We love to support our local authors and our events allow us to give something back to the community as well. We offer book signings, talks, readings, writing workshops, and meals with an author—often accompanied with a slide show.
A Wonderful Writer Who Creates Strong, Admirable Characters
Fri, June 1 7:00 - 8:00 PM Leavenworth Library Free
TGIF: Jane Kirkpatrick, inspirational speaker and award-winner author, shares heartwarming stories (Presentation)
Sat, Jun 2 1:00 - 3:00 PM Bookstore Free
Award-winning inspirational Christian, western, and women's author Jane Kirkpatrick shares new releases and heartwarming classics (Book-signing)
Award-winning inspirational author Jane Kirkpatrick shares new releases.
A lively and humorous speaker, Kirkpatrick is a frequent keynote presenter for conferences, women's retreats, and workshops. Jane believes that our lives are the stories that others read first and she encourages groups to discover the power of their own stories to divinely heal and transform. As a speaker, author, and blogger she shares information about her current projects and the privilege of following one's passion wherever the dreams may lead.
Where Lilacs Still Bloom
One woman, an impossible dream, and the faith it took to see it through.
Jane Kirkpatrick's 19th historical novel, Where Lilacs Still Bloom, is based on the life of German immigrant and farm wife Hulda Klager. Hulda possesses only an eighth-grade education—and a burning desire to create something beautiful. What begins as a hobby to create an easy-peeling apple for her pies becomes Hulda's driving purpose: a time-consuming interest in plant hybridization that puts her at odds with family and community, as she challenges the early twentieth-century expectations for a simple housewife.
Through the years, seasonal floods continually threaten to erase her Woodland, Washington garden and a series of family tragedies cause even Hulda to question her focus. In a time of practicality, can one person's simple gifts of beauty make a difference?
Based on the life of Hulda Klager, Where Lilacs Still Bloom is a story of triumph over an impossible dream and the power of a generous heart.
"Beauty matters... it does. God gave us flowers for a reason. Flowers remind us to put away fear, to stop our rushing and running and worrying about this and that, and for a moment, have a piece of paradise right here on earth." (excerpt from Where Lilacs Still Bloom)
"Rarely does a book inspire me as much as this one has. To learn about what this one woman and her family did in their lifetime makes me want to try harder in my own life. I could never do what she did with flowers, but I can hope to live in such a way that my passion for God, my love for my family, and my hope for a beautiful garden will be remembered. I highly recommend reading this book!" — Sandi Smith, blogger
"The book is beautifully written—an inspiring and life-affirming tribute to the courage and spirit of the amazing Hulda Klager...What a story it is!...her indomitable spirit shines throughout the years. In her own way, she was a pioneer for women's rights, a scientist, an environmentalist, and an example for anyone who won't take no for a final answer...The 'Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens' are a National Historic Site located in Woodland, Washington...As generations come and go, Hulda's sweetly scented legacy continues to enrich lives with its beauty." — Reviewer Virginia Campbell.
The Daughter's Walk
A mother's tragedy, a daughter's desire, and the 7000 mile journey that changed their lives.
In 1896 Norwegian-American Helga Estby accepted a wager from the fashion industry to walk from Spokane, Washington to New York City within seven months in an effort to earn $10,000. Bringing along her nineteen year-old daughter Clara, the two made their way on the 3500-mile trek by following the railroad tracks and motivated by the money they needed to save the family farm. After returning home to the Estby farm more than a year later, Clara chose to walk on alone by leaving the family and changing her name.
Her decisions initiated a more than 20-year separation from the only life she had known. Historical fiction writer Jane Kirkpatrick picks up where the fact of the Estbys' walk leaves off to explore Clara's continued journey. What motivated Clara to take such a risk in an era when many women struggled with the issues of rights and independence? And what personal revelations brought Clara to the end of her lonely road?
The Daughter's Walk weaves personal history and fiction together to invite readers to consider their own journeys and family separations, to help determine what exile and forgiveness are truly about.
"Nineteen-year-old Clara Estby is hauled by her mother, Helga, on a 7,000-mile walk from Spokane, Wash., to New York in 1896. The fashion industry is looking for promotion of the new, shorter dress for women; Helga is looking for a $10,000 prize to save the family farm from foreclosure. The historically factual walk is only the first half of the book; the rest follows Clara after she leaves her family, becomes a businesswoman, and makes her way as times change for women at the turn of the century. Kirkpatrick has done impeccable homework, and what she recreates and what she imagines are wonderfully seamless. Readers see the times, the motives, the relationships that produce a chain of decisions and actions, all rendered with understatement. Kirkpatrick is a master at using fiction to illuminate history's truths. This beautiful and compelling work of historical fiction deserves the widest possible audience." — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Jane Kirkpatrick is a wonderful writer who creates a story full of strong, admirable characters...I walked across the country with them, experienced their triumph and disappointment...Jane has given readers a wonderful story of a family schism that comes full circle to love and grace and the importance of family, especially when one has been an outcast. I highly recommend The Daughter's Walk!" — Francine Rivers, New York Times Bestselling Author.
Jane Kirkpatrick discusses the inspiration for her new
book — The Daughter's Walk — in this 2 minute video.
Barcelona Calling
Best-selling author Jane Kirkpatrick invites you into the lives of five women friends who promise to help each other achieve their life goals.
Annie Shaw's goal is far from simple: become famous. And she's in trouble after quitting her day job to write full-time. In pursuit of fame and an elusive bestseller, Annie travels to Chicago, acquires a rambunctious dog, and participates in antics better suited to a television reality show than real life. Can Annie's best friends help her achieve her goals without destroying her future?
Award-winning author Jane Kirkpatrick, known for her superb historical novels, writes this bold, fresh, contemporary story to "make people laugh and consider the true treasures of their hearts."
About the Author
Jane Kirkpatrick, noted for her lively presentations and well-researched stories that encourage and inspire, is the author of 22 books including 19 historical novels. Many of her titles are based on the lives of real people or incidents set authentically in the American West. She has won the coveted Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center, the WILLA Literary Award, and been named to Library Journal's Best Books; and her works have been finalists for the Christy, Spur, Oregon Book Award, Reader's Choice awards, and chosen as Book of the Month and Literary Guild selections.
After 26 years living on Starvation Lane on a remote ranch in Oregon, Jane Kirkpatrick and her husband, Jerry, recently moved back to Bend, Oregon with two dogs, a formerly outdoor cat, and two lilacs from Hulda Klager's garden.
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