Murder on the Munchmobile

Murder on the Munchmobile? Is that anything like Murder on the Orient Express? Well, no not really, but it is definitely tastier!

If you aren't from New Jersey, you probably do not have any idea what in the world a Munchmobile is. The Munchmobile was the brainchild of Star Ledger reporter and author, Pete Genovese. Genovese commissions fellow foodies to accompany him on various jaunts in a van with a humongous hot dog on the roof throughout the Garden State in search of the best foods New Jersey has to offer.

It has become a summer phenomenon and this year will be its Sweet Sixteen. The Munchmobile has scoured the state in search of the tastiest pizza, cakes and well, you name it and they've eaten it or would like to sample it.

This year 500 applicants campaigned for the chance to ride along on one of the delicious excursions and yours truly was one of the chosen!

As a mystery writer, the plot lines are many. I mean what is better than putting together five strangers in a van with a hot dog on top and eating foods from all over New Jersey in one day. It really is better than fiction!

I don't know yet what trip I will be going out on, but I am hoping it will have something to do with cookies or maybe Italian food. Either way, I am really looking forward to blogging about my experiences as well as doing research for a Munchmobile mystery. So stay tuned for some tasty blog posts!

Wanderlust

Hindsight is twenty/twenty and it is like armchair quarterbacking, there is little point to looking back because you need to look forward.

However, if I could do as Cher sang, Turn Back Time, there are definitely two things that I would have done differently.

First and foremost is that I would have stuck with journalism. Sure, I may not have had the most outgoing personality in the world, but teaching forced me to come out of my shell just as writing would have.

Now, I am not saying that I did not enjoy my years in the classroom because they did serve me well. The district where I taught gave me a truck load of story ideas and a cast of characters that Dickens would have loved. It is just that writing has always been my passion and you shouldn't turn your back on your passion. That is a lesson I will always remember and pass on to my children.

The second thing I would love to change is travel. If there is such as reincarnation, I hope I come back as a travel writer.

Recently, I read a quote where the writer basically compared life to a book. A book is more than a page, so why would you spend your whole life on the same one.

Very profound and true. The world is full of so many beautiful places to see and explore. I definitely regret letting my shyness get in the way of doing a year abroad in college. That would have been a wonderful opportunity to stretch my wings and explore Europe.

I'm not sure that I get the point of Pinterest, but one thing I do enjoy is all of the incredible travel pictures. I've also seen that I am certainly not the only one who has a little wanderlust and yearns to see greener pastures.

A recent writing opportunity may allow me to contribute travel pieces, a position I would relish. My bucket list is already full of spots and this is another piece of hindsight I will pass on to my little ones. Life is like the Dr. Seuss book The Places You'll Go and you should take that thought with you  as you navigate the many paths you will travel along the way!

While you can't turn back time, you can learn from it and pass that lesson on.

Deadlines

I really love the fact that I now have deadlines and yes I love to see my byline in print. However, I find that while my freelancing is motoring along, I have less and less time to spend on my fiction.

Since, I thoroughly enjoy writing, I don't mind the topic. Right now, I am writing primarily hockey articles which works since I have two sons and a husband who play. It really wasn't a stretch to find ideas since it seems like our house is hockey twenty-four/seven. Even the little one runs around with a stick in her hand.

I'm also pleased to be able to put my education experience to good use by writing blog posts for a new site devoted to helping teachers and parents navigate a sometimes difficult path.

Of course, in between are the job applications for other freelance jobs. Unfortunately, this is leaving me very little time to devote to my fiction. Yes, I have been neglecting my characters and I miss them especially since the school year started with my plan to finally finish my Cape May mystery!

A couple of freelance jobs came my way and my plan got placed on the back burner.

Recently, I read an article about one of my favorite Irish authors Maeve Binchy where she said that your goal should be to write five pages a day. Before you know it, she reasoned, you will have your finished manuscript.

I love this idea and I really want to put her advice into practice, but the only problem is where is the time?

She Liked It!

Now if you are a writer, you are used to those form rejection letters because you receive them a lot.  Yes, the form ones even come in the age of e-mail submissions as well.  So when you get one that actually has the human touch, it can be cause for a little celebration if you will.

Secrets, Lies, and Trash has been searching for a home for a while.  Last week, I submitted it to a publisher who was interested in cozies.  Surprisingly, I received a prompt response from the editor.  Usually, it takes months and then you still sometimes do not get an answer.

The response was not what I was hoping for.  Apparently, my mystery wasn't cozy enough.  My protagonist gets himself into too many perilous situations.  Who knew?

However, the editor remarked about how much she had enjoyed the manuscript and my garbage guy hero, Russell Waverly.  Unfortunately, it just didn't fit into the category of books they publish. 

It was without a doubt the nicest and most hopeful rejection that I have received in my somewhat lengthy journey to mainstream publication.  Her parting words were that if I had another softer mystery featuring Russell that she would love to read it.

