I N T E R V I E W S   

Interviewed conducted June 2003.

Jane, first of all many thanks for taking time out of your schedule for this interview. I've just finished reading A Name of her own and I very much enjoyed it and am now looking forward to starting Every Fixed Star. 

MTV: What first inspired you to become a writer?
Jane: WRITING REALLY CHOSE ME. AS A CHILD, MY TEACHERS COMMENTED CREATING A THREAD THAT RAN THROUGH MY LIFE, TELLING ME I HAD A WAY WITH WORDS. I LOVE WORDS AND THEIR MEANING (INSPIRED, FOR EXAMPLE, MEANS IN PART "THE ACT OF BREATHING IN" AND WRITING DOES THAT FOR ME, PROVIDES SUSTENANCE, SOMETHING I TAKE IN FOR SOLACE IN WILDERNESS PLACES) SO WRITING WAS A NATURAL WAY TO INDULGE IN LANGUAGE AND THE SOUNDS AND MEANINGS OF WORDS. POETRY CAPTURED ME FIRST, BUT I NEVER WROTE FOR OTHERS TO READ. LATER, WHEN MY HUSBAND AND I MADE A MAJOR LIFESTYLE MOVE TO OUR REMOTE RANCH AND I WONDERED WHAT I'D DO HERE, THE WORD "WRITE" CAME INTO MY HEAD. THAT'S WHEN I BEGAN WRITING FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO READ AND WITH THAT CAME THE AWARENESS OF THE POWER OF STORIES IN OUR LIVES.

MTV: Every Fixed Star is your eleventh book and second about Marie Dorion, tell us a little about what inspired you to write about this strong lady? 
Jane: LIKE MOST OF MY NOVELS, IT BEGAN WITH A CURIOSITY. A HISTORICAL FRIEND, ACTIVE WITH THE LEWIS AND CLARK LEGACY, MENTIONED THAT HE'D HEARD SOMEWHERE THAT MARIE DORION OF THE HUNT EXPEDITION AND SACAGAWEA, THE INTERPRETER FOR LEWIS AND CLARK, HAD MET, THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN AT THE SAME PLACE AT THE SAME TIME FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. AS I EXPLORED THE HISTORICAL RECORD I DISCOVERED THAT WAS INDEED THE CASE AND I ASKED MYSELF, WHAT MIGHT THESE TWO INDIAN WOMEN HAVE TALKED ABOUT? COULD THEY HAVE TALKED? WHY WERE THEY THERE ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER IN 1811? THEY WERE BOTH NATIVES, BOTH PREGNANT, BOTH MARRIED TO FRENCH CANADIANS AND BOTH AFFILIATED WITH WHITE, MALE FUR TRAPPING EXPLORATIONS. THEY MUST HAVE HAD SOMETHING TO SAY. I ALSO WANTED TO EXPLORE THE ESSENCE OF MOTHERING AS WELL AS HOW A FRIENDSHIP, AN ACQUAINTANCE OR CONNECTION EVEN THOUGH BRIEF, CAN TOUCH OUR LIVES. IN PHYSICS, BELL'S THEOREM SAYS THAT WHEN TWO ELEMENTARY PARTICLES BRUSH AGAINST EACH OTHER THEY ARE FOREVER CHANGED REGARDLESS OF HOW FAR AWAY IN SPACE OR TIME THEY SEPARATE. I WANTED TO EXPLORE HOW THAT BRUSHING IN THE WILDERNESS MIGHT HAVE TOUCHED THESE WOMEN'S LIVES. I WAS ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT WHY MARIE WAS THE ONLY WOMAN WITH HER CHILDREN ON SUCH A COMMERCIAL VENTURE; AND WHY SHE WAS EVENTUALLY BURIED BENEATH THE STEEPLE OF A SMALL CATHOLIC CHURCH IN OREGON, A PLACE OF HONOR. 

