Story Sparks

June 2025 Story Sparks What a joy to see so many of you at events on the North Central Oregon Coast, the site of Across the Crying Sands. Several of you came to venues where poet Dana Huneke-Stone shared the dais with me. I love this photo of Dana signing my copy of her book

May 2025 Story Sparks I bought that chair over 40 years ago at a garage sale before we moved to “rattlesnake and rock ranch.” It’s missing a dowel, but I figured I’d take care of that and refinish it. I never did. Despite its woundedness, it called my name. Through the years a granddaughter

April 2025 Story Sparks Only a Month I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until that first book review for Across the Crying Sands came out. It did today and it’s from Booklist, a coveted review source of the American Library Association. Here are some of the words that helped me breathe. “Jane Kirkpatrick opens her

March 2025 Story Sparks Making a Difference Some years ago, the state of Hawaii published a long-term study about families. With permission, they followed many families for 30 years trying to identify what qualities enable some kids to “make it as adults” despite the challenges their family might have faced through divorce or drug-use

January 2025 Story Sparks Rupie’s Rendering I Say! Let me introduce myself. My name is Rupert though my friends call me Rupie. I’m not named for the British mogul, but rather a character in a popular British children’s book series (and a friend of my humans’ pastor). I’m British but not the stuffy kind.

January 2025 Story Sparks Rupie’s Rendering I Say! Let me introduce myself. My name is Rupert though my friends call me Rupie. I’m not named for the British mogul, but rather a character in a popular British children’s book series (and a friend of my humans’ pastor). I’m British but not the stuffy kind.

December 2024 Story Sparks Wait One of the joys of walking Rupie, our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, is when I put him on a wait then walk away. Eventually, I turn around, pat my thighs, shout “Rupie, come!” and watch him run toward me, dragging his leash behind. I know he’s only waiting because

September 2024 Story Sparks Calm Amidst Exhaustion Draw alongside the silence of stone Until its calmness can claim you. Be excessively gentle with yourself. Stay clear of those vexed in spirit. Learn to linger around someone of ease Who feels they have all the time in the world. From “For One Who is Exhausted”

July 2024 Story Sparks Boom! Silence This is our second summer at our home and we’d never had a power outage. Fires burned south of us and it’s possible this was a planned outage but we didn’t know. I checked the electrical panel. All looked normal. The evening had lots of light left so

May 2024 Story SparksTraveling MerciesA fourth hummingbird nest has appeared at our little coach in Rancho Mirage. Three other nests with two eggs each have clutched their little families until the juveniles flew off. This one is just outside the slider glass door, beneath a sun awning, on the patio, claiming a spot on the