table often leaving me shadowed in the kitchen. I was frustrated when we discovered the kids had managed to get the two of us arguing while they skipped out the door. This wasn’t fun at all!

Thank goodness for good friends who stepped in to offer counsel and prayer. They reminded me that what our three children and I had in common was a shared love for this man and a desire to heal the wounds of past decisions while growing new flesh to form a new family. When their mother lay dying, I knew my stepping and stumbling as a step parent had been worthy work as she told me: “You’ve been a friend to me. I leave my children in the best of hands.”

Our kids are grown now yet Mother's Day is still a celebration of stepping: Stepping over hurts, to find the loving core within each of us. Stepping forward, to assert the importance of marriage to model for our children what caring and commitment look like. And stepping aside without feeling displaced knowing my step-children share with me a desire to be accepted, to know that we are loved both by the man in our lives and the Creator of us all. It’s a day when I count the steps we’ve taken together to weather the storms and celebrate the many more days of sailing calmer seas.

The word “family” comes from the Latin word Famalus meaning servant. I think that’s what my grandmother must have figured out. To have a servant’s heart as a step-mother is to live the story of how God steps into our lives to bring healing and grace every day of the year.

Mother-Daughter Stories of Secrets, Reflections, Life lessons #6

2011-05-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

A Mother’s Tough Love

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from Missy

My mom is an amazing woman. Her and my Dad were divorced when I was eight years old and my sister was eleven years old. She had no job, no education or anything to take care of my sister and I. We were the last two of eight kids from my Dad, I've only met two of my half siblings. My Dad was an absentee father, so my mom was on her own. We moved in with my grandparents while my mom went to work at a daycare. She was able to go to nursing school through a program for unwed mothers. My mom worked full-time and went to shool part-time while trying to raise two girls on her own. We eventually moved out of my grandparents' house and were able to get our own apartment. My sister started using drugs by the end of her Junior High years. My mom fought hard to get her the help she needed, It took years, but my sister finally cleaned up in her early 20s. My mom had to show her tough love several times! , but she never trned her back on my sister. I cannot imagine how hard it must of been for my mother, especially the time my sister tried to kill me with a butcher knife when she was high. My mom was able to hold my sister accountable for her actions, protect me from her influence all while still loving both of us. I never touched drugs or alcohol thanks to the church bus ministry my mom sent me to growing up. My sister is now clean and sober with two children, I am happily married although the Lord has never blessed me with children. My mom is married to a man who started drinking again after they were married four years ago and she has to work full time at a nursing home and she is 64 years old. I don't know how she does it. I have an amaing mother!

Mother-Daughter Stories of Secrets, Reflections, Life lessons #5

2011-05-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

from Trish Jorgenson

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My little story is about my daughter Lisa and her mom, me. My daughter lived in Kona, Hawaii for 8 years while my hubby Doug and I moved into my parents home to take care of them s they were failing. Daddy ended up in foster care as I simply could not give him the kind of 24 hour care that he needed and still take care of mom. Then the bottom fell out for me as my hubby Doug contracted MRSA (an infection that NEVER goes away) while having a back surgery for a on-the-job injury. Lisa flew back and forth from Kona 13 times in one year to be there for me as her daddy went through 26 surgeries and to help me with her grammy as she went downhill. The final straw was May 9, 2002 when my mom had just a few hours left and Doug has a massive heart attack and I didn't know what direfction to take. I wanted to be with my precious hubby but I also wanted to be my mom in her final moments on this earth. Lisa flew ! over again and just took over. The fog I was in was incredible and I was so very grateful for Lisa and her calm sense of purpose, her blanket of love for all of us but moist of all for her take charge attitude. Mom went to be with Jesus that night with me having the privilege of being by her side, something that I will always be grateful for. This would not have happened had it not been for Lisa and her willingness to be there once again for me. She is an amazing woman and I love her deeply.

Mother-Daughter Stories of Secrets, Reflections, Life lessons #4

2011-05-05T06:50:00.000-07:00

A story about Family Secrets:

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The Secret Brother

I’m about 11 and we have traveled by train from Oregon to the Mid-West to visit relatives. We’ve visited my grandparents and others, the typical family gatherings. But today feels different, something secret is in the air. We are walking up the steps of a boarding house and a man greets us there. Mother tells my little sister and I that he is her brother, but I had no idea my mother had a brother. Dad often tells stories about his childhood with his brother and sister. I’d assumed everyone did. Yet here he was, my mother’s secret brother? It feels so strange, like a dream.

