The Secret is Out
Meet Judy Jaeger, Author of The Secret Thief
By Annette Cinelli

If you’re looking for a great book to read this summer, pick up a copy of The Secret Thief by local author Judith Jaeger. Judy grew up in Sturbridge, MA and currently works at Clark University as the Director of University Communications. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in 2004 from Goddard College and last year published The Secret Thief, her first novel.

Judy, always interested in writing, constantly wrote poems and stories even as a child, and it’s a passion that never waned. Although her day job is writing and editing at Clark, her fiction is her “life’s work,” and she hopes to some day be able to make a career out of it.

College played an essential role in starting her career; The Secret Thief was Judy’s master’s thesis, and her unique collegiate experience was where she really learned how to write fiction and novels: Her school offered, and still does, a low residency program where students go to campus for a week at the start of each semester to participate in workshops, meet with an advisor, and plan the direction of the semester’s work. They then work the rest of the semester at home, every three weeks sending a packet of work to the advisor who then responds with a detailed letter and comments on the work. Judy describes the program as “very intensive” and says that she “…ended up with two years of what felt like private instruction from people working in the field.”

Some people only write when they are inspired, but Judy is not one of them. “To wait for inspiration is a big mistake,” she advises. Judy believes in “…the discipline of writing every day at the same time and in the same place.” She believes that it’s easier to access your creativity and imagination if you get into a routine so that your body and brain will be ready and know when it’s time to work.

Judy advises aspiring writers to “write every day.” She thinks it’s the only way to learn and improve ~ and although it can be difficult because if you write every day you’re bound to have some bad writing, you have to accept that. It’s not written in stone; “Fiction can always be changed.”

Judy’s books are purely fiction but she is a big believer in the idea that “All fiction is autobiographical.” So although nothing that happens in The Secret Thief actually took place in her real life, certain elements of the book do relate to her life experiences. She describes the book as having “…a deep layer of my experience,” just turned into a story. One element that Judy, and many of us, can relate to is “…the feeling of becoming an adult for the first time and learning who you are as a person, as an individual.” It’s this element of truth in her novel that will really connect readers to the story and the characters.

The Secret Thief is an excellent novel with believable and unique characters. The novel stemmed from Judy’s idea of writing a story about the last summer a character has to spend with her grandmother. The book is humorous in some ways and shocking in others. As the author herself says, “I write my fiction from the place where Batman and Hello Kitty meet.” The characters have quirks and personalities that make them realistic and three dimensional. The Secret Thief is about recent college grad Connie, a kleptomaniac with a possessive mother and a chronic ulcer, who goes to New Hampshire to help her grandmother pack up the family house for her upcoming move. While doing so, she uncovers the secrets of her grandmother and mother; the twists and turns of the story and the discoveries Connie makes help change and define who she is and the type of woman she will grow to be.

Judy describes her novels as having characters who begin broken in some way, but throughout the course of the novel heal, becoming stronger and better. She hopes her readers see these characters as inspiration so that they can take control of their lives and destiny while moving forward with a sense of purpose.

Before you head off on your summer vacation, be sure to pick up a copy of this book. Support a local author and enjoy a great story at the same time!

Check out www.judithjaeger.com for more information on Judy, her work, and her stuffed animal collection.