VIENNA - Far down in Southern Illinois lives a woman who is deeply passionate, among other things, about her faith and her writing.

And now Helen Harper has brought one of those passions to publication. "Pig and a Sack of Stray Cats" is filled with remembrances of her early childhood when she was raised by her grandparents, Almus and Nettie Hundly, in Johnson County.

Q: This passion, writing, could be described as almost obsessive?

Much as any artist would describe personal inspiration, Harper said, "These lines would go through my mind. And if you don't write something down, the next morning, it's gone.

"I can see it (what she wants to write) in my subconscious. I can't get rid of it. I have to write.

"I didn't want to be bothered," she continued, so much so that since this passion which consumed her for such a long time she once asked God to remove.

"I said, 'Lord, take this away. I don't want this any more.'

"He did, and I grieved."

But that lasted only a few short weeks as she found she missed writing too much and asked for the passion to be returned.

By the way, she attributes her love of writing to her grandfather, a country school teacher, poet and storyteller.

While living in Alaska and surviving what she described "personal trials," she said, "I could look out the patio doors and see the mountains and the stars.

"I'd pray, think, write and keep my mind on important things. Sometimes I'd sit up all night.

"It's just the way it happened."

Q: Is this the beginning of other works?

"I've written lots of articles," said Harper.

She also has three other books in varying stages on her computer.

"One is fiction; the others are pretty much personal."

Though mentioning the computer, that's not the way the woman, who will soon turn 80 years old, normally writes.

"I've always written longhand and I still haven't mastered the computer," she confessed, though she continues to try.

She normally jots thoughts down, then adds in other things as she thinks of them.

"The strange thing is I usually end up with the first thing, even though I've arranged it 20 or 25 times."

Q: How about giving up some tidbits from the book?

First of all, the original cover art is sketches created by her sister, Brenda Fleming of Pittsburg.

"She taught herself to paint, then decided that she needed someone to guide her. She started taking lessons."

Fleming is now the holder of several art awards, though remaining an amateur.

The lake in the book is not too far from where Harper currently lives.

"It really was the swimming hole for the whole community. We spent hours and days in that lake."

And Pig?

Pig is the name of a friend of Harper's, someone whose life ended tragically at a young age. And as far as she knew, that was his name as she never knew any other.

"I never found out. It never occurred to me as a child to ask."

Arlene Mannlein can be reached at amannlein@herald-review.com or at 421-6976.

About the book

TITLE: "Pig and a Sack of Stray Cats" by Helen Harper

TYPE: hardback, paperback, 195 pages

ISBN-10: 0805989749

ISBN-13: 9780805989748

PUBLISHER: RoseDogs Books

LIST PRICE: $19 (paperback)

AVAILABLE: amazon.com; barnesandnoble.com (out of stock); RoseDog Books, 701 Smithfield Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 or 1-800-834-1803.