I’m 15. Mother got a phone call a few minutes ago. She is crying so hard as my dad is explaining to me that her brother has died. I feel sad, confused and helpless. I can only stand and watch my mother. It seems odd that she is so distressed for the loss of someone she had never mentioned over the years. I don’t know what to say or do as she talks about how he never had a happy life. She is grieving for his life unlived.

I’m in my 40s. Mom and I are chatting and I’ve wondered for so long. So I ask about her brother. She talks about how they played together as children, him being only two years older. She even tells a funny story of how they’d explore their father’s furniture making business. Once they looked in a casket and found a body there. They ran away in terror and most certainly didn’t do that again!

But I push her, wanting to know more about him. All she shares is that when he was older her parents were disappointed in him because he wasn’t good in math. I wonder if he might have been retarded but she says no, that he was an avid reader of history.

I know there is more but let it go. I can tell she has told what she will. I’m left wondering. She seemed to have loved him so. I remind myself it was another time in history, a time when family secrets were kept.

Judy Breneman 2011

Womenfolk: The Art of Quilting
Quilts and Quiltmaking Yesterday and Today
http://www.womenfolk.com/

Mother-Daughter Stories of secrets, Reflections, Life lessons #3

2011-05-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

On my facebook page last month I announced a story contest in honor of The Daughter's Walk my novel about an 1896 mother-daughter journey walking from Spokane to New York City and the years after. The winners have been chosen! Each of three will receive a special prize as well as a signed copy of my book. Runners up were also chosen and their stories will be posted here during the first week in May. They'll receive a signed copy ofThe Daughter's Walk. Thank you for participating and making this Mother-daughter Day a great story occasion!

A Mother’s Life-Lessons:
By Patsy Bell

My family, by today's standards, was poor. But we did not know it. We were raised in the mountains of West Virginia surrounded by black berry bushes, wild roses and rows and rows of pastel colored Irises. The roads were sandy and arched with saplings that let the sun peeped thru. I loved living in the "country" and my mom hated it.

My mother worked very hard to provide me and my three sisters. She was creative, thrifty, wise and a true artist.

There three bits of wisdom I heard repeatedly over the years and I have passed them on to all who will listed and doing them has changed my life.

"You can't always have new, but you can always have clean".

"If you want new, but can't have new, move items around in your home, it will feel like a new place".

"Do the task you dislike the most first, master it, and get it out of the way.

Mama, I love you.

Mother-Daughter Stories of secrets, Reflections, Life lessons #2

2011-05-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

A Mother’s reflection on her daughter: by Jill Dyer

My daughter. She is a whirlwind of gentleness, boomer-rang emotions, and girlish beauty. She is a 7 year-old adult in training who is at times wiser than her years and at other moments younger than those same years. I have a picture hanging in my library of her as an infant. Actually, it is of us both and I think the thing I adore about the picture is not only the contentedness in my face, but what I remember feeling as that picture was taken. I am lying back on our old cream couch (bought before I had children or dogs and didn’t know the idiocy of buying a cream couch). My pregnancy blessed hair falls around me and she is lying, covered in pink, on my chest. Her eyes are closed and her puckered lips pressed together, pink and perfect. Her little fist is tightly closed by her chin. Maybe there have been a thousand other little girl babies who have lain thus on their mother’s chests. But this time, this moment was mine. This contentment was born out of always wanting a girl and finding that I was undeservedly given one. This photograph captured an unusual moment of new-motherhood bliss. Amidst constant feedings, tug-of-war sibling duties, and sleeplessness, found here is the joy of my journey of the heart expanded to love a tiny someone I am just getting to know.

I never had a sister. I always wanted one. I still do truth be told, although it is a little late for that. In raising my daughter, my second-born, I wanted to give her a sister. Someone who would have that easy familial bond that knows the same jokes and can’t help buying her favorite dark chocolate just to make delight her. Someone whose laugh makes her day brighter and who she’d call at 2 in the morning when life felt like it was bigger than she is.

We had two children after my daughter. Both boys. I wouldn’t trade them for any girl I know. I am smitten with all my children. However, when I found out my last little baby bump was indeed a boy, I was sad. I knew full well I would love him for who he is. But I felt that leaden loss that my daughter didn’t have a sister. And truly, I felt pressure. Now I am it. No sister to lighten the load of female family relationships. No feminine cohort to enjoy Hannah Montana or tea parties. It’s all on me. I am not the girliest of girls and maybe that is part of what weights that worry I occasionally carry.

