HALLIE EPHRON: I keep putting off, and putting off, and putting off starting a new book. It's not for lack of ideas. And it's not as if I'm not writing. I'm just not making it up.I'm working on my second feature article for a brand new lifestyle magazine, EXHALE Lifestyle. It's is a gorgeous, glossy magazine for our time.
True to its tag line --"Empowering busy women to achieve their best life" -- it features amazing women's success stories, along with what editor Leigh Harrington calls "lots of advice and life hacks for any busy women." All with the goal of helping you "Slow down, breathe and achieve success living your best life. Whatever that means for you."
For its fall issue, I wrote the cover article titled "Dancing on the Moon." It profiles Merritt Moore, a young woman who's living her dream of being both a professional ballerina and a quantum physicist. Fortunately my husband is a physicist so he could (sort of) explain particle-wave duality, which was part of the research Ms. Moore completed at University of Oxford to earn her doctorate.
It was a lot easier for me to describe "Duality," a dance she choreographed and performed for the Image Science film competition, bringing together her two passions, dance and physics. Instead of music, she dances to a recording of Richard Feynmann's famous lecture on particle-wave duality.
Another story in their fall issue of EXHALE is about a band of female brewers who are making their mark in New England's predominantly male craft beer industry. Another article highlights the myths of mammograms. Another is chockablock with tips for writing a business plan. Yes, there are recipes and an advice column, too.
All in all, the magazine is one big guilty pleasure that's probably good for you!
Right now I'm working on another profile for them and reveling in it. It's so different from writing crime fiction:
- It's 2,000 words (not 75,000) with a one-month, not a one-year deadline.
- I get to interview a super interesting person whom I'd never otherwise meet.
- I don't have to make anything up, just collect information and connect the dots.
- I get to be inspired to get back to work and write my next novel
I am hoping EXHALE is a huge success. It's a magazine for our times... and you can subscribe to it, or find it on sale at newsstands at your local Whole Foods and Barnes & Noble in most Massachusetts locations. https://www.exhalelifestyle.com/.
For myself, I hope to take a lesson from the magazine editor, Leigh Harrington, who wanted to spotlight Merritt Moore because she's a woman who is "successful because her life choices just flat out make her happy."
Now there's a worthy goal.
I'm quite sure that none of the Jungle Red Writers are quantum physicists or professional ballet dancers, and guessing none of our readers are as well. But that doesn't mean we don't have that second thing that we wish we were doing along with all the stuff we do... just because it would make us happy. Do you?
Somehow, I don't think I'm the target audience for the magazine: retired male in his seventies. Still, good luck with your articles, and, hey, get started on the next book! Please.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it weird how it seems both old-fashioned and new fangled, the idea of a magazine for women?
DeleteI don't know about that, Rick. My husband is 70, and I'm pretty sure he would be as fascinated by Merritt Moore as I am.
DeleteHallie, that sounds like something straight out of Marvel Comics or something like that. Superman who is a reporter by day as Clark Kent then other times he is Superman.
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me of a story my mom told me about a classmate at law school. The classmate was also a piano player. Not sure if she played piano professionally or for fun, though she always excelled in her classes at law school. I have known some people who are good at different things. I often hear about attorneys who decide to retire and start a new career as a baker or a different career, though not at the same time.
Also remembered that my classmates, who excelled in calculus, were also excellent at music and I wondered if there is a connection between math and music?
Congratulations on your new magazine!
Diana
Those people who tout right/left brain theories would say that there IS a link between musical and mathematical ability. And YES, it is like Superman or Spiderman or... did Wonder Woman have a day job??
DeleteAs a remedial reading teacher I shared a classroom with the remedial math teacher. She believed and lived that math and music were related. I think I have even read that there is scientific evidence that supports that.
DeleteMusic and math linked? Maybe. But my husband, brilliant at math, can't carry a tune in a handbasket. There's always an outlier. Here's a link to a very interesting article in Scientific American about research into this very question. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-there-a-link-between-music-and-math/
Delete"From the time of Plato, harmony was considered a fundamental branch of physics, now known as musical acoustics"
DeleteYes about math and music. I had an older cousin who was a math major at MIT and deeply involved in early computers, and also studied music with John Cage. He always said there was a link and I have heard it from many others.(Not being gifted in either, I can't go deeper on it than that)
DeleteYes, Wonder Woman had a day job working in a War Office? I cannot recall exactly, though.
