Q&A with Jane Howard, author of “Hey Nature Lady: Vignettes on Living a Creative Life”
Jane Howard appeared in my inbox one day thanks to some serendipity in LinkedIn’s algorithm. Jane studied environmental education as an undergrad, and she earned a master's degree in science education, so it’s no wonder that in midlife, Jane accumulated a batch of personal essays with strong themes of nature, creativity, personal growth, and adventure. A creative in every sense of that word, Jane also had a collection of watercolor paintings she thought might pair nicely with the essays. I concurred and thus began the publication journey of Hey Nature Lady: Vignettes on Living a Creative Life.
It was a gem of a book from the start, a quiet showpiece. My partner in Demitasse Press, Dorka Hegedus, searched for a publishing platform that could do a full-color, artistic book justice. We landed on Blurb, to gorgeous results.
Once Hey Nature Lady hit the marketplace, Jane was a quick study in book marketing. If you live in the American Northwest or Hawaii, look for Jane at an event or workshop near you.
QUESTION: Tell me how it feels to have your book officially published and in the world. You can be honest.
JANE HOWARD: It feels like success. It’s something I wanted to do, and I've accomplished that goal. It's a little bit anxiety-producing, because I’m putting myself out there, since it's about my personal journeys. But it feels really good.
What got you started with writing the essays in Hey Nature Lady?
I was inspired by a writing class I took at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. They have a writer's cottage in Issaquah, Washington, and the teacher, Bill Kenower, was super influential. He vetted a lot of the writing; he made you stand up; he made everybody critique each other’s work. It was during that class when I thought, Oh, I need to do something with this.
Who was your intended audience for this book when you first conceived of it, and who do you think it is now? Did your intended audience change at all over time?
At first, I was just doing it for family members, just tracking my own history of out-of-the-box lifestyles, and writing down adventures that I didn’t want to forget. Then, when I got further into writing the essays, I thought I might be writing something for a younger audience. I’d been working with students in schools as a guest teacher, and so some of my essays are about doing that work during COVID. Now, though, I see my audience as broader than that—any age, really. The intention of the writing is to inspire others to take risks, to be curious about life, to reconnect with a sense of innocence and curiosity about the world and nature. Nature can be so nourishing, and we tend to lose touch with that.
Did you know when you first started writing that you wanted to focus on those themes, or was it the process of writing that helped you realize what kinds of stories you wanted to tell?
It was a process. The workshop with Bill Kenower was called “Fearless Writing”—we were supposed to keep our minds open to our own writing. We got a prompt to write about a pivotal or special moment when we were kids. So it was like, Oh, yeah, I remember when I found that hummingbird nest. It evolved from there.
Do you remember which of the thirteen essays you wrote first?
The first one I wrote for the class was about the volcano in Hawaii and the lava. That was still very present for me. The first essay chronologically was extracted from a journal I wrote back in my college days, when I was living with my parents in New York. In that one, I’m on a train; it opens the book.
It’s great that you kept your journals. How much of the language from the journal did you use in the final essay?
I used pretty close to the exact conversation I had with the upset man on the train because I had written that down. And I had ridden that train quite a bit during my youth, so it was familiar. The windows were so dirty, I remember I just wanted to go out and clean them all. I think they've gotten a lot better, but back then, the trains were pretty grimy and always breaking down. I did have to look up some things, like how much I would have paid for a train ticket.
What about the essay called “Which Fork?”—was that all from memory? I ask because that was a long time ago, but your storytelling is vivid.
I had written my parents a letter about that trip, and they said, “Oh my gosh, you're doing such a wild adventure, you should write an article for National Geographic. They were always excited about what I was doing, and scared. So, I had some notes from that.
Also, I had a boyfriend back then—he’s in the chapter about Fuzzy the bear. He came to visit me in Hawaii maybe six years ago, and he brought me a journal that I had written and forgotten about. He said, “I thought you might want this back.” It was leather, I had hand-tooled it, and it had drawings and poetry. I had written down some of the things about that trip. They were all kind of disjointed, but I used some of that material. It was wild when he showed up with the journal.