However, I do see the lining in these clouds. I also get to have a relationship with my magical daughter that is ours alone. No sister rivalry. No competition. We are the girls in this home and we better band together to face our testosterone laden family life. How thrilling it will be to discover ourselves together. What does it look like to be mom and daughter? How will we love and live and have our being together? What captivating adventures do our lives hold? As we paint our toes and hike in the woods, what sorts of rare beasts shall we encounter?

Whether you are a mom, a daughter, a sister or a friend, we women have some beautiful sort of life together. The way our hearts draw threads of intimacy and connection between those we love, as well as the way we plumb our own lives for meaning and significance, displays the heart of God. O yes, we were certainly made in his image. Let us live out that image in a charming girlish dance together.

Photo Credit

Mother-Daughter Stories of secrets, Reflections, Life lessons #1

2011-05-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

On my facebook page last month I announced a story contest in honor of The Daughter's Walk my novel about an 1896 mother-daughter journey walking from Spokane to New York City and the years after. The winners have been chosen! Each of three will receive a special prize as well as a signed copy of my book. Runners up were also chosen and their stories will be posted here during the first week in May. They'll receive a signed copy of The Daughter's Walk. Thank you for participating and making this Mother-daughter Day a great story occasion!

Mountain Mama by Mary Anna Swinnerton
Anna Montgomery, 23 years old, boarded the train in Reidsville, N.C., headed to Harrisonburg, VA for her first job working in a church. Met by the pastor, he immediately presented a whole new possibility, working with people on the other side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. in a small development known as “Crab Bottom”. The pastor asked if Anna might be willing to go to and serve for a year, replacing a woman who had become ill. Anna said “Yes”.

Clouds breaking up after a rainy morning in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Riding in a truck to the top of Hardscrabble Mountain, she was met by “Mister Ike” and his 3 sons on horseback (leading another horse). It was January, there was a cold wind, scattered snowflakes were beginning to fall and it was getting dark. In her heels and suit for railway travel, Anna was not dressed for an outdoor trip, but she was tough, and had grown up around horses in North Carolina. After loading her luggage on the horses, they went slowly down the mountain. Little did Anna know that this trip was just the beginning of a 5 year “adventure” caring for the people in the valleys and “hollows” around Crab Bottom (today known as Bluegrass). She would teach Sunday school, preach, play the piano, sew, teach 6 grades in one-room, and even conduct funeral services. Chamberlain Cottage, where she lived, provided a gathering place for the mountain folk. Years later, on Anna’s 100th birthday, one of the young girls from that area (then in her 90s) would reme! mber how Anna had taught her to play hymns on the piano and made her a blue dress.
Anna later took each of her four daughters back to Crab Bottom, where they observed first-hand the difference she had made in the lives of so many. It was a special legacy she passed on, the knowledge that life is about giving to others. You never know how saying “Yes” to another possibility may enrich your life forever. We were blessed to have a “Mountain Mama”.

A Lacuna

2011-04-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

I find it hard to write my words of encouragement this month.

My best friend and constant companion (and husband) Jerry had a lacunar stroke on March 28. It's so named from the lacuna or "hole" marking the damage to his brain. It happened quickly on a Monday morning with his legs not working and then he began to slur his words. We were 10 minutes from the 911 call that started him on IV fluids and took him to the ER, another 15 minutes away.

We spent the day in emergency as they assessed, looking for some reason for his symptoms. His vital signs were good. Maybe early flu symptoms could explain his weakness and difficulty talking. He could still do those things but with effort. At the end of the day after all the blood and urine tests came up normal they did an MRI, had it read, and sent us home knowing we were scheduled to his family doctor the next day.

But early the next morning the Emergency Room doctor of the day before called and said she'd asked another radiologist who specializes in strokes to read the MRI and he felt that yes, there'd been a stroke and they'd scheduled Jerry to see a neurologist that afternoon.

There, we were given a picture of the lacuna, a small white dot in the image of his brain and we began to learn what is ahead.

Earlier this year I'd read Barbara Kingsolver's novel Lacuna, a brilliant piece of writing that is both historical novel, cultural and political exploration of the early 1920s and beyond; art history, and deep and clarifying story. It was the first time I'd heard of the word lacuna a word with great meaning for the character in her book.

Now lacuna has great meaning for us.

Lacunar strokes are caused mainly by hypertension which Jerry was being treated for and aging. He's remained active and never looked his age but we never know what's going on inside of us.

