October Book of the Month - After a Fashion (A Class of Their Own #1) by Jen Turano

[Jen]

Hey Ladies - Jen here. Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments - and do feel free to ask me anything. As for Harriet's shop - no, that doesn't exactly get resolved in this book - but...if she returns from England, which I'm not saying for certain she does in this series...well, she will open a shop, but it will be geared for women of limited financial means - Oliver was just being a bit of a clueless gentleman when he decided she should cater to the elite. And, Mrs. Hart - not many people know this but she was named for a delightful young lady by the name of Abbi Hart - one of the first people to review my very first book, and...she was very kind in that review. I simply had to name a character after her - although, clearly my character had to go by the name of Abigail, not Abbi. My favorite funny scene was while they were having dinner at Delmonico's - although I do have to admit that it's been a really long time since I read "After a Fashion" so...I'm not positive about that. I'll check in again to see if anyone has any other questions, and you can always send me questions through jen@jenturano.com or my Jen Turano author FB page. Have a great night!

[Amy Mc]

I loved this book! I actually laughed out loud a few times while reading. I have to say, this book reminded me of Pretty Woman starring Richard Gere & Julia Roberts. Especially when Mr. Addleshaw took Harriet shopping, and then at the end when he showed up at her place. This was an enjoyable read!

[Loraine]

Jen - what stimulated the idea for the plot in this book?

[Jen]

Loraine asked what stimulated the idea for the plot -

The entire series was inspired by some of my favorite musicals - "My Fair Lady," "The Sound of Music," and "Phantom of the Opera." Curiously enough, once I got writing, I strayed quite a bit from my original proposal - with "After a Fashion" taking on more of a "Pretty Woman" feel than "My Fair Lady." And, the third and final book in this series, "Playing the Part," in no way resembles "Phantom" now. Writing is a peculiar business - I just never know what's going to show up on a page on any given day:)

[Loraine]

Thanks for sharing Jen. Now that I know the idea behind this one, I definitely can see a bit of "My Fair Lady" in it! I love musicals too and can watch them over and over. I am sure the characters take over the story as it develops LOL:) and you find yourself heading in a direction that you never suspected.

Jen who was your favorite character in this book (if you had one as I am sure you love them all) and why? Group who was your favorite character and why?

[Sherri]

While I was ready for a light read, I find myself conflicted on the humor. I thought when Oliver and Harriet met it was entertaining but then the Delmonico's scene was a little over the top. I think I'm working too hard to keep this a light read.

[Dana]

Loraine wrote: "Hope Jen will be checking in with us soon. I'll start the discussion off with a question. If you have any you would like to post for discussion, feel free to jump in.

What was your favorite laugh ..."

One of my favorite laugh out louds as I could totally picture it was when Harriet put the supposed fiance over her shoulder and threw her in the carriage. The dog create alot of crazy scenes as well!

[Dana]

Loraine wrote: "What were your thoughts on Harriet's idea of repurposing gowns for those with less money than the upper class?"

I thought it was so cool, she truly had a servants heart and thought of others, always thought of others and was a model of forgiveness in others...

[Staci, Book Awards Specialist]

Harriet was my favorite character. Lots of fun!

Interesting to hear what inspired this series and how the story took a life of its own! However, the novel was created, I sure did enjoy the end result!!

[Loraine]

Staci wrote: "Harriet was my favorite character. Lots of fun!

Interesting to hear what inspired this series and how the story took a life of its own! However, the novel was created, I sure did enjoy the end res..."

I agree the end result was wonderful! Harriet was my favorite character as well. I like her feisty, funny character and the fact that she was very comfortable in her own skin.

[Jen]

Loraine asked: "Who was your favorite character?"

That's a little tricky - but...my favorite character would have to be Miss Millie Longfellow in this series. She was just a blast to write, and I enjoyed giving her unusual words to use in sentences. My favorite non-human character would have to be Buford - I originally wrote almost an entire chapter with Harriet having a conversation with him, until I realized that I'd obviously lost my mind and readers wanted to read about Harriet and Oliver - not Harriet and the...dog:)

[Loraine]

Jen - I loved Buford too. He was such a lovable rascal of a dog! Maybe he should have his own book!!

