Op Eds & Essays
Pamela Jane is an author of over thirty children’s books, and an essayist whose work has appeared in The NY Times, The Wall Street Journal, The NY Daily News, Writer's Digest, The Independent, and The Writer. Pamela has also published humor in The Daily Drunk, Erma Bombeck, Brevity, The Satirist, and others.
Photo: The author in 1975 by Jun Kobashigawa
My Husband Died, But I’m No Widow
I did not change my marital status on Facebook when my husband died. Whenever friends posted condolences messages, like “Our hearts go out to you during this difficult time,” I quickly deleted them.
Learning To Live With Myself
The truth is, I never got along with my selves that well, and each one of us blames the other.
A Disagreement Over The COVID Vaccine Kills A 30-Year Friendship
She saw in the specter of vaccine passports and mandates the menacing shadow of totalitarianism that had destroyed her family and plundered their land. I saw deliverance from destruction and heartbreak caused by the pandemic.
Good Grief – But Not Good Enough
Genuine, accredited grief must be accompanied by a grief diploma. Otherwise you’re undocumented.
5 Tough Tips For Surviving (And Triumphing Over) Really Rotten Reviews
What struck me as funny were the words that hurt most at the time.
My Most Hilarious Rejections
It's holiday time, and guess what editors do this time of year? They clean our their desks and send out rejections by the dozens; it’s the gift that keeps on giving!
Just Wait! A Short Story Rejected In Grade School Becomes A Cause of Action
My eighth-grade English teacher was a malevolent-looking man with a low brow and small beady eyes. We joked that he moonlighted as an axe murderer. But he was even scarier as an English teacher.
8 Ways To Celebrate Pride and Prejudice Day
Tee-shirts, teapots, mugs, movies – the sky is the limit and your Austen-loving friend will appreciate your thoughtfulness! Or your mom, if she’s a Janeite, although the “temporary” Austen tattoo my daughter plastered on my arm months ago still hasn’t washed off. Not that I mind.
8 Deliciously Guilt-Free Writing Distractions
Writing distractions are fun, seductive, and wickedly addictive. And, as long as you’re doing research, indulging is guilt-free.
Sex, Violence and Money: A Rebuttal To Austen’s Most Celebrated Detractors
Austen’s novels are saturated with sex; you just have to know how to look. It’s called sub-sexting, a subtle form of sexual tension that Brontë’s pen was too heavy to dwell on.
I Didn’t Vote For Trump Again Because Of My Daughter
After the El Paso shooting, my daughter was afraid to go to Walmart. Now I am putting myself under a moral microscope, interrogating my political assumptions.
Surviving Halloween When You’re Spooked By The Doorbell
Every time the doorbell rings, I have an uncontrollable urge to hide behind the couch. This is difficult enough under normal circumstances. But on Halloween, it’s a nightmare.
A Writer’s Life: Slights, Slams, Slander and Gender Pronoun Switches
The worst thing anyone ever told me about my writing, though, came from my ex-husband. "Your writing illustrates tendencies I deplore," he said, during one of our arguments. I wasn't crazy about his tendencies, either.
Virus and Vaccines: A Screenplay By Jane Austen
ELIZABETH: Mr. Darcy will not be renewing his addresses to me. He will make very sure Bingley gets triple-vaxxed too, and quarantines too.
How To Publish Everything You Write
When my daughter was four, the perfect solution popped into my head. If she married Prince Harry when she grew up, I’d be a royal in-law and editors begging me for something – anything¬ ¬– to publish. Rejections would be a thing of the past!
A Valentines Ode To Friendship
The tacked-together phrases on the dating site are a hazard. It’s like trying not to step on the end of a loose board that could pop up and clunk you on the head, which is exactly what happened when I inadvertently sent a man called George a message.
How I (Literally) Broke Into Print
I didn’t even try to make my story sound appealing. “It’s a Christmas fantasy about a little girl and a ballet doll,” I stated flatly. The editor responded quickly, “Please send your story right away.”
My Mind And Body Disagreed About My Abortion
It is an indisputable fact of my existence that I have two people inside me who are in constant conflict. They don’t acknowledge each other; they don’t even return each other’s phone calls. (Thank God they can’t both vote.)
A Roadmap For Your Memoir or Novel Synopsis: 5 Tips
Writing a synopsis is easy! All you have to do is hit on your book’s highlights, while simultaneously illustrating the dramatic arc in gripping scenes that drive the plot and convey the universal appeal of the story in the voice and style of your original piece. And don’t forget to demonstrate your stunning mastery of the marketplace.
Panic Is My Writing Process
It was easy to slip into the holiday spirit on a gray November morning as I sat down with pen and paper by the glowing wood stove. But after several hours of scribbling random rhymes, I started to panic.