Jane: THIS WAS A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY, TRULY. MY HUSBAND HAD WANTED TO LIVE IN A MORE REMOTE AREA, TO BECOME MORE CONNECTED TO THE LANDSCAPE AND TO SEE IF HE COULD BUILD A HOME AND LIFE THERE. HE SAID HE WANTED TO GO BADLY ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US BUT IT TOOK ME 5 YEARS TO COMMIT TO LEAVING MY JOB AS A MENTAL HEALTH DIRECTOR AND MOVING TO "RATTLESNAKE AND ROCK RANCH" AS I CALL IT. I KNEW THAT IF I WENT JUST FOR HIM, WHEN THINGS GOT BAD -- AS I KNEW THEY WOULD -- I'D BLAME HIM. I DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT. SO GOD TRULY CHANGED MY HEART AND MADE IT A JOURNEY FOR ME TO STEP OUT ONTO A CLOUD OF FAITH BELIEVING I WOULDN'T FALL THROUGH. THAT DECISION TO GO WAS FOLLOWED BY THE BELIEF THAT I SHOULD WRITE AND THE REST IS HISTORY, AS THEY SAY. BUT I DON'T BELIEVE I WOULD HAVE WRITTEN A BOOK LET ALONE ALMOST 12 WITH CONTRACTS FOR THREE MORE IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THAT LEAP OF FAITH TO OUR 160 ACRES ALONG THE JOHN DAY RIVER.

MTV: What sort of hardships did you face when you first moved to the Oregon area known locally as Starvation Point? 
Jane: NOW THERE'S A WHOLE BOOK IN THAT ANSWER! (ACTUALLY MY FIRST BOOK IS A MEMOIR CALLED HOMESTEAD (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY WORD IN 1991 AND NOW BY MAVERICK, IN BEND, OREGON) THAT IS THE STORY OF THAT MOVE. HARDSHIPS? HOW TO BEGIN? THERE WAS NOTHING ON THE PROPERTY EXCEPT 12' HIGH SAGEBRUSH, RATTLESNAKES, ROCK AND THE RIVER RUNNING THROUGH IT AND THE PROMISE OF A SPRING. MY HUSBAND ASSURED ME WE'D EVENTUALLY HAVE WATER FROM THAT SPRING. WE DID, BUT IT WAS MONTHS HARNESSING IT. WE HAD TO BRING ELECTRICITY IN ACROSS THE RIVER; WE HAD TO BUILD AN ADEQUATE ROAD SO WE COULD GET A CEMENT TRUCK TO DELIVER CEMENT FOR THE FOUNDATION OF THE HOUSE; WE DUG A DITCH SEVEN MILES LONG AND 18" DEEP TO GET A PHONE LINE AND THEN DID IT AGAIN BECAUSE IT DIDN'T WORK THE FIRST TIME. BUT THESE WERE ALL BARRIERS OF LANDSCAPE (AND THERE WERE MORE!). BUT WE ALSO FACED BARRIERS OF RELATIONSHIP AND BARRIERS OF SPIRIT, MAKING SENSE OF DIFFICULT DAYS, DISCOVERING WHO WERE WERE AS A COUPLE AND AS PARENTS (ME AS A STEP-PARENT), AND FINDING MEANING IN OUR JOURNEY TO STARVATION LANE (WHICH WE DIDN'T NAME, BY THE WAY. THE POST OFFICE DID...). WE HAVE A NEW SIGN UP, JUST THIS MONTH THAT READS: "WE SEEK NEITHER CONVENIENCE NOR EASE BUT TO LIVE AT THE EDGE OF POSSIBILITY." 

MTV: Does Where You live influence what you write about?
Jane: I BELIEVE IT DOES. ALL THOSE HOMESTEADING STORIES AND DIARIES AND OUTBACK EXPERIENCES HAVE ALWAYS INTRIGUED ME, WONDERING IF I'D HAVE THE COURAGE AND COMMITMENT NEEDED TO SURVIVE AND ALSO FIND A WAY TO GIVE UP MY CONTROL ADDICTION! THE LANDSCAPE ITSELF HELPS DEFINE ME AS A PERSON AND AS A WRITER. I AM APPARENTLY TUNED INTO HEARING OR READING SNIPPETS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO PURSUED THE PASSION OF THEIR HEART AND HOW THEY WERE CHANGED BY IT. THE KINSHIP AND COURAGE TRILOGY, ABOUT A DIARY ENTRY OF 1852 ALONG THE OREGON TRAIL IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW LIVING WHERE I DO INFLUENCED MY WRITING. I CAME ACROSS THE ENTRY "TODAY WE MET ELEVEN WAGONS HEADED EAST, ALL DRIVEN BY WOMEN, THEIR MEN HAVING DIED AND BEEN BURIED ON THE TRAIL." I WAS RESEARCHING MY FIRST NOVEL, A SWEETNESS TO THE SOUL (THAT WON THE WRANGLER FOR THE OUTSTANDING WESTERN NOVEL OF 1995). I SAID TO MY HUSBAND, "NOW THERE'S A STORY." FIVE YEARS LATER I BEGAN TO TELL IT REALIZING THAT IT WAS REALLY ABOUT GETTING BAD NEWS IN OUR LIVES AND HOW WHEN THAT HAPPENS WE WANT TO TURN AROUND AND GO BACK. WE DON'T GET TO. HOW WE COME TO TERMS WITH THE REALITY THAT LIFE AS WE KNEW IT HAS ENDED REALLY DEFINES OUR CHARACTER AND PROVIDES MEANING IN OUR LIVES. THIS LANDSCAPE, THE DISTANCE, THE RUGGEDNESS, THE REMOTENESS, THE CHALLENGE TO RELATIONSHIP AND SPIRIT ALL WORK TOGETHER IN MY STORIES TO HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE CHARACTERS AND THEIR LIFE JOURNEYS. I REMEMBER OUR STRUGGLES HERE AND HOPE THAT HELPS ME UNDERSTAND A CHARACTER'S STRUGGLE. I KNOW THAT IN AUSTRALIA MANY PEOPLE ARE EVEN MORE REMOTE, WITH LIMITED ACCESS TO ROADS, ETC AND I SUSPECT THEIR STORIES WOULD INTERSECT WITH MINE AND I'D LEARN MUCH FROM THEIR JOURNEYS.

