Cool Beans

If it's as hot where you are as I am these days (on one memorable day last week, it hit 108° here in Jersey. No kidding.) you're probably doing a lot of grilling. In my house, any grilled piece of meat must be accompanied by beans. I used to buy a can of baked beans and spend time doctoring them up, but no more. Instead, I adapted this recipe from one that called for soaking and cooking dry beans. For just about the same time I spend adding ingredients to prepared baked beans, I get a result that tastes much more homemade, particularly if you do them in the oven--not an option in the dog days of summer, but perfect on a November day when an off-season hankering hits. The key to this recipe is balancing the savory and the sweet, so play with the sugar and spice amounts to your taste, and if you like more onion, throw a whole one in. Serves 6.

Rosie's Baked Beans

--one half large Vidalia or other sweet onion, coarsely chopped

--three slices bacon

--two 15 oz. cans small white beans (do not drain)

--1/4 cup molasses

--1/4 to 1/3 cup dark brown sugar to taste

--2 teaspoons prepared brown mustard

--1/8 teaspoon of allspice

--dash of cayenne pepper if desired

--12 twists of pepper grinder, preferably a mixed blend of peppercorns (I like McCormick's)

--3 to 6 twists of sea salt grinder or 1 teaspoon salt

Brown the bacon in the bottom of a large Dutch oven; remove and drain bacon, and pour off all but a tablespoon or so of fat. Cook onion in bacon fat until nicely browned and beginning to carmelize. Crumble bacon and return to pot. Add beans with their juice.

Add molasses, brown sugar, mustard, allspice, and both peppers. Taste before salting, as canned beans have a sizeable sodium content. Stir mixture well and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer on low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Stir every 20-30 minutes, adding water as needed. If weather permits, bake in 3oo° oven for same time.

A Jersey State of Mind

Fairleigh Dickinson University recently released a poll about Americans' general perceptions about my fair state. Below are the top five responses to "What comes to mind as you think about New Jersey?" As a proud Jersey girl, I thought it only fair to respond: 1. New York/next to New York You bet it is. And sometimes they even let us visit.

2. Shore/ocean/beach/boardwalk/boating

3. Garden State/farming/open space Finally, someone noticed! We eat real tomatoes here, people. 4. Corruption/crime/mafia/Sopranos Education/the arts/rich heritage/Springsteen

5. Pollution/bad smell/industry At least it wasn't number one. What comes to mind when I think about New Jersey? That's an easy one. Home.

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Information courtesy of PublicMind Poll. Images courtesy wikimedia commons.

Kindling Interest

I should start by saying that holding an open book--whether in bed, on the beach, at the kitchen table while I eat a solitary breakfast, or with my legs slung over the side of an arm chair--provides me one of my greatest pleasures in life. When I bought my son a Kindle two years ago, I perceived it as one of those new-fangled gadgets I could certainly do without. Until American Express, God bless 'em, offered me a free one  if I signed up for their gold card.

It didn't take long to hook me. Between being able to get just about every classic piece of literature for free and the instant gratification (I still watch the book appear magically on my home page each time I order one, and never fail to get a kick out of it) I was a very happy Kindle customer. And despite what many people may think, the Kindle did not become a replacement for books. If anything, owning a Kindle has broadened my reading in ways I did not expect, and would not have happened otherwise. I tend to reach for the same kinds of books: literary fiction, mysteries, and women's fiction.

But because the Kindle affords so many opportunities for free or inexpensive downloads, I have begun to read more romance, YA, and even fantasy--books I would never have picked up otherwise. And in genres I read regularly, I am discovering new authors all the time. When Death of a Cozy Writer was available for free on Amazon, I grabbed it, and G. M. Malliet now has a new fan.

I read lots of Regencies when I was younger, but hadn't opened one for years until Candice Hern offered her backlist for download. That great cover grabbed me! (Not to mention the cover price of $0.00.) I'm generally not a fan of YA and don't know a thing about steampunk, but a free download of Kady Cross' The Strange Case of Finley Jayne opened my mind to genres I ordinarily ignore. The same goes for Julie Kagawa's Summer's Crossing, a YA novella set in the fairy world.

