Some of these photographed better at night, and some were surprisingly interesting during the day when the window was reflecting the street. The store is Luly Yang.
"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."
-Toni Morrison
Jane, Unlimited is my fourth release, a kaleidoscopic novel about grief, adventure, storytelling, and finding yourself in a world of seemingly infinite choices. It's also about umbrellas and umbrella-making :o). It comes out on September 19, 2017. I hope to have more stuff up about it soon, including reviews and foreign release info! For now --
Jane has lived an ordinary life, raised by her aunt Magnolia—an adjunct professor and deep sea photographer. Jane counted on Magnolia to make the world feel expansive and to turn life into an adventure. But Aunt Magnolia was lost a few months ago in Antarctica on one of her expeditions. Now, with no direction, a year out of high school, and obsessed with making umbrellas that look like her own dreams (but mostly just mourning her aunt), she is easily swept away by Kiran Thrash—a glamorous, capricious acquaintan…
So, I went to a lovely performance of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake by the Russian National Ballet Theatre this weekend. (In case you don't know the story: the Evil Dude Rotbart has turned a bunch of Lovely Girls into swans. One night Prince Siegfried goes hunting with his buddies, sees the swans, falls for the Most Beautiful Swan, and professes his undying love. His promise of eternal love breaks Evil Dude Rotbart's spell and the Most Beautiful Swan and her friends are free to be girls again. But shortly thereafter in a moment of male forgetfulness Prince Siegfried swears his love to Random Girl [who, in his defense, does look an awful lot like the Most Beautiful Swan]. M.B. Swan's heart is broken and Evil Dude Rotbart's spell descends back upon her. Then the Prince realizes what he's done! He fights Evil Dude Rotbart! He wins, killing E.D. Rotbart and freeing M.B. Swan forever! They all live happily ever after!)
Last year, while searching for appropriate teapot/flower fabric for my Mad Hatter costume, I stumbled across the book fabric shown in the skirt above. That's when I realized I wanted to be a library this year... I've been planning this costume for over a year :o).
I made most of this costume myself, including the skirt, top, and hat. The "QUIET PLEASE" sign on the top is cut out of felt. I glued it on while wearing the top and looking in the mirror (bugging Kevin every three minutes to ask if any of my letters were backwards), because that was the only way to know how it would look while I was wearing it.
Same with the book spines that make up the torso. I found old, falling apart books no one wanted, removed the spines, and attached them to a bustier, with staples, thread, and fabric glue, while wearing the bustier... because the bustier was stretchy, and this was the only way to know exactly where and how things needed …