Monthly Archive for May, 2011

In the Studio – Live

Published on May 31, 2011 in Clearstory Radio Blog. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

After a month on the road on book tour I’m so happy to be HOME in Nashville and LIVE in the studio tomorrow. Clearstory Radio moves into a new time slot of Wednesday’s at High NOON. So easy to remember and so easy to tune in if you just hopped in the car for your lunchtime drive. But don’t worry! We are always steaming live. Tune in http://www.clearstoryradio.com

We’re talking books, literary news, emerging authors, and special ‘sight unseen’ surprises. And as always – with great musical interludes.

(And if you miss the show we are airing again every Sunday at 6pm!)

HOME AGAIN!

Published on May 31, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

The superpower I crave? Teleportation. After miles upon miles on book tour and miserably failing to update this blog at every turn I am safely home again. Part of the trip I journaled and I tried my best to capture the incredible comments and conversations from readers in every city. What has taken me by greatest surprise along the trip is the way that the stories of Praying for Strangers is affecting people. The way they are claiming the book as their own.

If you read through a few From the Road blogs you’ll see post from here, there, and everywhere. I’ve tried to link and capture authors I had the pleasure of seeing on the road. Most recently and working backward. I joined that incredibly gifted author of Sorrowood – Raymond Atkins. I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Terry Kay – southern author and gentleman, meet new writers and make new friends at the Canton Art Festival where I’d blown in from Page and Palette in Fairhope, Alabama. To bed at 1am. Up at 5am with miles yet ahead of me and yes, I have the pictures to prove it. Those weary eyes do not lie. Many thanks to author Brewster Milton Robertson and his beautiful wife for driving to Fairhope to join us for the evening reading and discussion (and dinner!). The previous night a beautiful visit to Montgomery Alabama and Capitol Books. For the first incredible time I was able to walk down to the riverfront and catch a few moments of history. Thank you friend Virginia Dixon for visiting, driving while I put those feet on the dash for a few miles, and wrapping me up so much in your stories that suddenly the fuel gage announced we were driving on fumes. One very real dairy famer angel, one gas can later, we were back on the road. :) A special thank you to author Neil White and all who turned out for the reading at Square Books in Oxford. What a lovely affair. Can I move there? Okay – can I just walk and breathe the literary air?

The funny thing about writers on the road is everyone says, OH, you’ll just love (fill in the name of every city on the road) and it’s True! Only we don’t exactly get to see much normally except for the inside of a hotel room that we are ever so thankful to have! What I saw most was the view from the airplane and the lines on the highway.

Thank you Penugin/Berkley for an amazing experience and an opportunity to meet readers coast to coast!

The Electric Current of Prayer

Published on May 22, 2011 in Praying for Strangers Blog. 0 Comments

Yes, it’s true. Everyday I’m still crossing paths with a stranger to pray for. Sometimes Silently and sometimes I simply tell them – today your my stranger. I still keep my prayers silent, held closely in my heart and offer them up later or at the next red light. They aren’t long prayers. Not ever. But oftentimes they are prayers offered more than once. I think of someone I’ve passed and pray goodness in their life. And when I think of them again – the same thing. Peace, love, protection.

I’ve been on book tour and sharing new stories along the road with people at I guess every stop along the way. They are not always stories of prayer. Sometimes they are just on new ways i find myself connecting with the human race one stranger at a time. The desk clerk in Atlanta where I shared my Thai food to go. The man whistling at the diesel pump who offered to sing for me too. The housekeeper, the waitress, the anonymous.

Most recently I was driving through a busy street intersection where some serious construction work was going on in the street. There is a man on the – insert correct equipment title here because I don’t know it. It looks like a bulldozer to me as husband knows all heavy equipment does but I guess it might be street smasher or rock thingy as the man was busting up the street and pulling up big huge chunks of rock mostly likely known as concrete. He was seriously focused on what he was doing, wearting a helmet, wearing those ear pads that block sound, eye protectors, and so forth. I’d say he was insulated from EVERYTHING. But apparently not from that invisible current that is prayer. Because as I was driving past him and suddenly thought – that’s my stranger, that man right there, and I kinda just said something generic like – bless him God – the man’s head shot up like he had just been struck by lightning and he looked straight at me dead in the eye. It was peculiar I’m telling you. Sudden and strange and you’d have to be right there in my shoes or his to know what I’m talking about. To have felt it. But I’m telling you it happened. I’m telling you the truth.

