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 he knows I’ll call him and give him a dime-sized kibble from Trader Joe’s when he shows up and sits in front of me. He’ll do anything for that little treat. The professional word to use in such situations is “stay.” Somehow I began using wait a word that meant watch in the 1200s, as in to watch over or to guard. In thinking about this time of year with Advent as a part of the season. I equate the wait of yesteryear with Advent’s meaning of anticipation, from a word that means coming. I see a connection (because words draw me to them in strange ways) linking the wait of watching over with the coming of Christmas. It’s a very short time from the “wait” command until I turn to call Rupert to me, but when he responds there is such a fizz of joy watching him run. And I wonder if as we wait, we might find the joy of anticipating the wonder of this season, looking for those moments of wait, watching over.
This season I am going to:
- Guard my tendency to catastrophize while I wait. Instead, I’ll remind myself that I can live with the uncertainties. I’ll trust more that terrible times might not mean that’s how things will always be. Maybe Jerry won’t have another round of bacterial infections. Maybe he will be in less pain eventually, that where he is today is not necessarily where he’ll be forever, hoping for more. Hoping for more. Waiting.
- Wait and faithfully remember. When my imagination wants to anticipate awful and terribles, I’ll remind myself of forgotten miracles when we had to wait before celebrating an anticipated joy. It’s hard to describe the joy of a phone call about a baby being born following a plane accident. Six weeks of waiting sigh relief that mom and child were ok. A Christmas Eve miracle and joy after a temporary terrible day (chasing the dirty dozen steers all over Sherman County) and now a beloved granddaughter in our life born on Christmas Eve. Selling a first manuscript when financially needed most, after months of waiting to hear from a publisher, guarding my heart from despair.
- Wait, watch and guard against my tendency for self-abuse during this season of anticipation. Instead, when hearing harpies say I should be doing more, should bake those cookies, decorate, buy more pounds of Brandini Toffee to give away (or eat myself) I will look outward, seek rest as a way to deal with the weariness. I’ll guard against turning inward because I feel misunderstood or unfairly treated. In this anticipation season, I will expect joy and out of rest, create joy not just for others but for myself,
You get the picture, (as in the Polaroid shots where one had to wait for the image to appear.) May this spirit of waiting, guarding and anticipating bring you the perfect picture of Christmas, one that develops into a season of good will and joy.
Anticipation for ‘Across the Crying Sands’
In my book publishing world, this is also a season of anticipation. Now is when activity about marketing and publicity comes to the front while the book is being formatted into galleys and I await reviews and hopefully splendid blurbs. Preorders are happening. (A fan located the new title on Target!) Press packet gets created. Once upon a time, I worked for a publicist creating catalog copy and short news releases designed to help promote the titles of other authors. I loved doing that, getting paid to read a book and writing complimentary things about it and its author. Having someone do it for me grants me a look at how a total stranger sees the manuscript. Part of that effort is creating questions for me to answer that will go to podcasters, radio, television, newspaper outlets who might choose to interview me around the time the book comes out (May for this title). Most interviewers don’t have time to read the book – they get so many. These packets offer insights into the story can help them decide whether to interview me as well as give them things to ask if they do! For your reading pleasure, I thought I’d include a couple of the questions and my answers to give a sense of the story, the process and perhaps pique your interest as you anticipate the book’s arrival. If you read these questions and answers, would you want to find out more? A special thanks to all of you who have preordered! I’m sorry you have to wait!
Author questions:
1. Please tell us about your new book, Across the Crying Sands.
This story is based on the life of Mary Gerritse, the first female mail carrier on the rugged Oregon Coast in the 1890s and her rather unconventional yet inspiring life. It’s the first of a trilogy titled The Women of Cannon Beach, all about strong women and the men in their lives, of course, set on an isolated section of the North Oregon Coast.
2. The relationship between Mary and John Gerritse represents a strong partnership in homesteading. What historical sources helped you craft their dynamic?
I’m a reader of old diaries, interviews, letters, collections of books about homesteading and marriages. As one half of a homesteader partnership (still married after 48 years) and a mental health professional, I brought a little personal experience to play as well. In my author notes, I’ve included a list of official documents/books I relied on. I was curious about the development of this isolated area where the beaches served as roads and homesteaders were dependent on tidal rivers for supplies. The importance of neighbors and family, even though distant, played into the ways John and Mary came to resolution about their differences. John came from the Netherlands and was a seaman hoping to make a life on land. Mary’s parents were dairymen (so were mine!) and she had a longing for adventure. She also loved language, wrote poetry and one of her favorite poems was by Edward Lear about going to sea in a sieve –speaking of risk! Many of my titles have dealt with family relationships, and how characters are shaped by those ties and strains, landscape challenges, financial pressures, their work and faith. So the research for other books helped with this one, too.
If you read these questions and answers, would you want to know more? What questions would you like to ask an author? Maybe I can answer them online.
As part of the book launch, I’m also working on some kind of raffle related to the story and how to organize it close to the release date. Should I give away a framed picture of the beach by a local artist? A woven Nehalem-Tillamook basket? A book about Cannon Beach? 😊 I’d love to hear your ideas. Things to think about while I wait – oh, and write book two.
Events
Book signing event at Waucoma Books
May 31, 2025 – Hood River, Oregon. from 12:00 – 2:00pm
Fundraising Book Signing Event
September 25, 2025 – Coos Bay, Oregon
We’ll be adding to the June events on the coast as well. Stay tuned for details about how I can get to meet you in person.
Word Whisperings
Confessions of a Good Samaritan
by Lisa See, Scribner – 2023
A Film by Penny Lane
Initial release 2023 Netflix
“Funny, compassionate and thought provoking.” This month I’m recommending a film. I know, some of you don’t have Netflix but if you do, you might consider this film. It’s made by an independent filmmaker, Penny Lane, who decided to chronicle her decision to donate a kidney to a stranger as she explores the meaning of altruism. The interviews she had with others who had done this, the responses of family and friends, her own journey to understand more about altruism and the brain research related, were all compelling and moving. Why people do selfless things, the Biblical Parable of the Good Samaritan, and Penny’s own journey to explore if she is a good person offer poignant scenes. I know that some of the most meaningful moments in my life have happened when I did something for someone else for no reason, it seemed to me. The filmmaker’s exploring of her own motivation touched this mental health professional’s heart! Fair warning: there are three F-bombs spoken, but I hope you can step over them to the warmth and hopefulness of this film, especially in this season of giving. After watching, maybe you’ll even consider donating a kidney. What a gift that would be!
A Christmas Milk Can
My brother sent this picture of a Christmas-themed milk can they have in their entryway asking me to look at the label. It’s hard to see, but it reads “Gilmanton Creamery.” That was the name of the creamery our dad hauled milk for in the early 1940s before either of us were born. His work was considered essential during WWII, so he stayed home in Wisconsin managing a fleet of trucks getting milk where it needed to go. A cousin had the can and gifted it to my brother so it stays in our Midwest family that just expanded with my brother’s first grandson born December 1. That family has had nine months of a special waiting that is now a coveted joy. In this season of anticipation let us call upon the Proverb to be reminded that “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” May you keep your heart guarded, waiting, that though there be uncertainty and weariness of the season, that like Joseph and Mary, you will anticipate and then find joy.
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Merry Christmas from Jane, Jerry and Rupert, too,
P.S. I often get requests from those wishing a book list of my titles. Incidentally, Wikipedia has some errors. Visit my Bibliography webpage for the real scoop.
