Babe in the Woods
by Jude Hopkins
GENRE: Women's Fiction
BLURB:
It’s
September 1995, the first year of the rest of Hadley Todd's life.
After living in Los Angeles, Hadley returns to her hometown in rural
New York to write and be near her father. In addition to looking
after him and teaching high school malcontents, Hadley hopes to
channel her recent L.A. heartbreak into a play about the last moment
of a woman’s innocence. But she seeks inspiration.
Enter Trey Harding, a young, handsome reporter who covers sports at the high school. Trey reminds Hadley of her L.A. ex and is the perfect spark to fire up her imagination. The fact that Trey is an aspiring rock star and she has L.A. record biz connections makes the alliance perfect. She dangles promises of music biz glory while watching his moves. But the surprising twist that transpires when the two of them go to Hollywood is not something Hadley prepared for.
Purchase Babe in the Woods on Amazon
Excerpt:
Trey was twirling the end of a white stick in his mouth. With a loud slurping sound, he pulled from his mouth a bright red lollipop before sticking out his tongue, which now matched the color of his shirt.
“Fire your secretary,” he said, tapping his watch. “May I come in?”
She let him in, the shame of her unkempt apartment equaled only by the shame of her own disheveled appearance.
He stood close to her. “I have to say, you are much more attractive without all that make-up.” He talked with the lollipop stuck in his cheek. “Definitely younger.”
It was an approach she remembered from her time with Derek. First you surprise them, then compliment them when they’re at their most vulnerable. She made a mental note.
He walked toward the nearest chair, sat down, but quickly jumped up again, fishing in his pockets. “Where are my manners? Here.” He extended a lollipop, grape flavor, her favorite.
“No thanks.” It wasn’t even on the level of the apple Neil had given her on the first day of school. Besides, what was with men and their semiotics anyway? Perhaps it beat communicating with words. And how in the world would he have known grape was her favorite flavor? Was she that transparent? Was there a grape “type” as opposed to an orange or cherry type? The grape type would be moody and dark. The orange type would be young, perky, sassy. The cherry type? Passionate, desirable. Like him.
Interview with Jude Hopkins
How many books have you written and which is your favorite
Just one—Babe in the Woods, released on June 7 through The Wild Rose Press.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
It won’t be a sequel to Babe in the Woods that I know of. I am working on a second novel, with a completely different cast of characters. I’m expanding an idea I explored in the last chapter of Babe, about people realizing their potential—why some do it while others don’t. But everyone seems to talk about doing it.
Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
As mentioned above, a theme I introduce in the last chapter of Babe in the Woods is one I want to explore a bit more in my second book. That theme is why some people actively pursue their dreams, working to realize their potential, and others abandon such a journey, if started, or just talk about it, never doing anything toward accomplishing their goals. After all, it’s difficult, and many are the reasons use to not do it.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
Babe in the Woods is an old phrase that refers to someone who is innocent or naïve and gets involved in a situation they know little about.
How long did it take you to write this book?
I started out writing this as a self-help book many years ago, using Scarlett O’Hara as the hook (long before the critical re-evaluation society has had in regard to this definitive Southern belle). Even though I had several agents interested in the book, I had problems thinking it through, so years later, I switched it over to a novel. After that, it flowed much easier. And I was a busy English instructor at a university, so I had to squeeze in my writing time between teaching, preparing lesson plans, and grading papers. But I did do it. One has to have the drive to do it and carve out time to write.
What does the title mean?
As I mentioned above, “babe in the woods” is an old phrase that refers to an innocent or naïve person, in over her head in some situation. My protagonist, Hadley, definitely fits this description in her knowledge of love and innocence in love. And she lives in a rural place in upstate New York, so it all seemed to fit the novel’s theme, protagonist, and setting.
What did you learn when writing the book?
How much is involved—everything from writing scenes and characters, distinguishing dialogue from one character to another, formatting, clarifying motivation, making sure there is continuity from one chapter and scene to another. So very much. It’s like taking a course!
What surprised you the most?
I think at first it was how literary agents reacted to Hadley, my main character. I saw her as willful, yes, but also smart and passionate. Many agents thought she was a bit too pushy and sarcastic, so I did soften her up a bit. But women (and female characters) shouldn’t be too perfect. They can be flawed if readers understand their backstory and motivation, enabling them to see these characters as strong, but complicated—if not vulnerable—characters.
Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?
This is my first book, so I am just developing a following!
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
That is a really good question. It certainly helps to have other people read a draft to say, “I don’t think X is developed enough.” But I tried to walk a mile in each character’s shoes and try to imagine how they might feel in a situation or react to someone’s words or actions. Writers, at least this writer, must be OK being somewhat solitary people, content to sit and think a lot about their work, and ruminate about their book and its many pieces. The idea that a book can be “one and done” is absurd. I rewrote and deleted and edited over and over and over. I also tried to envision what characters might say in a certain situation. It helps to have a character summary before you begin, adding or deleting, as you go along. Know your characters before you plunge them into dialogue or situations.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Jude Hopkins has published essays in The Los Angeles Times, Medium, the belladonna—and poetry in various journals including Gyroscope Review, Timber Creek Review and California Quarterly. She is currently working on her first novel, Babe in the Woods.
It has always been her desire to write. She was featured in Dickinson College’s literary magazine when she was an undergraduate. One poem in particular, “Mixed Metaphors,” contrasted two viewpoints in a lakeside scene: one of a romantic young woman who thought the wind was blowing through her hair like an Aeolian harp; the other, that of her suitor who believed the water looked as cold as hell. Ah, love’s different sensibilities! What she lost in that relationship, she gained from her sojourn at Dickinson, earning her Phi Beta Kappa key while there, as well as a desire to continue her education.
Then it was on to graduate school at Arizona State University where studying for her master’s degree in English and grading essays as a teaching assistant took most of her time (and partying — it was ASU, for Pete’s sake). However, she did have a germ of an idea for a self-help book that she began outlining, fueled by many a Thermos bottle of Dunkin’ coffee.
It wasn’t until she moved to L.A. that she thought about writing a proposal for that self-help book. She got some bites from agents. Top agents. But working three jobs took precedence. (One of those jobs was at a Hollywood record company where she met a Beatle, among other artists.)
When she finally moved back to Pennsylvania, she began seriously writing again, squeezing in time to pen some poems between endless essay grading at one of the University of Pittsburgh’s branch campuses. As an adjunct English instructor, Jude was uncompromising on what she expected from her students, knowing they were capable of achieving great things when challenged, but she tried to balance the hard work with humor. Nevertheless, she knew that discipline and knowledge could turn even the most reluctant student into a pretty good writer. To achieve that end, the cellphones had to be put away, and attention had to be paid. The result? Some model research papers and essays from memorable students (she taught English in Pennsylvania, New York state, California and Arizona).
The need to write something besides comments on student essays gnawed at her. One day, she took out her old self-help book manuscript from a cobwebby drawer and began the process of turning it into a novel. That novel became “Babe in the Woods” and will be traditionally published by Wild Rose Press sometime in 2023. She blogs about that novel, so, readers, please follow her blogs as she updates everyone on the book's progress. Please also check out her essays and poems, also featured herein.
Connect with Jude Hopkins
4 comments:
Thank you for hosting!
I enjoyed the excerpt and interview. Sounds like a good story.
I liked the excerpt.
Such a nice cover.
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