What’s In A Name?

In front of Fortitude, one of NYC Bryant Park Library’s iconic stone lions, just after donating a copy of Two Over Easy All Day Long. Check it out (literally)!

(Pardon me while I go a little author-dorky on you, for a moment. The rest of this newsletter returns you to your regularly scheduled programming: Two Over Easy All Day Long news, a book review, and a celebration of Women’s History Month.)

Writers like to obsess over things like
story arc, character development, and genre.

Readers just like to read good books.

Image by Bowie15 from Getty Images (text added)

I am both writer and reader, so I get to obsess, and then be annoyed with myself for the obsession. Not nearly as much fun as having your cake and eating it too, but what’re you gonna do?

Apologies to those of you who are readers but not writers—this newsletter takes a short dive into the somewhat neurotic preoccupation with genre.

The title of this newsletter, What’s in a Name?, is part of a famous quote from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet:

What's in a name? That which we call a rose,
By any other name would smell as sweet.

Having spent a little time in the rarefied air of authors, publishers, librarians, and booksellers, living and breathing conversations about titles and genres,
I have to ask: Would it? Would it smell as sweet?

More specifically for my purposes, is a book only as appealing to you as its genre-label? Did you buy (or borrow from the library, or from a friend) Two Over Easy All Day Long because it was labelled a mystery? Would you have picked it up if it was simply labelled “contemporary” or something equally generic? What if it had been labelled, courageously, “genre-bending” or “defies conventional genres”?

I am by no means the only writer grappling with these issues.

At the end of Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred, a Critical Essay by Robert Crossley (University of Massachusetts at Boston) contrasts Kindred with stereotypical science fiction. “Butler herself has repeatedly insisted that Kindred should be read as a ‘grim fantasy,’ not as science fiction, since there is ‘absolutely no science in it.’ She has also remarked that such generic labels are more useful as marketing categories than as reading protocols.”

In her March 2025 newsletter, Louise Penny makes a similar statement about her Three Pines series. “I think part of the challenge with STILL LIFE [the first book in the series], and all subsequent Three Pines books, was that the series defies convention. While proudly a crime novel, Still Life is not really about the crime. That is the vehicle to explore all sorts of issues. . . . [T]he books are about decency.  About honour and the courage to be kind. To stand up. They are about integrity, and friendship, and goodness, and belonging, and community. They're about terror and they are, in the end, about love in all its forms.”[i]

I am no Octavia E. Butler or Louise Penny—though as they say in the movie City Slickers, “Day ain’t over yet.” But I struggled with the same issues when sending out queries for Two Over Easy All Day Long (thank you, Golden Antelope Press, for loving the story in spite of its genre-ambivalence!), when sending out queries for the Looser Island Dogs series, and most recently when sending out queries for Jaysus, MooMoo, and The Immortal Woos. And the issue pops up when someone finds out I have a published novel and asks, innocently, “Oh? What kind of book is it?”

If only they knew what soul-searching I go through every time that question is posed!

Labels like “mystery” seem inapt. I intentionally did not use the traditional format of a mystery, with red herrings and clues, and of course there’s the fact that the dead body doesn’t even show up until Chapter 5.

Whodunnit? is not the central theme of the book.

“Cozy mystery” is even less appropriate, given Walt’s (and Nancy’s) foul mouth, and the occasional references to sex, some of which are somewhat explicit.

Two Over Easy was described by one well-known reviewer (who shall remain nameless, such is my frustration with their assigned genre) as “a comic novel.” Though they did add “with heart.”

Say what? It starts with the death of a child.

There are parts of Barbara Kingsolver’s Pigs in Heaven and The Bean Trees, and Bonnie Garmus’s Lessons in Chemistry that are hilarious, but I’d never describe them as “comic.” Similarly, Rufi Thorpe’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles (review below) is wickedly funny, but it is not a “comic novel.”

The central message of Two Over Easy is redemption, the transformation possible through created community and learning to see the world from another’s perspective. The “point” of the book is that people can change for the better, and sometimes, miraculously, against all odds, they do.

So I can’t help but bristle at calling my book “a comic novel,” though perhaps my feelings are much ado about nothing (thank you again, Bill). I leave it in your hands, sweet reader. If you feel so inclined, drop me a note in the comments or by email and let me know what genre – what “name” – you’d ascribe to Two Over Easy All Day Long, or any of the other novels mentioned above, whether there are other books you’ve loved that seemed mislabeled, or any other thoughts you’d like to share.

And now, back to your regularly-scheduled programming . . . .

Two Over Easy All Day Long News

• NYC Library: The photo for this newsletter is me standing in front of Fortitude, one of the iconic stone lions in front of New York City’s Bryant Park Library, shortly after donating a signed copy of Two Over Easy All Day Long. If you live in the area, or know someone who does, check it out (literally)!

