Meet the Author

Welcome to Colloquium!

I’m JHS! I live in “Livable, Lovable Lodi,” California, the “Zinfandel Capital of the World.” I have two sons, both of whom are college students.

That’s a photo of me at four years of age standing by my mother’s roses in the front yard of the house that my parents built and in which I grew up. Those roses are still there. However, after living in that house again for seven years, in 2009, I purchased and moved into another beautiful house. But I still own my family home — and plan to keep it in the family.

When I earned my Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting, I had to face one inescapable truth: I just don’t care about financial statements, taxes, and all that the science of accounting entails. I could not envision myself earning my “daily bread” in that profession. So I decided to act upon an idea that had been rattling around the back of my brain for many years: I opted to continue on to law school.

The next four years were quite challenging, especially considering that my youngest son, “MattieBoo,” was a special “gift from God” (the meaning of “Matthew”) during my third year of study. He was born just before 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, but I was back in class two nights later because finals were fast approaching. I was the only woman in the maternity ward with a Constitutional Law book and yes, I did study between contractions.

Unfortunately, my father did not live to see me graduate. He died just two months after MattieBoo was born, but he did get to see me argue a hypothetical case before three invited Supreme Court Justices (from Indiana, Montana, and New Mexico) in my school’s “Final Four” Moot Court Competition.

I graduated from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento in 1993. While a student, I realized that I really wanted to focus on civil rights and employment law.

I was a “baby lawyer” when Conservatorship of Wendland began in 1995. I could not have foreseen that I would litigate the case all the way to the California Supreme Court where I secured a victory for my clients in 2001, setting a precedent on end-of-life decision-making that is still debated. You can read about the case — the issues, players, and the toll that monumental battle took on all concerned — at Robert’s Legacy.

When not practicing law, blogging, reading, or building websites for charitable organizations, I can be found playing keyboards, flute, piccolo, acoustic guitar, and singing in several bands, including the Lodi Community Band, Stockton Wind Ensemble, and Stockton Concert Band. Playing the flute is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

With a special ensemble formed just for the occasion, the Delta Winds, I fulfilled another lifelong dream when I played my flute at Carnegie Hall in New York City on March 28, 2007. Remarkably, we were invited to return, so on April 20, 2010, the Delta Winds and Stockton Wind Ensemble were showcased at Carnegie Hall. I took my boys with me for a fun-filled week in New York City, during which they not only were fortunate enough to watch their mother perform on the Carnegie Hall stage, but also saw three Broadway shows and many other sights in and around Manhattan! You can listen to both Carnegie Hall performances in their entirety at the Stockton Concert Band’s site.

In July 2007, I fulfilled another dream when I met and spent the day studying flute with Sir James Galway at his Napa Master Class.

“Colloquium” has several meanings, but this definition inspired me to so name this blog:

“An informal meeting for the exchange of views.”

My goal for this website is that it will be a place where people feel comfortable dropping by, reading about my experiences, observations and opinions, and responding by sharing their own viewpoints, experiences, and feelings.

I was interrogated!

1. Tell me the number one reason you love to read.

Reading is relaxing. I have a very stressful career. Reading a compelling work of fiction allows me to completely distance myself from the demands of my job and life … for a little while. It’s refreshing and rejuvenating.

2. What is it about sharing your reviews that keeps you going?

The most rewarding comments are those received from the authors whose work I review. Recently, I reviewed “The Perfect Family,” a fictional work that was very personal to its author, Kathryn Shay. She was pleased and gratified by my reaction to the book. In turn, I was happy that I experienced her book in the way she hoped readers would and was able to validate her hard work.

Of course, it doesn’t always turn out that way. But so far, there has been only one occasion when I simply could not find anything good to say about a book I reviewed. It was a disaster that should never have been published because the author was simply not qualified to opine about the subject matter – and was a very bad writer, to boot. I hope that never occurs again. Most of the time, especially when dealing with fictional works, some aspect of the reading experience was enjoyable.

