Why I Write about Fashion!

In my Debut Novel, Coasters, my central character, Jennifer Marshall is an innovative textile designer.  I want to share with my readers why I chose to weave FASHION into my novel.

 

Write what you Know.   
As the old saying goes, write what you know.  I have worked in the fashion business for over 20 years, even though I never set out to be in that field.  When I was a kid I wanted to be a veterinarian, and when I was in college (Stanford) my degree was in clinical psychology.   But as fate would have it, from working in a retail store part time during the holidays, I ended up designing and manufacturing thousands of garments. 
 

I remember always thinking, “people have no idea all the steps and processes that go into the dress they see hanging in the store.”   There is a design, then a pattern and sample, then a presentation in the showroom, then an order, then fittings, fabric ordering, production sewing, packaging  and delivering.  Of course, all along the way,  things can go wrong and adjustments need to be made and it really takes a global village to make a dress. 

My favorite part though, has always been the FABRIC.  I feel like the fabric makes the design.  Whether it’s a luxurious solid silk, or a crazy print legging, or a beautiful floral pattern, the fabric defines the garment.  I remember working with an artist to design our prints for thousands of sun dresses and developing all the various patterns and colorways and print layouts.  

I wanted my character,  Jennifer Marshall, to be able to inspire and impact already established designers with innovation in textiles.   I wanted her creativity and collaboration with them, to elevate their designs to a new place. As designers, we always look to create something new and she was able to take the best of their work and put a fresh spin on it.  I gave her an intuitiveness for each design collaboration that would bond her with the designers who would later help to rescue her from the depths of her mind.





  Women love Fashion.   
Let’s face it, we all have more in our closets than we should.   There is something about stylish clothing that all women love.  We love the thrill of that twirl before the mirror and the pleasing feeling when a look is just right.  If I know I’m going to an event that will have a lot of women, I take even more care for perfect style, because I know women notice.   I know my fellow ladies will appreciate a spectacular outfit even more than a group of men.   The guys appreciate other things about us, but it’s probably not our clothes.  

I wanted my debut novel to be in the realm of Contemporary Women’s Fiction.  Ok, “ChickLit” for lack of a better term.   Yes, it’s definitely a romantic story, but when I looked at books in the “romance” category they mostly all have those “Fabio” covers, or naked male six packs.  Don’t get me wrong, I love male six packs, and I love the complete abandon of satisfying intimacy, but the story of Jennifer’s journey has so much more depth than that.  It’s a reflection of the complex lives we lead and how different people play a different role in our lives.   Weaving in an aspect of daily life, like fashion, just adds that layer of visualization of something new, something creative,  from a character you want to know.  
 
 

 
So few books about fashion. 
One of my favorite all time movies was The Devil Wears Prada. That glimpse of a high profile magazine editor setting the trends and a new assistant being absorbed into that frenzy was brilliant.  I initially put the fashion aspect in my novel because that is my life, but as I was finishing up, I went on the hunt for other similar books and found so few.  Other than Devil Wears Prada, Swans of Fifth Avenue, the Dressmaker, Lipstick Jungle,  and a few about famous designers, there are so few novels with fashion having a central role.  

 How can this be?  A detective writer can find thousands of murder mysteries but a fashionista has but a select few?  So this bolstered my confidence in bringing fashion creation into Coasters.  Some of the best compliments I’ve had on the book are about the fashion imagery and how people can picture the designs in their mind.  My favorite chapter (17) is the fashion show where Jennifer’s clients and designer friends fill a dark cathedral setting to showcase her work, and form a collective consciousness to bring her back to reality.  My ultimate goal is to see Coasters on the big screen and I can’t wait to see the fashion creations in my mind come to life. 

 So if you love fashion, like me, you might just love mermaids too.  Then you’ll love some of the dreams that Jennifer has in Coasters.

My Blog REVAMPED!