• Reader’s House Interview coming soon! Check out their issues here.

• Playing with audio books: Spoken Press recently launched a program to make audiobook versions more widely available to authors and readers. Check out Chapter Two (read by “Eric”) and an excerpt of Chapter Three (read by “Sarah”) here. Vote with stars or comments if you have a preference. You can also let me know if you prefer to hear the author read his/her/their own work – and you can hear me read an excerpt on my YouTube channel, for comparison.

• Goodreads Giveaway: Signed copies of Two Over Easy All Day Long will be sent to ten winners. Open until 3/30/2025. Enter here - entry is free!
  
  Already have a copy? Why not enter anyway? If you win, share with a friend, or donate a copy to your local library. If you donate, be sure to tell the librarian what you loved about the book, and why you think it should be included in their collection.

• Book Clubs: I’ve now had the pleasure of appearing, virtually or in person, at a handful of book clubs. I absolutely love participating in those discussions, so please feel free to reach out to me if you’d like me to join your conversations, in person, remotely, or by email. As I’ve mentioned in previous newsletters, Golden Antelope Press is a small (but mighty!) independent publisher, and there is no army of PR folks between me and my readers, which means you can email requests to me directly at sharilaneauthor@gmail.com.

Book Review

I know I tend to gush over every book that makes it into my newsletter, and Rufi Thorpe’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles (William Morrow 2024) is no exception. It’s also an excellent example of the queries posed earlier in this newsletter.

The novel follows a nineteen-year-old whose college professor seduces her but disavows all connection when she gets pregnant. Margo, our protagonist, decides against abortion without any inkling what parenthood entails or any plan for financial stability (or resources to develop a plan).

[SPOILER ALERTS - skip the next sentence if you like!] Margo loses her job, then her roommates (who share the rent), navigates her father’s heroine addiction and her mother’s legacy of poverty and dependence on men, starts an OnlyFans[ii] account to support herself and her baby, and because of that endures a legal custody battle and public “doxxing.”

The story is about female empowerment and smashing the societal taboos placed only on women. It includes explicit descriptions of pornography, and viscerally painful descriptions of parenthood and childhood trauma. That it also manages to be wickedly funny is a triumph. So it was almost shocking to see it described on Amazon as “heartwarming,” “laugh-out-loud,” “feel-good,” and “lovable.”

Not until I got to the end of the Amazon blurb did I find a more accurate description, and even then I had to meander through “fluff” descriptors to get to this:

“ . . . filled with sharp insight, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a tender tale [about] . . . struggling to wrest money and power from a world that has little interest in giving it to her. [An] . . . honest examination of the art of storytelling and controlling your own narrative, and an empowering portrait of coming into your own, both online and off. A wholly original novel. . . . Thorpe is both poetic and profound in the way she brings her remarkable story to an end.”

 I heartily, highly, and enthusiastically recommend Margo’s Got Money Troubles. And if you read it, write and tell me what you thought, how you’d describe the book, or any other little thing you’d like to share.

Women’s History Month

Image by imaginaryparty (text added).

In honor of Women’s History Month, I’d love it if you’d share your favorite female author/author who identifies or identified as female.

I’ll start, and since my obsession with—I mean passion for—reading started as a child, I’m going for children’s authors first: Madeleine L'Engle, E.  Nesbit, J.K. Rowling. Next up, authors of adult books: Barbara Kingsolver (of course), Emily Dickinson, Ruth Ozeki, Emily St. John Mandel, and Louise Penny.[iii]

Your turn!

Footnotes

[i] I just have to wax enthusiastic about the fact that, when I wrote to Louise Penny to ask for permission to use this quote, she, or rather her executive assistant, actually wrote back! Granting permission! What a thrill! (Okay, done with the excessive use of exclamation points. For now.). Her marvelous newsletter is available here: https://www.louisepenny.com/newsletters.htm

[ii] This dinosaur had to research the term. According to Wikipedia, “OnlyFans is mainly used by pornographic creators . . . . As of May 2023, OnlyFans had 3 million registered creators and 220 million registered consumers. In 2023, creators earned a mean average of nearly $1,300 per year. A study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that ‘OnlyFans users were predominantly white, married, males who identified as heterosexual, bisexual, or pansexual.’” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OnlyFans

[iii] There are so, so many others! Also, in case you followed the events related to J.K. Rowling’s comments about trans rights, I want to say this: I will neither defend those comments nor apologize for including her in this list. The Harry Potter series brought joy to so many, and her books championed diversity and inclusivity, acceptance of each person on his/her/their own terms, forgiveness, and taking a stand against evil. Her contributions on those issues should not be cancelled, even as I acknowledge that I share concerns about her statements and actions related to trans people.

