For anyone in and around Oakmont, I’m having a signing on April 30th! The book is officially released on May 1st, but if you come to Hippie House Coffee on April 30th there will be plenty of books available, treats, coffee, a chance at a Kindle, and more! Fun for you and your mother, daughter or friends–a little pre-mother’s day celebration.
Can’t wait to see you.
Besides their visual appeal, the letters are fine gifts of Jeanie’s heart and mind. Her writing flows, springing from her soul’s deepest longings. She recognized that once in the mail, her sentiments would sprout wings and sail into the heart of Frank—for good and bad. For, as we all know how easy it is to press the send button with an unclear thought shooting across cyberspace, her letters frequently misrepresented what she wanted to say. Imagine it taking TWO WEEKS to realize what you wrote created the wrong impression on the reader—on the man you desperately wanted to please most (we’ll talk about Jeanie’s attempts to mold herself to Frank’s image of a woman in a later post!).
Now, I’d be hard-pressed to hand write a letter. Heck, I was irritated having to write the three-line note I just scribbled to my son’s teacher for an early, dental dismissal. To think I’d sit down and construct a full-blown accounting of my heart, my day, my troubles, or hopes to a friend would be as far from my mind, as say, the days of the prairie 129 years ago.
Yet, when I read Jeanie’s letters, when I look at them, their beauty is undeniable. The fact that they were passed from Frank, to his son, to my mother and to me and that they are their own little messengers from the grave appeals to me greatly.
One of my favorite magazines, Mary Jane’s Farm brings the topic of “The Handwritten Life,” to its lovely pages. Reading that magazine feels a lot like reading Jeanie’s letters, like I’m stepping into another world, if only a few moments. The article makes clear that Mary Jane is actually a practitioner of real, actual handwriting, she uses it regularly, she finds calm and beauty in the process.
Maybe it’s partly my multiple sclerosis, the way my fingers seem cramp and seize up that makes handwriting a chore to me, the numbness too big an obstacle for me to overcome just to enjoy the flow of words from my fingertips. But I can certainly appreciate the efforts of others. And boy, every time I read Jeanie’s letters I feel gratitude, so lucky that her life survived on paper the way it has.
And, I think maybe just maybe, if I start small, with teeny postcards or something, I could send a little heartfelt happiness to those who I love so much.
Well, it’s a thought.
While my novel, The Last Letter, is fiction, it was my family’s real-life letters that inspired it. The real Jeanie Arthur—my great-great grandmother—was a fascinating woman I never got to know. Obviously, I didn’t know her. But reading her letters now, I feel as though I not only understand her, but see me in her. Actually I see almost every woman I know in her.
Yes, I know many strong, intelligent, savvy women. But it seems as though each of us has that little chink in the armor. Different for everyone, but still there. For the real Jeanie, hers seemed to be her need to mold herself into Frank’s image of who she should be. Or, who she thought she should be as a wife.
Still, Jeanie is careful to remind Frank, she is a very desirable woman. For instance, in the short excerpt below, Jeanie is responding to Frank’s request that she write shorter letters to him. What, he was so busy he couldn’t stop to read her carefully chosen words, crafted just for him? Clearly she’s irritated.
August 27, 1882
The neighbors tell me he [Palmer Hoy] is very much in love with me for which I am sorry but cannot help him. He is at our house every day. Last night he stayed until eleven o’clock.
Jeanie responds in a way that is old as the Dakota plains but still employed by young women even today. Her response above is what I think of as the 1882 version of facebooking a photo of yourself and the cutest boy in the room—just to be sure your boyfriend doesn’t forget. He’s not the ONLY one who’s interested…
Things are not really that different today. We like to think the past is better, purer, sweeter, that the present is a sucking, swirling trip down the toilet bowl. But really, looking back and honestly at the present—can we say things are different at all?
I love my new house! Hope it looks good to all my kind readers! Look for blog posts about the book and everything related to it. And thanks again for reading!
I have another Chicken Soup for the Soul story out just this month!
Buy it at Amazon or any retailer that carries Chicken Soup for the Soul books! Thanks for reading!
Look for my story
SEE PHOTOS OF JENNIFER NOW AND IN EIGHTH GRADE FOLLOWING THE INTERVIEW!
