The article below appeared in the The Glen Ridge Paper, February 17, 2005.
Reprinted with permission.

Author's inspired by beauty of borough

By Seth Augenstein

Romance is a genre, and Nancy Herkness is a romance genre writer. But she's also expanding the boundaries of her talent, and you'll probably hear and read from her soon. Or you even might also see her walking her dog Max along the streets of Glen Ridge as she plans out the next twist that the fictional lovers face in her books.

Herkness has published two romance novels in the last two years. The first, A Bridge to Love, won two awards for 2003—the Golden Leaf Award for best first book of that year, and the Aspen Gold Award for the best contemporary single title. It centers upon the relationship between a widowed soccer mom and a rags-to-riches CEO who inevitably find the promise of love in each other's arms. The second book, which came out last summer, is titled Shower of Stars, and is up for the “Laurie” award, as sponsored by the Smoky Mountain Romance Writers group. The storyline of the novel follows a single journalist who wants to adopt a child, and to do so undertakes a home-based job of writing a book about a new celebrity—a meteorite hunter. Of course, passions get in the way of the writing process, and a “unique proposal” surfaces at the climax. The two novels are generally acclaimed with those in-the-know in the romance genre, as the author's Web site can attest.

Herkness, who lives just off Ridgewood Avenue, clearly uses this area as an inspiration and backdrop for her books. In Shower, the action all takes place in Manhattan; and the suburban New Jersey town in which Bridge takes place is identical to Glen Ridge in everything but name.

But the borough doesn't just serve as a place in the novels; the books themselves have been born out of the town and the kind of peace of mind that it fosters for the author. As she works away at her targeted four pages a day, she occasionally gets stuck in the artistic grind. When she does, both she and Max the dog take a long walk as Herkness tries to hash out the problems that her characters face in the plot. Her mind, as she describes it, is completely focused on the book, and she doesn't even really pay attention to where she's going or where Max might take her. But when inspiration comes, she rushes back to the house and up the stairs to her “garret,” as she calls it, the office where the words come. The spontaneity of writing is what seems to keep her interested in the whole process of creating books that have drawn a loyal following. Herkness balks at the overwrought process of outlining what happens to the characters and in the plot. Instead, it's setting the scene and placing the people that dictate in which direction the prose will go.

“I just let it develop,” she said. “That's the fun of it, just letting it grow. The characters take on a life of their own.”

However, as much as the passion of writing has guided her characters' passion in the past two novels, she has challenged herself with the latest project, which does require more initial planning before the inspiration comes.

She has delved into the subgenre of romantic suspense, which involves more plot and surprise— and hence, more planning. As far as it has gone, Herkness' work has slowed down with the extra preparation necessary. “I enjoy the challenge of raising the bar, but it's slowing me down,” she said.

Sitting in her living room and sipping a cup of tea, she was as realistic and unflinching about the realities of the publishing industry as she had been in her talk at the Women's Club some months ago. She points out—with some exasperation—that the publishers are often the ones who pick the cover design of the book, write the blurb on the back, and often select the title; most of the time it's the money that takes precedence, not the quality of the prose. Sometimes, editors even suggest the style of a book to be written—which is what happened with Herkness' third novel.

“If you want to keep writing, sometimes you have to write what they want you to write,” she said.

Which doesn't mean that she is any less knowledgeable or prescient about her niche in the world of fiction. She has read the classics, particularly Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters who helped created the romance genre itself. But she's equally in-the-know about the recent trend of “chick lit” books, like Bridget Jones, which are hipper, trendier and which don't follow the traditional romance formula. She knows that she does follow this traditional formula but that hasn't stopped her from forging out with this latest work in progress.

But ultimately, even if it's romantic suspense, she wants to remain faithful to her readers, who want a good read above all. She loves to hear their reactions, and has a bulletin board in her garret with some of the fan letters and little gifts she's received form them. As she pointed out some of the more interesting responses she's received, she explained her excitement.

“The best thing about being published is hearing from the readers. It's so exhilarating, it's worth the pain of the rejection letters,” she said. Or worth the miles walked underneath the gas lamps of what she described as the “quiet” and supportive town in which she lives.

“It's beautiful; it keeps me engrossed. The beauty's always there subliminally. And there are lots of writers and creative people in town. There's always someone to talk to,” she said. 

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