Reader Questions Answered

This week we have another installment of Reader Questions Answered. We discuss blazers (and you'll see what happened to my favorite one!), the etiquette of receiving an unwanted gift, cultivating authentic friendships, makeup faux pas, how I compose my video music and the 90-Day Novel.

If you are unable to see the video above, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur.

For more information on Alan Watt's 90-Day Novel, click here, or visit www.lawriterslab.com

Talking Shop

Last week my literary agent, Erica Silverman, was in town and I got to meet her for the first time in person! I had dinner with her and Robert Gottlieb, the chairman of Trident Media Group, at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. It was such a lovely evening. Here's a picture of the three of us:



I hope you have a lovely week. See you soon!

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The Daily Connoisseur is constantly evolving and many of you have noticed that the videos are playing a starring role in the content of the blog. This is completely intentional. I love doing the videos and I hope you love to watch them! It's a great creative outlet for me (I did start out my career in Theatre after all!) and it is a fun way to communicate with you.

Even though I only post once a week, I put a lot of effort and energy into this blog. It is not just finding the time to shoot the videos, I also edit them, and for the most part I compose the music in them (on my MacBookPro in Garage Band, for those wondering). A lot of thought goes into each and every detail.

With regard to writing, I write every day— when my children nap during the day or at night when they are asleep (it varies). What am I writing? My future books! Writing books has always been my dream and what an amazing thing that I am finally able to realize this dream. I never take a break from writing, it is done every single day, even if it is only for 10 minutes. My writing mentor, Al Watt, taught me to write every day, even Sunday, and that's what I've done ever since.

Does this mean I won't have essays on the Daily Connoisseur? Not at all. This blog will continue to evolve as I do. Who knows what's in store for us...

Right now is the most exciting time of my life. I am thoroughly enjoying being a mother. My children are my priority right now. I'm a stay at home mom, with them every day, doing the best job in the world I can do and loving every moment (even the hard ones). I can't even believe that my youngest will be 5 months old in a few days time. It is shocking me how fast time is flying.

Also with the release of Lessons from Madame Chic right around the corner a lot of other exciting things are happening. I'm looking forward to promoting my book and starting this new chapter in my career. Right now it's all about finding a delightful balance and rhythm to life and the way it's all evolving now feels magnificent.

I am planning many exciting companion videos for Lessons from Madame Chic that will air in about a month's time and will address many of your requests with them (can we say 10 Item Wardrobe??).

So I will continue to work on the blog, write my books and enjoy my family and I want to thank all of you for your support along the way.

A note on emails
I love to hear from readers and want to thank everyone who has reached out to me in the past. I used to be able to respond to each query but now due to the high volume of emails I'm receiving I'm not always able to respond. The best way to contact me (and get a response!) is via Twitter or Facebook.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend... Monday's post and video is about a subject very near to my heart. See you then!

P.S.
For all of you writers out there, my writing mentor, Alan Watt, has published books from his 90-Day Novel series. His teachings have been instrumental in writing my own books.

The 90-Day Novel: Unlock the Story Within

and

The 90-Day Rewrite: The Process of Revision

Both are amazing books that help you get the words on the page. Enjoy!

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I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! This week I am very happy to share with you my exciting news...

Because of the success of Lessons from Madame Chic, many exciting things have happened in the last few weeks. I have taken on a wonderful agent, Erica Silverman of Trident Media Group, and last week we accepted an offer from Simon & Schuster to publish Lessons from Madame Chic!

Having gone from self publishing to being aligned with a prestigious publishing house such as Simon & Schuster is a great honor for me and I am really thrilled about the prospect.

The deal was officially announced in Publisher's Weekly today. To see the press release, click here.

So what does this mean for the book? Here are the particulars:

- Lessons from Madame Chic will go off sale and not be available to purchase from now until it is re-released in the early fall. (We are hoping for October or November, 2012. As soon as I have a date I will let you know.)

- It will be newly edited and released in a beautiful gift worthy hardcover as well as be available in eBook format.

- And lastly it will be available not only online, but in bookstores and gift shops across the United States, Canada, the UK and hopefully many more countries. (Thank you for all of your patience for those of you who have written to me requesting it in bookstores... the day will be here soon!)

If you are unable to see the above embedded video where I make the announcement, click here, look in the sidebar of this blog or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Thank you again to all of you for your support as I could not have accomplished this without you!

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This is both a personal and professional anecdote today, but it is meant to inspire you to never give up on your dreams and to never let someone else claim your power.

Ever since I was a child I always dreamed of being a writer. It was my first interest. I got sidetracked along the way with dalliances in theatre and film (which were actually quite enjoyable) but ultimately I knew I wanted to write books one day.