Happiness

“I’m happy!”

This is what my grandson tells me every morning, when I get him out of his crib.

In the evening, when I ask him how his day was, he says:

“It was great!”

I can’t remember the last time that was the answer that jumped to mind. (I truly can’t remember—no hyperbole intended; my memory is a finely-tuned machine desperately in need of some WD-40.)

We are living in tough times.

Political divisions, war, famine, and natural disasters, here in the US and globally . . . It all feels overwhelming.

On a more personal note, a close family member is once again facing significant health issues, and it feels as though my overly-full bucket of worry is no longer merely trickling over the top, it’s a gushing torrent that threatens to drown everything else. (I spend much of my time wrestling with health care providers, and sometimes it feels as though the “wrestling” is literal. Anyone who has been in or assisted someone else in a health crisis knows whereof I speak, and knows how exhausting it is.)

For all of these reasons, I am finding it difficult, this year,
to approach Thanksgiving with gratitude.

And then I see my grandson’s tousled hair
and sleepy morning smile
and hear him say, “I’m happy,”
and suddenly, miraculously, I’m happy too.

Other things that make me happy,
and remind me to be grateful
if only for a few, precious moments:

Dogs . . .

. . . Good food.
(Pecan pie comes to mind at this time of year. And pumpkin pie. And apple pie.) . . .

. . . Good books . . .

(Check out the latest book review below!)

. . . Seeing how beautifully
my children have grown up . . .

. . . Friends and Family . . .

  . . . And let us not forget

Donkey Videos . . .

It sounds cheesy, but there is evidence that gratitude really does improve your outlook, your emotional health, your (dare I say it?) happiness.

If you don’t believe me, check out this 2022 NPR article and this YouTube story.

So join me in finding happiness in spite of it all. Maybe then the next time someone asks how the day was we can say with a happy grin:

IT WAS GREAT!

 Two Over Easy All Day Long News

The book won another award, but I’ve been asked by the awarding organization to hold off on announcing the details until they publish the results in early December. Stay tuned…

The reading at Bookery in Manchester, New Hampshire was sweet.

What a lovely bookstore - check it out if you are in the “neighborhood”!

You can find a small clip posted on the YouTube channel here

I was honored to participate in not one but TWO book clubs. It’s a great way to connect and share different perspectives on Walt and Nancy and the rest of the crew, alternative justice, laughter, and the power of community. If you are interested, send me an email: sharilaneauthor@gmail.com.

Book Review

For fans of Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache series, The Grey Wolf does not disappoint—I spent many happy hours lost in the story! I even took the unusual step of buying it in hardback, as I’d already heard this book sets up the next in the series, and I want to make sure I can go back and re-read this one just before the next comes out. International intrigue, an insane poet (and her duck), a Dominican friar (who may or may not be one of the “bad guys,”) children throwing marshmallows on the ceiling and, as always, a race against time to save Gamache’s beloved Quebec. Check it out!

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books 2024)

A Gift for an Author

(Repeated from an earlier Social Media Post - Ignore if you’ve already seen it.)

Have you read a good book, a book that made you hoard time like a dragon, shedding one solitary hot dragon tear when you reached the last page because by finishing the book you’ve lost the companionship of the characters, the escape of an unputdownable story, the Eureka moment when you read the very words you most needed in the moment?

And then when you dried your eyes and blew your nose did you wonder – before taking up the hurly burly of your life again – how you might thank the author for the gift of Story?

Here’s how: tell the world. Tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell a stranger. Rave about your favorite character to the clerk at the grocery store, while he glances, furtively, at the impatient line growing behind you. Quote your favorite line in barely intelligible garble to the dental hygienist as she attempts to crack the tartar from your upper right rearmost molar. Share a pithy philosophical point eloquently shown-not-told with your mechanic as they hmmm about the sound your car’s engine makes only when it is not in the shop.

Buy the book for someone you love (heavens, yes!), and request that your local library and bookstore carry the book (of course!), and post a review on social media and/or a review site (a sigh for the ubiquity and necessity of PR and social media) . . . . But when you've received the gift of Story from an author, the very best way to show gratitude is to pass it on.

Postscripts:

This newsletter is the third version of a newsletter sent to subscribers. If you’d like to receive future monthly newsletters in advance, sign up here. Also, the original newsletter delves more deeply into the sources of my angst, specifically related to the political landscape in the US. The Facebook powers-that-be have previously blocked newsletters and posts for that reason, so this version is purged of details. Probably for the best, if I am hoping to spread happiness, yes? The second version, posted to my personal social media, included lots of photos of friends and family that have been omitted from this version, which appears only on my Author Page. 

