Sunday, September 26, 2021

Summer Reading: What We're Writing by Jenn McKinlay

 

WINNER WINNER  "Karen in Ohio" is the winner of a copy of Dessert is the Bomb!!!

Please email catherinebruns@outlook.com with your snail mail address and she'll pop it in the mail to you!


Jenn McKinlay: I thought the book was finished. I'd done days of research on dyslexia, visited Martha's Vineyard, scouted the Oak Bluffs public library, wrote the manuscript, and thought I was ready to hit send. I was not. Something felt off like an outfit that is too tight, too itchy, or too baggy in the butt. So, I asked for more time and I read and reread the manuscript and finally, it hit me. The main characters' names simply didn't work. 


So, I made lists of names, looked up what was popular during the years the characters were born, checked the old baby books where the Hooligans' names had been spawned, and jumped down a few Internet rabbit holes looking for something that clicked. Finally, FINALLY, I found the perfect names. One more read through and SUMMER READING will be headed to my editor. Can I get an "Amen!"?  

So here is a sneak peek at the first meeting of my dyslexic heroine, Samantha Gale, and the hot guy librarian hero, Ben Reynolds: 

Chapter One

     The ferry from Woods Hole to Martha’s Vineyard was standing room only. Shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, the passengers were packed as tight as two coats of paint. I had a rowdy group of college kids at my back, which was fine as I’d carved out a spot at the rail near the bow of the ship and was taking in big gulps of salty sea air while counting down the seconds of the forty-five-minute ride.
     It was the first time in ten years I’d returned to the Gale family cottage in Oak Bluffs for an extended stay, and I was feeling mostly anxious with a flicker of anticipation. Pre-occupied with the idea of spending the entire summer with my dad, his second wife, and my half brother, I did not hear the commotion at my back until it was almost too late.
     “Bruh!” a deep voice yelled. 
     I turned around to see a gaggle of man boys in matching T-shirts – it took my dyslexic brain a moment to decipher the Greek letters on them to identify them as frat boys – roughhousing behind me. 
     One of them was noticeably turning a sickly shade of green and his cheeks started to swell. When he began to convulse as if a demon was punching its way up from his stomach, his friends scrambled to get away from him.
     I realized with horror that he was going to vomit and the only thing between him and the open sea was me, trapped against the railing. In a panic, I looked for a viable exit. Unfortunately, I was penned in by a stalwart woman with headphones on and a hot guy reading a book. I had a split second to decide who would be easier to move. I went with reader guy, simply because I figured he could at least hear me when I yelled, “Move!”
     I was wrong. He didn’t hear me and he didn’t move. In fact, he was so non-responsive, it was like he was on another planet. I gave the man a nudge. He didn’t respond. Desperate, I slapped my hand over the words in his book. He snapped his head in my direction with a peeved expression. Then he looked past me and his eyes went wide. In one motion, he grabbed me and pulled me down and to the side out of the line of fire.
     The puker almost made it to the rail. Almost. I heard the hot splat of vomit on the deck behind me and hoped it didn’t land on the backs of my shoes. Mercifully, reader man’s quick thinking shielded me from the worst of it. Frat boy was hanging over the railing and as the vomiting started in earnest, the crowd finally pressed back, way back, and we scuttled out of the blast zone.
     My rescuer let go of me and asked, “Are you all right?”
     I opened my mouth to answer when the smell hit me. That distinctive stomach curling, nose wrinkling, gag inducing smell that accompanies undigested food and bile. My mouth pooled with saliva and I felt my throat convulse. This was an emergency of epic proportions as I am a sympathy puker. You puke, I puke, we all puke. Truly, if someone hurls near me, it becomes a gastro geyser of Old Faithful proportions. I spun away from the man in a flurry of arms that slapped his book out of his hands and sent it careening toward the ocean. 
     He let out a yell and made a grab for it. He missed and leaned over the railing, looking as if he was actually contemplating making a dive for it. 
     I felt terrible and would have apologized but I was too busy holding my fist to my mouth while trying not to lose my breakfast. The egg sandwich I’d had with bacon suddenly seemed like the worst decision ever and it took all of my powers of concentration not to hurl. I tried to breathe through my mouth but the retching sounds frat boy was making were not helping. 
     “Come on.” Reader guy took my arm and helped me move farther away. I turned my head away in case I was sick. I could feel my stomach heaving and then—
     “Ouch! You pinched me!” I cried. 
     My hero, although that seemed like an overstatement given that he had just inflicted pain upon my person, had nipped the skin on the inside of my elbow with enough force to startle me and make me rub my arm. 
     “Still feel like throwing up?” he asked. 
     I paused to assess. The episode had passed. I blinked at him. He was taller than me. Lean with broad shoulders, wavy dark brown hair that reached his collar. He had nice features, arching eyebrows, sculpted cheekbones, and a defined jaw covered in a thin layer of scruff. His eyes were a blue-gray much like the ocean surrounding us. Dressed in a navy sweatshirt, Khaki shorts, and black lace up work boots, he was cute in a buy local sort of way.
     He stared at me expectantly, and I realized he’d asked a question and was waiting for an answer. Feeling like an idiot for blatantly checking him out, I attempted to play it off as if I was still wrestling with the urge to upchuck. I raised my hand in a wait gesture and then slowly nodded. 
     “No, I think I’m okay,” I said. “Thank you.”
     “You’re welcome,” he said. Then he smiled at me -- it was a dazzler -- making me forget the horror of the last few minutes. “You tossed my book into the ocean.”
     “I’m so sorry,” I said. Nervousness and the faint hope that I did not yet lose my breakfast caused me to try and make light of the situation. This was a bad play. “At least it was just a book and not something actually important, but I’ll absolutely buy you a replacement.”
     “Not necessary.” He frowned at me and then looked at the sea where the paperback was now polluting the ocean – one more thing for me to feel bad about – and then back at me and said, “I take it you’re not a reader.”
     And there it was, the judgmental tone I’d heard my whole life when it became known that I was not a natural born reader. Why were book people always so perplexed by non book people? I mean, it’s not like I wanted to be dyslexic. Naturally, when feeling defensive about my disability, I said the most offensive thing I could think of.
     “Books are boring,” I said. Yes, I, Samantha Gale, went there. I knew full well this was likely heresy for this guy, and I was right. His reaction did not disappoint. 
     His mouth dropped open. His eyes went wide. He blinked. “Don’t hold back. Say what you feel.”
     “It’s like this, why would I read a book when I can just stream the movie version, which allows me to use both hands to cram popcorn into my face at the same time?” I asked.
     “Because the book is always better than the movie.”
     I shook my head. “I disagree. There’s no way the book version of Jaws was better than the movie.” 
     “Ah!” he yelped. If he’d been wearing pearls, I was sure he’d be clutching them. 
     When he was about to argue, I cut him off with the duuun-dun duuun-dun duuun-dun dun dun dun from the iconic Jaws theme music, thus, winning the debate.