Compared to many stroke victims I've known and loved -- my mom died of complications of congestive heart failure and a stroke six years ago -- Jerry looks good. He has strength in his hands. He can dress himself, walk (though very unstable right now). He can talk with effort. He never looked like a man in his 80s and the few days before his stroke he was at the ranch working (as his bad back allowed) with his son on a hay bailer, getting it ready to sell. He didn't feel well on Saturday but drove home. He was very tired, but since he is often tired due to chronic back pain, I didn't worry. But on Sunday the fatigue seemed worse and even attending a concert in Redmond didn't seem to cheer him as it might. So on Monday morning I called to get him in to see the doctor the next day worried about the tiredness, a chronic cough and small weight loss.

An hour later there were EMTs in the bedroom getting him settled on the gurney and off to the hospital.

To others who never knew him before the stroke, he looks good for 80 and someone who just had a stroke. But to me, there's a lacuna in his eyes, a distance deep I've never seen not even when he had cancer or his colon erupted or he had complications from his gall bladder surgery or the airplane accident with its many bone injuries. He recovered from all of those and all the specialists are hopeful that with physical therapy and speech therapy which he begins soon he will recover the motor functions lost from this lacuna stroke.

But what of the haunted look, the lacuna in his eyes? Will that go away? Is it trauma, brain swelling? Is this in some small portion what wives and husbands see when their soldier-spouse returns from combat?

Today I am so grateful we were here, close to medical care, a reason I had wanted to move but one I hoped would never be experienced. All that happened to get us here last year was Providential, I see that now.

What I can read about such strokes says the sooner treatment is begun the better and the doctor yesterday said we likely caught it as it was happening being alerted quickly to the symptoms of something going wrong. We had a persistent and competent ER doctor who went the next step in getting us seen quickly and referring us to good care. We have family and old friends here, looking after us. Our new neighbors across the street have been wonderful taking Bo for a long walk, bringing flowers and gluten-free food, just sitting and talking with Jerry. Jerry's son and daughter in law will stay here next week while I'm traveling and his daughter will come from Florida the next two weeks and then we'll see how to manage our lives with Jerry not able to drive and me still "working."

But I realize more than ever that as I enter this time of book promotion with my latest coming out next week, that this fun part of meeting people, sharing stories, encouraging others in their daily walk, will be different this year. Jerry's heard me speak hundreds of times and he says it's always new to him. I see him in the back of the room, his smile assuring me that all is well. Afterwards it's Jerry who tells me to relax, reminds me of the stories of people I spoke with, shares what others tell him about what the books have meant to them. If we have the dogs along, we share tending them. Ours is a team of nearly 35 years.

All that will not be in this season of promotion. I have commitments to keep made with the joy of sharing travel time with Jerry in mind. There are those who will be with him here, keeping him safe while I'm on the road. We pray for his full recovery and that the haunting look will be replaced in this next year by that twinkle just before he corrected something I said -- it was our practice to keep each other "right" though we frequently decided to be happy rather than being right.

If you come to an event for The Daughter's Walk or any other's scheduled this spring and summer, know that I will be ever grateful to meet and see you, thankful for your interest in my stories. But in this season of travel and presentations, there will be a lacuna in the back of the room where Jerry used to sit, smiling; and a lacuna in my heart.

A contest in honor of you, your mother and perhaps a daughter, too

2011-03-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

In this shot, Clara Estby is standing next to her mother both wearing the new reform dress donned when they reached Salt Lake City on their walk across America in 1896. Clara's story is chronicled in my latest novel due out April 5 called The Daughter's Walk.

A Mother-Daughter Story Contest

The Daughter’s Walk reflects the challenges of a mother and daughter as they overcome a family misunderstanding where triumph and grace return to their lives. Clara was never a mother...I'm telling a part of the story here; but she had a mother -- as do we all. In honor of the book and Mother and daughters, I'd love to read your Mother or Daughter Story!

Story Suggestions? A long-distance story about you and your mother, a first-time mom story, a loss your mother overcame and how it affected you or how about a secret revealed that proved to be a delight rather than causing a family schism? These are just a few ideas to get you thinking. Maybe your story is only a portion of something larger you're working on but are willing to share. Three prizes will be awarded in various categories as well as a few runners up…All prizes will include a personalized copy of The Daughter’s Walk. Winners will be announced on my website the week of April 18^th and in April’s Story Sparks.

