Author interview: Jason Odell Williams By Brenda Janowitz

It's always such an honor when I get asked to blurb a book.  When Saira Rao, author of the hilarious novel CHAMBERMAID, and the brains behind In This Together Media asked me to read Jason Odell Williams' debut novel, PERSONAL STATEMENT, I was super excited.

And it wasn't just because Saira told me the book was funny (funny is an understatement).  And it wasn't just because she told me Jason was accomplished (oh, is that what you call that Emmy nom?!).  It was because the subject matter is something I could really relate to: trying to find the perfect personal statement for your college applications.  I'll let Jason tell you more about what the book's about, so without further ado, here's Jason:

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm a writer and television producer originally from Columbia, Maryland, now living in New York City. I recently wrote a YA novel called PERSONAL STATEMENT, published by In This Together Media on August 1st this year (and available on Amazon!)  I'm also a playwright and have written several full-length plays. One of them, called HANDLE WITH CARE, will have it's 7th regional production this season in less than three years (including the international debut in Toronto, Canada). We're currently working on bringing the play to New York for an Off-Broadway run later this fall and winter. And somehow I also squeeze in a full-time job as a writer and producer on the hit TV series BRAIN GAMES on the National Geographic Channel; I was even recently nominated for an Emmy Award for my work on the show. It still hasn't sunk in... but maybe it will once we all go to L.A. in September for the ceremony! I've been married for 12 years to an amazingly beautiful and talented woman, Charlotte Cohn, and we live in Manhattan with our daughter Imogen who's almost 8 years old.

Tell us about your novel in 25 words or less.

PERSONAL STATEMENT is satire about the college application rat race set against the backdrop of “competitive volunteering.” I think it's laugh-out-loud funny and hilarious throughout, but at the heart it's a coming-of-age story about several teenagers trying to figure out who they are and want they want out of life.

You're also a playwright.  How does one medium inform the other?

My good friend (and executive producer of BRAIN GAMES) Jerry Kolber once said to me, "Storytelling is storytelling. If you can tell a good story in a play, you can tell a good story in any medium." And i think he's right. So if it's plays, TV, novels, short stories, blogs, it's all about telling a good story. Sure, there's always a learning curve about format and each medium has its own quirks and idiosyncrasies, but you can learn those in a week or two. What you can't learn in a short amount of time is how to tell a compelling story. Beginning, middle, end... like Aristotle said so many years ago. I come from the theatre world - I was trained as an actor in college and grad school and what I learned as an actor was about character, dialogue, plot, comedy, drama... all the necessary tools to tell a great story. Even if it's a 22 minute TV show about the brain, there's still the need for dialogue (voice over) and a driving story with a good flow. And of course writing a novel requires all of those skills too. The other thing about playwriting that helped inform writing the novel was how to rewrite. Playwriting is almost never done. We're tinkering with lines and moments at every rehearsal right up until the end. And it's a great lesson in not being too precious with your words. Keep what works, the best idea wins, and cut everything else!

[Ed. Note: LOVE that advice, Jason!  We writers can’t say it enough: writing is re-writing!!]

When Hollywood (inevitably) snaps up movie rights, who do you see in the lead roles?

I don't know! And the movie rights HAVE been snapped up for "Personal Statement" and we are working on the screenplay right now. I'm writing it with my wife, Charlotte Cohn, who has more or less been my collaborator on all of my plays and she directed one of them brilliantly as well, so she has a great ear and knows what I like; we can speak in shorthand and also be brutally honest and critical about the work without worrying about ego or feelings. It's a great partnership. But in terms of casting: many of the roles are for 17 and 18 year old kids... so i think they'll have to find some up-and-coming actors who I don't even know. But for the role of A.J. (the 26 year old working for the Governor) I see Anna Kendrick in that role. I think she amazingly talented, funny, smart and can do anything. She'd be perfect for A.J. For the role of Governor Watson I'd love someone like Rob Lowe (who was born in Charlottesville where i went to college!) and is so great and funny without trying to be. Loved him on The West Wing and now Parks & Rec... plus he's a very talented writer so he can bring another layer to the text. For his right hand man, Teddy Hutchins, I see Paul Giamatti -- the perfect character actor with intellect and humor. And for the role of Richard Gains, the former TV star and now B & B owner-slash-yoga lover, I'd see David Duchovny or Bryan Cranston. It's crazy to even think about in the abstract at this point, but it would be amazing if we could get even ONE of those actors for any of those roles!

How did you start writing?

I've been writing here and there since college, nothing serious, but I'd write a short story or a short play or short film just because I had a story I'd been mulling over in my head for a few weeks and it needed to get out. Nothing great in those early works, but important to go through... get the crap out of the way, plus it's part of finding your voice as a writer and a way of approaching projects that work best for you. But mostly I was an actor. Right out of college i moved to New York in 1996 and that's was my goal, to be a working actor. And while i found work and had some success, it wasn't as fulfilling as I thought it would be, so one day in 2007 i turned to my wife (a brilliant actress, by the way, as well as a director, writer and producer!) and said, I want to write a play and i want you to be in it, what kind of role do you want. And from there I wrote HANDLE WITH CARE and three years later it got its world premiere and then the writing just escalated. I wrote 4 more plays then got hired for the TV show then started writing PERSONAL STATEMENT. It's all just sort of culminating now at the same time.

