When we first moved to our little piece of the Jersey Shore, Asbury Park was still attempting to recover from the malaise of the 1960s and 1970s. For decades, people were hoping the city would be revitalized and over the last six or so years, there has been an amazing change in the city. In fact, in a recent NY Times article, a local lawyer dubbed it “Brooklyn on the Beach.”
New restaurants and a new hotel as well as cornerstones like the Stone Pony, Wunder Bar, the Convention Center, and the Paramount Theater have made Asbury Park the “hip” place to be!
It was that new sense of energy that inspired the choice of the Asbury Park boardwalk for my UNDER THE BOARDWALK novella.
Here are some photos of the boardwalk for you!
Asbury Park Casino
Asbury Park Casino & Power Plant
You can purchase UNDER THE BOARDWALK at these retailers!
I love the towns and beaches along the Jersey Shore in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. They each have their unique flavor and interesting facets. That’s why I’ve set so many books there in the past (like UNDER THE BOARDWALK) and why I’m setting the 2017 Jersey Girl Bridesmaids books there.
In UNDER THE BOARDWALK, which is part of the SUMMER HEAT box set, I’ve set the story in Asbury Park and Ocean Grove, two of my favorite towns. But there are lots of other fun places in New Jersey and today I am sharing with you my Pinterest board of interesting spots you may want to check out in my home state.
I love working on box sets with other authors. I have met so many talented and nice women that way! I’m very excited about the upcoming SUMMER HEAT contemporary romance set and my story – Under the Boardwalk.
As you might guess from the title, the story takes place along the beach. The Jersey Shore to be precise and to even be more precise, two of my favorite towns along the Jersey Shore: Ocean Grove and Asbury Park. I love including places I’ve been in stories because it adds so much to the feel of the locations and also, because I love sharing those places with you! I hope that one day you’ll be able to visit. For now, here are some photos of some of the places you might be seeing in Under the Boardwalk.
I’ve always believed that a day that you don’t learn something new is a day wasted. So Sunday I learned about Monkey Butt. Yes, you read that right, Monkey Butt. I had to run to my local drug store and while perusing the shelves, I ran across this product.
This was news to me on Sunday. Monkey butt. Just the words, coupled with the label, conjured up all kinds of ideas on how one might get this affliction. According to Urban Dictionary, you can get it from riding a motorcycle for too long or even from just sweaty activities.
If I had to engage in such a sweaty activity, I know exactly which one it would be.
Oh no, ladies, please get your minds out of the gutter! I was talking about those long strolls I do down the boardwalk in the heat of the summer. What did you think I meant? LOL!
Hope you all had a good laugh today and just keep in mind, if you need some relief, check out this product. It might even be a great way to deal with diaper rash if you’ve got little ones. I wish I had known about it back then. Would have spared me and my little one many a tear.
FYI: I claim no rights in the trademarks, copyright or any other rights in this product. I just thought it was kind of interesting. All rights belong to Anti Monkey Butt Corporation.
I had to make a choice of location for the final battle scenes in THE CLAIMED. As I thought about it, it occurred to me I needed a place that spoke to the past that the Light and Shadow Hunters had to embrace, but also had to speak to the future that was possible for them. I also needed a place that was in the public eye, but could be made “private” with the use of Hunter power. Add to that the fact that it had to be somewhere that would be a logical place for one of the characters – Samantha aka Sammie – to be as she would be pivotal in that scene.
As all those needs came together, I realized there was only one place where that very important scene could be located – the Casino in Asbury Park.
There is no doubt in mind that the Casino is a link to the past glory that was Asbury Park, much like the past of the Hunters. But the Casino also stands poised at the edge of the future for Asbury Park. A future that can be seen in the wonderfully renovated Paramount Theater, the Convention Center (where the early roller derby scenes in and THE CLAIMED take place), and the boardwalk that is once again brimming with life!
The Casino is a very public place for sure. It’s the gateway between Ocean Grove and Asbury Park and people pass through the shell on a daily basis. Surely Sammie would on her way to her shop on the Asbury Park boardwalk. Here’s a picture of what it looked like in its heydey!
Photo Credit: National Park Service
Here’s another photo of the Casino from afar. The Casino was built in 1929 and designed by the same architects that designed Grand Central Terminal.
In this shot you can see more of the buildings. In the past, those to the left as well as the middle section hosted a series of amusement park games and a carousel. At one time there was another piece to the building that jutted out to the right on stilts onto the beach. This section had a skating rink inside. Sadly that part of the building suffered major damage and was torn down in 2006, but the rest of the Casino remains, now used for a variety of things like flea markets and a theater company.
The Casino was therefore the perfect place for my Hunters to have a final battle and also be the kickoff to the next book in the series, THE SHATTERED, but I won’t spill about that right now.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little peek into Asbury Park and the Casino. It’s one of my favorite sites along the boardwalk. As I mentioned before, there used to be a carousel in one section of the building and here’s a video clip shot on October 28, 1990, the last day the carousel was open for business. Thanks to cflynn1979 for this clip.
I love the summer and being to drive down to the Jersey Shore and enjoy being outdoors.
So this morning’s Thursday 13 is a list of my favorite Jersey Shore Things! Feel free to add your some of your favorite things about the Jersey Shore or about the summer!
1. Strolling along the boardwalk and checking out the sights.
2. Checking out street fairs, flea markets and art festivals.
3. 4th of July parades and fireworks.
4. Memorial Day parades and services to honor our military.
5. Sitting on the beach and reading.
6. Fishing! I have got to break out that fishing pole.
7. Exploring the various towns and seeing their unique styles.
8. Long bike rides along Ocean Avenue.
9. Surfer dudes. They are so sexy.
10. Eating ice cream at Day’s in Ocean Grove or Kohr’s frozen custard along the boardwalk.
11. $10.00 lobster specials! Yum, love lobster.
12. Shopping at the outlets.
13. Lucy the Elephant!
Hope you’re having a good summer so far! Feel free to share your favorite things with us today!
Being a Pisces, you know I’m a water baby and so the Jersey Shore is such a lovely place for me to be. Being near the ocean spurs my creativity in so many positive ways as does soaking up the sun. So here are the 13 things I love about the Jersey Shore.
1. Long strolls along the Boardwalk.
2. DAYS ice cream. The short shot is the absolute best way to end the day.
3. Sitting beneath an umbrella and watching the ocean.
4. Seeing the little kids playing in the sand and water. Such unabashed joy.
5. Taking a nap beneath my umbrella (something I rarely do the rest of the year).
6. Reading lots and lots of books beneath that umbrella and on my little balcony.
7. The assorted fairs and craft events in all the nearby towns.
8. Fishing. Maybe this year I’ll actually do instead of just watching.
9. Watching the tents go up in Ocean Grove.
Tents down for the Season at Ocean Grove
10. Listening to music at the Ocean Grove Auditorium.
11. Listening to the music from the Stone Pony in Asbury Park.
12. Looking for shells along the beach. Found lots of sand dollars last year.
13. The Bradley Beach Lobster Festival. Yummy yummy I got lobster in my tummy.
What about you? Are you a Jersey Girl? If so, share your favorite shore things to do.
This was news to me on Sunday. Monkey butt. Just the words, coupled with the label, conjured up all kinds of ideas on how one might get this affliction. According to 