I'd love to post your stories on my facebook page, include them in my Story Sparks newsletter, and possibly my website. When you submit your story you are acknowledging that you are giving me permission to reprint your story. If you would not like to give me this permission I need you to state as such (I understand some stories are sensitive in nature). Please be sure to sign your name as you would like it to appear when reprinted. Your story will not be used for any other purpose. In the interest of space, please keep your stories to a limit of 1500 characters. Submit the story via my web page: http://www.jkbooks.com/Pages/contact.html. Or you can leave your story on my blog comment section at http://www.Janeswordsofencouragement.blogspot.com Remember, you don't need to think of yourself as a writer in order to write your story. You just need to show up and write!

The contest begins on March 26 and will end April 16th.

Thanks and happy writing. Warmly, Jane

Will this Rhododendron Survive?

2011-03-02T17:06:00.000-08:00

I don't know a great deal about flowers. But for the past many months I've been immersed in them both within my writing life and personally.

My brother and his wife sent me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for my birthday that included stargazer lilies with that striking magenta stripe. They were clustered within roses and tulips and carnations. He'd specifically asked for the lilies and I was struck with yet another side of my brother I hadn't known about: his deep love of beauty and the plants that give that gift. He said he hadn't been able to send me fresh flowers easily while we lived on the ranch 50 miles from the nearest florist so he usually sent plants: hibiscus, shamrocks, any number of wonderful plants. I'd post a photo of what arrived but it loads up sideways and I lack the skills to turn it around! They're still blooming as he also wanted lilies that hadn't yet bloomed. He was very specific that brother of mine.

In addition, I've been writing about a woman who was passionate about flowers, especially lilacs. And living with her these past months, coming to know her family, encountering descendants who have graciously answered my questions, and reading books on gardening, have made me more conscious of the gifts a garden gives.

I'm also discovering what is in my yard having moved here in November and not really seeing before all the treasures that have been covered by snow. I know there is a rhododendron right outside my office window. At the ranch it gets too hot -- sometimes 120 degrees -- for such beauties to survive. On the other hand, last week while we were gone, temperatures reached minus 12 degrees here and there was no one to cover the rhodies. I can see the buds on this plant. The leaves look a little wilted, don't they? Or is this normal? Do you think it will survive?

Beyond, to the right and reflected in my office window, is an apple tree. The main character of my book (not coming out until April of 2012 with title still pending) grafted one kind of apple onto another hoping for a crisper, easier to peel apple and she got it! I've been imagining what those trees must have looked like with slightly different blossoms on different branches based on minute differences that she bred for.

Through the winter our dog, Bo, picked up pieces of driftwood used for landscaping that outlined boundaries of various plantings placed there by the previous owners. Bo had other ideas. We'll be repositioning them once all the snow as melted and we find them but I suspect they will mark different boundaries from how it was laid out before.

I think I'll take a tour with a master gardener because I want to know what's here, what plants have found a home near ours and by doing so have made this dwelling unique, warm, welcoming. I want to know how to care for them. I find myself talking to the hibiscus in the guest room, urging it to bloom again after three years. do the outdoor plants need talking to, too?

I'm discovering there are lessons as I read of gardeners and their gardens. "Put stakes beside plants before it looks like they'll need it." "Gardens are good for procrastinators." (I'll read more about that in Sprouts and Saplings: Gardening with a Difference by Monica Moran Brandies.) Brain research with traumatized children tells us that gardening is a way for children to heal themselves, putting their hands into soil, discovering the silence in growing. Gardening helps children -- and I suspect adults -- how to remember themselves back into health, to that time before life turned on them and they found themselves bereft, bouncing around like a tumbleweed.

A tumbleweed blows across the labyrinth as I write this, butts up against a juniper then bounces its way around to find its next respite.

I want to put my hands in dirt but with trepidation since I don't really recognize a weed from a flower.

Then I'm reminded of a piece my friend Susan Tweit wrote in Seasons in the Desert, a Naturalists notebook about weeds. She says "When I look at tumbleweeds, I think not of botany or land management, but of the word 'weed' and what it means: something in the way, unwanted, not native. I am reminded of my own tumbleweed existence, bouncing around the continent from Illinois to Wyoming...and now snagged on a barbwire fence in New Mexico. Like tumbleweed, I am not a native of this desert landscape. Does that mean that I am a weed?"

I'm not native of this landscape either having grown up in the rolling hills of western Wisconsin. Does that make me a weed? I don't think so. Susan goes on to write "I think, too, of the giant steel fence that we are erecting along La Frontera, the border between the United States and Mexico, to keep 'illegal aliens' out -- people whose ancestors inhabited these landscapes when mine were building longboats in Norway. Who is the 'alien' here?"