[♥ Kierra ♥]

I loved Buford with his fiascos. I liked the scene at Delmonico's. I liked Millie with her vocabulary.

I didn't see any one mention this but forgive if I missed it.

Did any one catch the color purple being a theme?

When I first looked at the cover, I asked, "Why are her eyes purple?" Then the big reveal of her being of royal standing (purple signifying royalty blew me away). This power struggle of upper and lower class with Harriet and her disdain for the upper class. I thought it was creative how the author tied that together.

[Loraine]

Kierra wrote: "I loved Buford with his fiascos. I liked the scene at Delmonico's. I liked Millie with her vocabulary.

I didn't see any one mention this but forgive if I missed it.

Did any one catch the color pu..."

Good catch Kierra. That one slipped right by me.

[Loraine]

How do you think Oliver and/or Harriet changed the most over the course of the book?

[Loraine]

Jen - What was the most difficult thing for you in writing this book?

[Chantel]

Loraine wrote:"Group who was your favorite character and why? "

Wow, this is hard... I felt all of the characters fit so well together.



Harriet, I just loved her throughout the whole story. She was witty and sassy. Her comebacks to Oliver were great. But I really loved her atttitude. Even though she had kind of a messed up childhood growing up (because of a certian family member who shall remain nameless...for now.) Harriet still kept a great disposition about life, and continued to believe that God had good things in store.

[♥ Kierra ♥]

I forgot to add that she was also wearing a purple dress at the ball.

I think they both changed in their perspective of each others lives. Oliver had never seen any one live in the conditions that Harriet lived. Harriet had only seen snobbish upper class people. Their relationship and growth was risk to take in order to see that their expectations of each other weren't true.

[Chantel]

Kierra wrote: "I loved Buford with his fiascos. I liked the scene at Delmonico's. I liked Millie with her vocabulary.

I didn't see any one mention this but forgive if I missed it.

Did any one catch the color pu..."

Wow! I didn't even connect the dots on that one. I noticed the use of purple, but I get it until now. Nice Kierra!!

[Loraine]

What was your favorite quote from this book if you had one?

One of mine was:

"You should live your life in a manner that makes you happy, or more importantly, a manner in which you believe will please God."

[Jen]

Loraine asked - "What was the most difficult part of writing this book."

The hardest part of writing this book had nothing to do with the whole creative business. I ended up with a horrible case of pneumonia, something I've never had before, and I ended up with it because I was misdiagnosed at the hospital. If you can believe it, I went in there with a temp of over 103 and they sent me home, telling me I had a common cold. Well, needless to say, they were wrong, but I was in the midst of doing a content edit of "After a Fashion" (which is what an author does after we turn in our story - editors give it a gander and send us suggestions - which pretty much means we end up rewriting the book.) Add in the fact that my schedule for "In Good Company" had been moved up - and, it wasn't pretty. But, drugs are a marvelous invention. I got better, and was finally able to string a sentence together, and that allowed me to finish up the book.

Hope all of you have a great weekend!
~ Jen ~

[Loraine]

Jen wrote: "Loraine asked - "What was the most difficult part of writing this book."

The hardest part of writing this book had nothing to do with the whole creative business. I ended up with a horrible case ..."

Goodness that wasn't a pleasant memory from this book. Must have been hard to concentrate when you were feeling awful and trying to edit content!! We're so glad you got well and that your book turned out just wonderful!

[Sally]

I know I'm late chiming in here but I wanted to add that I, too, really enjoyed this book. (And the next one. I couldn't stop.) Delightful use of humor and wonderful characters. Even secondary characters who don't seem like they will show up in a sequel were very rich. A true joy to read!

[Loraine]

For those of you who have not read book 2, , which character do you definitely hope will reappear and why?

[Teri-K]

I like Millie, because she's fun and I like a character who knows she's not perfect and is OK with that. I also really liked Mrs. Hart, I think she was my actual favorite. I'd love to learn a little more about her past. :)

[Loraine]

Thanks everyone, especially Jen Turano, for joining in a great discussion of this book. I enjoyed all of your comments.