So if you ever feel like your prayers are so invisible they don’t matter. If you feel that the thread is so tenuous that it can’t be felt, be tangible, be real, I assure you that it can and that it is. This thing we do – it matters. It makes a difference whether we understand the results or not. Whether we got what we want when we pray or we don’t. The electric energy of that action, that emotion, and that purpose will not be denied.

From the Road – South Carolina Book Festival – Pt2

Published on May 15, 2011 in Authors, Book Groups and Books. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

It’s been glorious being with writers and readers in South Carolina. Just wrapped two panels today at the festival. In Pursuit of Enlightenment: Memoirs & Stories & Memoir with Signe Pike. I loved it! Signe Loved it. The readers loved it! And that’s the flat out truth. It was all about how we find enlightenment through story and being fearless in the face of obstacles whether they be in life or on the written page. We should have taped. We should have youtubed but . . you ‘ll just have to catch us both at the next SIBA event in Charleston surfacing this September together or seperately.

Followed this with a genuine panel on Faith and Writiing with Beth Webb hart and Matt Matthews and hosted by writer Susan Craft. We talked about how faith incluences your writing whether you are considered an Inspirational writer or not. Where does inspiration come from? Do we pray for the words? How do we find and discover our characters?

Thank you for reading, for attending panels, for buying Praying for Strangers and other books for yourself and friends.

And a special Thank you to Paula Watkins and her incredible staff and volunteers of the South Carolina Book Festival that made everything seem . . . Perfect!

See you from the Road at Foxtale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, Georgia – Tuesday night – 6:30 Georgia Time. :)

From the Road – The South Carolina Book Festival

Published on May 14, 2011 in Authors, Book Groups and Books. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

All day I’ve thought that I would take time to park and write about the road. From whence I came and where I’m going. That hasn’t happened. I’ve been too blissfully surrounded by readers and writers – people who adore books, words, stories.

So the best I can do is say – I am here. This is NOW! At the South Carolina Book Festival which is AMAZING! Last night enjoyed talking writing with Nicole Seitz, Jim Minick, Lisa Patton, and others after the Author Cocktail Party which I caught for an entire twenty minutes after a rainstorm filled drive from Nashville.

Caught a few panels this A.M. including Lisa’s with one of my favorite writers, Celia Rivenbark who just cracks me up with her wicked sense of humor. I kept wanting to ask her if she had considered running for office – and I was quite serious. I’d vote for her in a heartbeat. Celia? Your country needs you!

Breakfast with writers including Nicole Sietz and Mary Alice Monroe who are those classy, southern ladies one so admires for their simple grace. How do they get that? Where does it come from? Regardless, I love their style.

Was able to lunch with Lisa Patton and Karin Gillespie, the founder of A Good Blog Is Hard To Find where I contribute a few words every week in the company of great authors. Our conversation over white pizza and Chimay was about literature, plot vs character driving story (we voted for a combination of both!) Book Festivals, books, author panels.

Everywhere, always, at every table and even people are talking books and what they are reading. Authors are the best of this – forgetting to talk about their own words at all as they gush lovingly over the book they just read, the one they are reading, or what they are planning to pick up next.

The Power of Story! OH, I just love it.

What’s In A Name?

Published on May 10, 2011 in Life. 0 Comments Tags: , .
You have an unusual name. Is there a story behind it?
Absolutely. I wrote under that name as a young woman so originally it was a pen name. It was inspired by a moment that I can only imagine mirrored one Mr. Samuel Clemens had upon hearing ‘mark’, and ‘twain’ over and over working on those riverboats until something clicked in him. What could be a better nom-de-plume than words that meant clear passage. I think considering the Jordan river had the same effect on me. Then one day I realized it was no longer a pen name at all. Furthermore, as Mark Twain well have discovered we needed him to be Mark Twain and no other. Now, it’s my legal, down to the bone, actual name. And for those who appreciate the significance although I was baptized as a young girl in the Episcopal Church, I was baptized again when I changed my name at a little country church – down in the river, of course. And although I loved the name I had as a little girl, it is no longer significant. No one calls me anything other than River and it would feel bizarre if they did. People love it. It seems to brightened their day.  Now, people tell me they are naming their babies that name. And that, brightens my day. I think it’s one of the most hopeful names around. I wear it proudly.

