tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post497022593801274228..comments2024-03-29T10:25:17.813-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: Globe Trotting with Jeannette de BeauvoirJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-24113427258622825492018-08-25T01:02:41.929-04:002018-08-25T01:02:41.929-04:00ooo, PTown! I haven't been there since the mid...ooo, PTown! I haven't been there since the mid-1980s, when my church youth group used to visit a camp in Truro for about a week. Such fun! And we were more or less set loose on the streets for a few hours--meeting up to go to the beach for a picnic supper at some time or other. While as pre-teens/young teens, we may have gaped at the "ladies" outside the revue bars at the time, our chaperone, Father Fred, considered this a teaching opportunity. It takes all people to make a world. And our job in it is not to judge anyone else. Or stare. Unless, they were waving feather boas at us and wearing bikinis that seemed to be made from a (small) handful of peacock feathers. Then, we were ORDERED not to stare. Love you old PTown. Now, when I'm on the Cape, I'm in Harwich, which is where my dad and stepmother live. I can certainly understand where it's difficult to live in a tourist town, but then there is the quiet season. <br /><br />Congrats on the new book--I'll look forward to reading it!<br /><br />Best,<br />MelanieMelaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17946905881136839301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-42962524202286130402018-08-24T21:10:55.938-04:002018-08-24T21:10:55.938-04:00Ah! I'm going next March... may need to write...Ah! I'm going next March... may need to write about it!Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-87933311153835210242018-08-24T21:07:10.236-04:002018-08-24T21:07:10.236-04:00Ireland is that place that speaks to me. I'd l...Ireland is that place that speaks to me. I'd love to visit again someday.Jana Leah Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07492395947508454607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-54332818657471048582018-08-24T20:05:55.476-04:002018-08-24T20:05:55.476-04:00You’re right: the fortune teller often doesn’t hav...You’re right: the fortune teller often doesn’t have the best of luck! But it *would* be lively if the tourism board here told visitors about my books!Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-48408295282137179152018-08-24T19:58:02.280-04:002018-08-24T19:58:02.280-04:00Oh, i’m so glad you got to visit! Brewster is diff...Oh, i’m so glad you got to visit! Brewster is different from Ptown but everywhere here is beautiful. Hope you enjoy reading about the Cape now that you’ve experienced it.Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-59172014819000108762018-08-24T18:26:35.117-04:002018-08-24T18:26:35.117-04:00OK, I have to find the Cape Cod books too. We just...OK, I have to find the Cape Cod books too. We just returned from a week there, in Brewster, not our first time there for a family vacation, either. Love it - we all do.I will never know it well enough to write about it, unless maybe from a vacationers point of view...so I will read yours instead. Looking forward to it, too!Trisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08058396345946250313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-86479665280488977732018-08-24T18:15:52.400-04:002018-08-24T18:15:52.400-04:00Yes, Jeannette, the history absolutely. If you don...Yes, Jeannette, the history absolutely. If you don't know about those layers you miss a lot of the spirit of a place IMHO. And I love visiting really old places - I was in York, UK when it was celebrating its 1900th (you read that right) anniversary and I've been to the caves in the Dordogne, too. And I have a historian heroine, so a lot of Brooklyn's not-so-old history is included in all my books. Such fun to research. Hank and Ingrid, Montreal is wonderful to visit, both foreign and familiar and up-to-date and old. Our favorite easy getaway.Trisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08058396345946250313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-15467557514010746512018-08-24T18:01:23.752-04:002018-08-24T18:01:23.752-04:00When I used to travel, seeing historic places was ...When I used to travel, seeing historic places was exciting but so was seeing fictional places. In England we saw people playing cricket and having a fete ( I wondered if the fortune teller got murdered - because they always do). Bath and London were in so many historical romances. Locations often feature where TV shows and movies were filmed or set. They should do the same with books. Readers can be fans, too.Sally from PAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03649707016754971847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-19744996161416534682018-08-24T15:21:29.328-04:002018-08-24T15:21:29.328-04:00I *do* live here year-round. I like to think of it...I *do* live here year-round. I like to think of it as living in two different places whilst never needing to move! The transition *out* is usually easier than the transition *in*. For example, by April I'm really ready for more places to be open (restaurants and shops close for much of the winter) and more people to be around; by September (hello!) I'm really ready for all the extra cars to just go home and the noise level to come down. <br /><br />You mostly notice the transition, oddly enough, at Stop & Shop, our only grocery store. In the spring I know the visitors are back because I suddenly realize that I went grocery shopping and DIDN'T KNOW (at least by sight) everyone in the store! And fall is definitely in full swing when you can't get through the store in less than an hour because you keep catching up with people you meet there to find out how their season was.Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-10179859020689449962018-08-24T15:02:29.538-04:002018-08-24T15:02:29.538-04:00Jeannette, do you lie there year round? Is it a d...Jeannette, do you lie there year round? Is it a difficult transition going from the non-tourist season to the tourist season?Ingrid Thofthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04063912686011336076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-28572327054350655832018-08-24T14:22:50.894-04:002018-08-24T14:22:50.894-04:00Sydney says she hopes that she *will* inspire you ...Sydney says she hopes that she *will* inspire you to visit! The Cape is an amazing place of natural beauty and fascinating history—before the canal was dug, we were one of the major "graveyards of the Atlantic" for the thousands of shipwrecks along our coast. Here at the tip of the Cape, we have an interesting collection of eccentric people: because we're at land's end, we're not "on the way" anywhere else. No one is here by accident. And the kinds of people who settle in a place like this tend to be independent, strong, and more than a little strange! (And yes, I do include myself!)Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-56866798079199701382018-08-24T14:19:12.778-04:002018-08-24T14:19:12.778-04:00You're so right! And one wants to be careful n...You're so right! And one wants to be careful not to abuse the setting one chooses... not to take advantage, as it were, of disasters. I'm always keenly aware of the feelings of people in the venues I choose... I don't want anyone to feel that I'm using them in any way.Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-87379779081342737252018-08-24T14:13:44.322-04:002018-08-24T14:13:44.322-04:00As I've always wanted to visit this part of th...As I've always wanted to visit this part of the country, Cape Cod, I think Sydney's adventures would be a wonderful read to give me the impetus to visit. There's nothing like a great book about somewhere I want to go or somewhere I've been and love. My go-to answer for books written about a place I love is, of course, Lucy's Key West series. Lucy's words take me down familiar streets and into places I fell in love with when my daughter lived there. And, my answer for books taking me somewhere I want to visit is Debs' Gemma and Duncan series set in London. Oh, the ideas I've gotten for a future first trip to that amazing city. Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-53704105859992587632018-08-24T14:08:59.174-04:002018-08-24T14:08:59.174-04:00Congratulations, Jeannette! I love your discussion...Congratulations, Jeannette! I love your discussion on setting. It is so important. It's another character in the book for me. Now that I'm thinking of alternate settings, I think Hawaii might be nice. Although, with the volcanos and hurricanes happening, it might turn into more of a suspense novel. LOL! Thanks so much for visiting today!Jenn McKinlayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13589365995413467367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-21970531857869017472018-08-24T12:10:33.751-04:002018-08-24T12:10:33.751-04:00Hey, Rhys, and I totally understand that. It's...Hey, Rhys, and I totally understand that. It's one of the reasons it took me a lot of years of living in Ptown before I set a book here. There are layers and layers to a place that the casual visitor just can't perceive.Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-75644227692029278892018-08-24T11:26:12.192-04:002018-08-24T11:26:12.192-04:00I love traveling vicariously when I read. However ...I love traveling vicariously when I read. However I could never go to a place for the first time to set a book there. I need to have a previous feel for a place and to return when I'm writing, as the observerAuthorrhysbowen@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11844065473614874365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-59214442978340762472018-08-24T11:24:56.808-04:002018-08-24T11:24:56.808-04:00Deborah, I can attest to your success in that rega...Deborah, I can attest to your success in that regard. I never knew about the Chalk Farm area until I read your books, and you've made Notting Hill come alive for me in ways that no Hugh Grant movie ever could.<br /><br />Of *course* you should visit both Montréal and Ptown, though they're wildly different places. Some day I'm going to find a way to connect the two in a book, though for the moment I'm not seeing a way to get there!Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-9754357650397161842018-08-24T11:21:05.695-04:002018-08-24T11:21:05.695-04:00Ha! It's brilliant, isn't it? (And even if...Ha! It's brilliant, isn't it? (And even if someone is, there's no such thing as too much Nantucket!)Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-37094955968635798282018-08-24T11:19:58.672-04:002018-08-24T11:19:58.672-04:00Yes, Francine Matthews. But maybe there is room fo...Yes, Francine Matthews. But maybe there is room for two?Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-59387787224443275292018-08-24T11:19:41.856-04:002018-08-24T11:19:41.856-04:00Thanks, Margie. On the topic of restaurants—I thin...Thanks, Margie. On the topic of restaurants—I think I cited Linda Barnes' inclusion of Mary Chung's, a hole-in-the-wall sort of place in Cambridge's Central Square, frequented mostly by MIT geeks (who know their Chinese food!) and Chinese-Americans or indeed Chinese people. Although it does a brisk business, everyone who goes there likes to think of it as their secret place (I only knew about it because my then-husband was a MIT grad). So not only did I read about it in Linda's book, but her character ordered one of my favorite dishes! As much as I enjoyed it, there was part of me that thought, oh, no, how COULD she?! a) now more people will know about Mary Chung's, and b) I'd hoped to be the one to mention it in a book, and if I do now, it will be derivative!<br /><br />Okay, as you can tell, I think too much.Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-7626152366551625812018-08-24T11:19:19.144-04:002018-08-24T11:19:19.144-04:00Welcome, Jeanette! I certainly agree that a sense ...Welcome, Jeanette! I certainly agree that a sense of place is important. In fact, my writing in the beginning was inspired by wanted to write about places I'd been (or wanted to visit) in England--and it still is. I want readers to feel they know a place intimately, and I'm always thrilled when readers tell me they've used my books as guidebooks. <br /><br />Visiting Montreal has been on my to-wish list for a long time, and now I think I'll have to add Ptown, too! Best of luck with your new book!Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-27044605461458222612018-08-24T11:14:49.806-04:002018-08-24T11:14:49.806-04:00I need to take Phyllis Whitney's tack and star...I need to take Phyllis Whitney's tack and start setting books in highly-desirable vacation spots. Ptown and Key West are taken - is anyone doing mysteries set on Nantucket? Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09553268569509053159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-44382804607956043102018-08-24T11:14:13.913-04:002018-08-24T11:14:13.913-04:00That's a really interesting comment, Kait (and...That's a really interesting comment, Kait (and if you come to Ptown via ferry you can avoid the traffic altogether!)... I start this book by citing a common winter practice, that of "going to sunset" at Herring Cove. The book had already gone to the editor when my publisher pointed out that last winter's nor'easter had removed fully half of the parking lot I referenced.... oops! And I'm sure that two or three years from now, some of the places Sydney hangs out won't be there anymore (though I do strenuously hope that the thrift shop at the Methodist church goes on forever, as both Sydney and I shop there regularly!).<br /><br />It does raise some interesting questions about this whole business of pointing readers to specific restaurants or bars or theaters.... will the novel hold up when those places are no more? Perhaps just making them up from the start ensures more longevity? I don't know the answer.Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-70134659134826968582018-08-24T11:08:21.413-04:002018-08-24T11:08:21.413-04:00Thank you, Susan! I hope you'll enjoy them, bo...Thank you, Susan! I hope you'll enjoy them, both the Montréal books and the Ptown ones. What I always find fascinating—and I think this applies to any place—is that there may be just one geographic location, but there are many different iterations of that same location, depending on who one is. I walk down Commercial Street in Ptown and I notice shops I frequent, people I know, even memories I have. But that same stretch of Commercial Street will be completely different for a tourist, or a drag queen, or an artist. I sometimes hear about parties and events that pertain only to one group of people and realize that I was nearby and had no idea it was going on... it didn't exist in the layers I experience of the town, just as my book signings don't exist in the layers someone else experiences of the town. I find those thoughts fascinating, and can go on like this for hours....<br /><br />As writers, we're lucky, aren't we? We get to experience these places more than once, many times in fact, and give them more thought than other visitors or residents perhaps do....Jeannette de Beauvoirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02308284502164683088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-10930799164529491532018-08-24T11:07:34.829-04:002018-08-24T11:07:34.829-04:00I haven't lived in Philadelphia since I was 20...I haven't lived in Philadelphia since I was 20 (although I have visited a couple of times), but I am thrilled when I read books set in the City of Brotherly Love--Lisa Scottoline's legal thrillers are examples. Lisa once mentioned TastyKakes in one of her books, and I was driven to email her about my favorite flavor (Butterscotch Krimpets). <br /><br />I've been a denizen of Silicon Valley for the rest of my life, which makes a terrific setting for novels--most recently, Sophia of Silicon Valley by Anna Yen and Family Trust (coming from Kathy Yang). I don't know exactly why, but it gives me a frisson of pure joy to read about restaurants I have frequented, even roads I have traveled.<br /><br />Provincetown sounds appealing as well. Best of luck with your new book!Margie Buntinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10120666616254809025noreply@blogger.com