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Look Unto the Fields
Look Unto the Fields continues the saga of young schoolteacher Clarissa Johnson who left her small New England hometown to work at Union Mission among the Osages in the Indian Country. The missionary effort grows to include Hopefield Farm, and the young mission families battle disease, distrust and the many challenges of life on the frontier. Struggling against her doubts and fears, Clarissa dreams of a home and family at the prairie outpost. Will her desires be fulfilled as the missionaries work to bring hope to their neighbors struggling against the tide of change? The sweeping drama of the American West plays out in this historical novel set in the early 1820s.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 31, 2015
5 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Jonita Mullins
21 books13 followersI am often asked about how I started as a writer. My answer is that I started just as most writers do . . . I first was a reader. At an early age I fell in love with words and describe myself as a “word nerd” today.
I remember my third-grade teacher reading to the class a book titled The Miracle Worker about Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan. I was enthralled with the writing and moved by the story. It was that book which made me understand how powerful words can be and how they can evoke deep emotions. By fourth grade I knew I wanted to try my hand at the craft of writing. But it would be several years before I dared to think that I might become a writer.
My high school English teacher must have seen something in my compositions, for every essay contest that came across her desk came to mine. “You should enter this contest,” she would say, and I would obediently write about whatever topic was sought. I never won any of those contests, but I usually placed in the top three and had a collection of little ribbons.
Still, I thought it was rather audacious to think that I could be a writer. So I went off to Oklahoma State University, uncertain about what career path I wanted to take. Praying for direction, I was an undeclared major the first semester and took only the required general courses like college algebra and freshman composition.
Then I had a terrible scare. I had turned in my first writing assignment in freshman comp. As the teacher handed me the graded paper, she asked me to stay after class. I had NEVER been asked to stay after class before. I was the shy word nerd who always carried a book so I could avoid conversation with anyone. I certainly never had to stay after class. So I sat through freshman comp that day desperately trying to think of what I might have done wrong.
After class, I approached the lectern in trepidation. But the teacher said, “You have a gift for writing. Have you considered majoring in English?” Taking this as a sign from above, I majored in English audaciously thinking that maybe I could be a writer. Looking back, I think my freshman comp teacher was simply impressed that I knew how to properly use a semi-colon.
My first job out of college was as a proofreader in the editorial department at the Oral Roberts ministry in Tulsa. Within six months I was moved to the position of writer for their daily devotional magazine. I could now legally and honestly say I was a writer. It was right there in my job title.
I learned two important skills while working as a devotion writer. One was tight writing without a single wasted word. That meant the sentence I had slaved over for an hour to craft so beautifully would be the one sentence my editor would draw a line through with her evil red pen. The other skill I developed was the discipline of writing every day. Both skills would serve me well into the future.
After eight years at a job I truly enjoyed, my position was farmed out to an outside company. I then embarked on a checkered career of temporary clerical positions until I found permanent work as a loan secretary at a bank. It was a far cry from being a writer and though I was good at the job, I didn’t enjoy it. There is hardly ever a reason to use a semi-colon in banking.
Fortunately for me, a fellow bank employee was involved in the development of a new history museum in Muskogee where I had purchased a home. He asked if I would produce the museum newsletter. Shortly after the museum opened, I took a position there as the marketing director.
Within a few months, the local newspaper approached the museum asking if someone on staff could write a weekly history column. I raised my hand. That was over twenty years ago and though I no longer work at the museum, I still write that weekly column drawing upon the discipline of tight writing every day. After writing over a thousand articles on Oklahoma history, I know a thing or two about Oklahoma history.
I had long aspired to write
I remember my third-grade teacher reading to the class a book titled The Miracle Worker about Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan. I was enthralled with the writing and moved by the story. It was that book which made me understand how powerful words can be and how they can evoke deep emotions. By fourth grade I knew I wanted to try my hand at the craft of writing. But it would be several years before I dared to think that I might become a writer.
My high school English teacher must have seen something in my compositions, for every essay contest that came across her desk came to mine. “You should enter this contest,” she would say, and I would obediently write about whatever topic was sought. I never won any of those contests, but I usually placed in the top three and had a collection of little ribbons.
Still, I thought it was rather audacious to think that I could be a writer. So I went off to Oklahoma State University, uncertain about what career path I wanted to take. Praying for direction, I was an undeclared major the first semester and took only the required general courses like college algebra and freshman composition.
Then I had a terrible scare. I had turned in my first writing assignment in freshman comp. As the teacher handed me the graded paper, she asked me to stay after class. I had NEVER been asked to stay after class before. I was the shy word nerd who always carried a book so I could avoid conversation with anyone. I certainly never had to stay after class. So I sat through freshman comp that day desperately trying to think of what I might have done wrong.
After class, I approached the lectern in trepidation. But the teacher said, “You have a gift for writing. Have you considered majoring in English?” Taking this as a sign from above, I majored in English audaciously thinking that maybe I could be a writer. Looking back, I think my freshman comp teacher was simply impressed that I knew how to properly use a semi-colon.
My first job out of college was as a proofreader in the editorial department at the Oral Roberts ministry in Tulsa. Within six months I was moved to the position of writer for their daily devotional magazine. I could now legally and honestly say I was a writer. It was right there in my job title.
I learned two important skills while working as a devotion writer. One was tight writing without a single wasted word. That meant the sentence I had slaved over for an hour to craft so beautifully would be the one sentence my editor would draw a line through with her evil red pen. The other skill I developed was the discipline of writing every day. Both skills would serve me well into the future.
After eight years at a job I truly enjoyed, my position was farmed out to an outside company. I then embarked on a checkered career of temporary clerical positions until I found permanent work as a loan secretary at a bank. It was a far cry from being a writer and though I was good at the job, I didn’t enjoy it. There is hardly ever a reason to use a semi-colon in banking.
Fortunately for me, a fellow bank employee was involved in the development of a new history museum in Muskogee where I had purchased a home. He asked if I would produce the museum newsletter. Shortly after the museum opened, I took a position there as the marketing director.
Within a few months, the local newspaper approached the museum asking if someone on staff could write a weekly history column. I raised my hand. That was over twenty years ago and though I no longer work at the museum, I still write that weekly column drawing upon the discipline of tight writing every day. After writing over a thousand articles on Oklahoma history, I know a thing or two about Oklahoma history.
I had long aspired to write
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 25, 2016
Another terrific read! Love this series, can't wait to read the last one!
Received this book free for my honest review.
Received this book free for my honest review.
Displaying 1 of 1 review