MTV: It's obvious you pride yourself on authenticity in your work, how long do you spend researching each novel?
Jane: I LIKE TO HAVE A YEAR FOR THE SPECIFIC BOOK, BUT I SAY THAT I'VE BEEN RESEARCHING ALL MY LIFE. THE 1800S TO EARLY 1900S ON THE FRONTIER (FROM FLORIDA TO THE NORTHWEST) IS MY PREFERRED TIME FRAME FOR WRITING SO I REALLY HAVE TO INTENSELY RESEARCH THE REGIONAL/LOCAL ISSUES. I LOVE READING SPORTS AND FISHING AND HUNTING MAGAZINES BECAUSE THE AUTHORS ARE SUCH WONDERFUL OBSERVERS OF THE NATURAL WORLD AND IF I WRITE ABOUT A PLACE WHERE I'VE SPENT LITTLE TIME (THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES IN MYSTIC SWEET COMMUNION, FOR EXAMPLE) I FIND SUCH WRITERS EXTREMELY HELPFUL FOR THE DETAIL THAT ALLOWS A READER TO FEEL THE SWAMP, TO READ THE WATER THROUGH THE SWAMPGRASS, OR THE NAMES OF THE BIRDS THEY'D BE HEARING. THOSE DETAILS CAN MAKE ME LOOK MUCH MORE AUTHENTIC AS A WRITER AND THE DEPTH OF A STORY AND ITS UNIQUENESS, I THINK, COMES FROM THOSE DETAILS. I ALSO HAVE TO START WRITING BEFORE I THINK I SHOULD OR I NEVER WOULD, THE RESEARCH IS SUCH FUN. 

MTV: How do you choose the subjects you write about?
Jane: THEY'RE LIKE FIRST GRADE CHILDREN IN THE FRONT ROW WITH THEIR HANDS UP SAYING "CHOOSE ME, CHOOSE ME!" THEY COME UP WHEN I LEAST EXPECT IT. I MAY NOT WRITE THAT STORY THEN, BUT THE QUESTION OCCURS, "HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?" OR "WHY WAS SHE THERE?" WITH EVERY FIXED STAR, I WANTED TO CONTINUE WITH MARIE'S STORY BUT I ALSO HAD FOUND THIS TIDBIT ABOUT THE EARLY INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO THE NATIVES OF THE NORTHWEST COMING NOT FROM WHITE MISSIONARIES IN THE 1830S BUT AS EARLY AS 1818 WHEN SPOKANE NATIVES WERE HEARD SINGING CHRISTIAN HYMNS. "HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?" I WONDERED TO MYSELF. ANOTHER NOTATION IN AN ARTICLE NOTED THAT IROQUOIS INDIANS AND HAWAIIAN INDIANS WERE THE FIRST MISSIONARIES TO OTHER INDIANS IN THE NORTHWEST AND THAT EVEN THE FIRST PRINTING PRESS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS CAME FROM A HAWAIIAN INDIAN MISSION SENT TO INDIANS IN WHAT BECAME WASHINGTON STATE. I HAD TO KNOW HOW THAT HAPPENED, OR AT LEAST SPECULATE ABOUT IT THROUGH FICTION. ONCE I DECIDE ON A STORY, I COMMIT TO IT, SO TO SPEAK, THEN WONDERFUL THINGS HAPPEN TO MOVE IT FORWARD. GOETHE, THE 18TH CENTURY POET SAID THAT WHAT PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE IS THAT ONCE YOU MAKE A COMMITMENT TO SOMETHING, THEN PROVIDENCE MOVES AND THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN YOU OTHERWISE COULDN'T IMAGINE. EVERY ONE OF MY BOOKS HAS HAD A STORY OR TWO OF SOMETHING MIRACULOUS OCCURRING IN PROVIDING ME WITH DETAILS AND INFORMATION THAT CONFIRMS THAT PERSPECTIVE. SO I CONTINUE ON WITH THAT STORY UNTIL FINISHED, KNOWING ANOTHER IS RAISING IT'S HAND SAYING "CHOOSE ME NEXT."