DeleteDiana
I strongly believe in a link between math and music, not necessarily about carrying a tune. As a former special ed teacher, I think the link is that kids who study music, improve their math skills. If you think of musical bars as "sets," then you can begin to see how understanding these sets makes it easier to see certain mathematical patterns. If there is any more to this theory, I'm ready to believe that, too. As for people being talented in several different ways, we all know people like that, just maybe not physicists.
DeleteThis sounds like a fascinating magazine . . . congratulations.
ReplyDeleteHallie, tHe magazine sounds great, and in this digital age I think it's fascination that someone would start a new print magazine.
ReplyDeleteBut please tell us how you got this gig. Does it feel like procrastination from your book or more like an amuse bouche or a between-courses palate cleanser?
That’s a good question Edith! All inquiring minds would like to know
DeleteBefore this, the editor Leigh Harrington edited the Boston edition of WHERE -- it's that glossy magazine you'd get in a fancy hotel room, different editions for different cities. And I wrote several pieces (one on tea in Boston, another on clams!) for them because... trying to remember... because I'd met one of their senior exectives at a writing workshop and she recommended me! Isn't that the way this works? The thing you LEAST think is going to lead anywhere is the one that does. (This came after I'd given up pitching magazine articles after being rejected over and over!)
DeleteI wrote for Pennsylvania Magazine while I was struggling to get my first book published and haven't had time to write for them since. I never thought I'd miss the nonfiction world, but I do. I miss having that "excuse" to investigate interesting locations or people...and to get paid for it!
ReplyDeleteThe magazine sounds awesome, Hallie! I'll have to check it out.
And the amazing thing is, the nonfiction then feeds the fiction! It's like doing research for a book you don't even know you're writing.
DeleteI was thinking as I read this that Merritt Moore would make a fantastic character in a spy novel or thriller - if readers could suspend their disbelief that a ballerina/physicist could exist!
DeleteIndeed it would! But as I wrote in the piece, she is herself an impossible duality.
DeleteThis sounds like so much fun! Fabulous! And what a new fun way to tell your story, and exercise your brain in a new way. Perfect.
ReplyDelete... said the expert in doing it!
DeleteI didn't plan to become a teacher; I had dreams of working in a test kitchen for a magazine. But as things turned out I was probably much better off.
ReplyDeleteBut Judi, do you cook and experiment in the kitchen? Bake? Read food magazines and recipe books?? Just because you don't get paid for it doesn't mean you don't do it!
DeleteOh I'm so glad to see this appear. I read it a couple of days ago and then couldn't find it again. A mind is a terrible thing to lose. Congrats, Hallie, on the new gig. I'll look for EXHALE LIFESTYLE.
ReplyDeleteThe second thing I wish I were doing? I'm not sure I'm even doing the first thing!
However, I have a fascination with mathematics and physics. If I were going back to university again, which I'm not, I'd explore those fields. Maybe I'm watching too much "Big Bang Theory."
Bazinga!
Physics?!? It's inscrutable. Even my husband can't explain black holes and wave/particle duality to me.
Delete(Sorry about the piece going live too soon - Blogger burped.)
I'll check out the magazine. Congrats on what sounds like a fascinating article! Music and math (and maybe foreign languages) go together.
ReplyDeleteI recently attended a Cincinnati library workshop with Maija Zummo, editor-in-chief of Cincinnati CityBeat and Zachery Petit, a freelance writer and author of The Essential Guide to Freelance Writing. Zummo suggested that fiction writers pitch 1000 word articles on topics related to their books (in my case, interior design, renovation, gardening, standard poodles) and highlight their new release in their author bio. Jessica Strawser moderated the panel.
It's a great way to "sell" your books without a hard sell...
DeleteI don't have an interesting story of my own, but I know SEVERAL medical doctors who also perform in bands on the side -- that seems like a sort of common phenomenon. And at the Columbus Foundation, one of their full-time professionals has a Ph.D. in music and is a prolific writer of music and jazz performer, and another is a spoken-word performer on the side. At my day job, I recently learned that our middle-aged receptionist toured as a backup singer with a famous gospel artist for years when she was younger.
ReplyDeleteOur orthodontist made exquisite jewelry using fine gems. Our former dentist was a pianist, and I've known a couple of doctors who have had accolades for their painting careers.
