Emphasizing the physical- breath on neck, hand clasping hand, lips against lips- her lyrics suggest a world where kisses can still pack contradictions and lying is an everyday occurrence, and her subtly dramatic vocals bring that world to life.Īs jaded and adult as she comes across on 'Call Me' and 'Bible Days', Mayfield still sounds like she's describing the tribulations of young love, although that assertion may be due to her age prompting preconceptions in the listener.

His slurring riffs illuminate the inner turmoil of 'I Can't Lie to You, Love', and a banjo adds spikes to 'We've Never Lied' as Mayfield sings, 'I'll talk to whoever I goddamn wanna.' Her quavering vocals are textured in reverb, as if to suggest that her lyrics are inner monologues resounding in her love-fevered brain. Here he swathes her vocals in dreamy country production, heavy on rumbling guitar and even heavier on atmospherics that give her songs a vinyl noir feel that's more Brick than Double Indemnity.

Based on her experiences while working in a chocolate shop, the book is a delicious melange of non-fiction and fiction, mixing candy making, mystery, and unforgettable characters into a lovely confection.Blasphemy was produced by fellow Ohioan Dan Auerbach, who corralled Mayfield into singing on the Black Keys' Attack & Release earlier this year. Sleep, Baby, Sleep was produced by Citadel Entertainment as an ABC Sunday Night Movie.Īuerbach's newest work, Writing in Chocolate, is a memoir. Her novels and other writings have been published in England, France, Germany, and Holland. Her writings have appeared in Library Journal, Vassar Quarterly, Redbook, Northeast, The New York Times, Georgia Review, under syndication through Fiction Network, and in the crime collection, Unusual Suspects (Vintage, 1996). A recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship, Auerbach is also a member of the Authors Guild. She has also written a full length screenplay, Swing Time. After earning an MAT degree from Wesleyan University, Auerbach taught high school English and was a visiting instructor in the Graduate Liberal Studies Program at Wesleyan.Īuerbach has written four novels, Catch Your Breath (Putnam, 1996) Sleep, Baby, Sleep (Putnam, 1994) Painting on Glass (Norton, 1988) and Winter Wife (Ticknor & Fields, 1983). Jessica Auerbach, a native of New Jersey, graduated from Vassar College where she studied English literature and music.

Catch Your Breath by Jessica Auerbach