Inspired by the Great Oudoors

Chrysanthemum, King,
Emperor of Autumn, who
will rule while you sleep?
(from Siri Mitchell’s Moon Over Tokyo)

I love October. I’m starting to think it might be my favorite month of the year. Finally, a reprieve from our hot, sticky Georgia summer. Nearly every week, I’ve joined other photo-snapping parents on field trips to farms, pumpkin patches, and the state agricultural fair, feeling refreshed by crisp air and the laughter of children.

It’s exciting to bring my writing notebook with me as I experience this autumn. I record snippets of conversation, like a reporter working on a story that has no deadline. I’m not sure where or when I’ll use these impressions, but they’re a part of me and of the characters who run through my mind. Someday, I hope my readers can share these journeys with me.

I recently read Siri Mitchell’s fantastic novel, Moon Over Tokyo. I met Siri at ICRS back in July, and she inscribed her book with the words, “To Heather, with many blessings. 1 Cor. 2:9.” I looked up this verse, which reads, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” The next verse explains, “But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.” Here, Paul is quoting from the ancient manuscript of Isaiah 64:4.

What a joyful scripture! As a Christian writer, I can look forward to the sights, sounds, and insights that God will bring me through His Holy Spirit. There are three of us traveling together: God, me, and those who will someday read what I write. How energizing!

In Siri’s novel, her character Allie O’Conner lives in Tokyo, working as a writer for the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes. Each chapter of the book opens with a haiku, focusing on some aspect of nature, celebrating the change of seasons. The novel begins in summer, moves through autumn and winter, then ends in late spring. Allie’s year is full of revelations, as she experiences Japanese culture and falls in love with an old friend.

I traveled right along with her. Siri Mitchell lived in Japan for a while with her husband, and the book I’m sure was her labor of love as she recorded her impressions. I had visited many of the places Allie traveled, including the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kamakura, so Allie’s version of these sites brought me there again. I got so wrapped up in the novel, I forgot I was reading. (Don’t you love it when you feel that way?)

I appreciate authors who take the time to pen vivid words that fully express a setting for me. There’s no less expensive way to travel than through a book! Siri raises the bar for me as a writer — for the children’s novels I hope to write someday. For now, I’m living, tasting, smelling, and touching this glorious October in my home state of Georgia.

Though writing time may be scarce, my joy, most certainly, is not! 🙂