Now I'm curious: are you a Kindle reader? If so, how has it changed your reading habits? If not, why are you a holdout?

Greetings From the (Real) Jersey Shore

For those of you whose only reference to my beloved coastline is a certain reality show, you may want to check out this sweet indie gem, Greetings from the Shore. A 2008 release, the film was made by Jersey natives Gabrielle Berberich, who wrote and produced, and Greg Chwerchak, who directed. The film was shot in Lavallette, and has lots of oooh-I-know-that-place moments for Jersey natives--like Barnacle Bill's, where two of the characters play miniature golf. The film opens with Jenny, played by Kim Shaw (and suggesting a young Meg Ryan), heading south on the Garden State Parkway to look for a summer job at the shore--something I dreamed of doing as a teen, but alas, never did. During that crazy summer she has run-ins with Russian mobsters as well as country club types, and has a sweet romance with the highly  delectable David Fumero. Paul Sorvino does a wonderful turn as a crusty fisherman who looks out for Jenny as a substitute father. If you're a Jersey native, check it out for nostalgia. For the rest of you out there, consider this film a pretty little postcard from a state with a whole lot more to offer than "gym, tan, and laundry." More about this fun film here.

"Mine Own Library"*

This week I will be presenting a workshop, So You Wanna Be a Writer?, at the Kenilworth Library here in New Jersey. I am thrilled to be doing this for a number of reasons. First, I love libraries and librarians, and Kenilworth's librarian, Dale Spindel, is awesome. Dale was the second person (after my mom) to read the nowhere-near-ready-for-public-consumption first draft of my first novel a couple of years ago. She's brought wonderful programs to the library, including The Bard on the Boulevard, which stages Shakespeare plays in the summer. She's managed to snare amazing writers to do workshops and signings, including Jonathan Saffran Foer and Tom Perrotta (who attended my high school!). Dale is also a regular blogger at  Hey,There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room. Beyond that, however, I will always be grateful to the Kenilworth Library. I grew up in Kenilworth, and spent many a summer day browsing the stacks in that place, when it was maybe a third of the size of its current structure. (The white drain pipe marks the approximate end of the original building.) It was the treasures in my little library--Carolyn Keene and Booth Tarkington, Mary Stewart and Daphne DuMaurier, just to name a few--that first fired up my writer's imagination. Quite simply, my story started there, and I'm always happy to go back. P. S. Support your local public library. Fight to keep it open. And thank a librarian near you. photo courtesy of library website *Wm. Shakespeare: "Knowing I loved my books, he furnished me from mine own library. . ." The Tempest

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Romance Meets Mystery, or There's Nothing Like the Dame

  When I am deep in a project, I generally don’t read too much women’s fiction. I worry about the unconscious influences of voice or tone, and I dread coming across a plotline that may be similar to mine. So last summer while I worked on the first draft of my current novel, I tended to curl up in my big chair with mysteries, specifically Agatha Christie's works—there is nothing like the Dame on a rainy summer night.

 But as I worked on my story, it occurred to me that Christie’s formidable skills are a model for all writers, even those of us writing romantic fiction. Herewith are the lessons I have gleaned from Dame Agatha:  --Mystery. No, I’m not writing one, but I’m planting small ones in my story, including a few red herrings. There are no bodies littering my tale, but there are characters whose motivations are not clear, a couple who may or may not come together (perhaps not so mysterious after all, but I will keep ‘em guessing for a bit) and a hero with a secret.  --History. Just about every one of Christie’s murders has its roots in what happened before the action of the novel begins. It’s the characters’ histories that move them “towards zero,” or the defining moment that kicks the story into gear. My heroine has some baggage from her first marriage, and lots of residual anger. She’s got sibling issues with her younger sister that always threaten to bubble to the surface, and longstanding attachments to her grandpa and her beloved dog that get in the way of relationships with men (though her bad temper has something to do with that as well.) As I flesh out characters, I ask myself what has brought them to this particular place, so that I can move them “towards zero” in believable ways.  --Economy. Can Christie describe a London alleyway with the poetry of P. D. James? No. Does she have the literary brilliance of Dorothy Sayers? Probably not. But she is an unqualified master of pacing; few writers move a story the way she does, and the reader is helplessly carried along on the swift and twisty currents of her plot. Characters are sketched quickly but skillfully, and back story is woven seamlessly into the action without slowing it down. For writers of commercial fiction, particularly in this market, it’s all about page turning. And who knows? Maybe I'll even try my hand at a real mystery one of these days.