Welcome back to my Blog!  I have recently changed the title from Jacq on the Box to Jacq on BOOKS.   The old blog, was about politics and social unrest, but seriously there is too much of that stuff out there these days.   This new blog is going to be about fun things like BOOKS! (I only left 2 old posts on here that were not about politics)

I recently published my first novel Coasters, and I'm soooo happy with it and with the experience of being an author.  What I wasn't prepared for, was that being a successful author is not just about good writing, it's also about good marketing and staying connected with your readers and the book market.  Thus my return to the blogging world.  This gives me an opportunity to share with you some of my book insights, and my life as an author.

One pleasant surprise about writing, was it renewed my love of READING.   In today's social media world I had been spending all my free time SCROLLING through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Netflix, etc and not Reading.  So as I was about to release my book, I checked out a few free book downloads from Amazon and was taken away to new places in my mind.  I was reminded how reading is a beautiful escape from the stress of life and how words can transport you to new places in your imagination.  Audiobooks are my favorite book format as it allows me to "read" while driving or putting on make up, or relaxing and they don't require the dreaded "reading glasses".  (Yep, Coasters is available on Audiobook)

Some of my favorite books so far are below and at a later date I'll share some more insight on why I love these books.

I hope I can inspire you all to find your love of reading fiction again and unplug from reality and escape into new worlds. After you read Coasters, dive into one of these favorites.

Some Upcoming blog posts will be:
Why COASTERS - What's the Title all About
3 Reasons Why I write about FASHION
Inspiration for my next novel PERSONAL INJURY



Find COASTERS on Amazon

LINK to my Favorite Book right now

For the love of DOG.

Most of my blogs to date have been about politics, because they have me so fired up right now.  But I thought I would take a moment for a lighter subject,  the love of Dogs.

It’s no accident that DOG is GOD spelled backward.  A dog’s love is the closest thing to God’s love we will ever know.  It’s that pure, unconditional, all forgiving, all encompassing love.  They don’t care how we look or what kind of day we’ve had, they love us no matter what.  They are happy to see us, anytime.  No human is capable of that kind of love every day, every moment.

We were talking about how a dog is happy to see you weather you’ve been gone 5 minutes or 10 hours.  My friend Suzie said, they don’t know time, there only know HERE and NOT HERE.  And HERE, with me,  is GOOD and HAPPY. 

Rick says my dog knows time,  like the word “tomorrow”  and we often tell him,  “tomorrow, your dad is coming…..”.  I think he knows,  “tomorrow” means  SOMETHING is happening, and he’s ready to have it happen NOW, because as soon as we tell him,  “tomorrow….”  He follows me around with this question mark look in his eyes, like,  “is it time yet?”  

Sometimes I often wonder about people who don’t love dogs.  These people are not to be confused with some who may not have a dog because they know it’s not compatible with their lifestyle, but they wish they could.  People who don’t love dogs are fundamentally different from me.  For one, they must enjoy a neater home and a life of order and organization.  The price of that though, is that they have never experienced that pure joy of feeling all loved all the time.  I think this makes them to a degree,  not as happy, not as open minded.  

Now loving dogs is not all peaches and cream.  There are messes, or “accidents” as we call them.  There are vet bills, picky eaters, time management and travel issues.  But in the end all these are all infinitely easier than raising a child and the payback in doggie love is good. 

Having recently added a new Puppy to our household, Minnie, reminded me of how sweet and pure puppy love is and how grateful we are to have it at the end of a long day. 

Those thousand puppy kisses melt away all the stresses of the day and that blur of a wagging tail reminds us that pure bliss is obtainable in this lifetime. 

Now if you are one of those elite that not only loves dogs, but CATS too, you are truly special.  For you also understand the beauty of Languish, independence, solace, and ornery.  You know how to take pleasure from your own ideas and live life at your own pace. 

With all that is crazy and bad in the world we are grateful to share our home with our furry babies. We are grateful that they remind us every day, how to love and how to relax.  

Enjoy your fur babies too!

My Memories of 9/11 and My visit to Ground Zero

9/11 was a Tuesday morning, I remember it so clearly, like it was last week.  It was the start of NY Fashion Week.  Monday the night before was the BCBG fashion show.  I was working for BCBG at the time and was supposed to be in NYC for the fashion show. 

