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It was never my goal to write a book twelve years ago. I would use writing as an outlet for myself without even knowing it to be honest. As far as I could remember I would write stories and usually toss them or they would get lost pre digital world. I would run with ideas that I enjoyed creating or would come to me late usually (looking back now in retrospect) about my feelings and the time and place I was in life. I remember in my twenties I use to write fictional 30/30 ESPN stories about by friends and email them out for fun. As I got older (older is always relative) I would use writing as more of a release from anxiety, stress, or as a creative outlet for what I was going through, be it financial realities, love, depression, hangziety, happy moments or what was emerging and begging to escape from my mind in the middle of the night. Speaking of "Hangziety" as some call it these days, this is something that I apply to characters within my writing and anxiety has impacted my life immensely so I do not at all mean to ever present or use it as a one off joke. It is real. It comes in so many forms and for some many reasons for each person dealing with it at all ages and levels of society.
Beach Dogs: I started off writing what what lead to the beginnings of Beach Dogs while sitting on the waterfront of Hoboken. I still have the original yellow lined flip notepad that I would write on as fast as I could while sipping a cold beer on a summer afternoon looking at the city from NJ. The actual name of the book came to me right there as well. And almost immediate the lead characters names (Olivia and Corie). It always my goal for the story to evoke nostalgia, laughter, and impart realism to the moments in a fictional novel. My goal was never once to put out a biopic about the lives of those I was with but moreover share the fun, wild, sad, happy, anxiety filled, amazing, growth and regression we all went through living in a certain place and time that I felt many others could relate to in one way or another. If a few people get some laughs, shake their heads a little with nostalgic relation and maybe even say "I know someone who had similar experiences.." or perhaps they did themselves in another place and time.. That will make me smile. So please enjoy! Happy summer to you all! Keep chasing those hot summer nights.. and see you next summer!
BIO: R.N. O’Rourke is a New Jersey native with family roots in Jersey City. He spent his summers at the Jersey Shore with family and friends, experiences that later shaped his writing. Inspired by stories from his parents and relatives about renting beach houses in Belmar during the 1960s, he continued the tradition decades later, renting beach houses throughout the 2000s and 2010s while living in Hoboken. These experiences, along with the friendships and memories they created, became the foundation for his debut novel, "Beach Dogs", developed over twelve years and the first in a planned four book series.
His writing blends humor, nostalgia, romance, mystery, and a touch of chaos with authentic, character driven realism, capturing the people, places, and experiences that define the Jersey Shore and Hoboken connection. Those "Hot Summer Nights" we are forever chasing are moments so many of us never forget and are still looking forward to every summer!
His sister, Kristen O’Rourke, is an actress and professor of theater arts.
A longtime New Jersey resident, R.N. O’Rourke lives in Hoboken and continues to draw inspiration from enduring friendships, memorable characters, and summer nights. *Beach Dogs* marks his debut and the beginning of an ongoing series.
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