But I am not shocked. In fact, I’d wager that at least one of the readers of this blog is my distant relative. (Hey, you always wanted an author to write about our big, dysfunctional family, right?) This is all part of a concept known as pedigree collapse.

Here’s how it works.

We all have two parents, four grandparents, and eight great grandparents. Let’s assume for the sake of math that the average generation is twenty-five years long. If we go back in time 1200 years (800 AD) each person would have 281.5 trillion grandparents. This calculation is done by reasoning the number of grandparents doubles every 25 years – and in 48 generations (or 1200 years) 281.5 trillion names would be on a person’s pedigree. But in 800 AD, there weren’t even that many people in the world. How could any of us have that many grandparents? The answer: they are not all different people. Some names on your family tree would appear twice, or ten times, or even one hundred times over the years. Ancestors married their relatives throughout the years, knowingly or unknowingly. This was particularly common among royal families who were encouraged to marry other kinsman of royal blood. This is pedigree collapse.

So if you trace your family roots backward, you will find that it spreads out for several generations – and ultimately “collapses” back on itself, corresponding with the original size of the world’s population.

There are even some geneticists who believe that everyone on earth is at least a 50th cousin to everyone else. It’s no wonder we don’t always get along. Most families do not. But, this is what makes the study of genetic inheritance so fascinating. The knowledge that gifts, talents – even dark traits like mental illness or disease – can be passed down from one generation to the next.

This linking of one ancestor to another is the integral theme to my novel Janeology - where you will encounter eight of Jane’s ancestors as her husband, Tom, searches her family tree for answers to her nature and nurture. In the beginning of the story, you will meet Jane, age nine, as she was abandoned by her own mother. And you meet her mother, Victoria, who left New England as soon as she was of age, forever cutting off ties with her father -- Jane’s grandfather, Horace, who is filled with regret as he comes to terms with the focus of Victoria’s contempt. And then, Jane’s great-grandfather, Charles, a distant scientist, who looked the other way when his wife once tried to sell Horace’s twin sister to a carnival manager. For his part, Charles has been plagued by uneasiness all of his life, because his mother, Jane’s great, great grandmother, Eliza Anne, woke in a London hospital with no knowledge of who or where she was. And these are merely the relatives on Jane’s maternal side of the family. Many more are found on her paternal side.All the secrets and misdeeds occurring within the family have a domino effect on Jane Nelson – daughter, wife, mother and ultimately, murderess. Visit my website to see Jane's pedigree chart.

So next time you research your family tree, expect to find the unexpected. And for all you cousins out there I have yet to meet, Howdy!

Please buy Janeology here.

What are your favourite first sentences from books? Is there a book that you liked specially because of its first sentence? Or a book, perhaps that you didn’t like but still remember simply because of the first line?


"After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn's for an oyster supper." -- The Meaning of Night: A Confession by Michael Cox



I remember when this book first came out there was a lot of brou ha-ha over Cox's amazing first sentence and first chapter. I was hooked by that first line and the story stayed terrific all the way to the last page.

And it's this kind of sentence that leaps into the action, saving the scene-setting for later that continues to inspire my own writing.

Janeology begins, "I stared at my attorney as he began his defense that I did not share in the murder of my son."

Read more of Janeology here.

BookRoom Reviews Recommends adding JANEOLOGY to your library.

From BookRoom Review:
"Tom Nelson’s wife Jane suddenly snaps one day and drowns their two year old twins. One survives and the other doesn’t. Jane is found not guilty by reason of insanity and is sentenced to an institution for life. A year later, the prosecution decides to try to convict Tom for negligence. Tom’s mother hires a lawyer who brings in a psychic who delves into Jane’s past to come up with a defense for Tom. What they begin to uncover is shocking, and may just reveal why a mother would kill her own children. We have all heard the phrase “the sins of the father” and it is just this concept that the author, Karen Harrington, explores. Just who is to blame for this horrible crime? How can a mother commit such a horrible act? These are all questions we ask every time we see something like this on the news. Janeology is original in that the story consists of flashbacks told through the psychic who goes back in time into Jane’s past to see what may have led her to do such a thing. In fact, my favorite part of the story was about Jane’s ancestors. This was exactly what made Janeology unique. It causes us to think about these questions and that is what makes for a good book. The subject matter may be hard to read, especially for mothers, but Janeology is a thoughtful and challenging book and that is why I would highly recommend it."

