The Writer

Please describe yourself in three words (ask your best friend or family if you are struggling!)

Kind, competent and focused

What’s your favorite season, and why?

Summer. I’m frequently cold, shivering through spring, fall and winter. But ah, summer when I can put away my down jackets and gloves and walk my dogs inhaling the roses with the sun on my face. Well, not on my face. I wear a hat!

What is the best part of your day?

First thing in the morning, very early. Time for devotion and then writing for several hours before my husband wakes and before emails take over my day! Writing early like that leaves me feeling that I’ve accomplished something and as I write the world turns from dark to light. It inspires my entire day.

What do you miss most about your childhood?

Sitting under Sumac trees on the hill above our Wisconsin dairy farm thinking, living in my imagination, observing activities on the farm below. A place of safety.

Which TV talk show host would you like to be interviewed by? Why?

Oh this makes me laugh because my one and only contemporary novel (Barcelona Calling, Zondervan) is a humorous story about an author who thinks if she can get Oprah to know her name that all will be well. It’s a fame vs. fulfillment kind of story.  So, Oprah, of course because it would fulfill the narrative of my novel!

You are at a fruit market – what do you reach for first?

Blueberries.

What was the first Christian Fiction novel you read?

Christy by Catherine Marshall, I think but after that A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers.

What is one author and/or book you always recommend?

The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss

What book character has stuck in your mind from a book you have read this year?

Margie Lane, an enthusiastic summer park ranger inside Karen Barnett’s The Road to Paradise.

The Book

Already well-versed in the natural healing properties of herbs and oils, Jennie Pickett longs to become a doctor. But the Oregon frontier of the 1870s doesn’t approve of such innovations as women attending medical school. To leave grief and guilt behind, as well as support herself and her challenging young son, Jennie cares for an elderly woman using skills she’s developed on her own. When her patient dies, Jennie discovers that her heart has become entangled with the woman’s widowed husband, a man many years her senior. Their unlikely romance may lead her to her ultimate goal–but the road will be winding and the way forward will not always be clear. Will Jennie find shelter in life’s storms? Will she discover where healing truly lives? 

Through her award-winning, layered storytelling, New York Times bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick invites readers to leave behind their preconceived notions about love and life as they, along with Jennie, discover that dreams may be deferred–but they never really die. Based on a true story.

What was the working title?

And Love Came Later

Describe your book in 5 adjectives:

Poignant, persevering, romantic, tragic and spiritual

Which character took you by surprise?

For a fund-raiser a couple of years ago, I auctioned off allowing someone to name a character in one of my books. It was for an educational foundation and it was very well received by bidders. The high bid was a woman who wanted a character named for her granddaughter, Ariyah. It’s a name that means “Pure music” and she brought music into the story in a way I had not imagined!

What was the latest you stayed up working on this story?

It would be better to say how early did I get up and that would be 1:30am working through until 7:00am, having breakfast with my husband and working 4-5 more hours then taking a nap!

Which character’s name was the hardest to choose? Why?

I am blessed by writing stories based on real historical people so I have many names and it’s deciding which ones I won’t use that takes more time than usual.  The other struggle is when I do “fully create” a character like Ariyah, I have to make them feel as real to my readers as the actual characters are.  For this book, Ariyah’s husband’s name was troublesome because at first I didn’t know she’d have a husband but he eventually appeared!

What’s something that didn’t make it into the final copy?

The entire book written in first person. I rewrote it into third person after I had submitted it. My publisher was very understanding that for me my main character, Jennie Pickett Parrish, did not come off as vulnerable as I wanted when her story was told by her rather than a third person narrative. I was only two days later than the original due date — those very early mornings. I’m a little obsessive about things like that. Oh, that should have been one of my adjectives!

Thanks Jane!

Jane Kirkpatrick is the New York Times and CBA bestselling author of more than twenty-nine books, including A Light in the Wilderness and A Sweetness to the Soul, which won the prestigious Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center. Her works have been finalists for the Christy Award, Spur Award, Oregon Book Award, and Reader’s Choice Award, and have won the WILLA Literary Award and Carol Award for Historical Fiction. Many of her titles have been Book of the Month and Literary Guild selections. You can also read her work in more than fifty publications, including Decision and Daily Guideposts. Jane lives in Central Oregon with her husband, Jerry. Learn more at www.jkbooks.com.

Relz Reviewz Extras
All Things Kirkpatrick @ Relz Reviewz
Visit Jane’s website and blog
Buy at Amazon: All She Left Behind or Koorong

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