Karen Harrington's blog, author of Janeology from Kunati Books

Book over to BookingMama

2008-10-04T14:50:48Z

Booking Mama just gave JANEOLOGY a very interesting review making note of a few things no other reviewer has before. Intrigued? Check it out and leave a comment. Thanks!

http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/2008/10/review-janeology.html

Peace,

www.karenharringtonbooks.com

www.scobberlotch.blogspot.com

We all grow up with the weight of history on us...

2008-10-02T15:18:16Z

...Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies. ~Shirley Abbott

My great aunt and uncle, Circa 1900

If you wish, read a chapter of JANEOLOGY, a novel that delves into the past generations of one Jane Nelson: daughter, wife, mother and tragic murderess.

Peace,

K. Harrington

www.karenharringtonbooks.com

www.scobberlotch.blogspot.com

Stranger Than Fiction - Sandwich Theft

2008-09-26T15:31:44Z

You tell me:

1. Is sandwich theft THAT big of a problem and if so,

2. Would you read my new novel CSI: New Deli

You can read more about sandwich deterrents and the super heroes who foil them, er, I mean, fight them at: http://www.skforlee.com/independent_work/lunch_bag.html

Peace,

www.karenharringtonbooks.com

Stephen King on why you need to read a lot

2008-09-23T15:21:27Z

Good day to you,

One of my all-time favorite authors celebrated a birthday on Sunday - Stephen King.

So this week's You Tubes day selection is from Mr. King. His subject: why writers need to read EVERYTHING.

http://scobberlotch.blogspot.com/2008/09/you-tubes-day-stephen-king-on-what-it.html

Enjoy!

www.karenharringtonbooks.com

Ike, why'd you have to go and mess with Texas?

2008-09-19T01:11:49Z

"Galveston, oh Galveston, I still hear your sea winds blowin'" - Glen Campbell, Galveston

I suppose I couldn't wholly relate to the passion of New Orleanians for their beloved city post-Katrina. I should have guessed at the difference when they get lyrical tributes from Harry Connick Jr. and we get Glen Campbell. (I still love you, Glen, but Harry, well....) Still. You don't mess with Texas! Now that a storm has gut-punched one of my favorite places in the world, well, I have a greater understanding. The arms of my heart can finally get around the mourning for a piece of land.

I can't tell you how many great memories I have of the Texas Gulf Coast, both from my teen years and now as an adult. My sister and I used to go to the coast every summer. I recall a favorite past-time was burying each other in the sand in a strange homage to Creep Show and/or Huey Lewis. (If you are a child of the 80s, this needs no explaination.) Now, I have many memories of taking my own children to Galveston. I adore this area of the Lone Star state so much that it almost always worms its way into my writing. My husband, an equally die-hard Californian who doesn't think Galveston or Corpus Christi compare to the beaches of his homestate, doesn't understand my attachment. But we are all destined to be attached to the places from whence we come. Napoleon was right when he said, "Geography is destiny."

I thought I'd share a few pics of recent trips down to this Texas jewel.

The face of a child who has seen and felt the ocean for the first time.

A sunset view from our rented beach house on Treasure Island.

The house on Treasure Island where we vacationed. Odds are, this isn't there now.

Beach Walking

My good friend and travel writer Sophie Dembling also posted some great pics of Galveston's famed Balinese Room, pre-Ike on her site that give you another view of my beloved city.

Ike, you gave the Lone Star State a rough blow, but maybe you never heard what the great Sam Houston said about our state - "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from what source it may."

Karen

author, Janeology

www.karenharringtonbooks.com

If PBS made a show about "being young, sexy and extremely well read."

2008-09-16T18:04:56Z

Yeah. You read that right - PBS. Someone put their imagination to work and created a TV show (spoof) called 'Llectuals.

Click here to watch.

Cheers,

K. Harrington

author, Janeology

Why is this my favorite review?

2008-09-15T17:24:51Z

Because it's as if this reviewer has overheard how I personally describe this book everywhere I go. Truly, if I were to review reviewers - Mysterious Reviews would get my own Five-Star rating. Thanks, Lance at Mysterious Reviews!

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Janeology by Karen Harrington. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Janeology by Karen Harrington
Non-series

Kunati (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-60164-020-X (160164020X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-60164-020-8 (9781601640208)
Publication Date: April 2008
List Price: $24.95

Review: Karen Harrington takes the reader on a most unusual literary adventure in her debut novel, Janeology. Marketed as a legal thriller it is really neither (in the conventional sense) but rather a series of fascinating, though often deeply disturbing, vignettes that taken together form a remarkable tale.