That is wild. That's a gift that he gave you. Wow.
Jane Howard, author of Hey Nature Lady: Vignettes on Living a Creative Life
“The intention of the writing is to inspire others to take risks, to be curious about life, to reconnect with a sense of innocence, and curiosity about the world and nature. ”
At a certain point, you decided to put your essays into a book. When did that happen, or how did that happen?
I had put some things together loosely, and I just went to Kinko's and printed them for my kids, and I gave it to them for Christmas. I don't even think they read them all, because it was kind of a mess. Then, I met you. I’d been doing watercolors and hadn't even thought about putting those in a book, but because you were so uplifting, I began to consider it.
I don't even remember that. When you came to me, you didn't already know that you would use the watercolors?
I didn't think I could afford it. I figured I'd just do the Amazon thing. I didn’t know such a beautiful book was possible.
I'm so glad it worked out the way it did. Thank you for being open to the idea of using the watercolors.
I’d like to ask some questions about your author experience. Is there any difference between how you thought it would feel to publish a book and how it actually feels?
Yeah, I had no idea going into it how much work it takes to self-publish. I could never do it by myself. It's a lot of work. You have to be committed to doing it, and it's helpful to have somebody to walk you through it. Even if you're computer-savvy, it's just a lot to know.
Starting with the writing, and ending with the phase you're in right now, which is figuring out how to get your book into readers' hands—which parts of the process did you enjoy the most, and which did you least enjoy?
I liked matching the watercolors to the essays, because it was fun to see them come together. I also liked digging through my past, like finding that map from my parents [which appears near the beginning of Hey Nature Lady].
I didn't like feeling out of control. Although you guys were so helpful in holding my hand on this, I'm not a computer-y person, and so the mechanics of optimizing images and the publication—that was stressful.
I don't know yet about the launch. I'm a little apprehensive about it, about putting myself out there and showing up and being a talking head for my book. I think once I'm into it, I will like it, but now it feels scary.
I totally understand that. It can be uncomfortable to hold author events. You could always have somebody interview you, and you should also feel free to be brief. You don't have to give a whole seminar. People are happy to gather for a friend’s creative project. Try to remember that. Tell yourself, “I'm creating space for people to gather around something fun and creative. All I have to do is tell them what about it was fun and meaningful for me.” Be sure to tell them how rewarding you found it to research your past. That might inspire people to do the same.
That's great. My goal will be to ignite something in them: What are your stories?
I know you have a couple of author events scheduled. How did you decide what kind of event to hold, where to hold it, and such?
I thought it needed to be a cozy space to match the book. I don't really want to do it in the back of a bookstore with chairs lined up, or in some dark building. I thought it should be a place where people gather anyway, like a coffeehouse, or some space with couches. My kids were raised on Vashon Island, and I spend a lot of time there, so I contacted the owner of one of the oldest little coffee roasteries. The place has creaky old floors, and it's on the National Historic Register. It's just a figurehead of that island. They’ll sell coffee and wine. My daughter had the idea of calling it “Sips, Snacks, and Stories.”
Then, in Seattle, where I live, there's a coffee shop within walking distance from my apartment. A lot of students go there with their laptops, and when it's nice out, they roll up the window so it's open-air. A lot of artists sell cards there, and some pottery. It’s my kind of vibe. So, I got ahold of the owner. She said they’d never done a book launch or something similar before, but she was open to it.
I love it. That's how I would do it too: create an event that matches the tone of my book. How are you getting word out about these events?
I think I'll put it on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. And then I'm going to promote it to the group I’m leading to Japan in the spring. And my pickleball group and my watercolor group.
Final question: Has this project generated any ideas for your next creative project, or are you in more of a gestating phase now?
I've been thinking about doing some workshops around the book. I've been collecting watercolor sets and little cards. I’m thinking participants could create a watercolor card that represents a memory from their childhood. I’ll read some snippets from my stories as inspiration.
That sounds like an excellent next phase, helping people accomplish what you're advising in your essays, to connect with nature, your own creativity, and your own story.
Learn more about Jane at www.islandjanejourneys.com.