1. The book is such a fun mix of hip lingo (even includes a handy ARISTOBRATS ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO TERMS, ABBREVIATIONS AND OTHERWISE COMPLETELY MADE-UP WORDS) and a great storyline. How did you come up with the story?
I really wanted to write a kind of anti-Clique book — something that I would be proud for my daughter and her friends to read. Despite its “bratty” title and the obvious comparisons to The Clique series, Massie Block ain’t invited to this party! These are popular girls, yes, but undyingly loyal friends, incredibly plucky and smart and…hello!?…nice.
Also, at Winchester, I was the editor-in-chief of my eighth grade “paper” The Pied Piper. It was a small, silly little compilation of our personal creative expression. I thought “okay, what if I took that idea and expanded it out as far as it would go?” I also had met a blogger named “Bryan Boy” who had been a fan of my first book, The Booster. Bryan had just been this young kid in the Philippines doing a cool fashion blog from his bedroom. He’s now sitting in the front row of couture fashion shows and having lunch with Anna Wintour. Marc Jacobs named a bag after him. The webcast idea came from that nugget — with social media, the stage can get very big, even for a foursome of eighth grade friends.
2. I love that book is about nice girls rather than mean—this gang (Lylas—love you like a sister—name for the main group in the story) goes out of their way to include the “underpopular.” But the girls were aware of a social hierarchy and wanted to be on the top of the “populadder,” like anyone does! But they never stepped on other people to remain relevant. Also, your use of hip language makes it feel like I was reading a much edgier book than it was. It was appropriate! Did you purposely decide to meld those two elements (hip with nice) or was the lingo a natural outcropping of the story as you wrote it?
I guess if you can be hip and mean why can’t you be hip and nice? I have an eleven-year-old and an almost-fourteen year old. Kid characters just aren’t that different from adult characters — they’re complex, mean, nice, sad, hopeful, self-absorbed, generous, etc. I couldn’t write a cartoon version — I eat breakfast with the real deal every morning.
3. How did you come up with all the words the girls used?
I don’t think my son realizes that because I’m his Facebook Friend I get to read almost everything he writes. (I eventually showed him the feature he could use to block “certain” people if he wanted to). So I got some of the ideas from him, but I also used a lot of what my friends said. Like kid #1: “those jeans and way great.” Kid #2: “so way great.”
It was that kind of lingo that defined who we were. You either got it or you didn’t…but eventually, if you wanted to spend time in the country, you had to learn the language.
4. I like that Ikea brings Ghandi into the mix, that she wants to see some racial equality in her school and that she reaches out to others to do it. What made you decide to go that route?
Simple — I just don’t think they’re enough African American girls in white girl books. The fact that she’s an activist is based on my daughter’s interest — she gets very passionate about causes, particularly environmental.
5. Why did you decide to set the book in a private school rather than public?
I went to Winchester (in Pittsburgh) so I had the school and its details ingrained in my head. It was fun to go back there and “play around” without actually having to be there.
Plus, I always have more fun writing about rich people. I’m a fascinated voyeur of people who have (seemingly) sumptuous lives and endless money. Selfishly, if I have to go into my character’s house everyday, I want the air conditioning to work, the duvet to be fluffy, and the maid to clean up after me. Is that so wrong?
6. You did a great job of capturing the eighth grade mind-set and also the truths they see before they learn to subvert them. For instance Parker thinks “Why did people standing at podiums always say the exact opposite of what was true?” Was that something that just grew out of the action and Parker’s development or was that a thought you had yourself, back when you were in 8th grade.
I wrote that during the elections. I was typing the scene and literally looked up and heard some politician saying something or other (clearly, full of %$#@!). So I was thinking it: Why do people standing at podiums always say the exact opposite of what’s true?
7. Will there be a second book for the LYLA’S?
But of course!
8. Why did you make the switch from Women’s fiction (The Booster was fantastic!) to middle grade literature?
The standing at the podium answer or the real answer? So the real answer: supporting myself. The publishing industry is enormously tough. I wrote two new adult books and couldn’t sell them (no one was really buying anything from anyone). I was depressed, tired and hopeless. My agent suggested a young adult project. It was just what the doctor ordered — a blast to write, happy, zippy and someone wanted to buy it! I still have two adult manuscripts waiting to burst free but I actually think I’m cut out for this genre.
