"If She is to Write Fiction"*

It would not be an understatement to say that this little book changed my life. Here are its famous first words:

But, you may say, we asked you to speak about women and fiction--what has that got to do with a room of one's own?

And the answer is, of course--everything. As I have noted elsewhere in this blog, for a long time I talked the talk of writing without taking the first hard steps of the walk. Instead I found lots of reasons not to write. Some good: "I have three boys under the age of seven." Others pretty lame: "But Project Runway is on tonight." Woolf famously posited that women could produce the same kind of writing that men did, if only they had rooms of their own and five hundred a year. Well, we need more than five hundred nowadays, whether it's pounds or dollars, but one thing hasn't changed. Women who write need a quiet place to work, free of distractions, preferably with a door that closes. Not all of us have that luxury. I marvel at the stories of women who write their novels in the family car during soccer practice, scribble poetry at four in the morning before the baby wakes up to be fed (or while the baby is feeding!), or give up lunches at work in order to write. While I was raising my sons, I was too exhausted, too involved, and yes, too distracted to sit down and write. I didn't start work on my first novel until in was in my late forties. Strangely, it was when I was back working as a teacher, energized by my professional life--and despite all those papers I had to grade--that I carved out time to write. But it wasn't until this year, when my oldest moved out, that I finally got what I had been waiting for: my office. Okay, so there's a beer stein on the dresser and a wooden model airplane sitting on top of the TV that's collecting dust. A sticker for the band M.O.E. still adorns the wall, as does his diploma from Rutgers. And while my beloved son is welcome to sleep here any time he likes, I will slowly be moving his things up to the attic. Because this room is now mine. I sit here at my great-aunt's secretary desk and work by the light of a low lamp. There are two windows on either side, with lots of sun during the day. In the glass case above the desk are books by Austen, Eliot, Wharton, the Brontes, and of course, Virginia Woolf. It's easy to be inspired:

Give her a room of her own and five hundred a year, let her speak her mind and leave out half that she puts in, and she will write a better book one of these days.

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*"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." Virginia Woolf

Back to School

It's a slightly cloudy Last Day of Summer, aka Labor Day, here in New Jersey. And while there's a part of me that longs for summer to be infinite, there's another part that's excited. As a teacher, my job is seasonal and cyclical, divided by semesters and quarters, and marked by holidays and milestones, from First Day to graduation. And though teaching feeds my craving for routine, it also affords daily surprises. And more importantly, each September year gives me and my students something life doesn't always offer: another chance. A new year, shiny as those new school supplies and clean as those new shoes, gives us all a new start. We can erase last year's mistakes, do better, and be better. And that's just one of the reasons I love my day job. The other 99 will be filing into my classroom on Wednesday.

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Oh, and guys--I know you're out there. See you in home room. ;>

Sunlight and Sea Bright

My go-to beach for a day trip is Sea Bright, in Monmouth County. It's a narrow strip of a beach with lots of parking and a short walk to the ocean. The people are friendly to tourists, and it has a couple of old-timey stores in town that look like they were frozen in 1965. (For some people, like yours truly, this is a draw.) Not only is it pretty:

It has a cute little library that shares a parking lot with the beach. I wandered in one day and got chatting with the librarian, who knew lots about the history of the town. It also has a lovely reading room you can hide out in if the sun gets too hot:

But I think I'll let this sign posted at the beach hut say it all:

Good-bye, Sea Bright. See you in June. . .

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Like a Hurricane

I'm spending the day securing outdoor furniture, filling the cars with gas, stockpiling non-perishables, and emptying the bookshelves in my finished basement--all in preparation for a category 3 hurricane that's supposed to be heading straight up the Jersey coast. Our governor has declared a state of emergency, and comparisons are already being drawn between Hurricane Irene and the great storms of 1938 and 1944, which devastated much of the northeast seaboard, including the Jersey shore.

The Neil Young song of the title has been running through my head all morning, and like the weather, I'm feeling strangely calm before the storm. My neighborhood is sunny and quiet; people are walking their dogs and kids are bicycling past. But behind it all is an undercurrent that's driving people to the grocery store and gas stations; we're calling family and friends along the coast and encouraging them to come and stay.

In the meantime, I'm planning to do what I always do when I need comfort--read and cook. There's a stack of books next to my bed and the makings for sauce Bolognese in my refrigerator. And if things get really bad, I can always grab the rum and mix up some cocktails--maybe a nice batch of hurricanes?

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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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