From all outward appearances, Tom and Jane lead a typical suburban family life, he a college professor, she a homemaker raising toddler twins. But one day Tom receives word at work that he urgently needs to return home accompanied by a police officer. He arrives to find his wife has tried to kill both their children, and has succeeded with one leaving the other in critical condition. Her only comment: I'm done with being a mother. Jane is subsequently tried for murder but acquitted on the reason of temporary insanity and confined to a hospital. The prosecutor in the case then decides Tom is to be charged with child endangerment and neglect, that somehow he must have known Jane was capable of murder and he didn't take any steps to prevent it. The lawyer Tom's mother hires to defend him, Dave Frontella, proposes a novel counterargument, that Jane was genetically predisposed to violence. "Jane snapped because generations of cold-blooded, impulse-driven genes were ready to erupt within her. Her predilection for sudden violence was inherited like diabetes or a gift for music." Toward this end, Dave employs a woman with the gift of retrocognition, the ability to see the past through an object in the present, and together they discover that Jane's ancestors may hold the key to Tom's defense.

Some readers, maybe most, are likely to be skeptical of the premise of Janeology. But what works in the book's favor is that Tom is equally skeptical, and repeatedly says so. The ancestral tales, however, are wonderfully written and oddly compelling, so much so that at just about the same time Tom comes around, the reader will as well. At one point he says, "A new thread on Jane's father's side of her family was about to be woven and I braced myself for the yarn, welcoming the stories now with an open mind and a greater enthusiasm for the journey the three of us were taking." And this is about the same time where it's nearly impossible to put this book down.

Janeology concludes with what can best be described (in a somewhat oxymoronic fashion) as ambiguous closure for both Tom and the reader that, upon reflection, is perfectly apt. This is truly a unique and memorable book.

If you are interested in purchasing Janeology from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

http://www.mystery-books.com/2008/09/mystery-book-review-janeology-by-karen.html

Remembering 9/11

2008-09-11T13:32:25Z

It is one of those pivotal, change-your-life moments in history that is our generation’s “Where were you when Kennedy was shot?” recollection points. Your mind will call up this file with uncomfortable ease forever. Perhaps you even remember what you did that morning when the world was still arguably innocent. Perhaps you remember what you were wearing.

I do.

I got dressed in a black skirt and trench-length brown sweater. By the end of the day, I would add a red-white-blue ribbon to my ensemble. I still have the ribbon.

I worked for Greyhound Bus Lines as a speechwriter then. For many reasons, working for Greyhound has proven to be one of the most enriching, informative and wonderful experiences of my life. The company is not only a national icon, but a witness and a participant in so many pivot points of American history - events I'd only read about in books, not the least of which involve the Civil Rights movement and supporting American troops throughout both world wars. (And I can't tell you how many stories I wrote for the company newsletter about couples who'd met 50 years ago on a twelve-hour Greyhound trip and got married soon after.)

Greyhound would play a role on September 11, 2001. And this time, I wouldn't have to read about it. Like you, we were all witness to history.

In the four days following the attacks, demand for Greyhound services increased by 50 percent or more in some locations. If you took a picture in a typical bus station that day, you would have seen minimum-wage earners in blue jeans standing next to men in tailored suits. All standing next to one another, often waiting in lines that wrapped around the outside of the bus terminal. Black, white, Asian, Mexican, everyone. Everyone was patient. Everyone helped the other. It’s true. You would think it might be chaos. It wasn’t. Everyone was feeling the same thing.

I just want to get home.

We had so many customers desperate to get home, I remember wishing I could drive a bus. (Or, drive one better. I did attend a day of bus driving school once. That's me, learning to drive a 55-foot long bus through a maze of cones and not hitting ONE! Although, I was so excited to tell my husband that I ran my Honda into the trash can when I got home that day. Doh!)

One of the most striking facts of Greyhound service on September 11 and 12 was achieving a near impossible feat. Planes were grounded. Trains were still a bit uncertain. But Greyhound was still up and running. For reasons unknown to me, there were thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of people wanting to move from west to east - not any other direction. Our call center was deluged with requests. On-line queries and sales shot to record-setting proportions. Perhaps this was to get to loved ones on the east coast. And behind the scenes, some of our nation's alphabet agences were very interested in our help to be on the lookout for, well, persons of interest. This involved some technological gymnastics that would make Jason Bourne proud (and now makes your bus traveling experience much safer, btw.)