Words of wisdom from the master: 



So, how about it Reds and Readers, do you think the book is always better than the movie? Or are there exceptions? 


78 comments:

  1. Oh, goodness . . . I want to read more! Thanks for the delightful introduction to Samantha and Ben . . . .

    I suppose there are exceptions, and most of the time the movie really is great, but so often you hear someone say that the movie simply couldn’t include EVERYTHING . . . so that makes me think that the book must be better . . . .

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    1. Thank you, Joan. I’m a “the book is always better” but sometimes, very rarely, the movie wins.

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  2. I want more, too! I also want to know what the Before names were.

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    1. (Also, thank you SO much, Jenn, for WAIT FOR IT. I was having a rough few days, and your story took me right out of my own life. Great storytelling. I'm grateful.)

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    2. Thank you so much, Edith. You’re very kind.

      The before names were Gabriella and Spencer. While I still like those names, they didn’t click with this story. My editor does not yet know what I’ve done. We’ll see how that goes! LOL.

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    3. I have decided you were wise to replace the protagonist's names from Fitzlewig the librarian and Elanot the dyslexic. to the new characters. Okay.. what really were the earlier names?

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  3. I'm not going to opt for an "always" or a "never." A good story is a good story, and good storytellers can make even a so-so story better. The author, the screenwriter, and the director are all professional storytellers, and each can make an impact on the story being told. I can think of examples where the movie found a jewel of a character or plot line that didn't quite gel for me in the book, and I can cite many examples of books that were so much richer and deeper than any film could capture.

