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
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