Festival will feature bestselling author

Internationally acclaimed author, speaker, teacher, and healer, Central Oregon’s Jane Kirkpatrick, will be one of the authors headlining Sisters Festival of Books, October 18-20.

The author of 30 fiction and five non-fiction books, Kirkpatrick’s works have sold over 1 million copies, been translated into several foreign languages, and been awarded numerous literary awards and placed on a variety of best- seller lists.

Kirkpatrick’s first novel, “A Sweetness to the Soul,” was named to Oregon’s Literary 100: 1800-2000, as one of the 100 titles published in the last 200 years best representing Oregon.

“I like helping people from the distant past step from their generation into our own to teach us and touch us with their lives,” the author explained.

For 27 years, Kirkpatrick and her husband, Jerry, ranched along the lower John Day River in an area known as Starvation Point. Her memoir, “Homestead,” tells the story of their journey to “rattlesnake and rock ranch” to begin a new life.

“It was our rural 7-Eleven since our home sat seven miles from the mailbox and 11 miles from the pavement,” noted the author.

Kirkpatrick grew up on a dairy farm with her brother and sister near Mondovi, WI, not far from the Mississippi River. She was surrounded by a large extended family, most of whom lived within 50 miles.

In 1974, after receiving her master’s degree in social work from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she moved to Oregon, where she worked in the disabilities field, serving as the director of the Deschutes County mental health program for 10 years.

Later, while living on the homestead, Kirkpatrick worked for 17 years as a mental health and early childhood specialist on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. She also began her writing career, while “attempting to grow grapes, alfalfa, and cattle.”

In the fall of 2010, the Kirkpatricks and their two dogs made another life-changing move — back to Bend. They now live on small acreage between Bend and Redmond.

“There is a season for everything,” she said.

Their seasons on the ranch changed their lives, and they are now experiencing new adventures in writing and life.

Kirkpatrick’s many historical novels, most based on the lives of actual people, speak of timeless themes of hardiness, faith, commitment, hope, and love, and many center around a strong female character.

Her latest novel, “One More River to Cross” (2019), is the story of the Stevens-Murphy-Townsend party that left Missouri in 1844, two years before the ill-fated Donner Party, to be the first wagons into California though the Sierra Nevada mountains. Mostly Irish Catholics, the party sought religious freedom and education in the mission-dominated land. They enjoyed a safe journey – until October – when a heavy snowstorm forced difficult decisions, the first of many for young Mary Sullivan; newlywed Sarah Montgomery; the widow Ellen Murphy; and her pregnant sister-in-law, Maolisa.

Kirkpatrick will discuss “One More River to Cross” at her Saturday, October 19, presentation at the Sisters Middle School. She will relate the story of “the ferries we need in life to cross troubled waters.”

On display at the middle school on Saturday will be a collection of quilts created by the Undercover Quilters Book Club based on Kirkpatrick’s books. The group of 12, which started in 2009, is located in Bend. They love to quilt and they love books, so they have combined the two activities. Every month they read a book and every year they choose one of the books to interpret in cloth. Their quilts have been exhibited at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

The author’s newest book, with the working title, “Something Worth Doing,” has just been submitted to her publisher. The story is about Oregon suffragette leader Abigail Scott Duniway and her family, who came west from Illinois on the Oregon Trail in 1852. Abigail was 14 years old and her father, John Tucker Scott, made her the main keeper of the trail journal for the family. Kirkpatrick might also chat about going between fiction and non-fiction writing.

According to Paulina Springs Books owner Lane Jacobson, the Saturday author readings at the middle school will generally consist of “an author reading from their work, talking about inspiration/process, and a Q & A.” Jacobson stressed, however, that “the allotted time is for them to use however they please.” Some might incorporate an A/V component, others may just talk off-the-cuff.

Kirkpatrick’s session is scheduled for 9:30-10:20 a.m., in Room C. She will be available to sign books right after her presentation.

Saturday, October 19, 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., will be a full day of author readings, presentations, and signings, complete with a pop-up bookstore featuring authors’ books and some other favorites. Snacks will be available for purchase throughout the day.

Tickets for single events and all-festival passes are available at http://www.sistersfob.com, as is the complete lineup of authors and full schedule of events over the weekend. Proceeds will benefit the Sisters Festival of Books scholarship fund for graduating Sisters High School seniors.