Susan ends her piece by noting that when she sees a tumbleweed "bounding across desert on the spring winds, I am reminded that life is by no mans simple, that boundaries are never as clear as the lines drawn on a map, and that there are lessons to be learned from watching weeds."

Her words take me to that Psalm that misted over my Kinship and Courage Series: "The Lord knows my lot. He makes my boundaries fall on pleasant places.' Psalm 16:5-6.

A tumbleweed I may be, but I am also given boundaries and I will find respite in them. I'm not a weed and neither are any of you. We have in common that there are lessons to be learned from watching weeds and from watching gardens.

I only hope that rhododendron survives. Let me know what you think? If it does, I will take it as a sign that despite the extremes of weather, hardiness prevails and beauty will reign. Maybe it'll be ok if we all let a few weeds survive.

One last comment before I leave you: A Flickering Light is a finalist for the Oregon Book Awards. I'm delighted since it's the story of my grandmother as a photographer in Minnesota. The Literary Arts of Oregon instituted a new award this year, too, called Reader's Choice. You can all vote, once a day until April 18, for your favorite finalist and I hope you'll look for my title, A Flickering Light Here's the link and I send my gratitude! It's also a great place to discover a reading list for the year!

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BS2G78ZM8

Thanks for being there. Warmly, Jane

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy Jig

2011-02-07T15:53:00.000-08:00

  When I was little, this was the rhyme we always said when we drove into the yard of our Wisconsin farm.
  When we moved to the ranch, I said it then too, as soon as we saw the gate with the sign on it.
   Now we're in Bend and yesterday, after a month of being away, we pulled into the garage and that's exactly what came out of my mouth: "Home again, home again, jiggidy jig." Safe, secure.
   It is good to be home even with acute bronchitis which was diagnosed at the Immediate Care Center in Redmond, this morning. Jerry came down with a cold but mine is full blown Yuk. We visited the farmacias in Cabo and the doctor here said they were good things we found there: things to numb my throat and to try to break up the congestion. But antibiotics are called for and so I'm on my way to recovery with heavy duty stuff.
   Which is good since the longest day of the year is always the first day back after a vacation.
   We came home to warm weather for the month of February in Bend -- it was 59 degrees here yesterday. And we'd left behind one of the coldest weeks on record in Baja Mexico...where it was also in the 50s and 60s. Our friends are rethinking whether they want to travel with us. When we went to Spain several years ago, it was the hottest summer on record; our first trip to Hawaii with them had unseasonal rain and flooding. Two years ago in Victoria, BC, it was the hottest year they'd ever had and now, in Mexico, the coldest. It might be us.
   But what I do know is that when you're sick, there is nothing better than being at home. Nothing more comforting than knowing just where the aspirin can be resupplied or how to make the room warm. (Hotel rooms in Baja do not have heat in them, only air conditioning), or being reassured that your doctor can understand you when you sound like your nose is stuffed with a sock and your throat is as scratchy as an old sock, too.
   Travel makes me appreciate home. It also makes me aware of how fortunate I am to be able to travel and to recognize that despite weather and illness, everything worked pretty darn well. The people we met were gracious and willing to help. At one farmacia where I asked for Zicam, the owner opened his IPhone, typed in Zicam, looked at the ingredients and then looked at what he had on his shelf. What he had we already had: drugs the doctor here said good, but I needed antibiotics.
   In Baja, we found a local Gringo News that filled us in on why the fishing was so bad (the water was too cold!) and told us about places to visit we might have otherwise missed. A two day trip to La Paz, Mexico, for example, netted us a national museum tour that was the highlight of the trip for me. It was a museum! Full of history of the region and artifacts and stories. Our guide spoke excellent English and the price for his services was more than reasonable ($3.00 per person).
   So even though I never could figure out how to blog from Mexico and even though we had to cancel the snorkeling trip because I couldn't breathe, we were able to see fish on the glass bottom boat and while doing that, had the joy of seeing three whales in the bay, plunging and blowing and bringing no end of attention to themselves though I hope all of us in the boats were naught but small flies to them as they made their passage around the peninsula heading to the Pacific.
   Life went on while we read and caught sun and walked to the estuary and back several times. Friends Sherrie and Dennis Gant got my book storage organized and inventories making much more room in the garage than what was there before we left! I worked on my latest novel about lilacs and found myself paying much more attention to the hibiscus blooming nearly everywhere in Cabo than I ever had before. I wrote in my journal into February so that's a good sign. I finished edits for Barcelona Calling coming out in September, helped with word pronunciations for Love to Water My Soul for the Idaho State Library system that is putting it on tape; and had a brief email from the producer of the audio version of The Daughter's Walk who was on the 17th floor of a building in New York watching the snow come down. She was letting me know production would begin soon.
   While in Cabo, a writer doing a piece for Publisher's Weekly sent emails of questions I responded to about writing and life and stories. She's doing a short piece about me and it's nice recognition from the magazine that is considered THE magazine for all writing/publishing related news. They review books as well but I haven't seen the review of The Daughter's Walk as yet.Fingers crossed!!! Cindy Crosby, the writer, also writes for www.Faithfulreader.com and she endured the Chicago snowstorm working while I emailed my answers to her from Cabo. Ah the joys of the internet.
   I also learned that Pioneer Woman http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/2011/01/the-daughters-walk/ gave The Daughter's Walk a great review.  I worked on Beachside Writers, the workshop I'm a guest instructor at with Bob Welch( info.bobwelch.net). We still have a few more slots he tells me so if you want to give your sweetheart a valentine's gift, consider bringing them to Yachats on the Oregon Coast Feb 25-27. It's always an inspiring weekend for attendees and instructors alike.
     Finally, it was announced that A Flickering Light is a finalist for the Oregon Book Award! A great thrill. We find out results on April 25. But meanwhile, a new award has been formed called Reader's Choice and everyone can vote for their favorite finalist. You can vote once a day until April 18th! Voting once would be lovely if you have the time. Here's the link.The Oregonian + Literary Arts Readers' Choice Award. Your email will not be tracked nor will you get "stuff" as a result of your vote.
   So that's my jiggidy jig. I'm not feeling as encouraging as I hope to be each time I blog but that could be the antibiotics kicking in. I also couldn't figure out how to add a photo this time either.
   We picked up Caesar and tomorrow Bo returns so we'll all be under one roof again.
   And I'm hopeful you'll all forgive me for just being happy to be home from my working vacation and appreciating a country that let me back in when I was ready to return. May you find the same appreciation without ever having to leave your house!
Warmly, Jane (I'm not sure why this print got larger and darker...!) Jane

