Welcome

Feb. 09 - I won the Wilderness House Literary Review Chekhov Prize for fiction for my story, "Solo." Read it here.

Greetings! I'm glad you're here. Check out the links to my features, stories, and novel excerpts. I've published in The Boston Globe, O, The Oprah Magazine, Inspired House, Poets & Writers, Coastal Living, International Thriller Writers ezine: The Big Thrill, and other national magazines. My business memoir, Time to Make the Donuts, co-authored with Dunkin' Donuts Founder, Bill Rosenberg, continues to sell. Here's a few more items:

Agni magazine --I am one of several fiction editors for this stunning compilation of fiction, essays, art, and poetry published twice a year as well as ongoing online. Sven Birkerts is editor; William Pierce is Senior Editor. Go to the link on the left and enjoy online selections, then order your subscription!

Boston Globe Magazine: many dozens of articles including a cover story on the murder of 15-year-old Louis Brown as well as writer profiles and dozens of home design articles.

My NPR interview with John Ydstie.

Generally speaking, I'm obsessed with unraveling interpersonal sagas and exploring how people reshape their histories in a hopeful, life-altering way. As I see it, we're all vessels of history, imagined or real. What drives people to make choices, good or bad? Writing is my way of delving into the complex nature of humanity.

It's why I like to write about home design. I'm fascinated by how people define their personal nesting grounds; how they create physical comfort and private space. People really open up when talking about their homes.If you're obsessed with homes like I am, go to my blog: Confessions of A Hermit Crab. (Link is in the left column)

Then, there's my longstanding interest in medicine born out of my own experience as a bone marrow transplant recipient in the late 70s. My novel, BODY CHEMISTRY, is a result of this transformative event.

Thanks for visiting. Send me your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you.

Best wishes,

Jessica
email me: jessica at jbkeener dot com.

Selected works, excerpts and previews

Fiction
Shoreline, a short story published in Northeast Corridor
Laura moves out of her house and into a summer cottage to reconsider the viability of her marriage.
Night Swim, a novel
16-year-old Sarah, a gifted singer from an upper middle class Jewish family, tells the story of her family following the tragic loss of her mother. Set in suburban Boston in the late 1960s.
Body Chemistry, a novel
College grad, Elizabeth Gold, learns she has contracted a fatal illness called Aplastic Anemia. The difficult news sends her on a search for a cure, but she quickly learns the options are high risk. In the process she faces ambiguities in family relationships, a failing romance, and an influx of caretakers, including an eccentric faith healer and an entrepreneurial apartment mate. A novel about the healing power of love.
Profiles
The Afterlife of Louis Brown, A Boston Globe Magazine cover story. June 2002
How the murder of a Boston teenager became a force for change.
Memoir
The Quiet Revolution, published in CBR Institute for Biomedical Research, annual report '02
A personal story about aplastic anemia.