While it was a no, it was a no with hope for the future.  Perhaps there is a home out there somewhere for Secrets after all.  An actual book publisher read it, enjoyed it and told me I shouldn't have any trouble finding a place for it.  Okay, so that hasn't happened yet, but I appreciated her pep talk.

It also gives me some incentive to get to work on the sequel.  I am about half way through Russell's Cape May adventure and this one just may be the cozy she was looking for!

A rejection is a rejection, but this one came with a much needed silver lining.

It Was Fun While It Lasted

Now you think as a writer, I would be used to rejection.  Why with my novels and short stories alone I could probably wallpaper my house and part of my neighborhood.  However, when one rolls your way it still bums you out no matter how many you have gotten in the past.

In September, I got my first opportunity to write as a freelancer, putting together news and opinion pieces for RantPolitical.com.  While I am not the most political person on the block, I really appreciated the chance to dive into the field of journalism.  It certainly renewed my vigor as a writer and I was thrilled.  I got to do some interviews and even wrote a couple of sports features.  Way cool! 

Before I sat down today to write a piece on the downsizing of newspapers due to economics, I decided to check my e-mail.  How ironic was it to discover my new position was about to become a similar victim at the end of the month.

Thus is the life of a writer.  A job is here one day and gone the next.  It is why writers never truly hang up the typewriter and retire.  They can't afford to.

Now I am not anywhere near the age of retirement just trying to find my way as a writer.  I have put my fiction writing on hold for the past few months because I was loving the opportunity to actually be paid for my words.

My characters have been patiently waiting for new mysteries to solve and hopefully they will one day find an audience a little broader than my first two novels.

Tomorrow is another day and there are more stories to write, more chapters to create, and more jobs to apply for.

However, it was fun while it lasted.

I'm With The Press

When I was an eager journalism student, I clearly remember a day in News, Reporting, and Editing, when the professor came in and told us we had an hour and twenty minutes to hand in a story.  We could work alone or partner up.  Then, he pointed to the door.

The shy, quiet girl in me froze.  What was I going to do?  The thought of going out onto the street and finding a story to write about scared me to death.  Yet, isn't that what a reporter does?

My how the times have changed.  If I could, I would go back and stick it out along the writing route.  Unfortunately, we can't turn back the clock.  All we can do is go forward which is why I am loving writing news and op ed pieces for http://rantpolitical.com.

The shy girl in me is gone, thanks to teaching for a few years in a tough district.  I needed to develop a backbone quickly or I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did.  Now, everything is a potential story and I love it!  There isn't any harm in asking.  What is the worst someone is going to say?  No?  Okay, there is always another story, another angle or another person to talk to.

Yesterday, I was told that I could apply for a press pass.  How cool it that?  The possibilities are endless and I can't wait to get it and use it.

If you're wondering how that assignment panned out, well I got an 'A'.  The over-achiever in me wouldn't accept anything less.  I partnered up with the chatty girl next to me who is probably an overseas correspondent somewhere now.  She did the talking and I did the writing, perfect match.

The difference now is that I'm doing the asking and the writing and I am actually looking forward to it.  With age comes experience, wisdom, and the understanding that you should never give up on a dream.  They find you in the most unlikely places and times.

THE JERSEY SHORE

As a beach baby from way back, the Jersey Shore has been a favorite setting of mine whether it is the lovely landscape of Spring Lake or the historic Victorian Cape May, so it has been really heartbreaking to see the damage Hurricane Sandy inflicted on New Jersey's treasure shoreline.

The entire hurricane experience has been surreal.  While writing news post for http://www.rantpolitical.com, fear started to set in.  Adding more fuel to the anxiety was the police cars driving around town alerting residents to the possibility of an evacuation due to the approaching storm surge.

In the end, my town would be spared the devastation incurred from the storms waves unlike last year's Hurricane Irene which caused a lot of damage from flooding waters.  We, like most of the Garden State, would be thrust into darkness.  Gas and milk suddenly became luxuries that were difficult to obtain.  Routes which once were common place were now impassable.

It would be days in a cold house minus electricity and hot water, but we were the lucky ones.  Just two towns over people were homeless.  Their houses rendered uninhabitable by the waters which rushed through taking everything they owned with them.

Keansburg, a Bayshore town where I taught for years, would be brought to its knees along with many of its neighbors.  All towns that hold memories.  People left with nothing but the clothing on their backs.  Many of whom had little to begin with.

When the first copy of a newspaper finally made its way to our doorstep three days after the infamous storm passed, I was shocked.  Shocked to see the photographs of a once beautiful landscape looking like a bomb had been detonated on its shores.

The ocean's power had left its mark.  A painful reminder that the ocean with all of its beauty will never be tamed.

Yet, we will rebuild.  We are New Jersey.  We are strong.  The shore will be back.  Perhaps not in its previous form, but it will be back and the memories of what it once was will always remain in my heart and in the pages of my stories.