Catherine Greenfeder

Category: Autobiographical

Total 24 Posts

Food for Thought

By • November 25, 2018

The holidays are here, and with it the temptations of the season. This Thanksgiving I did not serve roasted turkey, the usual fare, but my family dined on one of their home cooked favorites, lasagne, and they enjoyed every bite. Although it felt strange not doing a lot of baking and boiling, it left more time to enjoy with my family and less clean-up.

Time is precious, and so it goes with writing. It takes a certain amount of discipline to sit down and write. I opted out of this year’s NaNoWriMo due to an injury sustained in a recent fall, but I did not forget my promise to get back to working on my writing as soon as possible. That means the busy holiday season will be a bit busier for the writer in me. I was half way through two books in the works, and I plan to finish them by the new year. At least I hope to finish the “rough” drafts and get them in decent shape to pitch at next year’s writers’ conventions.

In the meantime, my aim is to cut down on some of the season’s temptations, and that’s not easy given the upcoming get togethers, parties, and dining out. It is also easy to snack on the go or to indulge in snacking while seated at the computer awhile, so I have to plan ahead. Some low calorie snacks including popcorn, carrots and celery with hummus, apples, and smaller portions will help. A friend suggested seltzer with a twist of lime or lemon to cut back on the caffeine and the sugary beverages.

 

A little exercise goes a long way when you can get there. I plan to get back to that too. Walking more, taking stairs instead of elevators, and maybe getting to the gym now and then. It’s not too early to beat those resolutions before the new year.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy holiday season!

 

To Write, Observe

By • September 4, 2017

 

Pay attention to your surroundings. It’s not always easy these days especially with the distractions of mobile phones, computers, and other electronic devices. As a writer, I often need to find those quiet moments and special places for writing, such as a library, a park, or my home office, but sometimes I need to write on the fly wherever I can. That’s why I began to bring along a small journal or notepad for jotting down ideas. It also helps to be aware of your surroundings because they can inspire ideas too.

Recently while enjoying a morning walk in a park in my hometown of Nutley, New Jersey, I forgot to notice those wonderful sounds like birds singing, the gurgle of the brooks, and the topple of the water over the falls in Kingsland Park. Shaking me out of my daydream was the sounds in a nearby treetop. I thought either squirrels on a mad chase or a raccoon shimmering down the trunk caused the sound, but to my astonishment a few feet ahead of me came a loud crash and a huge branch fell. My heart raced at the sight and the realization that I could have been struck by the branch. A fellow traveler in the wooded area noticed this too, and we both thanked the heavens that we’d been spared. It also woke me up to the necessity to pay more attention to my surrounding. Indeed it could be a matter of life or death!

The sights, the sounds, and the feelings of my surroundings have inspired me in my writing of settings for my books. Ocean Grove and Asbury Park, New Jersey are the settings for my two young adult books, A Dance Out of Time and A Kiss Out of Time. Although I haven’t been on the pioneer trail to Oregon, the setting for my western historical romance, Wildflowers, I have visited several western and mid-western states including Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Taking photographs, enjoying visits to local museums and art galleries, and writing in journals has helped me to capture my ideas about those surroundings.

I heard long ago that to be a writer means to be an observer. I believe that it’s true. It can also save your life!

 

Getting My Irish Up

By • March 12, 2017

I was blessed with two pairs of loving grandparents with diverse cultural backgrounds. On my paternal side, my grandparents came from Gibraltar, the Rock, a very British background with a mixed lineage of Spanish, Genoese, and  Maltese. My paternal grandfather helped in the ship building industry. He enjoyed telling tales of those times, and he and my paternal grandmother worked hard in bringing up their family when they emigrated to New York City. I think they inspired the ideals of hard work, love of family, and faith in me which has carried me through much in my life.

My maternal grandparents came to New York from Ireland. They too, worked hard, and struggled to support their family. Like many immigrants than and now, they faced discrimination. I remember my Irish grandmother telling me stories of  the Great Depression and facing both the lack of work and the prejudice of those who said “No Irish need apply.” She told me how they took in laundry, did odd jobs, and managed to provide for their growing family.

Nanny Smith taught me many things and shared stories of the old country as we sipped the tea or as I helped her make  Irish soda bread. My grandfather, too, liked to spin yarns.

I think a diverse cultural background, rich with tales of other times and lands added to my respect for story telling and desire to pass along the rich traditions.

As a writer, I draw on my life experiences as well as what I have learned. Travels to different places in the world have helped with background research, characters, and of course, settings.

I believe that this as well as those “yarns” I heard growing up contributed to my storytelling.

Meet the Author

Catherine Greenfeder

Catherine Greenfeder

Romance Novelist

My Books

Wildflowers

Angels Among Us

Sacred Fires

A Kiss Out of Time, a Georginas Ghost Story

A Dance Out of Time, a Georginas Ghost Story

© 2025 Catherine Greenfeder.  All Right Reserved.