Allure + "Girl of My Dreams"

Jean Thompson, whose new short story collection, Throw Like a Girl, I publicized last summer, has an essay out in this month's issue of Allure entitled, "Girl of My Dreams." Noted,

"At its best, the Girl I Always Wanted to Be represents not a desperate yearning for aesthetic perfection but an acknowledgment of someone's life well-lived, the visible evidence of such a life. We can take stock of ourselves, resolve to dial up our capacity for risk and adventure and dial down our negativity. So wear those shoes (or that dress or that coat) that make you feel like a million bucks. Stand up straight. Smile like you mean it. Someone might be looking at you, making you the object of her secret envy."

As usual, Jean dissects the complexity of relationships between women with a surgeon's precision. Definitely pick up a copy!

P.S. Min Jin Lee, whose debut novel, Free Food for Millionaires, I will be publicizing again when it comes out in paperback in the spring, is interviewed today by The Wall Street Journal's blog called The Juggle, which has selected the book as its current book club pick. She discusses "Leaders, Good Girls and the Discomforts of Wealth," and judging by the comments, quite provocatively!

P.P.S Tayari Jones, whose most recent novel, The Untelling, I publicized, has a fantastic essay on "Symbolism and Cynicism: On Being a Writer During Black History Month," in The Believer that has people buzzing!