    I don't know if anybody reads Christopher Isherwood's 1939 novel, "Goodbye to Berlin" anymore, but the images of Liza Minelli, Joel Grey, and that great Kander and Ebb score make "Cabaret" unforgettable. (In that case the stage musical is better than the movie, but that's a different discussion.). On the flip side, Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield" is a masterpiece of Victorian fiction. No film, or miniseries, is going to capture all the depth of character or nuance of social commentary the book gives us. That doesn't make Armando Ianucci's 2020 film, "The Personal History of David Copperfield" any less enjoyable for the wit and joy it does offer up in a two-hour feast. I say, read 'em all! Watch 'em all! Enjoy every take on the stories you love.

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    1. Also, book or movie can depend on the physical ability of the person, like your dyslexic Samantha and me without perfect depth perception and great sensitivity to rapid changes in light. Watching movies makes me want to shut my eyes so I stop feeling sea sick (Will pinch myself next time). So for me the book is always better. Sounds like a wonderful story you have to tell, Jenn.

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  4. Gigi, brilliant answer. Additionally, LOTR fans like me had to love that story come to life in the skilled hands of Peter Jackson. The casting alone was amazing. Two names, Orlando Bloom (sigh) and Viggo Mortensen (ah-h-h). But, for real fans of the books, where was Tom Bombadil? Yep. Read the books!

    Jenn, I am so happy that you have another women's fiction book coming out. I adore your sexy romances, love your cozy mysteries and your women's fiction is a tonic for any pandemic. Thank you for sharing your last minute scramble to get the names right. I giggled when you posted about it but I'm sure it was a pain. When does the book come out?

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    1. Thank you, Judy! You’re a dear to be so kind. Summer Reading will be out in 2023 - plenty of time to change the names again, if need be. Aaaahhhhhh!

      LOTR is definitely in the book-movie debate, along with HP. The richer the world, the harder to adapt, clearly.

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    2. May I suggest that the movie "The Princess Bride" was better than the book? Love both versions but . . .

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  5. Jenn, such an excellent beginning! and what a puke scene:). We are rewatching Mare of Eastown. It's so good that I couldn't imagine a better book--as it turns out, it was an original story.

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    1. That’s in my queue. Love Kate Winslet!

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    2. I thought that was so great! I thought episode one was fine episode two was fine and then episode three was like: wow…! And wow from then on. So those who have not watched it yet, don’t give up.

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    3. We just got HBO Max, so contemplating that. I heard it was really dark, though.

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    4. Dark as in poignant and bleak, but not dark as in gruesome.

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  6. You had me at "he was cute in a buy local sort of way". My favorite!

    Movies are usually distilled versions of books. Some books need that distillation, but in general, I almost always like the book version better. Also, the Harry Potter and LOTR books are all brilliant, but the also brilliant movies could not exist without the help of movie magic techniques like CGI and other kinds of animation.

    The only movie I can think of that was vastly better than the book, or in this case, books plural, was "The Last of the Mohicans". The producers basically took the only exciting six or eight pages from an entire series and made quite a thrilling movie. Without Daniel Day Lewis, Madeline Stowe, and that amazing score, it would have been as dull and stodgy as all the books.

    Thank you for the book!

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    1. Oh, I loved that movie!!!! Excellent point.

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    2. LOL, Karen. Last of the Mohegans surely was better as a Classic Comic. The movie was terrific!

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  7. This excerpt irresistible. Does that really work to keep you from throwing up, have a hot guy bite you?

    Book FAR better than movie: The Time Traveler's Wife. Water for Elephants. Jack Reacher (based on Never Go Back). But the movie of The Wizard of Oz is quite a different creature from the book and absolutely brilliant. "Inspired by" would be more accurate. Also the movie of Rosemary's Baby is as good as the book. And rule of thumb: any movie with Frances McDormand in it is better than the book.

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    1. How could a movie of The Time Traveler's Wife ever be as good as the book?

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    2. Frances for the win! I agree 100%! I think you just hit on my peeve - some books should not be made into movies period. Also, I read the original Wizard to the Hooligans when they were little - it’s delightfully grisly. But the SHOES ARE SILVER! Still not over that!

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    3. Hallie, I was going to say The Wizard of Oz as well.

      What about Paddington? I love the books but the movies are an absolute delight.

