Winter Extravaganza: Brendan Halpin

Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin are the authors of Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance.

SUMMARY: Fans of romance don't need to look any further than the fauxmance brewing between teen idols Charlie Tracker and Fielding Withers-known on their hit TV show as Jenna and Jonah, next-door neighbors flush with the excitement of first love. But it's their off-screen relationship that has helped cement their fame, as passionate fans follow their every PDA. They grace the covers of magazines week after week. Their fan club has chapters all over the country. The only problem is their off-screen romance is one big publicity stunt, and Charlie and Fielding can't stand to be in the same room. Still, it's a great gig, so even when the cameras stop rolling, the show must go on, and on, and on... Until the pesky paparazzi blow their cover, and Charlie and Fielding must disappear to weather the media storm. It's not until they're far off the grid of the Hollywood circuit that they realize that there's more to each of them than shiny hair and a winning smile. (Publishes on February 1, 2011.)

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Snow Day

There's a lot to hate about living in New England in the wintertime. We all hunker down for the better part of four months, entering a state that's like hibernation, only with much less sleep and much more coffee. We scurry from warm place to warm place, not really able to enjoy being outside. (Well, that's at least true of those of us who have neither the money nor the inclination to go skiing.)

But one thing I love about New England in the wintertime is the snow day. I like the snow itself, but what's really wonderful is the day itself.

Because when I have a day off that I know is coming, I tend to make plans to do something useful with it. (Or, more accurately, other members of my household plan for me to do something useful.) There are chores to be done around the house, deadlines to meet, games and practices to drive to, and more chores to be done around the house.

But a snow day is not a day off you can count on. Everyone in New England has had the experience of going to bed hoping for a day off because of the latest Storm of the Century, only to wake up and find only a dusting of snow on the ground.

So since we can't count on snow days or really plan for them, when they come, we have to enjoy them. They are perfect days to lie around watching movies, make cookies, and otherwise just relax in a way that most of us don't often get to do. Even the snow shoveling, at least in my neighborhood, makes everyone more neighborly. We'll all be out in the street together moving snow around, laughing at the cars trying to get through, and cursing when the snowplows undo all our efforts. Apart from our annual block party, snow days are really the only many of us see each other long enough to have a conversation.

I also think a snow day is a handy reminder of the fact that we don't have nearly as much control over our lives as we imagine. Make whatever plans you want, but if there's a foot of snow on the ground, it's not happening.

So, yeah, I do sometimes wish I lived somewhere with more sunshine and warmth, particularly by the time we get to March, when winter really should be over but keeps hanging on just to taunt us. And though I wouldn't miss the cold and the darkness that much, if I did live somewhere warm, I would miss the wonderful spontaneous gift of the snow day.

Thank you so much for this wintry guest post Brendan!

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