Stoneage Ramblings

By John R. Stone

Many of you may have heard of LaVyrle Spencer, a romance novelist who was very popular in the 1980s and 1990s.

She’s a Minnesota author and was born in Browerville, lived a couple of years in Alexandria, and started her writing career while living in Stillwater.

I met her about 45 years ago at a writing workshop at Mankato State University, as it was called at the time. I went there to hear Larry Batson, then a well-known columnist at what is now the Star Tribune. Batson had a knack for writing about the simple things in life.

Batson’s workshop was in a small room with just a dozen of us. Among them was Lavyrle who was in her 30s at the time. She told us at the time that she planned to be a published author but, at that time, had not had a book published. She just seemed naïve about the publishing world, which is complex and hard to enter.

I mentioned her, not by name, in a column in the Pope County Tribune after the event. Believe it or not, her neighbors at the time were Larry and Jeanne Helling who got the PCT. They showed her the column.

I got a note from her and she hadn’t taken any offense but I wrote back responding that I had meant no offense. It was the only time I ever saw her.

About a year later I got a book-sized package in the mail. It was a copy of “The Fulfillment,” her first book. It was published by Avon, a major publisher. She had sent her draft of the book to a well-known romance writer who read it and sent it to her publisher, Avon, who decided to print it. That was a really smart move!

Inside the cover she hand wrote: “To John Stone. This book is set on my grandma’s farm, and the town where I was born, Browerville, because Inella Burns taught me, “write first what you know best.” Thus it’s filled with grandma’s memories and many of my own. I cooked my first meal on a wood-burning range, grew up with outdoor privies and kerosene lanterns. Both of my grandpas farmed with horses. This then, is my first book of love to my children who didn’t experience those beautiful days. Warmest wishes, Lavyrle Spencer.”

Inside each following book there was written “To John Stone, warmest regards, Lavyrle Spencer” or “To John Stone, Celebrate! Another Best Seller.” Or “To John Stone, It’s me again! How ‘bout this cover – I’m bustin’ my buttons I’m so proud, Lavyrle Spencer.”

As the books came I got notes about how covers change as you get better known. Early books had plain covers with the name in small black type. As the author gets more popular the typeface with the author’s name gets larger. Then, eventually, the author’s name is larger than the book title. Another sign is the gold type for the book’s title and author’s name.

All in all Lavyrle ended up having 23 books published and retired after her last book, “Then Came Heaven,” came out in 1997. Four of the books were made into movies.

Twelve of her books were New York Times best sellers. Her books averaged 1.5 million paperback sales and 400,000 hard cover sales per title.

She is in the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame and received five RITA awards from the Romance Writers organization.

When she retired in 1997 she was at the peak of her career but decided that she wanted to get away from the pressure of writing and spend more time gardening and working on music. She had reached the goals she set for herself and was satisfied with her writing career as it was. She now lives in North Oaks, a Twin Cities suburb.

Believe it or not today (July 17) is Lavyrle Spencer’s birthday, she turns 80. Happy Birthday to you, Lavyrle, and thanks for teaching me that first impressions aren’t always the best way to think of a person’s future possibilities!