MTV:  Are any movie versions planned of any of your books?
Jane: DON'T I WISH! I'M FORTUNATE THAT A STAGE PRODUCTION HAS BEEN MADE OF ONE (A GATHERING OF FINCHES) AND PERFORMED AND THE KINSHIP AND COURAGE TRILOGY AND TENDER TIES SERIES ARE ON AUDIO. FOREIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATIONS ARE IN PROCESS FOR ALL TOGETHER IN ONE PLACE IN GERMAN AND DUTCH. BUT IF YOU KNOW A FILM COMPANY WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED, MY AGENT WOULD BE HAPPY TO CHAT.

MTV: Of the books you have written, do you have a favourite?
Jane: THIS IS A HARD QUESTION TO ANSWER, ALMOST LIKE TRYING TO DECIDE WHICH CHILD SOMEONE MIGHT LOVE BEST. EACH IS UNIQUE. EACH GAVE ME SOMETHING I DIDN'T KNOW I NEEDED TO LEARN UNTIL AFTER I FINISHED WRITING IT. EACH HAS INVITED WONDERFUL READER RESPONSES THAT ARE PRECIOUS. I SUPPOSE THAT A SWEETNESS TO THE SOUL IN SOME WAYS HOLDS MERIT BECAUSE IT TOOK TEN YEARS AND FOUR MONTHS TO WRITE. FOUR MONTHS TO WRITE IT DOWN AND TEN YEARS TO CONVINCE MYSELF IT SHOULD. I GET MANY LETTERS STILL (THAT BOOK WAS PUBLISHED IN 1995) ABOUT THE HEALING WITHIN THAT STORY. A FEW MONTHS AGO, SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE LOS ANGLES PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA SENT ME A LETTER ON THEIR LETTERHEAD SAYING HOW MUCH THEY HAD LOVED THAT BOOK, ITS MUSIC AND RHYTHM AND GRACE. I FRAMED THAT LETTER. SEVERAL THERAPISTS WORKING WITH CHILDLESS COUPLES HAVE TOLD ME THEY REQUIRE THE BOOK FOR THEIR CLIENTS; A WOMAN AT A SIGNING TOLD ME WHEN SHE BEGAN DATING HER BOYFRIEND, THAT HE GAVE HER THAT BOOK AND TOLD HER IF SHE WANTED TO KNOW WHAT MATTERED TO HIM AND WHAT KIND OF MAN HE WAS, TO READ THAT BOOK. SHE DID AND SHE SAID SHE LOVED IT AND WAS FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIM. SO THAT NIGHT SHE BOUGHT HIM A NAME OF HER OWN (SHE'D ALREADY READ IT) "SO HE'LL KNOW WHAT MATTERS TO ME." IS THAT NOT A WONDERFUL STORY? I'VE BEEN ASKED TO WRITE A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL IN IT WHICH A MAN THEN GAVE TO HIS INTENDED. AND A JANITOR AT THE BUILDING ON THE INDIAN RESERVATION WHERE I WORKED FOR 17 YEARS SAID THAT HE BUYS FOUR OR FIVE COPIES OF EACH OF MY BOOKS. HE KEEPS ONE, HIS WIFE GETS ONE, HIS GRANDDAUGHTER, DAUGHTER AND NEPHEW GET ONE. THEY MEET ON A CERTAIN NIGHT AND ALL READ THE SAME SECTION AT THE SAME TIME. "THEN WE SIT AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WE READ," HE SAID. "THAT'S HOW WE FIND OURSELVES INSIDE YOUR STORIES." I COULD FIND NO HIGHER COMPLIMENT AND IT STARTED WITH THAT NOVEL.