9. I really loved two scenes—one was between Parker and her mother—Parker is soaking in the bathtub while her mother talks to her through the door. It’s beautifully done, with pauses between her mother rambling on, just trying to connect with Parker and Parker diving under the water, both seeming to understand the script they’re following. It’s clear their relationship is changing and both are uncomfortable, but there’s a warmth there—very understated.
Also, with Parker and James. Parker snaps at James questioning his facility with the camera and he holds her gaze, giving her the opportunity to recognize his appeal and in the flicker of his smile and her flushed neck, it’s clear, without being overt, these two have a future. Very sweet, very well done.
Do you purposely craft these scenes to be underplayed (while so much of teen drama is exaggerated when it comes to shoes and clothes, etc.) or is this simply the way they flow for you?
I think I don’t know how to do it any other way — these are the details I notice. Maybe it’s because I’m very visual? Maybe it’s just the stuff that sticks to me? I picture being there that moment and I try and imagine what I see and feel. What would James do right this second that would make me know that I’m just going to love this guy forever? What was it like when my mom was trying to connect with me through my bedroom door when I was that age? What’s it like when I’m trying to connect with my daughter through her bedroom door? What does my house sound like at night after everyone goes to sleep?
Which Aristobrat Are You? Take the Quiz.
http://www.jennifersolow.com/the-aristobrats/
The video trailer for the book
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIDoIA7XivM
The video trailer for the book
Link to Jennifer’s “secret page” (essential guide to…) –
Here it is–first correct comment wins Jenny Nelson’s new novel–Georgia’s Kitchen!
“They told me you were dead. They said Dan is dead, but I told ‘em no, Dan’s not dead, he would of called me for the funeral.”
Who said this? What movie?
Great bit of info here for authors–insight into publishing
Not an optimistic take on self-publishing, but I’m going ahead with it…my only choice this point and I’ll make it work!
Okay, this book is fantastic…see below, what you can get if you just mosey on over to Amazon or other links (below) and enter in the contest. If you love women’s fiction of any sort, you’ll love this book. And if you love food (can you love women’s fiction and hate food? I’m sure they’re connected somehow) you’ll dig Georgia’s Kitchen even more.
Georgia’s Kitchen Giant Giveaway!
When you order Georgia’s Kitchen the week of the book’s release and email your receipt to jennynelsonauthor@gmail.com, you’ll be entered to win this fantastic giveaway. (Any bookstore, online store, will do!) Send in your receipt and you could win a basket full of books, magazines and foodie goodies, including:
Everyday Italian by Giada DeLaurentiis
After You by Julie Buxbaum
Super in the City by Daphne Uviller
She’s Gone Country and Flirting with Forty by Jane Porter
Girls in Trucks and Men and Dogs by Katie Crouch
I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
A one-year subscription to either: Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, Fine Cooking or Everyday with Rachael Ray
A $50 gift certificate to Crate & Barrel
Important Links
Details are on her website at: http://www.jennynelsonauthor.com/georgias-kitchen-giant-giveaway/
You can find her on Twitter to Re-Tweet the contest at: www.twitter.com/jennygnelson
Or on Facebook to Fan & Share at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenny-Nelson-Georgias-Kitchen/122160801152068
Links to BUY the book:
Amazon: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Georgias-Kitchen/Jenny-Nelson/e/9781439173336/?itm=8&USRI=jenny+nelson
Okay, Book of the Week–Tuesday Tells it Slant by Holly Christine
This one’s a fantastic story about Tuesday Morning–a woman searching for herself by visiting her past and recognizing where her future lies…
Song of the Week–
You’re Gonna Go Far Kid
by,
Offspring
Well, just listen to it, if you exercise your demons, your fat ass, or just for fun, this one will be a happy addition to your list…
And Finally…Quote of the Week–
“At some point, everyone’s from Lawrenceville”
–William Rencroft
This quote came during a conversation about people who think they’re superior to others. And, in Pittsburgh, everyone knows that somewhere down the line, even the snootiest person is tethered to a gaggle of immigrants who lived ten to a three-room apartment, over a bar, and behind a steel mill.
