Ever wonder
why author Lois Winston decided to set all those books about me and her other protagonists in New Jersey?
Today she explains why.
I make no apologies for living in New Jersey. I’m not
ashamed of my state of birth, which is also the place I’ve called home for a
good deal of my life. Even though New Jersey tends to be the butt of many jokes
(armpit of the nation is a frequent one I hear,) I think it’s a pretty cool
place to live. In less than an hour I can be in the mountains, oceanside, or in
Manhattan, depending upon my mood.
Those lucky enough to live along the Hudson River
have a priceless view of the New York skyline. In New York you pay through the
nose for a view of Weehauken.
We have culture, sports, and cow pastures. Horse
farms and high-rises. We’re home to the famous and the infamous.
We even legally own the Statue of Liberty, but try
telling that to New York. However, since they usurped our national landmark, we
took their beloved football teams. That’s right, folks, for those of you who
live in other parts of the country, both the New York Giants and the New
York Jets play in New Jersey.
We’re also not at all like we’ve been portrayed on The Sopranos or various Jersey-set
reality TV shows, at least not a good 95% of us.
Anyway, I like New Jersey so much that I’ve not only set
many of my books in my home state, including my Anastasia Pollack Crafting
Mysteries Series and my Empty Nest Mystery Series, I feature actual towns.
When I read a book, I love to connect with the
location. Part of the fun for me in reading the Stephanie Plum books is
recognizing the places where Janet Evanovich sets her scenes. I’ve been to the
Macy’s in Quaker Bridge Mall and spent many an hour stuck in traffic on Route 1.
Personally, I get annoyed when an author sets a book
somewhere she’s never been and relies heavily on Google for her research. There
are too many features and nuances about a location that Google won’t tell you
because you didn’t know to ask. For instance, how many people not from New
Jersey know that trucks aren’t allowed on most of the Garden State Parkway? Or
that we go “down the shore,” not “to the beach” or “the seashore”? Nothing
pulls a reader out of a story more than when an author doesn’t get her facts
right. And since we’ve got a population of over 9 million, if you get your
facts wrong about New Jersey, chances are a lot of people will notice.
So for me, setting my stories in places I know is a
no-brainer. Not only is it easier than making up a place or setting a book
somewhere I’ve never been, it’s also a way of letting people know that there’s
more to New Jersey than refineries and traffic jams.
Setting a book in New Jersey also gives me the
opportunity to place my protagonist in diverse locations while still keeping
her in or near her hometown. Many cozy mysteries take place in or around a
small town in the Midwest, down South, or in New England. If the author wants
to place her protagonist in a different environment, it involves the
protagonist taking a trip. With a series set in New Jersey, I can have
Anastasia or Gracie shopping at Ikea in the morning, antiquing in Lambertville
in the afternoon and at a casino in Atlantic City in the evening. At least, I
can if Anastasia ever climbs her way out of debt and Gracie ever sells the
future bestseller she’s writing.
One caveat, though: As much as I love my state, I’ve
been accused of having a biting sense of humor. So if you happen to read and of
my Jersey-set novels, you’ll often find my tongue planted firmly in my cheek as
I talk about my home state.
USA Today
bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance,
romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and
nonfiction under her own name and her Emma Carlyle pen name. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically
acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more
mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is an award-winning craft
and needlework designer who often draws much of her source
material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts
industry. Visit her at her website and
follow her on Twitter and Pinterest. Sign up for her newsletter for special
features and subscriber-only giveaways.
16 comments:
I didn't know that little tidbit about the Statue of Liberty! Wow! What's that saying about learning something new every day (smile!).
So how ironic is this? Today happens to be National New Jersey Day, according to nationaldaycalendar.com. I had no idea! I just learned about it this morning while reading the newspaper.
It's always a good day when we learn something new, Angela. (See my comment above.) Thanks for stopping by!
A fun post, Lois. I agree strongly with the principle of knowing the place where your story is set. I love using local details to enrich the story.
Lois, I totally agree with you. I live in Rockland County, Pearl River, NY and always, almost always, set my stories right here where I know what it looks and feels like. Thanks for another delighful blog.
P.S. Several of my stories are based on the Jersey Shore, Long Beach Island with a mature surprise romance.
Thanks, Susan and Charmaine!
Charmaine, when I lived for awhile in Philadelphia, we used to vacation on Long Beach Island. Now that I'm back up in the northern part of the state, it's back to Ocean Grove, Asbury Park, and Bradley Beach.
Lois, thanks for saying so clearly what needed to be said. I'm from the South, though I no longer live there, so I'm often tempted by mysteries that are set in the South. It's disappointing to discover the author is clueless about the region and relies on tired cliches to prop up the writing. This can also be disrespectful to the actual natives of a place, such as with Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, which appropriated the legends of some Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest.
Thanks, Ramona. I really try to make my books as authentic as possible. I never read the Twilight series and didn't know it borrowed from Native American legends. Some might think my Mafia characters are a bit cliche, but growing up in NJ, I went to school with many sons and daughters of the Mafia. Sometimes a cliche is a cliche because it's so true! ;-D
It seems like a lot of us didn't know that tidbit about the Statue of Liberty. What a neat piece of information! And I love that you can get to all sorts of places in one quick drive. I would love that, too.
As far as your tongue being planted firmly in your cheek, all my friends and most of my author com padres suffer from the same affliction. Looks and sounds normal to me!
Great blog!
Thanks, Loretta! I think the tongue firmly planted in cheek is also something those of us who live in NJ claim. We have to, given how most of the country thinks of us!
An enjoyable post, and different. It makes perfect sense to me to write about what you know best, which is why I set all my stories in places with which I'm very familiar.
Thanks for stopping by, ManicScribbler! Glad you enjoyed the post.
I agree about using settings you know personally. I spent most of my life in the Baltimore area and set my first novel there. I enjoyed writing about places familiar to me. I'm working on a sequel now, and it's like taking a trip back home. Our daughter lives in New Jersey (Barnegat), and we always enjoy our visits. (Love Long Beach Island!) New Jersey really is a beautiful state. I also enjoy having someone pump gas for me. :-)
Thanks for stopping by, Earl. Personally, I'd like the choice of pumping or not pumping. It really irks me that the state thinks a high school dropout is more capable of pumping my gas than I am. I also can't remember the last time anyone pumped my gas who wasn't also talking on his cell phone at the same time! We're only one of two states in the nation where drivers are not allowed to pump their own gas. It's idiotic and one of the few downsides of living in NJ, IMHO.
Excellent post...chock full of interesting tidbits bout New Jersey. Thanks for sharing, Lois :)
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