MTV: Tell me about the monthly column you write about in your website (http://www.jkbooks.com  )about life on your property?
Jane: MY WEBSITE MANAGER (A NIECE IN FLORIDA) SUGGESTED WE NEEDED A WAY TO KEEP THE SITE FRESH AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO COME BACK MONTHLY. SINCE I'D ALSO GOTTEN MANY REQUESTS FOR A SEQUEL TO HOMESTEAD, I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A GOOD WAY TO LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT HAD HAPPENED HERE AND ALSO INVITE PEOPLE IN MONTHLY TO LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE ETC. I KNOW IT'S WORKED BECAUSE PEOPLE TELL ME THEY LOOK FOR THAT MEMO THE FIRST OF EVERY MONTH AND THEY'LL NOTIFY THE WEB MANAGER IF IT ISN'T UP! I ENJOY NON-FICTION, READ IT A LOT ALONG WITH POETRY AND WHEN I FIRST BEGAN WRITING FOR SALE, IT WAS IN AN ESSAY, FIRST PERSON MODE WITH SALES TO A VARIETY OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINES. I FIND IT HAS BECOME AN INSPIRATIONAL PIECE, LESS ABOUT THE CHALLENGES OF OUR RANCH -- IT'S SURE NOT A HOW TO PIECE! -- BUT RATHER THE DISCOVERIES OF OUR LIVES HERE AND WHAT MIGHT BE UNIVERSAL ABOUT THEM: GRIEVING THE LOSS OF A YOUNG MAN THROUGH DROWNING IN THE RIVER; THE INSIGHTS OF CHILDREN; SHOPPING WITH MY HUSBAND AND WHY I DON'T COOK; THE IMPORTANCE OF A SMALL LIBRARY/STORIES IN A COMMUNITY; THE DYING OF SOMEONE WE LOVE; THE LAUGHTER OF LIVING; CELEBRATING MILESTONES AND RITUALS; THE POWER OF FAMILY SECRETS. I GUESS IT'S ANOTHER WAY TO CONNECT WITH READERS WHICH I WANT TO DO; BUT TO ALSO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE IN WHATEVER WILDERNESS PLACE THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN. AND TO PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR OWN LIFE STORIES.

MTV: What plans, novel wise, do you have next?
Jane: I'M FINISHING THE FINAL REVISIONS OF MARIE DORION'S STORY (HOLD TIGHT THE THREAD) AND CONTINUING RESEARCH ON A STORY THAT INTERESTED ME TWO YEARS AGO, OR PERHAPS EVEN BEFORE THAT. IT'S THE STORY OF HOW AN OLD OVERGRAZED RANCH CALLED THE BIG MUDDY BECAME A PLACE OF BIOTERRORISM AND THE GROWTH OF AN INTERNATIONAL CULT IN THE 1980S AND THEN WAS TRANSFORMED INTO A CHRISTIAN CAMP FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WHICH IT CURRENTLY IS. IT'S ABOUT GOD'S FAITHFULNESS EVEN THROUGH THE MOST DIFFICULT OF TIMES AND GOD'S CAPACITY TO USE ALL THINGS FOR HIS PLANS. I'M CALLING IT PENTIMENTO, AN ARTIST'S WORD THAT DESCRIBES CORRECTIONS THAT ARE VISIBLE IN A PAINTING THAT AUTHENTICATE THE MASTER'S HAND AT WORK. IT WON'T BE OUT UNTIL 2005 AND IT'LL BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT FOR ME AS PART OF THE HISTORY IS ONLY TWENTY YEARS OLD. BUT THE STORY IS TIMELESS AND I THINK OF IT AS A MODERN DAY MIRACLE STORY. THE EVENTS OCCURRED JUST UPRIVER FROM US. THAT LANDSCAPE OF RIVER AND RIMROCKS, PEOPLE AND CHANGE AND GOD'S FAITHFULNESS THROUGH IT APPEAR TO HAVE ENGAGED ME AGAIN. I HOPE YOU'LL LOOK FOR IT...DOWN THE ROAD. 

Jane Kirkpatrick, very many thanks.

Interviewed conducted by PJ early June 2003. 

Every Fixed Star is released on June 17 and is available from all good booksellers.