Sunflower - the symbol of hope

2011-01-07T09:34:00.000-08:00

I love this sunflower picture. Our granddaughter, Mariah, painted it late last year. She loves sunflowers and she got pretty excited when I told her that the sunflower was the symbol of hope and encouragement because it always turned toward the sun.

In my book coming out in April, The Daughter's Walk, the sunflower appears as the symbol for Norwegian women who sought suffrage at the turn of the century. This sunflower looks a bit windblown and I like that because that's what living looks like. We get a little wind blown and there are clouds that can look menacing but also like they could soon blow away. Blue sky is promised and see that green? Soon, the snow will be gone and it'll be spring.

While we wait for spring...Jerry and I are traveling south, to southern Baja with our Greece-traveling friends. We're quite the foursome now who know each other's foibles and love each other anyway. Jerry likes the odds he always says...one guy, three women.

It'll be a working vacation for me as I have a book due in April but I always wake up earlier than everyone else and write for a few hours. By the time the others roll around I've accomplished something for my day and the rest of the time we spend reading, walking on the beach, experiencing another culture. Last year while walking on the beach we met a man with his dog who chased a stick out into the surf. We stopped to watch and talk and learned he was a fisherman who owned a fleet and he told us which restaurants to eat at if we wanted fresh fish! A little insider info never hurt anyone!

We hadn't planned to move right before Thanksgiving when we booked this time in Baja. So the house is still a bit chaotic. We've met more of our neighbors and feel really fortunate to be among them. They're checking on the house while we're gone; Jerry's brother will make sure the pond is full for the birds and our friend Sherrie, who helped us build the ranch all those years ago, is coming over to help organize the garage and put away the boxes marked "books" on the shelves in the cabinet there. It's so nice to have good friends and family!

A few people have questioned our going to Mexico, fearful for us. But we remember people being fearful for our travel in Greece too and it was a grand time with people kind and caring all along the way. That's always been our experience in Baja as well. Why, in scheduling the shuttle from the airport to our hotel, the shuttle company even sent us photographs of their drivers so we can pick them out from the crowd. How thoughtful is that! I always imagine what it might be like for someone from Germany, lets say, reading an American newspaper from a big city and wondering about the safety, murders, robberies and what not. Yet we wander around in town without worry. That's how we think of our trip to Baja, too. There are bad things happening all around the world; but good things too and we'll look for the good things, pray for traveling mercies, and take in the goodness of creation and community even if it's far from home.