At the time I was in the middle of a divorce from my first husband.  On the Friday before,  he told me he had agreed to a shortened escrow on our sold house and was moving out of our house on Tuesday and my “stuff” would be left on the front lawn that day if I wanted it.  I canceled my trip to NY.  We  usually flew to NY on Saturdays for better rates.  Saturday Night, my boss Max Azria, called to say, ‘where are you?’  I told him I had canceled my trip.  He said, ‘you can take the red eye tonight and still be here tomorrow.’    I begged off and didn’t go.  Max and 27 of my co-workers were stuck in NY for a couple of weeks after 9/11 with the flights canceled. 

Tuesday morning, my mom called when she saw the news about the first plane,  she thought I was in NY.  I turned on the TV and saw the 2^nd plane hit and fear hit the pit of my stomach.   Nevertheless, I got up and went to the house to deal with my ex.  Everything had been disconnected there, so I spent the day moving and sorting our stuff and missed most of the news coverage, until later that night.  It seemed surreal.  I had heard my co-workers were ok, although trapped there.  Of course the press of our fashion show was non-existent which seemed ironic since we had seriously considered not doing a runway show that year due to tough economics.   I was grateful to have missed that trip.

I was running the private label division at the time and a few weeks later I had scheduled appointments in NY with Express and New York and Co.  Not many people were traveling yet due to fear and my willingness to go to NY and to keep working, got me record setting business with our customers in the couple of weeks I was in NY.  

On my second or third evening I was supposed to go visit a store and office of one of my customers.  It was downtown.  The cab driver drove me down and we got to a point that was barricaded and he said, I can’t take you any further, you’ll have to walk.    I wasn’t really sure where I was going and as I continued walking I entered the blocks surrounding ground zero.  I forgot my destination as I was mesmerized by the thickening layer of dust on every surface and the unusual smell.  Every window, and pole and scaffolding was covered with “missing” flyers where loved ones had posted in the slim hope that someone would find their family member.  The realization that all these people were gone felt like a building nausea in my stomach. 

Before I knew it I found myself standing in front of the makeshift fence staring into the guts of ground zero.  The magnitude of the devastation was overwhelming, the clang of the clean up crews non stop.  But the most overwhelming was the smell.  It’s hard to describe in words, but I will never forget it.  I had never smelled death before now but the air was thick with it.  It was an obnoxious blend of molten steel, fire, concrete, debris, dirt and decay.  I gagged and pulled my shirt over my nose and mouth.   I don’t know how long I stood there, as I could not pull off my eyes off the tangle of what was once a fantastic monument.  It wasn’t that long ago that I had spent a birthday dining and dancing at the Windows on the World on the top of the World Trade Center.   I imaged those people and the bustle of people I normally see in NY, now buried deep in the rubble forever.  My heart wept for them and their families.  If they would have let me,  I would have climbed over that fence and dug with bare hands to find even one.  I watched the men sift through the mess and felt honored to have witnessed their bravery and selfless giving at this time.

It’s hard to believe that 10 years has gone by from that day, I’ve experienced SO MUCH in that time as I look back.  Not long after that I left BCBG and went to work as VP of product development for a couple of years at Max Studio, then I met Rick and got engaged and married again.  I tried 2 big adventures in small business ownership with Pocket JJacks and Minx Fashion Shoppe.  I played a lot of poker and traveled with Lupe and the LIPS tour.  A couple of years ago I moved to Vegas and bounced around till I found a job to call home as Men’s Fashion Buyer.  My dad died last year and all my siblings are in major trouble. I’ve cherished my good friends and my husband, while struggling with some new friendships. In the last year, we bought a new house, a new car,  and a new puppy.  I hope that 10 years from now, I can say, Not much has changed in the last 10 years, just coasting.   

The smell of rain and desert dirt feels fresh and new.  To the families of 9/11, I wish tenderness for your past, courage for your present and hope for your future.