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  8. Hilarious! Yes, the book is always better than the movie...or as Hallie noted, with the exception of Rosemary's Baby.

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  9. Reading this excerpt while breakfasting was not the best of ideas. I hope I’ll remember when I begin reading the book :) .

    I don’t watch a lot of films. For me, to date, the film can be good but the book is always better.

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  10. Trying to find books for my then-middle-schooler nephews, I came across the book Skellig by David Almond. Quirky, engrossing--loved it. Then, idly flicking the channels one night, I came across the movie version. Differing from the book in certain respects, but a lovely movie. On the other hand, growing up a scifi/fantasy geek, I loved Andre Norton's Beast Master and Lord of Thunder books--the combination of fantasy Native American elements with scifi hooked me. Much later, a movie version of The Beast Master was made. This would be one of the movies where you shake your head and wonder if anyone at all involved in the movie could actually read.

    So I'm with Gigi on this one--depends on the people involved--author, screenwriter, director, characters, costuming, music--everyone contributes to success or failure in my view. And I'd like to add that I love Harry Potter--the books are lined up (in order, please) on a shelf, but there were times the movie versions added small scenes that fit perfectly with the story--for example, the story of Lily's fish as told by Professor Slughorn when Harry is trying to get him to reveal the real memory of Voldemort and the horcruxes. Magic, indeed!

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Need an edit button this early! Loved the excerpt, Jenn, and can totally understand how a story might seem off until you find the 'real' names of your characters.

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    3. I do love it when a movie adds depth to the story - it just feels like it tends to go the other way. However, TV have spawned books - Murder She Wrote, Monk, Castle, The Marriage Vacation, so it goes the other way, too!

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    4. Ditto on the Harry Potter movies, Flora. When I watched the first one, I sat behind a little girl--maybe six or seven years old--who clearly loved the books and just gasped and squealed with delight as she saw the visions in her head shown large on the screen, with all sorts of details she had never imagined. With that kind of experience, it's hard to say which is better. She still might choose the books, but she clearly deemed the movies worthy.

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    5. Flora, I LOVED those Andre Norton books, too! I never saw the film, so I'm thinking maybe that's a good thing...

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    6. Deborah, the movie advance publicity warned me off--imagine the lead character blond, muscle bound in a leopard skin a la Tarzan, in a jungle setting no less. Blasphemy!

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  11. You know you're reading a winner when you get to the bottom of the column and you try to turn the page. Fabulous, Jenn!

    Books win hands down. I always prefer the scenery my feverish mind creates over the stuff the cinematographer creates. Better nuances. That said, I'm a sucker who reads the book and watches the movie (or made for Amazon, or Netflix, you get the picture - pun intended) every time. Must make fair comparisons :)

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    1. Me, too! Just started season seven of Bosch and it lives adjacent in my mind to the books and I love it!

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    2. Bosch is so well done. But it's definitely an orange not an apple.

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  12. Reading the puking bit while eating my yogurt was not the best. But nevermind, I powered through and thoroughly enjoyed that snippet from your new book. Did you say when it will be available or do you know yet?

    I think usually the book is better than the movie for reasons that people explained above but on occasions when I have seen the movie before reading the book, I liked the movie better. If there is a book I really love and they are making a movie of it, I will definitely see it, if only to add to my original enjoyment, knowing they can't put everything in.

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    1. You do have to go in with expectations in check, for sure. Summer Reading will be out in 2023! I hope!

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  13. "...he was cute in a buy local sort of way." Nice. That says it all.

    Oh...the question. Yup, it depends. A well-done movie can be a good illustrative companion to the book.

    And then there's 84 Charing Cross Road. Still (IMO) the best book-to-screen transfer ever. Both perfect.

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    1. Oh, I’ll have to revisit that one. I remember being charmed by the movie…must revisit the book.

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    2. Oh my gosh. I wonder if I can find the film anywhere. What a delight.

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  14. Jumping in here both feet with :1. Gone with the Wind.(Movie wins) 2 To Kill a Mockingbird (both win) 3. Star Trek;The Wrath of Khan Book written after the movie (Vonda K. McIntyre. Book wins. //

    Books are produced in the mind, ergo if words are difficult to unscramble Sam's problem) the other approaches to 'books formats will work (audio books as well as movies treatments) A blind person can see read and visualize a book, but usually can not fully appreciate a movie. The next generation of virtual reality with full sensory interaction will truly answer the question which is better, books or movies?