What inspired this novel?

Several things, but most notably having a daughter in Manhattan and seeing what it was like when it came time to enroll her in pre-school. It was nuts. The mothers in our Upper West Side neighborhood were talking about nothing but schools and waiting lists and "why haven't you filled out any applications yet, your daughter will never get into a good school or go to a good college if you don't do what we are all doing!!" It was insanity. And that was just pre-school! Then it came time for Kindergarten and we live near a wonderful public school so my wife and i thought, great, one less thing to worry about. But then we found out the school was overcrowded and there would be a lottery and it was the same insanity all over again. So this was always in the back of my mind, when two friends from college, Carey Albertine and Saira Rao (who both have kids as well) came to me soon after they launched their publishing company with an idea for a book about teenagers racing to volunteer after a hurricane to pad their college applications and I was like yes, yes, yes! I get this! We have to write this book! We started talking about how there aren't many great stories about what it's like RIGHT NOW for kids applying to college and speaking to the insanity of it with humor and heart. So over the course of a few months we plotted out a story and all of the characters and it grew from there. But it goes back to my personal experience with the Manhattan pre-school application process. I don't even want to think about what my daughter's college application years. She's the high school class of 2023! I can't imagine what it will be like then. 

Anything I've left out?

The book was optioned for a film as part of a series. The novel was just going to be a one-off, but because of the buzz and interest it seemed to get even before publication, we decided to turn the book into a series called "The Personals" ... Personal Statement is part one, Personal Disaster will be part 2 and Personal Assistant will part 3. We'll follow all of the main characters to college where things won't go as expected and then to their first summer jobs which will also be eye-opening for all involved. I think from ages 18 to 22 are the years we find out who we are  and it's great material to explore. It's where your world-view really changes and to some degree informs who you'll be for the rest of your life. The next books should be a lot fun! Plus I'm anxious to get back to writing these characters. I kind of miss them! 

Thanks for coming by, Jason!  Don't forget to check out Jason's website, follow him on Twitter, and of course, BUY THIS BOOK!

And then when you're done with all that, tell me:  what did you write about for your college personal statement?

I’m the author of SCOT ON THE ROCKS and JACK WITH A TWIST. My third novel, RECIPE FOR A HAPPY LIFE, was published by St. Martin's on July 2, 2013. My work’s also appeared in the New York Post and Publisher’s Weekly. You can find me at brendajanowitz.com or on Twitter at @BrendaJanowitz.

Transitions, OCD, and a Giveaway

by Barbara Claypole White

August 28^th 2012 is a date I’ll never forget. Yes, it’s my first blog for Girlfriends Book Club (yippee!), but it’s also the day I transition from daydreaming about becoming a published author to being, well, a published author.

In celebration, I’m giving away a signed copy of my debut novel, The Unfinished Garden. To enter, please leave your email address in the comment section, and a winner will be picked at random after 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 29^th.

So. Big day. Swear to God, I want to enjoy it, want to imagine driving across rural North Carolina with my sunroof open, screaming, “I did it!” Everyone tells me I must be thrilled. And I am. In a terrified can-I-throw-up-and-crawl-into-my-writing-cave kind of way.

Here’s my problem—I’m focused on the doubts that could turn my inaugural reading into disaster. Will my legs shake so much that I’ll trip in my high heels and nosedive onto the podium? Will I open my mouth and talk rubbish? Halfway through, will I need the potty?

Harlequin MIRA, 2012

This is awfulizing, a word I've learned through years of helping my son navigate obsessive-compulsive disorder. I’m not obsessive-compulsive—although, as a Virgo, I’m the next best thing. My son, however, has bravely battled the anxiety monster for most of his life. He’s brilliant, compassionate, and a published, award-winning poet. He’s also someone who, because of his OCD, struggles with transitions. OCD is all about control; OCD hates change. And this is senior year of high school.

Mom’s book launch + college apps + OCD = the perfect triumvirate of transition hell. But as Sir Winston Churchill said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” And he should know, since he was simultaneously fending off depression and the Nazis.

Me? I’m fighting back with a pledge. Today, I will focus on the book and nothing but the book. After all, public readings are really tiara moments for my love story about grief, OCD, and dirt. Yes, there’s a little of my life in The Unfinished Garden.

The story seed came from two separate what ifs—both dark and morbid. I know, what is my problem? The first what if came from helping my mother retreat into her garden after my father died, and in the weeks that followed, watching her change from a wife to a widow. I kept thinking, “Suppose that were me?”

I’m a Brit married to an American professor. When my dad died, I was a stay-at-home parent with no income and no citizenship of the country I called home. My mind stuck on a horrid dilemma: What would I do if something happened to my husband? That thought led to my heroine, Tilly. And it still entertains my husband, who loves to tell people I killed him off in the backstory.

