Two local authors publish books

Two Rainier community members are celebrating the holiday season with newly published book titles. Sandi (S.K..) Mueller recently published her third children's book, "The Pinevale Kids: First day of school." The book is the first in a new series by Mueller. Also, City Administrator Scott Jorgensen recently published his fifth book, "She loves you stupid! (A Gen X love story)." The book is inspired by real-life events.

Both authors have a lifetime love of crafting words in one way or another. For Mueller, she's always been a storyteller at heart, going back to childhood. However, it wasn't until 2000 that she wrote her first children's story. "I kind of created, in my mind, 'The Pinevale Kids' about 2001," said Mueller. "This whole different little world and all of its characters, what they were going to do, how they were going to develop. [This was] back then the Internet was still kind of in its infancy. I had no idea what to do with this story, other than just read it to [my daughter]."

In 2021 Mueller got a crash course in self-publishing when she was inspired to write "Jasper Finds A Home," after her teenage son unexpectedly passed away. "I was on my computer doing something and all of a sudden that memory of Alex coming home with Jasper in his sweatshirt hit me," said Mueller. "I really, truly believe that it was my son saying, 'You have to write this story, mom. Write the story.' I wrote it like I was telling Oliver the story of his uncle. I really believe it was Alex, and here we are."

Mueller worked with friend and graphic artist Shaylee Carlson to illustrate the "Jasper Adventure" books, built the layout in Canva, and self-published. This process helped her learn how to develop "The Pinevale Kids" for publication. The second book in the new Pinevale series is already in the works, and she's expecting a spring 2026 release.

Jorgensen, on the other hand, found a writer's path via community journalism. He wrote for his high school and college newspapers before graduating with a degree in journalism. He then worked as a small-town reporter in Oregon. In 2013, he switched careers to the House Republican Office and self-published his first book, "Transition," a personal reflection of the great recession and its impact.

Jorgensen's time working at the capitol, combined with an interest in learning about Oregon's history, resulted in his next published works. In 2014, he published his second book "Conversations with Atiya," a profile of American politician and 32nd governor of Oregon, Victor George Atiyeh, who served from 1979-1987. The Oregon State Library houses a copy and was recently accepted to the St. Helens Library Columbia County Authors section, as was Mueller's.

In 2015, he published, "On the Cusp of Chaos," memoirs from times at the Capitol. In 2020, he was inspired to write his fourth book, "Our Friend Dennis." The book is about former Secretary of State, Dennis Richardson. Jorgensen describes the book as an oral history of Richardson's public life, from starting his career on city councils to winning Secretary of State in 2016.

Jorgensen's latest work, "She loves you stupid! (A Gen X love story)," is part fiction and part memoir. Inspired by personal events, "She loves you stupid!" Is a coming-of-age story that starts out in the illustrative Gen X rock-grunge era of the 90s. It follows two people who dated in their 20s but broke up and became best friends. The book tells how their lives evolve over 20 years of ups and downs, until realizing what they'd been looking for was right in front of them all along. The story is told from the perspective of the friends as they observe the relationship between the main couple over the years. "The title comes from that literal discussion where one of our mutual best friends pulled me aside and basically said, 'Do you realize, right? She loves you stupid!'" said Jorgensen. "That was my moment of realization..'Well, but I love her, too.' I've spent half of my life wondering what life would have been like if we just stayed together that whole time, and now I get to live it."

Jorgensen is finishing up his second fictional novel, "How (not) to Win a Campaign." The book is inspired by real people and events during a congressional campaign in Eugene over 20 years ago. Jorgensen is aiming for a Labor Day 2026 release. Both Mueller and Jorgensen's works can be found on Amazon and other publisher platforms.