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    1. I hadn’t even thought about VR - that is an entirely new type of story immersion!

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  15. Reading books. Even when I was a kid and LOVED movies, I would read the book before seeing the movie because in these days many movies did NOT have English subtitles, unless we watched foreign films with English subtitles.

    And when the movie was different from the book, I could not follow the dialogue. That often happened.

    Thinking about Samantha being a "non-reader". I wonder if she "read" the comic books as a kid? I know very little about dyxlesia (sp?) and at first I thought the hot guy reading the book was Deaf. It is often true that when you are reading a book, your ears are closed off to the world.

    Question: How did you come up with the name Samantha Gale? I was thinking of Samantha from Bewitched.

    Diana

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    1. I was thinking of Dorothy Gale from Wizard of Oz! And Gale Storm.

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    2. Gale is a Portuguese name and Sam is a fifth gen Vineyard resident - the only way her family can afford the Vineyard is if their roots go back to the fisherman from the Azores who populated the island back when Oak Bluffs was Cottage City and an area west of Oak Bluffs was called Little Portugal. Such a fascinating history that island has! I chose Samantha because Ben nicknames her “Samwise” later in the book when they’re on a quest - yes, a nod to LOTR. I’ll say no more! :)

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    3. JENN,

      I love that Sam is a fifth generation Vineyard resident. I am sure that Sam's ancestors probably "spoke in Sign Language" since three out of every four residents were deaf. It was normal for everyone to communicate in Sign Language, even those who were Not Deaf.

      Nora Groce wrote a non fiction book "Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language". There was a video on Deaf TV about a Deaf man who travelled to Martha's Vineyard a few years ago and it was more like Rick Steves Travel style, but in Sign Language. He interviewed a hearing tour docent at the Museum.

      Look forward to reading the book and I love the nod to LOTR.

      Diana

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  16. Jenn, this is completely wonderful! Absolutely great! You are so natural and so funny it just does not feel as if someone wrote this— in fact, it’s so visual and cinematic that reading it is like watching the movie! Speaking of which, yes, I completely agree about Rosemarys baby, book and movie are equally good. Also I would say the same for The Silence of the Lambs. And, dare I say, To Kill a Mockingbird. Of course the movie is just one segment of the book, but they are both equally compelling.

    And I fully commiserate about the name thing. I still cannot come up with my main characters name. How ridiculous is that? It’s very very frustrating. But when it doesn’t work, wow, it doesn’t work. The only good news is that when it does, it’s magic.

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    1. So true! About the movies and the names! I prefer it when the name appears at the start of the book. My poor copyeditor is going to have to seek out rogue Spencer’s and Gabriellas from the original - poor thing!

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    2. Thank you, Hank, for making that point about "To Kill a Mockingbird." I read the book and enjoyed it. Years later I watched the movie and thought, "But that's not what the book is about at all!" The book is Scout's story. The movie is a grand movie, but it's a star vehicle for Gregory Peck. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is high on my list of classic films due for a remake.

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  17. As tight as two coats of paint. Not the crowd to be in with a barfer. You obviously have had extensive experience with pukers from the description! Jenn, this story is a winner.
    The book is almost always better than the movie. Almost. My exception is The Godfather. I read it. I saw the movie. Movie won.

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    1. Oh yes, good point! The Godfather movie is incredible. And the book is just, long.

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    2. Oh, yeah, that was most def better as a movie!

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  18. Jenn, I absolutely love this opening. How could anyone possibly not keep reading? Sam and Ben are perfect and I can't wait to read their story. I was diagnosed as dyslexic when I was a teenager but it somehow never kept me from reading. The scrambling seems to affect numbers more than words. But your Samantha made me think of my son-in-law, who may be dyslexic. He doesn't like to read but he loves movies, and can tell you the plot, in detail, of everything he's ever seen. He loves the LOTR films and I always think it's a shame that he hasn't been able to enjoy the books, too.

    I'm not taking a side on the movies vs books debate. They are just different and I'm very glad we have both!

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    1. I think that the LOTR books have been re-recorded by Andy Serkis. I have the 1990 version and it was fine, I listened to them all last year when the pandemic began. But, I'd listen to a different (maybe better) version in a heartbeat. Debs, would s-i-l listen to them?

