The Ripple Effect Is Real

How past connections created a perfect Saturday.

Connecting with Vincent van Gogh fans at a book signing for Saving Vincent at Belleville Books in Illinois.

I had the best time Saturday.

Ever have a day like this?

I was at a bookstore. A passerby simply would have seen a group of people listening to me give a book talk, answer Q&A and later sign copies of Saving Vincent.

But that glance would have missed the feeling in the group. Van Gogh fans! Book lovers! It was fun to share tidbits about Vincent with people touched by his tortured, talented soul. There’s something about sharing moments with others that get it that makes one feel seen.

And then to witness how they get how invaluable Jo’s role was in saving Vincent’s art — just terrific.

The perfect synchronicity of that particular collection of individuals that chose to spend part of their Saturday at a specific bookstore to hear about Jo van Gogh lifted my entire weekend.

Perfect place, perfect time, perfect preparation.

Do you ever wish you could make this happen . . on purpose?

How it all started

For me, Saturday’s event all started with a sister author, Dawn, offering to introduce me to a bookseller to possibly do a book signing. Dawn has a friend named Kelly who works at Belleville Books, which is about 30 miles from me.

Or wait, no, it started with Belleville Book owners Rob and Steve who decided they should move from Vegas to live near family in Illinois and ended up driving along Belleville’s Main Street and saw a vacant building (once a bank) and had the thought that they could renovate it and open a bookstore there.

Or wait, better yet, it started with Dawn and me doing a talk together (along with co-presenter Marie W. Watts) at the tenth anniversary conference ofWFWA(Women’s Fiction Writers Association) in 2023. We worked for a year with three other authors —Tamatha Cain,

Nancy J. Fagan, Writer and Roxana Trabulsi—all of us pouring heart and passion into our craft talk, “How to Portray the Past Truthfully without Harm.”

Hold on. No, it began because we all originally met on a weekly Zoom meeting of an historical fiction affinity group in WFWA where friendships and creativity bloomed from the sheer fun of it all.

Nope. . . come to think of it, it had to be because a handful of us in WFWA decided to start the affinity group in 2020, which led to more and more people joining as word-of-mouth connected histfic writers.

Or oops, if I’m really being honest, maybe it all started on a trip to Amsterdam in 2016 where I first learned about Jo van Gogh (the star of my historical novel) and how she dedicated her life to ensure her brother-in-law would not die in obscurity. Yes, that must be it! For the trip planted a seed of inspiration that surfaced a few months later when they idea of writing a book gut-kicked me so that I ended up retiring to write it. Then realizing I needed HELP I reached out to the Author Accelerator book coachingreservoir and partnered with coach Sheila who suggested I look into WFWA.

Yes, that’s it, right? The reason Saturday was great.

Phew!

Except.

Vincent's role

Actually, if Vincent van Gogh had not had the passion to stick with his unique artistic vision, the group on Saturday would not have been together at all. For his creations weren’t merely a function of physical paint, brush, ink, canvas or any other combination.

They came from beyond the paint as his brother Theo said.

Instead of being motivated by money (Vincent could have applied his talent to matching more commercially acceptable art), or celebrity (curtailing his off-putting and erratic personality), he chose to follow his own creative impulse.

The artist begins with a blank canvas. Creates something out of nothing. Without the thoughts and feelings of the artist, there would be no art. It’s their particular creative mind expressing itself that draws us to it.

And that’s what we feel.

Across the ages.

This is the connection a group of strangers felt on Saturday who came together to hear more about a man—and the woman who saved him—because his paintings have touched them in some way.

Love.

Mind the wake

Like the bow of a boat slicing through water and creating a wake with rows of expanding waves behind it, our lives crisscross paths and connect with countless people many of whom we will never know.

You’ve just read my silly attempt to trace synchronicity.

I do know one thing. Looking into the eyes of each person who stopped for me to sign their book gave me a chance to ask, “When did you first hear about Vincent?” I saw each person light up with a personal Van Gogh story:

A high school class. A multi-media immersion event. A parent who hung a Starry Nightposter on their bedroom wall.

We grin.

It’s a connection, following as a consequence of all those other connections. And it’s giving me a nudge: Pay a little closer attention.

I’m creating a wake.

That’s why I had a good day Saturday.