Category: Q&A

Jill Piscitello discusses her new novel, A Sour Note

Author Jill Piscitello talks about her new mystery novel set in Hampton Beach, A Sour Note.

What is A Sour Note about?

A Sour Note features Maeve Cleary, an unemployed event coordinator, coming to terms with the public end to her engagement with a famous morning news host. Thanks to a social media darling’s corpse turning up behind her mother’s music school, Maeve’s plan to recover in the privacy of her childhood home is upended. As suspicion surrounds her and a few friends, media interest peaks again. While following a trail of clues, she fends off help from a clairvoyant cousin, butts heads with a no-nonsense detective and toys with the idea of allowing a bit of romance back into her life.

What inspired you to set this story in Hampton Beach?

My family has visited Hampton for decades. The Natural Resources Defense Council included Hampton Beach on its list of safest and cleanest beaches in the country several times, and the April 2023 issue of Country Living named it one of the eight “classic beach boardwalks.” … I was walking along a stretch of ocean when the idea for A Sour Note first arose. What better place for a mystery than a beach setting offering more than a scenic view? Sure, the beach is beautiful. However, it’s the people, food and entertainment that create a buzzing hive of activity to fill pages with.

How did you incorporate the unique atmosphere of Hampton Beach into the story? How did you strike a balance between the light, summery setting and the tension and suspense required for a mystery?

Hampton Beach is unique because it offers something for everyone. Arcades and a stretch of playground entertain children for hours, adults have endless choices for food, and live music plays every night. The sun, sand and sights set a carefree background in stark contrast to Maeve’s dangerous search for a murderer.

How did you blend the book’s magical elements with the grounded reality of the murder investigation?

A large percentage of people believe in some aspect of psychic ability. Many claim to experience premonition or déjà vu. Maeve wavers between skepticism of her cousin Calista’s clairvoyance and entertaining the idea she might have a gift. Though I enjoy reading paranormal cozies, I wanted a story that people could relate to. Doesn’t everyone know someone who claims to ‘have a feeling?’

What motivated you to venture into the mystery genre? How did you approach writing a mystery compared to your previous works?

My previous books fell within the sweet holiday romance genre. I love watching couples find their way to happily ever after and am a huge fan of the Hallmark Channel. … I plan to revisit the romance genre as an author, but in my heart, I’ve always wanted to write mysteries. I’m not sure who is more responsible for this aspiration — my mother for introducing me at 12 years old to Mary Higgins Clark, or the author herself for sucking me into each and every word of the books that kept me reading late into the night. Writing the first draft required a significant amount of planning and research. In romance novels, shifting back and forth between the two main characters is easier than balancing a larger cast of voices demanding to tell their own stories.

What do you hope readers will take away from A Sour Note in terms of entertainment and emotional resonance?

I’m hoping readers enjoy an intriguing tale filled with unexpected twists, friendship, strength, love and likable characters they look forward to revisiting time after time.

Can you give us a glimpse into what readers can expect in the next two books of the series?

The second book will be set during the fall after most of the tourist crowd has left for the season. Calista will have a much larger role in the story. The third mystery is still in the outlining stage, but we will see Maeve’s mother pursuing a romantic relationship while her daughter solves another case.

Featured photo: Jill Piscitello. Courtesy photo.

Filmmaker takes her movie on the road

New Hampshire filmmaker Laina Barakat is taking her award-winning feature film Light Attaching to a Girl on a New England screening tour. She discussed the inspiration behind the film, her unique filmmaking style and what audiences can look forward to at the screenings.

Tell us about the film.

It’s called Light Attaching to a Girl. It’s just over an hour. It’s a narrative drama set in Iceland and Keene, New Hampshire. It’s about an 18-year-old girl traveling alone for the first time, processing childhood trauma, and experiencing independence in an unknown country. … A lot of people are really excited about the score; we had a really beautiful orchestra that played on it. They did the music for Parasite and Squid Game and a bunch of other really phenomenal, much larger works.

What inspired it?

The film actually stars my sister. She’s a non-actor; she’s never been on camera before, but I knew she had talent. She wanted to go to Iceland, and I convinced her to let me bring a film crew. We filmed the trip in a documentary style and later wrote a narrative to complement it. We blended the two in New Hampshire.

What’s your background in filmmaking?

I’ve been a filmmaker for about 18 years. I started with Either/Or Films, a film company in New Hampshire. I continued producing, and about six years ago I started my own film company called Wayward Ark Productions so that I could start directing. I’ve directed seven short films. I have some feature-length films as a producer under my belt, but this is my first as a writer-director.

The film blends documentary elements with narrative structure. How did you accomplish that?

My shooting style is very under-the-radar, with a very small crew. When it comes to lighting, I like to work with documentary-style filmmakers, so that I don’t have big lighting packages. … With the narrative piece, I used a lot of local actors and non-actors. We used local locations to pick up bits of naturalism and things that are already there, so we get a sense of truth and reality in what we’re making.

What is it like working with non-actors?

