First of all, a big ‘Thank You’ to Lois Greiman for inviting me along for a road-trip with all this talent. Congratulations to every one of you—this is one tough business and I’m just so darn happy to be in it.I have no idea where to sit though? Maybe every so often we could just pull over, stretch a bit, consider the risks of having a smoke; not lighting up and then I could move about the car a bit?
One thing I’m bringing along is my trusty water bottle, oh, it’ not the fancy schmancy fresh-from-the-store kind. This thing has been with me a l-o-n-g time. Why you ask? Turn down MPR and let’s chat a bit…
First off, I’m happy to say (puffed up chest and all) that I’ve just finished the third novel in my ‘Madeline Island Series,’ now we just have to sell it! What this series has allowed me to do, is express a lot of the things that I personally believe in.
One issue my characters are constantly fussing with, seeing as they live on an island and all, is just where does all the things we ‘throw away’ go? Where is ‘away?’ Which brings me to the water bottle issue.
The Midwest has some of the best drinking water anywhere—why do so few folks actually drink it? I do, been drinking it for years. So, I propose a contest-like-question. The winner will receive an autographed copy of my second novel, “Back to Madeline Island” as well as their very own re-useable water bottle.
What could be more useful on the road? Hmmm?
Here’s the question:
- How many million barrels of oil are used a year to keep Americans in bottled water? That’s millions!
Speaking of water - when’s the next rest stop anyway? And would anyone care to share a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup with me? I brought along enough to share and who doesn’t need a little protein on the road, eh?
C’mon—let’s go!
13 comments:
Hi,Jay. Come sit next to me - it's great to have a guy hanging with us! Not crazy 'bout Reeses though. Got any Snickers?
MILLION barrels of oil? Can't even guess. This issue hits me too. I do drink our tap water, not too finicky, but my kids ... man do we go through the cases of water. Bums me out.
I have to say I've been to Madeline Island in Wisconsin several times, love the place. Have you lived in WI you're whole life?
Hi Jay! And welcome to the convertible. Do you feel a little like a rooster in a hen house? We love it that you're adding some testosterone to all the estrogen in the car.:O)
As to water bottles - hey. I have MY own too. It's on my desk as I write this. Recycling is a priority at our house. With a dog and 2 cats can you imagine the number of cans we go through in a year?
In any event, once again, glad you're with us. Enjoy the ride!
Hi, Jay! Welcome to the back seat!
I'm a big Reese Cup fan, but right now I'm carb restricted. I'll settle for some info. Echo Helen's question: are you a Wisconsin boy from way back?
How did you decide to write about Madeline Island? Do they have a lot of "characters" in the area? And did you used any of them as templates for your gals?
I confess I haven't yet read your books, but from the covers, I'd say they're definitely estrogen-friendly. You may know that there are often debates among romance writers about women writers writing in male POV. Do the books you read generally get it right or mess it up? If so, how?
Do you prepare any special way to write women characters, or are they just "characters" to you-- no special prep required? (Natural affinity, instinct for storytelling, and all that)
And as for water-- I'm a Britta girl, I guess. And I drink from a glass. I have a finicky fiancee who insists on bottled. . . but I'm a tap girl. We do recycle everything we can and use cloth napkins (I can hear the gasps) whenever possible. I also wear my jeans more than once. . . if that helps!
:) Betina
Hey, Jay! Overzealous recycler, here. Which means I'm the one going through the recycling bin before recycle day to pick out all those frozen food boxes we're not supposed to recycle.
And I do filtered water, but when I'm in restaurants I have to have bottled. (I'm a freak about those not-quite-clean glasses that arrive at the table with food crusted on the inside.) But I usually take the plastic bottle home with me, and, you got it, toss it in the recycle bin.
So what's your most recent release? Post the title so we can rush over to Amazon to check it out!
Michele
Hey Jay glad to have you here. I'm also a big water drinker and have my own personnel water bottle which is a Michigan Wolverine bottle. Go Blue! I drink water contantly, I think it's the one beverage that will always quench your thirst. I must add it's also good for your teeth and complexion. Your new book sounds great keep up the writing and glad you could be here.
