One shoe at a time -- Encinitas writer's novel sees magic in the ordinary

By: GARY WARTH - Staff Writer
This story has been corrected since its original posting. | Tuesday, January 29, 2008 12:36 PM PST ∞

Although her book is in the magical realism genre, no one can accuse Encinitas author Julie Ann Shapiro of having her head in the clouds.

For inspiration, Shapiro is likely to take a walk down Coast Highway or on the beach, not watching clouds passing overhead or waves crashing on the sand, but gazing at the ground where a discarded gum wrapper, bottle cap or single shoe might catch her eye.

Where somebody else might see litter, Shapiro finds inspiration and wonders about the story behind each item.

"Growing up in Southern California, I kept seeing all these shoes on the side of the road," she said. "It's a beach phenomenon, but you see them on the side of the highway, too. As a writer, I was curious about it."

Shapiro, 41, a professional freelance business writer, wrote a poem about the shoes, which led to her first published novel, "Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries" ($19.98, SynergEbooks).

The novel was released in December as a trade paperback and is available on CD and as an e-book. Shapiro said she is particularly excited that hers will be one of the first books that can be read on a Kindle, Amazon.com's electronic device for downloading and reading digital books. Her book sells for $5.98 in Kindle format.

In "Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries," a successful photographer is compelled to take pictures of single shoes he discovers in his travels. As he takes the pictures, he senses a connection with his dead girlfriend, who went by the name Jen-Zen.

"There's a ghost or two in the novel, this other-worldly sense, a connection beyond just the main conscious realm," Shapiro said.

The story is not, however, a ghost story, and it also is not fantasy. Rather, it's magical realism, a genre set in the real world, but with magical, mystical happenings.

"I have carrots and peas talking in a story, a wine bottle talking, a can of whipped cream talking," Shapiro said about some of her short stories in the genre. "It's taking reality and playing with it.

"I just wrote a story recently where a teenager sees the ghost of her neighbors in salt and pepper shakers. That's magical realism."

Shapiro also is an enthusiast of flash-fiction, or stories told in less than 500 words.

"They're a hybrid between prose and poems," she said.

The genre has gained popularity as more writers post their work on the Internet, and Shapiro is helping promote it through workshops she teaches for young writers.

She is scheduled to teach a free flash-fiction workshop for teenagers from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the San Marcos Library, 2 Civic Center Drive. Shapiro also is scheduled to teach flash-fiction workshops during the Southern California Writers Conference, Feb. 15-18, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Mission Valley.

Shapiro's second novel already is getting recognition, although it's still unreleased. "Three Drop Pennies" has made the semifinals in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Contest, and is one of 836 manuscripts left from 5,000 submissions.

After getting the idea to write about someone intrigued by discarded shoes, Shapiro became interested in single shoes themselves.

"There's a lot of shoe history," she said about what she discovered in her research. "In the Middle Ages, they would put a single shoe in a building to ward off evil spirits. I was actually going to do a nonfiction book on the philosophy of single shoes."

Shapiro said she originally had another publisher who planned to serialize her book, but the company went out of business. Press releases about the book already had been released, however, and one caught the attention of Florida-based photographer Randall Hamilton.

Shapiro's protagonist, Brad Lynberry, and Hamilton share a similar interest in photographing single shoes discovered outdoors. Even more of a coincidence, Hamilton called his collection of photos "The One Shoe Diaries."

"He was convinced, of course, that I was copying him, but I wasn't," Shapiro said. "We had just independently developed a collection. My novel, and his photo collection."

Hamilton has shown his collection of shoe photos in gallery exhibits, as did Lynberry in Shapiro's novel.

After she learned Hamilton planned a coffee-table book called "The One Shoe Diaries," Shapiro said she changed the name of her novel, which had been the same as Hamilton's book, to "Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries." Hamilton's book is scheduled to be released this spring.

Since discovering one another, Hamilton and Shapiro have promoted each other's work. Her book is mentioned on his Web site, OneShoeDiaries.com, and some of his photos appear in the back of her novel.

In the novel, Lynberry begins to believe his lost girlfriend is trying to communicate with him through the shoes he keeps discovering. Not surprisingly, people around him are skeptical.

"Like so many things in life, the more convinced you are that something is rational, the more rational people in your life think you're nuts," Shapiro said.

The book's underlying philosophy is about seeing wonder, Shapiro said.

"This is not autobiographical, but my main characters, when they walk down the streets, they see something new every day," she said about a trait she shares. "In our society, so many people rush so much and they miss out on little simple wonders."

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com.

Appearances by Julia Ann Shapiro:

Julia Ann Shapiro is scheduled to teach a free flash-fiction workshop for teenagers from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the San Marcos Library, 2 Civic Center Drive.

She is also scheduled to teach flash-fiction workshops during the Southern California Writers Conference, Feb. 15-18, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Mission Valley.

She will sign copies of "Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries" from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 13 at Ducky Waddles Emporium, 414 N. Coast Highway, Encinitas. Call (760) 632-0488.

Correction:

A story in the Books section of the North County Times on Jan. 27 incorrectly spelled the first name of the author of "Jen-Zen and the One Shoe Diaries."

Her name is Julie Ann Shapiro.

We apologize.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, email addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.