They have sunflowers in Baja, too.

I've begun a journal sent by a good friend at Christmas. Those of you who are signed up for my Story Sparks newsletter will hear more about that when my webmaster sends the newsletter out next week. (You can sign up for it if you haven't on my website www.jkbooks.com). Along with the first service of the new year that we attended at First Presbyterian, that journal I'm praying will support a new spiritual practice for the year: to keep the promises I've made to myself. I've already blown it once...I won't go into that here but it had to do with not taking offense at things Jerry says or how he says it....but I'm back on track, listening, paying attention.

When we get back we'll be gearing up for Beachside Writers in Yachats on the Oregon coast and the release of The Daughter's Walk. I hope you'll keep up with me on Facebook and if I can figure out how to do it, I might try to blog from Cabo and post a note on Facebook, too --If it won't make you cry to see sunshine for those of you in the cooler climates!

Meanwhile one promise I've made is to turn my face toward the light in the time of challenge. Might look a little windblown but that's all right. The clouds will blow away and the sun will still be there. I wish the same for each of you. Have a great January and I hope to see some of you in Yachats in February. Warmly, Jane

PS Bo has posted on his blog at www.bodaciousbothedog.blogspot.com He always has fun stories to tell! Be sure to let your dog/cat/goat let him know what you think!

2010-12-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

View out the kitchen window.

This is our first Christmas in our new home in Bend, Oregon. Some of you know that we used to live here 26 years ago and it was from here I began my writing career telling the story of our leaving through the book HOMESTEAD. We've attended the First Presbyterian Church in Bend a couple of times and I found myself tearful throughout. Perhaps because of the music and the wit and wisdom of the pastors. Perhaps because of the warm greetings given by many. Maybe it's just the joy of sitting beside my husband at a time of year when joy bubbles up at the blessings we've been given not only in living in a lovely home carefully cared for by others before we arrived but to be here in time for a white Christmas with a heart of gratitude and a hope for the year ahead.

We know that many of you are in transitions at this time of your life. Some of you are down-sizing as we are. Some are out of work, worried over health concerns, children or grandchildren, financial problems. We send you words of encouragement and the promise to "be anxious for nothing."

For me, the gifts of this season begin with generosity: God's generous love for this earth and God's people, sending his son to be among us, to teach us the way to live with our neighbors and to give hope for turning around when we have taken wrong paths. Jerry and I have had so many examples of generosity from around the world this past year and it is our desire to reflect that back to others in the year(s) ahead. We long ago discovered that if we exercise our generous genes, only good things can happen.

We have favorite charities -- The Salvation Army, the Red Cross, Young Life, the Moro Community Presbyterian Church, the Sherman Public School Library, Kiva, The Nature of
Words, many museums (Jerry says we could end up in the poor house with all our memberships to historical societies and museums!). Some years ago we began making contributions on our electric Coop bills each month to assist those needing help with heating their homes. We've already discovered a non-profit here in Bend, Common Table, that provides terrific meals at low costs (even gluten-free!) and enables people to purchase tokens that can be given to others for a good meal. It's sponsored by three churches in Bend, Trinity Episcopal, Nativity Lutheran, First Presbyterian. We have friends connected to each of those churches so it's a natural for us and we expect to eat there often and purchase tokens to give away.

I share this with you at this time of year as a way of remembering how grateful we are that we have resources to make such contributions through the year. We do it out of love; we do it for our own mental health. Dr. Karl Menninger once said that the single most important indicator of a person's mental health was generosity. "Generous people," he said, "are rarely mentally ill."

So as we deal with the massive changes in almost every aspect of our lives that this move has created; as we express gratitude that we had a place to move to that we chose while still being able to have the ranch we worked so hard to create, we are also reminded that it is in giving that we truly receive. However small you may think your contribution of time, treasure and talent might be, each is a gift we give ourselves when we make a way for others. That giving keeps us mentally healthy is just an added bonus.

Jesus received gifts from wise men. But long before that, he received the gifts of those around him including the cows that kept that stable warm, the roof over his head, and the love of others. this season I hope you'll remember your own generosity through the year and continue to expand it as witness to the greatest gift of all. As an old rancher once said to me, you can't repay the generosity of others; the best you can hope to do is pass it on. It's my prayer that in this season you will pass on the gift of love, grace and forgiveness we've been given through our blessed savior Jesus Christ and we'll hope to do the same.

Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year!