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But I Won't Be One of 'Em. . .

Hath Not Thy Rose a Thorn?*

 You might say that Kate, the main character in my current novel, is a "thorny" woman. She's angry, impatient, and quick to take offense, and at first, maybe a little hard to like. Her thorns keep people from getting too close to her, which is how she likes it. Because she's been hurt, she protects herself by throwing out some pretty sharp barbs. In the course of the story, she grows and changes; in fact, she blooms. She remains a strong woman, but a much less angry one. (And not completely thorn-free--that's what makes her interesting!) I struggled with developing the character of Kate, because conventional wisdom says a main character has to be likable for readers to engage with her. The choice of pronoun here is deliberate. I suspect most readers, male and female alike, have a much easier time accepting an angry guy as a hero than an angry woman as a heroine. Our cultural expectations run deep and run strong, and that's a hard tide to fight against. We love our cold Mr. Darcys and our mean Mr. Rochesters because we know that underneath they are basically good men with loving hearts. As readers, we give these characters a chance--sometimes for hundreds of pages--before they justify themselves in the eyes of readers. We watch their characters unfold and reveal themselves worthy, not only of our time, but of the heroines they love. We appreciate their sweetness because of, not in spite of, their thorny natures. (By the way, did it occur to anyone else that Mr. Rochester's home is actually called Thornfield? Gotta love serendipity.) As readers, we embrace male characters who are--dare I say it?--prick-ly. And what's good for the hero ought to be good for the heroine as well.

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*Wm. Shakespeare

If It's June in New Jersey. . .

There will be rhododendrons. I am always amazed at what a dead-looking bush manages to produce each spring.

Will the Real Will Shakespeare. . .

please stand up? (Please stand up.)

Having just finished Stacy Schiff's astonishing biography of Cleopatra, it occurs to me that we know much more about an ancient queen who lived 2000 years ago than we do about the much-closer-in-history William Shakespeare. It's easy to parrot the myths and half-truths: he was gay or bisexual; he had a mistress (or mister) in London; he played the role of Hamlet's ghost on stage; he was caught poaching on a wealthy man's estate; he didn't actually write the plays. Just for the record, I'm a staunch Stratfordian--I believe he certainly did write the plays--but I won't be touching that discussion with a ten-foot jousting pole.

But I am fascinated by our contemporary re-imaginings of a man who is, apart from his words, practically unknowable. In Kathryn Johnson's The Gentleman Poet, the author imagines Shakespeare as a passenger on a ship that sets sail for Virginia but ends up shipwrecked in Bermuda--thereby providing the inspiration for The Tempest.

                                                                                                  

Johnson's Shakespeare is a cagey personality with possibly Catholic sympathies in a Protestant realm. He's prickly, temperamental, and highly sensitive to criticism about his work, but reveals a sentimental streak towards the young protagonist, Elizabeth. And while a fascinating character, he isn't quite the Will I imagine.

On the other end of the spectrum is Shakespeare's film persona as portrayed by Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare in Love. Fiennes' Will is young, ardent, and passionate; both lover and artist, he's a soulful Renaissance hottie who ends up playing his own creation, Romeo, on the stage of the Globe.

And while I love this movie to no end, I have a hard time believing in Fiennes' Will. I'd like to, but I suspect the real Shakespeare poured nearly all of his passion into his work, and was a cooler, shrewder, and much more pragmatic figure than the one Fiennes gives us.

Come September, we'll see yet another interpretation of the Bard in Roland Emmerich's Anonymous, a movie that sets the authorship question against the backdrop of Elizabethan political intrigue. The movie posits Edward de Vere as the "true" author of the works, with Shakespeare providing a handy cover identity.

Let me just say that this movie goes against everything I believe about my literary hero. But I still can't wait to see it.

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