I love to work with non-actors. It’s what I do most of the time, actually. When you live in a rural area like this and you don’t have a lot of talented actors around you, I’d rather work with non-actors than poorly trained ones. I get a sense of realism by putting it into the writing. For my sister, there are bits of my own story and other bits of her story in it. For the rest of the actors in the film, I took pieces from their normal lives. It’s not autobiographical at all, but the more of their personal stories that I can put into the narrative, the easier it is for them to seamlessly act.

The film tour also features women-directed short films. Why is it important to you to highlight other female filmmakers?

It’s super important for women in any industry, especially in the film industry, to hype each other and to support each other. … We are a real minority, not only in paid positions but also in awards and representation in film festivals. For me, when I made the film, it was really important that most of my cast and crew were women.

What does it mean for you to be present at the screenings, do Q&A sessions and engage with your audience?

It makes it a more enriching and meaningful experience. For me as a filmmaker, it’s really great to hear interpretations of my work that maybe weren’t my own, but are valid and important. …I love any opportunity to hear how something hits someone else and why.

Tickets cost $15 for general admission and $12 for seniors, students and children. Visit waywardarkproductions.com.

Light Attaching to a Girl screenings
Friday, June 2, 6:30 p.m. at Studio Lab, 11 A St., Derry
Saturday, June 10, 2 p.m. at Wilton Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton
Saturday, June 10, 7 p.m. at Scriven Arts Center, 452 Route 140, Gilmanton
Sunday, June 11, 6:30 p.m. at The Park Theatre, 19 Main St., Jaffrey

Featured photo: Laina Barakat. Courtesy photo.

A discussion with NHTI’s new president

Dr. Patrick Tompkins, the President of NHTI since February, shared his thoughts on the role of community colleges, the challenges of declining enrollment, strategies to ensure high-quality education at an affordable cost and more.

Tell us about yourself and what drew you to NHTI.

I’ve been working in higher education for several decades … in Iowa, Oklahoma, Virginia and now New Hampshire. I was an English professor for a long time, and then … moved into administration. I was a dean and a provost at a college, then went to Eastern Shore Community College and served as vice president of academics, students and workforce education. I came to NHTI primarily because of the quality of the college and what it has to offer. We have really solid programs in things like health care … and we have some really unique programs, like mindfulness, hospitality, sports management and addiction counseling. … I also really wanted to work at a community college that has an athletics program, because I believe it provides academic opportunity for some students who might not otherwise [attend college].

What do you believe is the role of community college?

I call community college the greatest democratization in the history of higher education. It makes post-secondary education accessible to all. It’s affordable. It’s convenient. There’s a community college within driving distance of everybody in the continental United States. It allows people who may not think they’re right for higher education or who would otherwise not be able to get into higher education to get an education in a wide variety of fields.

How will you work to ensure an education at NHTI is both affordable and high quality?

The state legislature has allowed the community college system to keep tuition only $5 ahead of where it was in 2011. … Even though the tuition [cost] has stayed constant, there is still a gap that is hard for students to fill. That’s where I have to expand our scholarships. … When we’re able to provide scholarships to cover ancillary things, such as books or supplies, that helps to close that gap. … Most folks know we’re inexpensive; we’re less than half the cost of any other college in New Hampshire … but that means nothing if we don’t have quality. … Our quality comes from having superior faculty whose only mission is to teach. … We have programs that can be completed in a short term … and with flexible scheduling … that lead to really good jobs. … We have a campus with wonderful amenities and extracurricular activities. … These are all things that are of value to our students.

What do extracurricular activities, athletics and campus life contribute to the educational experience at NHTI?

We serve the entire student. It’s not just about academics; it’s also about helping them develop as good family members, community members and workers, and to live healthy lives, mentally and physically. … Having the dorms and a mix of student clubs and activities makes for a really rich campus life. Many community colleges don’t have athletics, so I’m really happy that we do. … For some students, athletics may be the thing that draws them in, and once they’re here they start to realize that sports is not going to pay their way and that they’re going to need [job] skills. … Not all students will go pro in their sport, but they are still passionate about it, and being able to play at the college level is an exciting thing for them.

Enrollment in community colleges has been declining. How do you plan to address that at NHTI?

Declining enrollment is a national trend that’s been going on since 2014. The two primary factors are, there have been fewer people graduating high school … and the people who want to work have found work and aren’t in immediate need of training. It’s looking like we’re nearing [the end] of declining enrollment, and that those factors — particularly the second one — are going to change. There are going to be more opportunities for people to change career fields or advance in the field they’re in and [therefore] come back to college. … But should growing enrollment always be the goal? I think the better question to ask is, how well is a community college serving its community? Because enrollment [reflects whether] we are offering the right mix of programs that are relevant to [employment] opportunities for residents in the area. … So our focus is on our programs and looking at where there are new opportunities or opportunities to grow.

What do you find most fulfilling about this position?

It helps me live out a very foundational ethic that was bred in me as a young person, which is my commitment to service for others into the community. … I feel fortunate to have a job where it’s not about me. People in our business sometimes say, ‘Your success is our success.’ I don’t view it that way. I view it as your success is your success; I was just lucky enough to be there as you were achieving it.

Featured photo: Dr. Patrick Tompkins. Courtesy photo.