Jen Miller Releases Her New Guide to Jersey Shore on Monday

Jen Miller still speaks of the Jersey Shore with the excitement of a newcomer—even though she's considered an authority on the region as a travel destination.

Miller's new book—The Jersey Shore: Atlantic City to Cape May, a Great Destination—hits stores on Monday, June 6 and captures that mix of reverence and insider knowledge in a guide to six beach towns, including Ocean City. 

The book is an updated edition of a 2008 guidebook with more color photography, more information and a little more attitude, according to Miller.

Through her books and magazine articles, her Down the Shore With Jen blog and her @jerseyshorejen tweets, Miller has crafted a persona as "Jersey Shore Jen." The 30-year-old Collingswood resident says the creation of that image was "a complete accident," the product of moment of boredom in a shore house in Avalon while writing her first book. A single blog post started a brand that has worked for her ever since.

Miller's background fits the profile of many Jersey Shore visitors: grew up in a Philadelphia suburb (Bellmawr, NJ), spent summers at Avalon Campground in Cape May Court House and returns to the Jersey Shore at every opportunity she can.

She graduated from Haddonfield Memorial High School, the University of Tampa (BA, English) and Rutgers University-Camden (MA, English), before working in public relations for the University of Pennsylvania Hospital and as an editor at SJ Magazine. She's been a full-time freelance writer since 2004.

Miller relates the story of a friend who was devastated by the closing of Henny's, a landmark restaurant in Stone Harbor, even though she hadn't eaten there in years.

"It's a memory from your childhood that you can't revisit," Miller said. "And you can't take your kids there." 

While restaurants, attractions and fads change constantly, Miller says it's that sense of tradition that distinguishes the Jersey Shore from every resort destination.

In her chapter on Ocean City, Miller provides a history of the carousel at Gillian's Wonderland Pier, built in 1926, and describes the quest to grab the golden ring from the carousel's ring arm—a memory shared by generations of boardwalk visitors.

The chapter includes segments on Ocean City history, the Sindia, Grace Kelly, Surfers Supplies, the Ocean City Music Pier, Asbury Avenue shopping and a first-person account of making saltwater taffy at Shriver's. It also includes a guide to places to stay and to eat on the island.

If readers are familiar with Ocean City, they may find chapters on Atlantic City, Sea Isle City, Avalon and Stone Harbor, the Wildwoods and Cape May of as much interest.

The book, published by The Countryman Press, will be available for $19.95 on Tuesday in book stores, including Sun Rose Words and Music and . It is currently available on Amazon.com. For information on bulk orders of signed copies ($20, including shipping), contact Miller at jenmiller27@gmail.com.

Miller's schedule of book events includes:

• Wednesday, June 8: Lucy's for Lucy! This is a fundraiser/book launch party at Lucy's Hat Shop in Philadelphia from 5 to 8 p.m. The event is free, but for $25, you'll get a signed book and a free drink, all proceeds going to Lucy. 
• Saturday, June 18: A tentative signing at the Rusty Nail in Cape May. Call ahead to confirm.
• Wednesday, June 22: Speaking at a Haddonfield Library event at 7 p.m. Check ahead for exact location and details. 
• Saturday, June 25: Happy Hour Book Signing at the Shamrock in Wildwood from 5 to 8 p.m. 
• Saturday, Oct. 1: Collingswood Book Festival. Miller will be the featured author this year. Check ahead for details. 
• Miller says she is also working on scheduling a guest-hosting spot at Pop Shop Quizzo for a Monday in June.