Talkshow Thursday: Meet Julie McDonald Zander

Julie McDonald Zander: 

A Writing Journey

While volunteering as a docent for school tours of our local museum more than a decade ago, I spotted a placard describing a mother’s journey across the Oregon Trail in 1847 and the tragedy that befell her.

I thought, What would you do, thousands of miles away from family? How would you survive?

I decided to find out.

In between my Chapters of Life projects, helping people capture and preserve their life stories in books, I delved into the woman’s history, scanning diaries and letters at the Washington State Library, perusing newspaper clippings, and pulling together her remarkable story. I had no idea when I started whether Matilda was a Christian, but then I stumbled upon a note in museum’s files stating that her husband ordered a Bible and hymnals shipped around Cape Horn in the early 1850s. Later, newspaper articles reported she kept a Bible beside her and read it regularly, which only made sense when I learned about the overwhelming losses she suffered. How could she possibly survive so much without faith in God?

Then I debated about whether to write the story as nonfiction or fiction. Most history is written about

men, and nobody had ever told the story of this amazing hostess who entertained Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens and his family, future president Ulysses S. Grant, and Generals Phillip Sheridan and George B. McClelland. With decades of experience writing and publishing more than seventy nonfiction books, while just dipping my toes into writing novels, I published the nonfiction Washington Territory’s Grand Lady through Chapters of Life in 2019.

But her story deserved a wider audience, so I shared her story week by week, month by month, with my
two Christian writers’ critique groups. Their generosity and kindness helped so much. Instead of telling me “this stinks,” which I’d heard in a secular group, Melanie Dobson told me, “Julie, we don’t need to know everything they packed into their wagon.” I learned to kick out the reporter and focus on the story.

St. Helens Press, a fiction imprint, published my debut novel, The Reluctant Pioneer, in September 2024. The book won a Will Rogers Medallion and was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Historical Novel.

After The Reluctant Pioneer, I wrote a second novel, once again inspired by true events, a day of tragedy and violence that unfolded on the streets of Centralia, Washington, on November 11, 1919, during the first Armistice Day parade celebrating the end of World War I. I toyed with the idea of writing it as a dual timeline novel, but I struggled with the contemporary story, so then I figured I’d write it as historical fiction. After all, I knew the history and how it unfolded, although some of the facts have been debated for a hundred years. But my critique group partners once again encouraged me to write it as a time-slip novel, which I did.

St. Helens Press released Shattered Peace: A Century of Silence in the spring of 2025. It’s been an interesting journey, especially with my third novel, which is based on family lore but entirely fictional. I’ve never been a seat-of-the-pants writer, but this time, I sit down on Monday night before my Tuesday morning critique group and ask myself, “Now what happens?” It’s a challenge but so much fun to make it up.

I’ve enjoyed sharing my books and hearing from readers. At book club meetings, I listen to how the story unfolded in the minds of readers. And I pray that the underlying messages of faith, redemption, and the steadfastness of our Lord and Savior shines through in my writing.

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Shattered Peace: A Century of Silence 

A forgotten diary. A century-old secret. A town still haunted by its past. 

When former Navy Seabee Colleen Holmes inherits an old house in Centralia, Washington, she sees it as a chance to escape her own ghosts and start anew. But as she peels back layers of history within the home’s walls, she unearths long-buried secrets tied to a dark chapter in the town’s history. 

Hidden behind crumbling plaster, a faded diary and a bundle of love letters unveil the struggles of a soldier trapped in the trenches of France and the heartbreak of those left waiting at home. Yet the diary’s brittle pages hold more than just longing—they bear witness to the explosive events of November 11, 1919, when a parade meant to celebrate peace erupted into violence and bloodshed. 

As Colleen pieces together the tragic choices that shattered lives and fractured a town, she realizes history is never truly buried. The wounds of yesterday still shape today, and the past is not done with her yet. 

Inspired by true events, Shattered Peace is a gripping time-slip novel of love, loss, and the echoes of history that refuse to fade.

 
Purchase link: https://books2read.com/u/4jj7gv

Author Bio:

Julie McDonald Zander, an award-winning journalist, earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and political science from the University of Washington before working two decades as a newspaper reporter and editor. Through her personal history company, Chapters of Life, she has published more than seventy-five individual, family, and community histories. Her debut novel, The Reluctant Pioneer, won a Will Rogers Medallion and was a finalist for the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award for Best Historical Novel. She and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest, where they raised their two children.

Author Links:
Website: https://maczander.com/
Twitter / X: https://x.com/MacZanderAuthor and https://x.com/ChaptersofLife
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563140294856
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Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/mczander.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1gV_qYTDqMbPVbygc-lOXw
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/maczanderauthor/
Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/julie-mcdonald-zander
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maczanderauthor?lang=en
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001K8VG86
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5856830.Julie_McDonald_Zander