That’s right, dear reader, you could have not one, not two, but THREE opportunities to read this newsletter (picture the eye-rolling emoji here, if you will).

Last but not least, In writing about finding happiness, I want to state unequivocally that I am not advocating that we ignore the state of the world, let up on the fight for justice, or fail to spread kindness where we can.

Only, when drowning in a sea of hard news, it helps, sometimes, to come up and sip the sweet air.

(Friends Melissa Chureau with Fully Mindful and Monika Gold with True Move Studio could tell you more eloquently than I the value of breathing).

AND I want to be clear, with myself and with you, lovely friends, that these are the actions we take . . .

. . . before diving back in.

*** Happiness Rocks image by Jennifer Shoniker from Getty Images (text added).

***Donkey image by JACLOU-DL from pixabay (text added).

Regret

“I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations
—one can either do this or that.
My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this:
do it or do not do it
—you will regret both.”

Soren Kierkegaard

(Moving from the profound to the whimsical-but-still-true)

“Regret is the worst human emotion.
If you took another road,
you might have fallen off a cliff . . .”

 William Shatner

A deeply personal note to start today’s newsletter: I am discussing with someone I love the possibility of moving to assisted living, or some other similarly monumental shift in what had been a comfortably established life. This particular someone has always been my rock, and the conversations have been heart-wrenching.

I regret so many things.   

I regret not spending more time visiting. Two or three times a year was the norm until Covid, and our last planned visit was cancelled due to—wait for it—Covid. I wish I had tried harder to reschedule.

I regret not trying, before now, to get this someone to live near me on my magical island in the Salish Sea. (I tried, but not hard enough).

I regret the times I was too busy to have our weekly call. I let these things get in the way: the dishes and the groceries and the laundry and the yard work and the never-ending To Do list at the office. Travel, writing (of course), music, and gathering with friends. “I’ll call tomorrow,” I said, and meant it, but tomorrow came and then more tomorrows and suddenly two weeks had gone by.

Moving to another well-known maxim:
All we have is now.
And so I plan for our nows,
scheme and dream to make the most of the time we have together.

But that doesn’t fix the regret.

What does any of this have to do with Two Over Easy All Day Long? (Since this is ostensibly my author newsletter)?

Any writer will tell you even the most fantastical characters take a page from the book (pun intended) of life. I am not new to regret, and so my characters experience it as well. Nancy regrets her ongoing intimacy with the steaming pile of excrement that is Roj. Leesa regrets never leaving the town where she was born. Walt regrets that, having escaped from one unbearable life he is now mired in another (sometimes unbearable) life. It’s possible even Roj regrets his sins.

And Giles/Tony regrets the moment he signed off on a defective toy. Oh how he regrets that moment.

Any writer will also tell you their characters’ stories are sometimes a stand-in for processing the stuff*** the universe throws at us.

***Using a nicer word than the one that comes to mind. Walt wouldn’t hesitate to let the profanity fly, but outside my writing I’m a bit more circumspect.

So what do my characters tell me?

The only way through is forward.

I am no time-traveler. (Where, oh where, is my Tardis?)

I can’t undo my past failures, screw-ups,  and pettiness.

“Bad mistakes, I’ve made a few.”

(If you weren’t an adolescent in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s, you might not recognize the quote—so for my younger readers, here’s your bit of deep, meaningful history: the quote is from the lyrics of We are the Champions, by Queen.)

Of course I don’t regret this glorious moment with my son!
But pigtails on mom, blonde dye on son -
I think my son would join me in characterizing these
fashion decisions as . . . less than desirable.

To sum up, Inigo-Montoya-style: I can’t undo my past, can’t fix the acts and omissions I so deeply regret.

I can only try to do better in this
second/moment/hour/day/week/month/year,
can only try to make time for this someone,
to be present in ways I haven’t before.

Wish me luck in moving forward, past the regret, into a better now.

I’m going to need it. (Luck, that is.)

Opening quotes from BrainyQuote.com – if they’re wrong, let ‘em know!

Other News

Because of the aforementioned personal situation, planned events are subject to cancellation or rescheduling, but as of this writing, scheduled events for Two Over Easy All Day Long:

• Thursday, July 25, 2024 at 6:30 pm, join me for a reading and Meet the Author event at Roundabout Books in Bend, Oregon. Learn more here:
  (providing the full link as well, since the link has changed with the bookstore’s updated website: https://live-rndaboutbk1714843360.pantheonsite.io/event/2024-07-25/two-over-easy-all-day-long-shari-lane)

• Interview with HC Media’s Write Now (Haverhill, MA), hosted by former two-term Poet Laureate of North Andover Gayle Heney. Watch the News and Events section of the home page of this website for the date the interview will air, and check out earlier shows here: http://haverhillcommunitytv.org/category/community/series/writenow