For a woman who is happy in her jeans and 90’s era flannel hoodie, I was surprised with this book to find myself writing about a character with a passion for clothing.
Characters—mine anyway—often spring into being with personalities and interests that hold firm despite efforts to shape them. I gave up trying with Tamsen Littlejohn, embraced that “girlie” aspect of her character, and soon saw how I could use clothing to show the stages of Tamsen’s growth—her rejection of the cage she feels caught in, her shedding of her old life, her attempts at “trying on” various aspects of frontier life, until we see her constructing a set of clothes unlike anything she’s ever imagined, for the sheer joy of creation.
Which, when it comes down to it, I can fully embrace and understand.
I hope you’ll grab a copy of The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn come April 15, take this metaphorical (and all too harrowingly practical) journey with Tamsen, and enjoy meeting a character who is very much unlike her creator when it comes to clothing.
 I have something special planned to post on Saturday, March 15.
So watch this spot!
Awww, you can be more than one sided–because you ARE a girly girl, in the feminine sense. You are lovely inside 'n out and cannot help it–you look pretty good in those dang jeans of yours, your blonde tresses are quite stunning–altho you sure lost 'em there for a while… Your voice is soft, your laughter is not raucous or rowdy–you just ARE feminine in a perfectly wonderful way to be. And that's my story and I'm stickin' to it and have known you many years now… Embrace all the different sides of being Lori! We do!
I love you Patti! What a lovely thing to say. XOXO
But I still hate pink and ruffles. 🙂
I grew up in trees and outside, so totally understand. But then again, I did love Barbies, makeup, etc. I'm glad you let Tamsen be who she WAS in this story–love the idea of the parallel w/the clothes and her life. I can picture you target shooting!
Barbies, oh my! I had one friend who liked to play with them and I would (I particularly liked the Ken doll that didn't have a head anymore, we made up stories about how that happened), but I don't think I ever owned a Barbie. I was into plush animals. I guess the only thing girly about me as a kid is that I was no good at sports that require a ball. Track and field was my thing.