In any case, you can imagine the challenge of moving buses and drivers and fuel and every other resource that forms a bus company west so that your fellow citizens (or maybe, you) could travel east-bound in a hurry. And let me tell you - it was achieved with that all-American can-do attitude that gets things done without red-tape or committee. High-Paw to the dog!! (Can you tell I love this company?)

All the drivers on vacation or leave called into HQ and asked where they could report - a stunning event in a union-driven employee organization. Terminal managers and employees of all stripes headed west - and then helped folks get east. And then they went whereever else they were needed. (The next big push was southward along the eastern sea-board.)

Our CEO, who was in Wisconsin at the time of the attacks, drove fourteen hours to Dallas, only to work through those four days straight, like most of us. And then I recall the family members who kept bringing food to the weary of us who worked day and night in our emergency operations center, fielding media calls, communicating with employees and pretty much doing anything to support our drivers and staff in the field. So many examples of compassion and assistance too great to list.

For two days, I did nothing but post new bulletins on our employee web site. Write encouraging or info-packed messages for our CEO to deliver over our employee messaging system. I trashed the existing irrelevant employee newsletter and started over on a new one. And then, I wrote some more.

By Sept. 13, I remember a new poster had been designed and was on its way to the printer - another astonishing act of just do it! The post was of a Greyhound dog with an American flag in his mouth with the title: We are proud to serve America. And that was a message that didn't have to get vetted through the legal department - or any other corporate committee. (Thus proving what I always fought for in my days as a cube rat - if the message is clear and true and simple, which it should always be, it's the right one and doesn't need to be over-debated and analyzed.)

I digress.

I was glad I didn’t work for Hostess Cup Cakes that day. Nothing against Hostess Cup Cakes. They’re yummy. But I was proud that I was a spoke in a wheel that was helping people get home and be with those they loved, even if it was merely words for a great American company. (Cue Lee Greenwood here.)

And that’s where I was. And in spirit, that’s where I am today. Proud to be an artist who wants to make a difference on dark days - and bright days, too. So go hug a soldier, a police officer or hey, just look at the American flag and give her a solid salute and a nod of gratitude. And then do whatever it is that you do that makes a difference in the world.

Peace

Taking personal responsibility? Oh, the consequences!

2008-09-10T14:28:16Z

Researchers have actually suggested that "physical activity can overcome a genetic predisposition for obesity."

So say the researchers:

...a study among a group of Amish people found those who had an obesity-related gene called FTO but were very physically active weighed about the same as others who did not carry the gene.

Gee, this smacks of personal responsibility. Nothing to blame. No ONE to blame. No genetic excuse to prop you up. What will become of us if our actions overcome a genetic predisposition? Peace? Goodwill towards men? Personal triumph?

Of course, I'd like to know more about this study because I believed being Amish and physically active went hand-in-hand. I'm having a difficult time even imagining a lazy, non-active Amish person.

"No, I don't feel like raising that house today. You go on ahead, Jonah? I'm going to watch the women quilt until I fall asleep. Wake me up when the bread is ready."

Okay, to be fair the article does also say:

...the (study) group offered a unique mix of activity levels, with some farmers in the community still using horse-drawn plows while others holding more conventional jobs, including factory work.

(But wouldn't it be fun to write a story about an Amish slacker?)

Well, the good and obvious point about this story: A predisposition toward something doesn't mean a predetermination to do something or become something. But awareness of a predisposition - whether good or bad, physical or mental - does help us make informed choices about our own lives, which, have I mentioned, is something I enjoy writing about.

Have a great week.

K. Harrington

author, Janeology

Two-fer Tuesday

2008-09-09T13:09:46Z

I have a guest blog at Literary Feline today titled "Careful, or you'll end up in my novel.' This is a collection of things I've overheard others say in recent weeks that strike me as, well, very telling of a person's character. So into my novel notebook these sentences went! Hey, if you've heard a particularly delicious slice of conversation lately, leave me a comment on the blog.

http://www.literaryfeline.com/

And apparently this is not my only stop in the blogosphere today. My interview with the Dallas Book Diva is now on-line and can be found at www.dallasbookdiva.com The interview cuts off abruptly at the end. Fear not, good listeners! You didn't miss anything earth shattering. Just assume that the interviewer lauded JANEOLOGY with high praise and compared it to other classic works of literature, begging me for the release date of my next novel. That pretty much covers it. :)

Peace

Read a chapter of Janeology when you visit www.karenharringtonbooks.com