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    2. My brother was the same. Reading was work for him. Movies he memorized after one viewing.

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  19. Way to leave us wanting more...like right now! I look forward to reading this.
    Regarding the question, the book is always better. Very few movies come close to the book imo.
    Thanks for sharing!

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  20. You know what I love about you, Jenn? Your absolutely perfect phrasing. "...he was cute in a buy local sort of way" is a delight.

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  21. Oh, this story sounds good! I so want Samantha to become a reader in it. There have been maybe a few movies that I thought were better than the book, but I usually like the book better. There are some movies of books that I loved that I don't even want to see, because I've heard how they changed the book for the movie. The Good German by Joseph Kanon was an outstanding book, but I read about the movie where they had changed essential parts of the book, and I said no to the movie. And, I can barely stand to think about another of my favorite books, A Widow for One Year by John Irving. The movie they made from that book was renamed A Door in the Floor with Kim Basinger in the lead female role. That was enough to turn me against the movie.

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    1. It is tragic when they corrupt the book - better to just not base it on the movie at all.

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  22. I have been, always, a slow reader. Spelling was, is and always will be my definite struggle. The term dyslexia was not used for me when I was a kid, I was just slow. It didn't stop me from reading. I will honestly say I can't sound out words to read or spell correctly that may be new or I just recognize. One of the things I appreciate as an adult with a computer is spell check. It has saved a great deal of embarrassment.

    I like the clean and simple Sam and Ben for names. Of course you said Samantha and I have already shortened it to Sam but I like it clean and simple from longer more elegant names....

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  23. Jenn, what a wonderfully graphic snippet, and I like the names of the characters! I'm with Gigi and others, in the middle, as normally most books I read first are better implanted in my memory than movie/TV versions. But, for example I went through a phase when I was young of loving all things about far-away adventures in Africa and Australia, beginning with reading The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley, and Isak Dineson's Out of Africa, which were later made into great movies. I mean, what's not to love about the romance of Karen Blixen and Denys Finch-Hatton played by Meryl Streep and Robert Redford?! The hair-washing scene, ooh la-la. And I still shed tears when I rewatch it, at least once a year.

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    1. That was a brilliant film! I can still see it in my mind.

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  24. I think in some case it depends on which you experience first. When Star Trek, Star Wars and others being novelized, I would wait to read the book until I saw the movie or TV show because the book often added depth. Sometimes it depends on what you care about. I never cared that they made Kono female in the Hawaii 5-O remake but refused to watch Battlestar Galatica when they changed my former crush Starbuck to a woman. Sacrilege!

    Does that pinching think really work? I used to get sick when I saw or heard others getting sick. Looking forward to the new books.

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  25. What??? Starbucks a woman? No, just no! Sometimes the pinching works. Depends on why you’re going to vomit.

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  26. Almost always the book. My big exception was Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic. I know, I know, I should hang my head in shame considering it's HOFFMAN for heaven's sake.

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  27. Hi, for me so far, the book has been better than the movie. Your book sounds very intriguing ! Thank you for sharing about it. Have a great week and stay safe. aliciabhaney(at)sbcglobal(dot)net

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  28. Oh no she didn't just go there! And to a reader? She actually sounds like someone I used to work with and it stabbed me in the heart whenever she talked about movies based on books as if the movie was the only version of the story. Books are almost ALWAYS better than the movies. There are a few notable exceptions like the 1980s Anne of Green Gables mini-series (CBS, PBS, Disney) which is AS good as the books but less wordy for young readers. 1993 A Little Princess directed by Alfonso Curaon is brilliant. The book is very British Empire dated, as much as I love it. Then there's the Hallmark movie channel versions of the Hannah Swensen books, which I read and really like but the movies are actually better because you don't have the recipes plopped down in the middle of the book and Hannah is shown using modern technology like a normal woman her age. I adored the LOTR movies. I had a hard time getting into the books and the movies helped visualize it better once I knew the story. I came to Jane Austen the same way, with Emma Thompson's wonderful screenplay of Sense & Sensibility and Ang Lee's direction, I found the story easier to read after seeing the film. Even though I was experienced at reading Victorian lit, Georgian lit was different.

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