Thanks BookRoom!

Karen

What did Jane do and why?

Read an excerpt at www.karenharringtonbooks.com

This is what novel trailers do for novels. Sure, the reader still needs the book jacket copy to describe the book. That will never vanish. But novel trailers provide an incredible subtext to the feel and emotion of a story that quite simply cannot be written down.

See if you agree by checking out the super cool novel trailer for JANEOLOGY and then tell me what you think.

View it on my publisher's website:

If that sounds like an introduction for a support group, then, well, it kinda should. There should be a support club for all writers – aspiring and published. Who else are we going to run and tell about sentences like “Seeing Jane the way you do, Tom, is only for you now. To ask anything else is like asking New Yorkers to see planes headed toward buildings without suspicion.”

That’s from my novel, JANEOLOGY, a story about a man struggling to come to terms with why his seemingly gentle wife, Jane, snapped and drowned their toddler son. The scene is about Tom’s attorney trying to get him to understand that the public only has two labels for mothers who kill: mad or monster. And it was much more fun sharing that with you fellow writers than my two labradors. They just don't get metaphor. Which is why we need a support club.

Here’s how I officially became a member of this club.

I liken it to first finding out that you are pregnant. (If you are in the category of people who cannot get pregnant, bear with me. This has applications for you, too.)

Okay, you have been trying to conceive…a published novel for months, if not years. You imagine how your life will change. You imagine the mere joy of holding a hardback book with your name on it in your hands. An ISBN number, for gravy’s sake!

Then it happens.

THE THINGY IS BLUE!

Or in my case, the phone rings.

I was mopping my kitchen floor on a Wednesday. My kids were watching Sesame Street. It was an ordinary, if not boring, day in my household. The phone rang. I let it roll to voice mail. Nobody interesting called me during Sesame Street. Then, I listened to the message.

“Hello, do I have the right number for Karen Harrington? Please call us about your submission.”

I called back immediately and had to leave a voice mail.

I took a shower, wondering at all the possible scenarios. Surely, a publisher would not call me with a rejection. No stranger to the rejection process, I was hardened to receiving a let down. This might be a cruel let down. No. No one would do that. It could only mean good things.

Two days go by. Excitement. Doubt. Excitement. Doubt.

Then, I barely come through my door from picking my daughter up from pre-school and the phone rings.

I put down the backpack and the lunch box. “Hello? Yes. Yes, I can talk now.”

“Is JANEOLOGY still available? If so, we would like to publish it.”

Background noise: “Mommy, Molly is tearing my spider!!!”

“Should I call back Ms. Harrington?”

“No! No! This is great.”

Mommy, the spider has no legs!

I shut the door to my office. Let the spider fend for himself. After all, mommy is trying to get published and his legs can be taped together later.

“Okay, I would like to email you the contract. If all goes well, it will come out in Spring 2008. We think it’s a great summer read. Congratulations.”

I leap from my office with pronounced joy and dance with my girls. Not knowing why we are celebrating doesn’t keep them from dancing. That's the wonder of being a child.

“Someone wants the book mommy wrote. JANEOLOGY!” I shout.

“You wrote Johnny Appleseed!”

I double over in laughter. Yes, mommy wrote Johnny Appleseed. Why not.

So that’s how I learned I was going to be a published author, after years of rejection, stacks of various manuscripts and a good case of carpal tunnel.

Not that I'm complaining. It was a lucky conception for sure. And when JANEOLOGY is born next Spring, I hope you’ll check it out. If you liked Carolyn Parkhurst’s THE DOGS OF BABEL, you’ll enjoy JANEOLOGY.