Of late, I’ve been contacted by a couple of authors who asked me to review their books because they happened upon my site and enjoyed reading my reviews. Obviously, that’s flattering and inspiring.

3. Who is your all-time favorite author?

I could not name just one because there are so many whose work I enjoy: Anita Shreve, Jodi Picoult, Jan Karon, Janet Evanovich, Nancy Thayer, Gregory Maguire, …

4. What is your all-time favorite book (single or series)?

Again, I could never pick just one! I love Jan Karon’s Mitford series about Father Tim and his adventures. I am also a huge Janet Evanovich fan: Stephanie Plum and the rest of the characters are so much fun. I am definitely a Ranger woman.

Probably To Kill a Mockingbird is the book that most influenced me as a child/young adult. I wanted to be the female Atticus Finch when I grew up.

5. If you could pick one fictional character and bring them to life, who would it be?

Again, probably Atticus Finch. Imagine the conversation we could have about our cases!

6. Do you always finish a book, even if you know you don’t like it half way in?

Most of the time, although I recently gave up on a nonfiction book. I just couldn’t get through it because the writer’s style was so laborious and plodding.

7. Do you own an eReader? If yes, why? If no, why not?

No! Between work and home, I spend enough time using computers. I want to hold a book in my hand. I want to highlight, make notes in the margins, bend the corner of the page if I want to, and smell the paper.

8. What is your all-time single favorite genre to read?

Fiction geared toward women. I like to read about relationships, families, and how people evolve over time as a result of their life experiences.

9. Here’s your chance to plug your book review blog, twitter, facebook, etc. You know, make a general plea for people to like you.

At Colloquium, I write comprehensive reviews. Some people might argue that they are too lengthy, verbose. But I believe a writer puts so much effort into crafting an enjoyable, memorable experience for his/her readers that I owe him/her a thoughtful, purposeful review of the result.

I’ve been fortunate to host a few authors’ guest posts and interviews, as well as some book giveaways. There are some great events upcoming so I encourage all of your readers to stop by for a visit and subscribe!!

In June 2007, I was the Featured Villager at Blog Village. Here are the highlights of that interview:

Janey Loree: Who is Janie? Tell us something about Janie that you haven’t posted in your blog Colloquium!

JHS: I don’t come from a privileged background (my father was a car mechanic and my mother was a homemaker) and couldn’t care less about money, wealth or the social status those things bring. I just want to have enough to live comfortably. After obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, I realized I could not spend the rest of my life looking at balance sheets, ledgers, tax returns, etc. because I just couldn’t make myself care about any of it. I needed to earn my daily bread doing something that required a more meaningful investment of my entire self. So I continued on to law school. Once I took my first civil rights course, that was it. I knew I had found my niche.

Janey Loree: What prompted you to start blogging in the first place?

JHS: I was moved to start blogging during the final days of Terri Schindler-Schiavo’s life because I was so distraught about the fact that her parents’ legal appeals all proved futile.

For six years, I litigated Conservatorship of Wendland all the way to a victory before the California Supreme Court. I am among a select group of attorneys who understand the stress of handling a high-profile, high-stakes case over a protracted period of time.

The cost for all involved was enormous. In my case, it impacted my physical health, but also changed me in many other ways. I wanted to share my experiences by telling the cautionary tale in order to encourage everyone to make end-of-life decisions while they are capable of doing so and communicate their wishes to their friends and family both orally and in writing. A battle about how to proceed in the face of incapacitating illness or injury is devastating to family, friends, caregivers, attorneys, guardians, judges, justices. As noted, I, along with everyone else involved in the Wendland case, am living proof that no one comes out of the battle unscathed.

A lot of people told me I should write a book. I prefer to blog about it … which I am doing gradually. It’s too overwhelming to try to write about all of it at once and all these years later, I’m still processing my thoughts and feelings about that momentous battle.

From there, the blog evolved into a discussion of all sorts of topics, some very serious and some more light-hearted.

Janey Loree: When do you find time to read other blogs?

JHS: Late at night and on weekends. I can lose a lot of hours following links … I’m sure your readers can all relate!