10 Quirky Facts About Fairly Safe
- I didn’t know I was writing a book when I began Fairly Safe. At the time I was convalescing on the couch from Lyme disease, and scribbling down funny thoughts because I was bored to tears, and too exhausted to do anything else.
- While listening to a song by The Ting Tings called That’s Not My Name, I had a vision of young children jumping on a bed, joyfully belting out the song. That ended up being a scene in the middle of the book. Who knew?
- All of the fairs in Fairly Safe are real. I’ve attended most of them, in addition to an assortment of carnivals and festivals. I try to go to a new one every year.
- The confusion experienced by the person waking up in a hospital (no spoiler alert necessary) is very realistic, and based on my own personal experience. Although I’ve had Lyme disease, my month-long hospitalization was due to a drunk unable to control his car. Don’t drive drunk. Period.
- Every year I looked forward to the Colchester Lions Club Carnival on the green in the middle of our small Connecticut town. I clearly remember the excitement of driving towards the colorful lights. I hope you get to go to the fair this year.
- The parking lot in the chapter, The Reunion, comes from the Skowhegan Faire, which I attended while visiting my grandmother in Madison, Maine in the 70s.
- To show how things change during the span of Fairly Safe, the 1938 Minimum Wage was $0.25/hour, but the 1998-2002 Minimum Wage was $5.15/hour.
- For your edification, Blond is an adjective describing various shades of yellow hair, BUT Blonde is a noun, a person with various shades of yellow hair. I hope the world stops trying to “correct” my correct use of the words.
- The Perseids are an annual meteor shower visible from the northern hemisphere around the second week of August. On a moonless night, it is not unusual to witness y or more shooting stars, depending on your location. If you live where you can see them, go put it on your calendar now.
- Fairfield County in Connecticut, where you can find Westport, Ridgefield, Wilton, Norwalk, Stamford and Greenwich, is nicknamed The Gold Coast because of its affluence.
