Goodreads asked Russell Bittner:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Russell Bittner My most recent publication is not a book, but a short story. It's titled "Widow Jane's Valentine," and it's a re-telling -- ever so slightly modified -- of an earlier publication, "Room to Rent."

The idea for the original publication came to me after I'd read somewhere that millions of women send themselves Valentine's Day cards every year. Why? Because no one else is sending them. I found unfathomable sadness in this fact.

The cover for this newer version came from a portion of a wall mural at the corner of Coffey Street (where I live) and Conover Street, here in Red Hook (Brooklyn). The artist, Esteban Del Valle, very kindly gave me permission to use it.

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