Groundwaters

Who are They? … the inside “scoop” on some of your favorite local writers

October 9, 2008 on 11:12 pm | In Contributor profiles | No Comments

Jo-Brew

My husband, Ken, and I, both went to high school and then college in Southern Oregon and still have some ties there. My first writing was for a high school journalism class, then the school paper and school events for The Ashland Daily Tidings. I was paid for the school events column. A big deal in my mind.

We moved to Springfield when we had four children, one entering high school, two in between and one in pre-school. I taught elementary school in Cottage Grove and then Springfield while Ken was a band director in Springfield and then Bethel.

When the children were through school, I made a foray into the business world and became a Real Estate agent and then a broker. Through both the career in teaching and in Real Estate, I wrote as part of my job but not much beyond. It wasn’t the lack of desire that kept me from moving ahead with the writing, it was my terribly intense battle with the typewriter. I didn’t ever get to the point I was comfortable with it although I typed hundreds, or more likely, thousands of pages. The typewriter made no allowances for thoughts that came faster than the fingers moved.

Several years ago, a gift of a computer from a son who was upgrading opened the doors to a flood of words that still keep coming. I began with a small family history/cookbook project and then began taking classes through Lane Community’s Extension Service. I started with Women Write, moved on to Essays for another year, Short Stories and eventually novels.

Now I write some of each, personal essays, a column for the Creswell Chronicle, the occasional short story and I have six novels published. All of my writing is based on women’s life experiences, even the short stories and the novels. There are elements of all of us in the characters and all our lives in the stories.

The first novel Preserving Cleo is the story of a young wife and mother who married into a farm family and has trouble finding her place in the family. The second, Cleo’s Slow Dance, is a sequel as an older Cleo is left a widow with a farm and teen age children.

From there, I moved to a young career woman making a decision between her desires and those of her mother in Finding Clarice. The last three are each based on women at retirement and they do all have satisfactory endings. What Next, Ms Elliott, is a widow trying to find a new future for herself after living years for her job. Marge, Back On Track, is retiring before she’s ready to take care of her second husband, a stroke victim. In Anne Marie’s New Melody, Anne Marie, the gourmet cook, musician, and childless wife in a fairly new marriage finds her future travel plans interrupted by her husband’s grandchildren.

The columns and personal essays are all drawn from my own life and often include family members, particularly grandchildren who have opened our minds to so many new experiences.

Family gatherings and events are important to both of us and have enriched our lives in countless ways.

With only two of us in the house now and no day job, I’m less confined with chores and can do more picking and choosing. I write several hours a day, garden a lot and take an active part in several organizations that are specifically aimed at helping women break down barriers or benefit education, AAUW, Mom’s Rising, I Stand For Children and the Women’s Business Network. Of course I belong to a few writing associations also, mainly Willamette Writers and Women Writing The West.

Jo-Brew’s “Favorite Place”

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“Anne Marie’s New Melody,” the latest novel by Jo-Brew is now available. Anne Marie, a musician, gourmet cook and a woman of the senses retires to spend more time with Robert. She had been widowed once and does not want to miss the opportunity to enjoy a traveling companion or more time for the activities she enjoys. Without experiencing children of her own, she was unprepared to contemplate assuming a parental role for Robert’s grandchildren. Nor was she prepared to give up her relationship with Robert. It takes a Disneyland moment of self discovery for her to find the road to the life she wants.

It is the last in the series of three northwest women and the retirement choices they make. “Anne Marie’s New Melody,” is available through some independent bookstores, from Jo in person, from www.bbotw.com or from www.Jo-Brew.com. For information about appearances and sources, go to www.Jo-Brew.com or watch for announcements.

Excerpt from Anne Marie’s New Melody

Anne Marie put those memories aside as she got closer to home and let herself move on to pleasant thoughts about the evening to come. Robert had suggested the two of them go out for a wonderful dinner. He’d probably have reservations in Eugene, at the Country Club or maybe the Marche. She’d love French. Flowers or a gift were almost a sure thing. She let herself think about fun private activities after dinner. All in all, a real celebration.

She’d need to be careful not to let him see the concerns she had about retiring. Marge was right. She was used to being a leader. The change would be hard. She couldn’t imagine how they’d spend so much time together. She’d always worked most of the year, even before they were married.

They’d had individual lives for the biggest part of the day. Nearly every evening they spent the first hour or so after she came home discussing their separate activities over a glass of wine. That exchange kept their marriage intermingled.

Now they’d be together all the time except for the occasional trip he made to spend a day working on his mother’s house and the one afternoon a week he played golf with his son Eric. They wouldn’t have anything to talk about, not even separate friends they saw on a regular basis. She was going to have to find new interests. She hoped he would also make an effort or they’d run into problems.

Then there was the cooking situation. The last several years he’d taken over the meals on weekdays while she worked. By the time summer came around and she was home, he was ready for a break. She’d want to do more of the cooking now, take her kitchen back. Her cookbooks were all tagged to mark new recipes she wanted to try and old favorites she wanted to repeat.