What a ride! Can’t get over the views—so glad you all decided to zoom on over to Prairie Farm, Wisconsin! Who needs some eggs? We love to share, but you may have to feed the ‘girls’ as we refer to them. I’ll, ah, check your heels before we hop in and take off… Their coop can be a bit messy.
A little about me, born and raised in Eau Claire, graduated from Stout, a long time ago. I’ve lived in Key Largo, Florida, San Diego and Healdsburg, California. Ended up back in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I owned a salon for many years over in Nord-East. Just last October, I did what my main character did and ‘took the plunge’ closing my salon and am now a full-time writer. I am a very grateful fella.
Any more guesses about how much oil goes into the production of all those water bottles?
Maybe we can chat up another subject—go ahead, ask me anything… :0 )
Jay--
Glad to have you on board! We'd love to hear some of your thoughts on Betina's questions.
In the meantime, for those of you wondering how much oil we use to keep us in water bottles for one year...
That would be 1.5 million gallons of oil. Enough to either generate electricity for 250,000 homes a year or to fuel 100,000 cars a year. But that's a 2003 figure from www.CommonDreams.org
I'm sure it's probably slightly more now!
--Debra
Wow. . . that's a lot of oil. And we could be saving it by just turning on the tap? Sigh. I'll bring it up with the sig. other, but I can't promise it will do any good. People can always justify their behavior with something. As somebody (I think it was Winston Churchill or Disraeli) said "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics."
:) Betina
Sorry Betina—didn’t catch your questions the first time around, radio was blasting too loud!
I fell in love with Madeline Island the minute I saw it. Imagine—an island off the tip of Wisconsin. It’s truly a magical place. I lived on Key Largo Island for nearly eight years and really enjoy the community spirit. Everyone knows everyone—either you love that—or you go nuts! I’m a little of both.
My characters are all bits and pieces of people I know or knew. I purposely wanted my main character to be a successful, attractive but single woman due to all the clients I had that were just that. There’s very few novels out there supporting a woman being single and happy. My novel is built on the concept that for a lot of gals, their friends are really their family. I love that. Women share things with one another that men just don’t. Being a hairstylist all those years—you would not believe the things I’ve heard! Then again, maybe you would…
My favorite authors tend to be women. I like the details of life that tend to be written by women. Don’t get me wrong—oh—everyone wave!!! That was Kate, a neighbor of ours. Single gal, runs a CSA and owns a local café. Where was I, Oh, I do read men too, but just not as often I guess. Just finished re-reading Frankenstein. What fun.
I think because I’m also an astute ‘listener’ I really get women. I eve’s drop in shopping lines and restaurants. Constantly leaning over toward the next table…
AND—Debbie’s right, 1.5 million barrels of oil. When we slow down, write you name and address down on the back of this coupon and I’ll send you a copy of my latest novel and a slick water bottle…why I had a coupon for dog food is beyond me, we only have a cat.
Hmmm…Hey—let’s stop in town and have a salad, is it too early for a glass of vino?
Jay: Thanks for joining us for the ride. Love the name, Jay, it's the nickname of my favorite uncle, Uncle Jasper, as well as the name of the hero in my manuscript-in-progress.
That is a LOT of oil and I'm proud to say I drink most of my water from the tap. And that's really saying a lot, because the water in San Diego (where I'm from) tastes terrible according to my family who visits from Northern California. We're used to it.
I love stories set on islands. My first single title romance was set on a fictitious island based on Catalina Island off Southern California. There's just something about island living that sets the imagination flowing...
And pass over one of the peanut butter cups. They're my fave. I'll trade you a piece of my 100,000 dollar bar.
I live in the mts of TN ,. so we drink bottle water from store ot go get from a spring that is close
out water is so filled with lime , have a well
' suppose to be getting city water in next few yrs
AH REESESSSSS my really bad addition
t
Our tap water tastes nasty but I don't buy bottled water. I too have a Brita filter pitcher and make it taste better with that.
I read in today's newspaper that American's pay more per gallon for bottled water than for gasoline -- something like nearly $11 a gallon. Eek! I'd rather retire early.
Marilyn
"t", I grew up with well water and it tasted great, so moving to a big city with city water was a shock. But these days no one can count on good tasting wells any longer.
Marilyn, that's an excellent point, $11 a gallon!!! Never thought of it like that.
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