Book Clubs & Study Groups – Praying for Strangers Discussion Questions

Published on May 10, 2011 in Authors, Book Groups and Books. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Praying for Strangers Discussion Questions for Book Clubs, Reading Groups, Study Groups and Personal Reflection

Praying for Strangers offers a unique opportunity for reflection into one’s life journey and personal experiences. It also affords a fresh perspective on how readers interact with others. The following discussion questions may be used privately to help journal the thoughts readers may have brewing during or after reading the book or provide insite into personal feelings the stories generate. Designed for book groups,  study groups, and private journaling, the questions open the door for true discussion about matters regarding the power of story, spirituality, and how we may improve the world through more meaningful communication. (*You can book River Jordan to visit with your book club through SKPE, MacChat, Facetime, or Telephone by email request at river@riverjordan.us – Please put in Subject Line: Book Club Visit.)

1. After reading Praying for Strangers, what was the most significant impact you felt was your personal ‘take away’ from the book?  Has it affected the way you view or interact with people on a daily basis?

2. We often read books that seem to preach or teach us ways that we should think  about our faith and about each other. How has Praying for Strangers helped you examine the lens with which you view yourself or the world? It what ways has it adjusted the lens of how you see those around you?

3. If you were to embark on this type of journey of the human experience, how do you think it would look in real life? What are your concerns about what that might entail? What are you ‘wishful thoughts’ of what that picture would look like?

4. Many people feel their faith is a private issue. Others are more comfortable with sharing thoughts regarding their faith in different ways. How do you feel regarding discussing your faith or the fact that anything faith related is simply not a part of your life?

5. Although a very ancient word, one with powerful and universal meaning, the word prayer itself has become politically and emotionally charged. Sometimes even divisive. How do you personally feel about the word prayer? What images or memories does it evoke for you? Has reading the book given you a different experience with the word? If so, how.

6. Praying for Strangers includes true life incidents, people and occurrences where River Jordan encountered people as she met them in her daily life. What stories did you seem to connect with the most? Why?

7. Strangers in the book are simply just people we don’t know or haven’t met  - yet. How do strangers play a role in your everyday life? Do you have stories where a stranger has come to your aid without your asking? Or a story of when you were able to help a stranger in a spur of the moment happenstance? Did the experience empower your life?

8.  Today’s world and our real life existence includes many ways for us to connect with people through the internet and social media. Do you feel these ‘advances’ have helped or hindered our relating to one another on a human level?  Why do you feel the way you do? Can you share examples?

9. We often wish to make the world a better place. To have some impact in our lifetime on how we may leave the world a better place for having been here. Do you believe this one tiny thing, praying for a stranger in your path, even if it’s only a silent prayer, could make a difference?

10. Many readers relate that reading Praying for Strangers has greatly affected their daily communication with others. How has your history of communication with the people around you been affected by reading the book. Are you more patient? More tolerant? Quicker to pay a compliment? Offer assistance?

11. In reading Praying for Strangers what has surprised you most in the story? What has been the portion that you feel you would most like to relate to a friend? What would you tell them?

12, One of the continuing threads through the book is that a different person stood out every day as someone special to remember in a prayer. Those people came from all walks of life, all political parties, zip codes, faiths, and ethnic backgrounds. If you adopted this resolution for a day would you be influenced by any preconceived notions on who you chose? If so, why? If not, why?

13. If you have actually been inspired to start praying for strangers what has been your experience thus far? How has it affected you? How do you think it has affected those you’ve encountered?  Do you believe you continue this adventure of the human spirit?

14. If you had one blind, wild, wide-sweeping wish for the world today what would it be? Why? What do you think it would take for that vision to come to fruition?

Monthly Archive for May, 2011