"I'll Have What She's Having?"

Remember that line? Penned by the wonderful Nora Ephron for the screenplay of ‘When Harry Met Sally’ and spoken just after Meg Ryan (Sally) assures Billy Crystal (Harry) that women can indeed ‘fake it’. It was a fabulous scene and worthy of an Oscar for Meg Ryan. Or perhaps not? If she’s to be believed, we women are all capable of turning on such rapture on demand. Anyway, a funny scene I wish I’d written and one which I remembered, when a friend recently suggested I read some Nora Ephron. I’d wanted to read about the real, untouched by tourists New York , as I was about to take a trip there. Having managed to get a copy of her book of essays titled ‘I feel Bad About My Neck’ just before I left, I settled happily to the read at thirty thousand feet.

Suffice to say the poor man sat beside me was straining to see what title made me chuckle for most of the long journey. I LOVED it. Really, anyone who has ever struggled to think of a present for a girlfriend, buy her a copy of this book . It reminded me that when I started to write I really wanted to write a funny novel. Somehow, somewhere along the line, I seem to have lost sight of this? Possibly because since I started to write I’ve submerged myself in several ‘how to’ books and read more of everything from literary to vampirical sagas.

Nora has made me yearn for a return to humour. Nora is my new imaginary best friend. She and I regularly hoot with laughter over cocktails at the Manhattan Carlyle...

But this post is not only an homage to Nora. It’s also about said trip to New York that I’ve just taken and the effect it had on me. It was genuinely orgasmic. Seriously. No faking involved. Every moment was tasted, savoured and enjoyed. I saw the Dakota building, the Guggenheim; took a walk through central park in the snow, ate in diners; wrote a chapter of my WIP at a table in the main hall of the New York Public Library on fifth avenue and sat at the famous table in Katz’s deli where Sally did ‘her thing’ in the movie. Frankly, I was so turned on by the whole experience that I had to hold back from trying to mimic Meg Ryan. (I resisted - thought it best not to end up on uTube)

Because the NY experience was exceptional and rare, I tried to make sure to feel every nuance with every sense in my body and to take notes along the way. Right now, if I close my eyes, I’m back there... I can smell the salami on rye in Katz’s deli; I can hear the fire engine sirens outside; I can see the nut and bolt detail in the rusting structure of the Brooklyn bridge; I can feel the hairy, slightly scratchy but warm warm touch of the woollen scarf, wrapped tight against the cold and I can taste the steaming starbucks on every corner.

And I’m determined to keep it up - to ‘write with my senses’ in my head even while I’m walking or doing mundane chores. And to re-capture the humour... Because someday I’d love to sit beside a stranger laughing as she reads on the plane to New York (I'm on my way to close the deal on my new Tribeca condo...) I’d think, ‘I’ll have what she’s having’, just before I notice my name on the spine. Ah yes, the stuff dreams are made of. Speaking of which, my eyes are closed again and I’m back in the Carlyle with Nora. It’s Cosmo time and there’s laughter in the air.

My empire state of mind

Who or what inspires you? Is it a specific writer from yesteryear, perhaps buried in childhood, or is it a person or place you truly love?

Apart from being inspired by the great Irish writers like James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, I also cite New York as a great source of inspiration - as Jay Z and Alicia Keys rightly point out in their song Empire State Of Mind

Walking down the avenues, many tales are hidden behind each tiny window - from entire families who live in small spaces to immigrants who have brought their lives and problems with them from Ireland, the Caribbean and Europe - those who have fled other lives in search of better futures. And it's no co-incidence that in books two and three I've set chapters in New York, firstly in the 70s, then the present day because I feel I know it so well and I'm confident writing about it.

That's why I've come to love Colum McCann's 'Let the Great World Spin' (see previous blog post. Coincidentally he stole my idea for a future novel which was to be a group of characters each with a story which is woven into the others at the end. I had plans to focus on five Irish characters in Manhattan with one incident as the centrepiece, but now I'm reworking for a future novel! Thanks, Colum!

As a child I was inspired by Enid Blyton, of whom the teacher strongly disapproved, Laura Ingalls Wilder for the pure escapism, and Roald Dahl because he had such a weird and wonderful imagination and some great one-liners in his books which I could recite off by heart. As a child when you're young you can freely enter this other world of characters, all of whom want to be your best friend.

