My Life by Paisley Kirkpatrick

Who am I? That’s a good question. I am a wife, a mom, a writer, a seamstress, a mountain woman, and a good friend. It’s not easy to describe yourself when you are basically shy and would rather watch from the sidelines.

I grew up in Northern California in Santa Rosa, the town Luther Burbank settled in because flowers thrive in its cooler climate. We had fog that would roll in from the ocean similar to San Francisco. I married a handsome, hero-type Air Force sergeant 42 years ago. It was the classic love-at-first-sight for me and I’ve never regretted my decision. We had two daughters, nine and a half years apart. Our older daughter died nine years ago from cancer and left a big hole in our hearts.

We’ve basically lived in a mountainous area for most of our marriage. Ken retired from Pacific Gas and Electric Company as, first a lineman and then an electrician, after 33 years, much like my father did. Living in remote areas gave me the chance to expand my love of writing. I joined an International Pen Friends organization in 1989 and out of the 41 pen friends I had, I still write to a half dozen of them. I’ve also had the chance to host Cristache from Romania for three weeks and we stayed with Sue in Scotland a few days while visiting her beautiful country. This penpal opportunity gave me the chance to explore the world through their letters and friendships. We also met and ‘adopted’ Bert, a young Dutch gentleman, 31 years ago while on a camping trip and that friendship opened the door to hosting a Swedish exchange daughter. My husband’s comment was, “How much can one person change the house?” We soon found out. It was an experience of a lifetime and we still consider Magdalena our daughter.
It wasn’t long until we started traveling to Holland (we were actually in Bert’s wedding in a castle in Holland) and spent two extra weeks in Sweden. Now we’ve added Canada, Germany, Scotland, Denmark (where my Dad’s parents came from) and several other countries to our list of places we love to visit. My Mom’s family came here from Scotland and that seems to be my favorite place to visit.

Over the years I’ve enjoyed decorating cakes (none of the little girls in my life forgot I promised to make their wedding cakes), but the greatest joy was making my daughter’s cake.

I have suffered from carpel tunnel syndrome for twenty years now, so the cakes aren’t as fancy as they used to be. I love bringing children-of-my-heart into my life and they say I am like the old lady who lived in a shoe and didn’t know what to do with all her children. They let me love them…. What’s amazing to me is that they are all in the age range of the daughter we lost. I am thinking she is sending them my way.

An extraordinary time of my life was being president of the Kevin Sharp Friends Club for thirteen years.

Kevin grew up nearby and rose to become an award winning country singing artist. He survived life-threatening cancer at 18 and has devoted his life to helping kids with the traitorous disease. We had over 2000 members in the fan club. I sent out 50 newsletters – one every three months – and met so many fantastic people along the way. My partner and I ran a booth at Fan Fair in Nashville five years and I fell in love with the South. You cannot imagine the feeling I had standing on the stage of the Grand Old Opry and experiencing Kevin singing for a full audience. Awesome doesn’t even begin to cover it. And, yes, he is one of my sons-of-my-heart.

We live in a small community located halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe on an acre of land amidst the tall trees.

We love it here – lots of wild life such as bears, mountain lions, coyotes, and birds to keep us company. Our daughter and son-in-law live down the road less than an hour away, a very good thing.

I spend my time writing and sewing. In memory of our daughter, I have made and given away 36 quilts, mostly brightly-colored, crib-size flannel baby quilts and some photo quilts.

I’ve worked as a secretary for certified public accountants, accounts payable clerk for property management and a clerk in an art gallery. The gallery opened a door for me as it was located in the old gold-mining town of Placerville, and located across the street from The Cary House hotel built in 1857. My stories are set in the gold rush era and my research lives around me. So many of the old timers here still love to remember back and talk about when there was gold taken from these hills.

I have written four stories, but none are published yet because I haven’t sent them out. I keep learning new skills and applying them. My goal is to tighten them up and start sending them on their way. I’ve been enjoying some wins and a first place in contests this past year. Since joining RWA and Sacramento Valley Rose in November, 1999, I have been a board member in my local chapter and membership chair for From the Heart for six years. My other chapters are Hearts through History, Celtic Hearts, and Music City Romance Writers, and my blogs are Writers Playground, Scandalous Victorians, Voices of the Heart and Sweethearts of the West.

This is a brief overview of my life’s story. What’s next? I am hoping to see a book with my name on the cover. I believe in miracles and know dreams come true. Thanks for spending time with me today.