Fenske, Jennifer Manske

PERSONAL:

Married Jonathan Fenske (an artist); children: a daughter, Pendleton Peach. Education: Clemson University, B.A.; State University ofNew York at Stony Brook, M.A. Hobbies and otherinterests: Hiking, camping, knitting, tennis, cooking, collecting vintage purses and pins.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Atlanta, GA. Agent—Sally Hill McMillan & Associates, 429 E. Kingston Ave., Charlotte, NC 28203.E-mail—jennifer@jennifermanskefenske.com.

CAREER:

Has worked variously as a newspaper reporter, Web site content consultant, and a scribe for an international nonprofit company.

WRITINGS:

Toss the Bride (novel), Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Arizona Republic, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and theLutheran.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jennifer Manske Fenske studied writing at Clemson University, where she worked with author Mark Steadman, and then at State University of New York at Stony Brook, where she took part in Richard Elman's fiction workshop. Following graduation she worked various jobs, including as a reporter, Web site content developer, and a scribe for a nonprofit agency. Fenske's first novel, Toss the Bride,was inspired in part by her own experiences planning a whirlwind wedding. When she and her then-fiancé decided they wanted to get married in just ten weeks, Fenske spent the majority of the time calling vendors and venues in order to plan the day of her dreams. The heroine of her novel is Atlanta wedding planner Macie Fuller, who, even as she fulfills her clients' nuptial fantasies, wonders when she will walk down the aisle herself. When her reluctant boyfriend finally does propose, however, Macie begins to drag her heels, unsure as to whether they truly belong together. A contributor for Kirkus Reviewsdeclared Fenske's novel a "slight and forgettable debut, but an amusing enough read for brides-to-be and the recently wed." Lauren Spielberg, in a review for Romantic Times,more enthusiastically called it "a fun exposé of the wild and wacky world of weddings."

Fenske told CA: "My first job was as a newspaper reporter for a small daily in South Carolina. I was newly married and knew that I had a novel inside me. The trouble was, I was spending precious little time actually writing the aforementioned book. I began to hate going to the bookstore because I knew I would see glossy photos of writers my age and they were actually doing what I was supposed to be doing.

"My newspaper sent me to a journalism conference in Atlanta where I attended a break-out session titled something like ‘How to Write Your First Novel while Working 40 Hours a Week.’ Phyllis Alesia Perry (author ofStigmata) told the audience how she held down a full-time job and managed to crank out a book. I ate her words up. Here was someone telling me that I was never going to have enough time or the perfect opportunity. I simply had to do it. I went home from that conference and made myself start page one of a book.