DeleteI had a friend explain quantum physics to me and I grasped it for a nanosecond and then it was gone. But it was glorious while it lasted. How fabulous to get to talk to such interesting people, Hallie, and this magazine is glorious! I am definitely going to check it out. There was a time I had other activities I wanted to pursue and I had phases of yoga, pottery, gardening, etc., but the one constant for me is writing. Probably, because I’m overcommitted but also, it’s the thing I love best.
ReplyDeleteMe too. Right now.
DeleteHallie, I so enjoyed the clip of Merritt Moore! She reminds me of two of my daughters, both musicians, who are also a microbiologist and a mechanical engineer. Exercising both sides of the brain contributes to success at either endeavor, I think. What an original idea, to dance to Feynmann.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, the engineer daughter was in the second graduating class of a new engineering school, Olin College of Engineering (she would have been in the first, but she decided to be the first student to take advantage of their offered gap year). Olin's stated objectives include as close to gender parity as possible (most engineering schools are more like 90% male), and to engender an environment that cultivates creative thinking in a way other schools do not. The admissions officers look for students with great grades, of course, but also artistic activities like music, dance, painting, sculpting, and other arts. They've been very successful with this approach, too.
My kids started piano lessons very young (8 and 5), and I am thoroughly convinced it helped them do better with math than they would have without knowledge of music.
Exhale Lifestyle sounds like a wonderful addition to the plethora of titles on the newsstand. I'm hoping it KOs some of the sillier offerings.
And finally, I hope Deb Romano is doing better, and that she does, indeed, get out of the hospital today.
Oh I missed that thread yesterday. DebRo, we are sending our love and hoping you are out of the hospital and on the mend today!!
DeleteYes, I was at Youngest's university all day yesterday and missed the news. Feel better, DebRo, and get back home (and here!) soon.
DeleteDebRo, Hope you're out there, post haste, and back on your feet. Let us know...
DeleteDebRo, sending healing wishes! Please let us know how you're doing!
DeleteWhat an awesome project, Hallie! I'll have to see if I can get it around here.
ReplyDeleteHi! It's Leigh, the editor at Exhale, here.
ReplyDeleteWe are so honored, Hallie, for your post with us in mind. And we love that you are willing and able to contribute to our brand!
For you readers, male and female alike, we would absolutely love to have any and all of you check out our website (where we publish content daily) and our magazine. You can subscribe, too, if you don't live in the northeast, where we are available at Whole Foods and B&N. https://www.exhalelifestyle.com/our-magazine/
I hope you all enjoy reading these stories of everyday amazing women, and our tips and advice for how to support and empower them. Thank you!
Thanks for checking in, LEIGH! I second all of that.
DeleteHallie, what a fun thing to do! I can't wait to read your piece on Merritt Moore! I've always been fascinated by the connection between science and the arts--and I do firmly believe that math and music are connected, since I can do neither!
ReplyDeleteBut my first love after reading and writing was biology, and if I could give myself time for pure enjoyment, I would be a better naturalist.
Looks amazing. I LOVE ballet! As I mentioned in a previous post, lol. I have to check out this magazine. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteHallie, I think it's great that you are doing something different from your fiction writing and letting your talents shine elsewhere, too. Of course, I only am in favor of this if promise to get back to fiction soon, because, well, I love your stories. Merritt Moore is an amazing young woman who is certainly living up to her every potential. Imagine being able to answer without hesitation that you are living up to your potential. She is mind-blowingly in the affirmative. The magazine sounds interesting, and while I may not be the more youthful audience I think it's aiming for, I can still find articles such as yours, Hallie, fascinating.
ReplyDeleteFor 25 years, I did my "second" thing. See, my daily work is just getting up and going to my regular job. Don't get me wrong, I like the job. But it is what I do to make money.
ReplyDeleteMy second thing was coaching youth league basketball. I did it for 25 years and for the most part I loved doing it. But it is coming up on 8 years since I've done that. So I have a new second thing or I guess it would be a third thing and that is the various writing I do.
So I'm good with that.
Jay, one day you have to tell us about the image that goes with your name... Is that your alter ego?
DeleteHallie, I use that image on a lot of message boards that I post on. I guess in a way it is my online alter ego. Though I don't smoke at all.
ReplyDeleteThe image is named "Ol' Velvet Nose" and it was actually used by singer Warren Zevon on his albums and backstage passes. As I'm a huge fan of his music (a Zevoniac!) I use that image as a means of always paying tribute to him and to his music.