The second what if came several years later. James was not my original hero, but as I sought escape from the hell of sharing our home with OCD, my mind veered off on another sick tangent: What if, once my son grew up, no one could deal with his quirky behavior? What if no one could ever love him the way I loved my husband? There’s a reason James is estranged from his family: OCD destroys relationships.

I didn’t set out to make a statement about OCD. I just wanted to create a believable character. Popular culture is littered with stereotypes of obsessive-compulsives. I love Criminal Minds, but the words obsessive or compulsive often creep into the show’s profiles of serial killers. And then there’s Monk, the television detective with the wipes-carrying assistant. Did anyone see the episode when school kids were laughing at him? Man, that one kicked me in the gut.

Imagine your worst fears. Now imagine living with them every moment of every day. In stereo surround sound. That’s OCD. To force back the worry demands incredible courage, and James is the bravest person Tilly knows. He isn’t a victim or a psycho. He’s a successful entrepreneur who happens to be terrified of everything…except snakes. Which gives him one up on Indiana Jones.

I have no control over what happens as my book launches into the world, but James and Tilly will always be my first hero and heroine. And I’m so proud of them. I think I might get in my car, open the sunshine roof, and throw out one “Yay for The Unfinished Garden.”

When she’s not gardening, Barbara Claypole White writes love stories about damaged people and blogs through the highs and lows of OCD at easytolovebut.com. To browse The Unfinished Garden, go to barbaraclaypolewhite.com or amazon.

Don't Blink, There Goes the Year!

By Laura Spinella

Given the post-holiday, pre-New Year date, not to mention the one-year anniversary of my debut novel, it seems a foregone conclusion that I write a retrospective blog. I saw a really good year-in-review on the Christmas Day CBS Morning Show. Of course, that one was dedicated to well-known personalities who’d passed, the montage segueing beautifully from Elizabeth Taylor to Steve Jobs to the guy who invented the teleprompter—sometimes, it’s the invention we recall, not the inventor. Thankfully, sadly, the major loss at my house was the cat. While I’d tear up over a photo-filled post devoted to Ted’s memory, I assumed you might not feel the same. Aside from the dead, the other thing we regale over this time of year is lists: Best Of, Biggest Blunders, Most Popular, 2011 Trends. So in keeping with our GBC writing theme, and sparing you my personal life’s little inventory list, I chose to focus on a Top Ten Retrospect for the Newly Published, aka, As the Debut Light Dims.

1) Authors are accessible. Some of the smartest people I’ve met this year are writers working to become published authors. While waiting to get their ticket punched, or book bound, they’ve made great contacts and friends with published authors. From what I can gather, it puts them miles ahead of the curve. I’m impressed by their networking and appalled by my own lack of foresight.

2) Not everybody is going to love your book—soon-to-be-authors, take note! There’s no avoiding it or the sting. Suck it up. And the sting is equal whether it’s a place like Publishers Weekly or a live-wire on Goodreads. I believe the ego-annihilating phrase was, “Just halfway through and it is nauseating…” Well, if you felt compelled to post that, and my book made you physically ill, I guess we’re even (-;

3) Signings are fun, but they come with a level of tension that’s difficult to corral—at least this was the case for me. Note to self: gray long-sleeved blouse, pretty as it is, will show pit stains every time. I know; I have the pictures to prove it.

4) Promotion can be all consuming. Our very own Maria Geraci gave me some of the best advice early on: Figure out what you’re comfortable doing and do that. Every time I find myself overwhelmed, I check in with those words of wisdom.

5) In the same vein, find the dividing line between what you wrote and what you’ve yet to write. Promoting a book and writing one are polar opposites. One requires you to be a social butterfly. The other is a cocoon. You have to figure out how to transition fluidly from one to the other.

6) If your book happens to get nominated for a nice award, go to the party. This is my big book blunder from 2011. I gave myself the, “It’s a thrill to be nominated,” speech and stayed home. In retrospect, it would have been really cool to have accepted the invite and the award personally.

7) Book clubs are God’s gift to writers. Again, this goes to my last-off-the-turnip-truck naiveté, but what an unexpected bonus! Where else can you make eight to ten instant friends by showing up? And even if they don’t love your book, they will congratulate you on the achievement of being published. Well, except for that one woman. I’m still considering having her comment tattooed to my ass. About Flynn, my protagonist: “He was just so… so dirty.” Silly me. I thought it was part of his charm.

8) “So, how much of your book is autobiographical?” Say what? For a lot of reasons, this question bothered me a great deal. I should have had the sense to let it go early on and just be glad they were reading.

9) Regarding BEAUTIFUL DISASTER and the college-age boys who emailed me: Glad you enjoyed it… So happy you learned something… These things take practice… And it’s probably best we’re not Facebook friends.



Me writing...



10) And my number one newly published author conclusion: I am happiest writing a book. It gives me a sense of self, peace, if you will, that tends to escape me in everyday life. Honestly? I’d probably be happier writing in the name of self-satisfaction. But for some reason, that mindset never seems to be the proper path. I am muddling my way through the rest, making it up as I go. And, well, there you have it, life imitating art. Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and my best to you all in the New Year.