Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway in Cape May, NJ

Congrats to Michelle Cameron, a long-time Getaway participant, on getting her novel published. In the article below, Michelle talks about how attending the "Finishing Your Novel" workshop at the Getaway was the catalyzing event. Read more.

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Michelle Cameron (pictured right) has accomplished what some can only dream of doing; she has published a book with a major publishing house, Pocket Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Slated for release next fall, “Shira of Ashkenaz” is set in Europe during the Middle Ages and tells of the lives of a Jewish family through the eyes of Shira, the wife of one of Europe’s most prestigious rabbis. Even more interesting, it is based on Cameron’s ancestor from the 13th-century, Rabbi Meir ben Baruch of Rothenberg.

This not the first foray into the publishing world for Cameron, an employee with the Parsippany-based Interactive Media Associates. Her previous book, “In the Shadow of the Globe,” is set during the time of William Shakespeare. Parsippany Life interviewed Cameron to learn more about her experiences writing and publishing.

PL: What is your writing process like and how do you manage to do it along with family and work?
MC: I'm fortunate that I'm able to tune out so much of the world around me when I write. I remember the days when I used to take a laptop along while my son took karate lessons. But it's difficult to find time when you're raising a family and working 40-plus hours a week.

Then, as I was struggling to find time to complete the first draft of this novel, something amazing happened. I attended the 2006 Poetry & Prose Getaway in Cape May, taking a workshop called "Finishing Your Novel." The workshop leader, young adult novelist Carol Plum-Ucci, challenged all of us: "what's stopping you?" My answer was time, and I enumerated everything I was juggling - two sons in high school, one about to embark on his college search, a full-time job, a part-time teaching position… by the time I was finished, my fellow writers agreed that there was no solution.

But Carol refused to accept that. She looked at me and asked: "How early can you get up?"
I went home and set my alarm clock for 4:30 AM. It was hard at first - but got easier as I discovered this spectacular little slice of silent time. No phones ringing, no one yelling or asking me to find something. It was heaven - and my novel just flew.

Click here to read the rest of the article.