• About

Renee Writes Now!

~ Observations from a Writer-in-Residence

Renee Writes Now!

Tag Archives: women

Um, a sexy lobster?

29 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

author, costumes, Humor, Life, women

sexy
Is it my imagination or are Halloween costumes getting shorter, tighter and riskier? Manufacturers are designing a wider variety of costumes for women that SHOW more skin than they COVER. When did bustiers, fishnet stockings and miniskirts became the norm?
In college I went to a costume party dressed as a bag of jelly beans (multi-colored balloons in a clear plastic dry cleaning bag tied at my neck.) Definitely NOT sexy.
Fashion experts say the shift toward skimpy Halloween costumes took off when American women began embracing a barely-there fashion aesthetic. Enter the era of low-rise jeans, miniskirts, and bandage dresses. Unfortunately, when Britney Spears debuted her single “Baby One More Time” in 1999, she also inspired a new Halloween costume: the sexy schoolgirl. (Sister Mary Margaret was appalled.)
Scanning the racks at the Halloween store, recently, I spotted a “sexy nurse, sexy police woman” and “sexy firefighter.” However, nothing surprised me more than “Sexy Lobster.” And I LOVE lobster. Just not that one.
I read that Google searches for “sexy Halloween costumes” have been declining. That’s good news. (Maybe Daenerys from Game of Thrones, had something to do with it?)

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers.

Attending a writers’ conference

15 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

author, business, networking, publishers, women, writing

FWA Conference

Writing is a solitary activity — publishing is not. That means people like me need to network and meet other writers and publishers who share the same enthusiasm for writing as I do.

Regardless of how many novels we sell, there is always something to learn at a writers’ conference. The publishing industry is constantly changing and it’s hard for authors to keep up. Honing our craft is about more than learning proper punctuation, or when to use upper case or italics from the Chicago Manual of Style. These conferences offer the sort of nuts-and-bolts information that can improve our writing and increase our efficiency in the business side of the craft.

Sure, they’re exhausting (and usually involve cold coffee and a chicken dinner.) But I recommend that every aspiring writer attend at least one. Wherever you are on the road to success, you will meet others who have been there and who are ready to help you.

 

Renee Garrison is the award-winning author of The Anchor Clankers.

Barbara’s birthday

23 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by ReneeWritesNow! in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Birthday, Family, Girlfriends, women

Today is Barbara Rosen’s birthday.

I often send cartons of her favorite Oreo cookies (a minor addiction in the cosmic scale of abuses.)

It’s hard to believe we met in1990 when I hired her to photograph the New York collections. As Fashion Editor of The Tampa Tribune, I felt more like “Ellie Mae Clampett” in Manhattan. Not to worry – Barbara showed me the best places to eat, to shop and how to navigate the subway system. She was a lifesaver both in front of the camera and behind it.

Few friendships are able to move from the office or the classroom, to hospital rooms and funerals. This one made those transitions easily.

After my mother died, the first (and most beautiful) mass card I received came from my Jewish friend, Barbara. Years later, I drove to Deerfield Beach, Florida when her own mother passed away. Together we cleaned out a condo and got it ready to sell, placing memories in trash bags and boxes, between glasses of wine.

 Impossibly, Barbara was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1997 but remained undaunted. She didn’t like to discuss it and – a couple of wigs later – she continued to shoot photographs, to travel and to dote on her darling daughter, Shane.

I found my way to their New York apartment on September 11, 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center. Even terrorists, it seems, couldn’t diminish the benefits of laughter and a heart-felt hug.

I’ve learned the reason for this: In The Tending Instinct, author Shelley E. Taylor writes that this need for community with other women is biological; it is part of our DNA. Taylor’s book reveals a variety of studies covering cultural factors, decades of research, anecdotal references – even ties to the girlfriend concept in the animal kingdom. A stream of fascinating facts help define why women are more collaborative, less competitive and, above all, why we need our girlfriends. Consider these findings:

Longevity – Women who marry have the same life expectancy as those who don’t. However, women with strong female social ties (girlfriends) live longer than those without them.

Stress – Women don’t have the same, classic ‘fight or flight’ response to stress that men do. According to the research presented, women under stress have the need to ‘tend and befriend.’ We want to tend to our young and be with our friends. Time with our friends actually reducesour stress levels

More Stress – A study conducted by the UCLA School of Medicine found that when we’re with our girlfriends, our bodies emit the “feel good” hormone oxytocin, helping us reduce everyday stress. By prioritizing our female friendships and spending time with these friends, we take advantage of a very simple, natural way to reduce our stress.

Though we always have lived in different states, Barbara was just a phone call away to help me through tough situations like hurricanes, financial struggles and relationship changes.

What did we talk about? Who cares?

It was her presence at the other end of the line that mattered: reliable, loving, listening and caring. What would I do without her?

As women, we sometimes need to be reminded what being a girlfriend means. Too often it takes an illness or loss to hit us with the realization that good things – and good people – don‘t last forever…Once in a while we simply need to take the time to think about our friends, stop and thank them for all that they add to our lives.

Barbara lost her battle with cancer last January and today will be difficult for many of us. Still, I intend to celebrate her birthday and to honor the woman who gave so much of herself to so many friends……….perhaps with a bag of Oreos?

 

 
 

 

The Author

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 657 other followers

The Award-Winning Book

Recent Posts

  • Having Books at Home
  • Renee Interviews Author Kathryn Knight
  • Party Manners
  • Just like Carrie Bradshaw
  • Something in the air

Archives

  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • February 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • May 2015
  • March 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012

Favorite Things

aging Architecture artistic pieces arts author Awards book Book Expo. author books Build business children Christmas clothing Community Construction Conversation creativity Design Dreams dress code entertainment environment Family fashion Florida Florida architecture food Gardens Health history Holiday Home Homeowner Homes Houses Housewarming Humor inspiration kitchen Life lifestyle literature love Memorial Day Memories mood Mother Mother's Day motherhood Moving nature New Home New York Fashion Week Preservation publishers read real-estate relationships Religion Residence school Sept. 11 Shelter style Support teenagers Thanksgiving transportation travel vacation wardrobe wedding Writer writing

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Categories

  • Dementia
  • Teens Read
  • Uncategorized

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Renee Writes Now!
    • Join 657 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Renee Writes Now!
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...