And as a teenager I remember being inspired by SE Hinton's book The Outsiders. It's about Ponyboy Curtis and his brothers who belong to a gang of youths called Greasers in Oklahoma. It's a fantastic teenage novel and one that everyone should read.

Lynne Reid Banks' novel One More River also had a huge influence on me growing up (I'm about to start reading it again). I first read this book as a nine-year-old. In the novel spoiled teen Lesley moves with her parents from Canada to an Israeli kibbutz because her father feels that the family has lost any sense of what it means to be Jewish. Much of the novel is set before, during and immediately after the Six-Day War period and follows Lesley's efforts to adjust, as well as addressing her growing friendship with an Arab boy.

Then there was Nancy Drew who every girl wanted to be, and it was at the age of 11, I decided to write my own Nancy Drew novel. And I did - it spanned a file block, lacked continuity, plot and POV.

Having said that I'm inspired by these writers, not influenced. I have my own style and I'm comfortable with that. I like to admire from afar but at the same time recognise that there are some great writers out there.

What are you inspired by?

Pic: That's me inspired by the view from the top of the Empire State building

Not even the NYPD will stop me... by Gillian

Just as an avid reader will have a favourite book, there will be another bookworm who has a favourite store. For me, it's the branch of Barnes and Noble in the Gramercy/Flatiron district of New York. Nestled in Union Square, the store boasts a relaxed atmosphere and unlike a lot of other bookshops, you can browse (and read!) until you heart's content.

Gleaned from Wikipedia...Barnes and Noble, dating back to 1893, is the largest book retailer in the United States, many of which have a Starbucks instore - yum, smell that coffee. There are 798 shops across the 50 states. And apparently the original bookstore was located at 31 West 15th St, having opened during World War I. This one at Union Square has featured in several movies, including Conspiracy Theory (1997, featuring Mel Gibson).

Having visited in early 2007 and went on the rampage with my credit card (nine books bought in total, including some hard-to-find-in-the-UK Larry McMurtry), nothing would stop me in my quest to re-visit this Barnes and Noble the following Christmas - not even the yellow tape the NYPD uses to seal off crime scenes! Seeing the police tape stretching out in front of me as I meandered down Broadway, my heart pounded. The light canter turned into a fully-fledged run....closer...then closer.....phew....thankfully the tape had just about spared the door of Barnes and Noble (and was attached, I think, to Bath and Body Works, or Sephora instead) so I went in for another visit. Never mind the full-scale alert, I was inside.

The ground floor can be quite crowded and the aisles between the books are narrow, given that there are quite a few (overly large) square presentation tables squeezed in. And from memory, the large thick cream-coloured pillars do nothing to help. Upstairs is much better, with large aisles, making manoevrability easy, and there's a lot more space to put the shopping bags, particularly along the front section near the 'Upstairs at the Square' area. Barnes and Noble also seems to have a policy whereby browsers are welcome to sit down and read for a few hours - I assume that's what the chairs are there for. My only gripe is that it can be very warm in winter as the sun streams in through the large windows - many customers will be suitably attired with heavy coats for the December chill.

You'll probably have heard of the 'Upstairs at the Square' event which pairs musicians and writers for an evening of words and music. Please note, these are available to download as a video podcast and are well worth a viewing on your ipod. Some interesting combos include Ian Rankin and Aidan Moffat, William Gibson and Martha Wainwright, Anne Enright and Camphor, and a few I'm kicking myself I missed - Aimee Mann and Joseph O'Neill, David Lynch and Au Revoir Simone and Nell Freudenberger and Howard Fishman.

Book fans will also be pleased to know that Barnes and Noble is celebrating national 'Turnoff Week,' (April 20 to April 26 in America), with activities offering alternatives to television, the Internet, electronic games and other screen related activities. And this comes during the month it announced it's about to enter the e-book market by providing a rival to the current readers, so it's all go at Barnes and Noble. As a caveat, I must mention the many, many independent and indeed much smaller bookstores in New York, as well as those second-hand shops which time didn't allow to visit. They do a great job, holding their own in an expensive city which is monopolised by the giants. The Argosy, Three Lives and Company and St Mark's are all worth a visit. If you're in New York, do drop by Barnes and Noble, go upstairs and feast your eyes on the lovely quad area where one day you might be reading an excerpt from your novel.