Jody Perkins was born in Keene, New Hampshire. She moved to Massachusetts, earned a living as a secretary, and completed her bachelor’s degree at Boston University. She relocated to the Washington, DC area to pursue a master’s degree. For some years she worked as an economist, writing research papers. She is co-editor of a theological book. Jody’s first novel, Educating Ms. Wise, is set in 1970s Boston.
Impressions of the city have always seemed to be carried in her blood. Early in the twentieth century, Jody’s paternal grandfather ran through Boston’s crooked streets as an errand boy. While visiting Boston’s Back Bay as a young child, Jody was told the dramatic story of Back Bay’s nineteenth century filling; and she was intrigued. During her college years she spent countless hours walking Boston’s streets and probably too much time sitting spellbound in its arthouse movie theaters. To this day – perhaps absence makes the heart grow fonder – she has much affection for the city as her youthful land of opportunity.
From Jody’s novel: “Expecting no more than a modest jolt of amusement, Elizabeth turned to the window to her side and was struck with a powerful, rapturous feeling. Past the dark and choppy Charles River, under the nocturnal sky of deep grays, Boston stood as a city both glamorously approachable and incalculably intricate. The lights dotting the few-storied buildings, the several-storied, and the two giant skyscrapers glittered like a million earth-bound stars. Even the red neon S-H-E-R-A-T-O-N atop the hotel in Back Bay glowed with charm. Easily envisioned were two high-profile commercial lights darkened as symbolic reminders of the energy crisis: the Citgo sign in Kenmore Square flashing its triangular red and white and blue neon gymnastics, and the light crowning the old Hancock building in Copley Square.”
In nonfiction, Jody’s economics research papers focused mainly in the environmental area. The theological book she co-edited, along with Ruth Zuber, is Peter Rhodes’s Observing Spirit. This book won an award and had a second printing.
Jody is now at work on another novel set in Massachusetts.
FAQ
How did you start writing?
My passion for the written word started at about age five. I must have sensed the power involved, and I was furious because no adult consented to teach me to read before my first grade teacher would have the chance. Eventually I would keep a journal and write short stories. My first credited, solo publication came as a nonfiction research paper published by my employer in Washington, DC.
What was your inspiration for writing Educating Ms. Wise?
I took to heart the perhaps-standard advice to aspiring fiction writers to write what you know. From personal experience I knew Boston, I knew work as a secretary, I knew what it was like to be a good student – and I knew how mystifying the phenomenon of love is. The novel presented a chance to explore each in detail.
Did you like writing nonfiction?
Yes. Writing research papers full-time taught me to be a disciplined writer. I enjoyed penning the preface to Peter Rhodes’s book, a task that entailed integrating a lot of research and was somewhat of a stretch, into the inspirational/theological arena. I am certainly open to more nonfiction work if a quality project appears that’s right for me (and I for it).
What advice would you give aspiring writers?
For fiction there’s a lot to that standard advice, at least at the beginning: write what you know. Practice and technique are also important. While nonfiction has its challenges, for me the difficulties of writing fiction are almost in another league. Both forms require reading authors who are great at their craft and acquiring a solid understanding of the basics such as grammar. Exposure to great storytelling may be crucial for fiction writers. During my most impressionable years it was important for me to absorb stories in any form: written, in film, on television, in the theater, anywhere. I also learned a lot by paying careful attention to critics I respected. Some of those I learned the most from critiqued films.