So when I decided to get serious about it and took a writing class in my late twenties, I fell in love with writing. It felt natural, it felt fulfilling and it felt like something I was meant to do. The creative process was so magical. I wrote two books (Lessons from Madame Chic and my mystery that will be out later this fall) and it was time to share them with the world. Only thing was, I needed representation. I needed an agent. I needed a publisher.

So I started to submit Lessons from Madame Chic to literary agents. I submitted to a lot of literary agents. Many of them showed interest and even strung me along for quite some time, asking to read the proposal, wanting more chapters, etc. But ultimately they all rejected the book for one reason or another. Most of them said they didn’t think I would have an audience for the book. That it had been done before.

In my heart I knew this wasn’t true, but the rejection still hurt. I heard that this was typical. That in this day it is very hard to get representation unless you are a celebrity or a reality TV star. Each rejection felt like a slight punch in the belly and I went through a momentary dark phase where I thought that perhaps my dreams had come to an end.

Then I realized I was placing my power in the hands of other people.

Why should I let other people determine my fate in becoming a published author? This was my life after all! I decided to take control.

I self published my first book, Lessons from Madame Chic: The Top 20 Things I Learned While Living in Paris, in the fall of 2011. Since being published, the book has been featured on CNN, BBC, 35 newspapers across North America and has received so much support from the readers that identify with it. It has remained on the Amazon bestseller lists in three categories in both America and the UK since its debut and hasn’t budged yet.

The book’s success has taken me by surprise. I think a large part of me believed those agents who rejected me. I wasn’t sure anyone would actually read it! I learned a lot from self publishing and I will definitely do things differently next time. The book is not perfect and the first edition contains errors that got past four of us editors- which in this world of airbrush and polish could be viewed as an interesting study. Alas, these are the perils of writing a book as a sleep deprived mother of a newborn baby! (As a side note, these errors are currently being fixed. The paperback will go off sale shortly to enable this, and then the kindle. And yes, I will hire a professional editor for all future books.)

But most readers are able to look past the imperfections and embrace the true heart of what the book longs to convey- that a life lived passionately is all that matters. That being chic isn’t only about style and the tangible aspects of living, but the intangible as well. That it doesn’t matter what you do, but how you do it.

If you are ever faced with rejection in your life (whether romantic, professional or creative) it’s OK to feel that initial bruise. Go ahead, you can even cry (I did!) But never let anyone else hold the power to your life. If you believe you can do something, then you can do it. And if you have drive, a positive attitude and come from a place of love, you will succeed.

I would love to know… what is your experience with rejection? And how has it shaped you?

**Update: Lessons from Madame Chic has been acquired by Simon & Schuster and will be re-released in the Fall of 2012!

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This special Thursday post brings a fun announcement. An article I wrote for AnyTrip.com On the Romance of Paris is featured this week on their blog. AnyTrip is a travel booking website that allows you to book a cheap hotel in Paris with no booking fees. To read the article I wrote as part of their Romance Week, click here.

Also AnyTrip is giving away a trip for two to Paris (can you imagine?) to enter their contest, click here. Bonne chance!

And finally, this week's video shows you some of my favorite luxurious bath and shower products- all of which I purchased from either the drug store, the beauty supply store or specialty bath stores. If you are unable to see the above embedded video, you can click here, look in the sidebar of this blog, or visit my channel: www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

The Daily Connoisseur is now available on Amazon Kindle

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Dear Readers,

I have a very exciting charity announcement... If you love tennis and will be in the Los Angeles Area on November 14th, please check out the amazing charity event called: Ojakian Tennis Celebrity Pro-Am to End MS. This event will take place at the Jack Kramer Club and is geared at raising money for people affected by Multiple Sclerosis.

Ojakian Tennis will host celebrities, professional tennis players and tennis enthusiasts from around the country. This exciting event begins with junior and adult tennis clinics, followed by the official Celebrity Pro-Am tournament. The day wraps with a fantastic cocktail party, silent and live auctions, and an awards ceremony.

For tickets, please visit www.ojakiantennis.com.

~

**Technical Issues Update** The technical issues on The Daily Connoisseur seem to have been sorted out. Google Friend Connect was down for a period of over 24 hours and this seems to be the culprit. Thank you!

For those of you that are not a regular on Blogger, I have recently added a new feature whereby you can subscribe via email and receive new posts from The Daily Connoisseur in your email inbox. Simply enter your email address in the space provided (see top right) and then confirm your subscription by checking your email and clicking on the provided link.

**Book Update**

I have finished the second draft of my mystery novel today **celebrations!!** And will commence with the third draft, final changes and finishing touches tomorrow.

And finally, thank you so much for joining me on this journey. I so greatly appreciate your reading, following, commenting and subscribing on The Daily Connoisseur... you keep me inspired.

Bisous,

Jennifer xx

Duchess of Death: The Unauthorized Biography of Agatha Christie by Richard Hack is a moving, highly readable portrait of one of my favorite authors. I have grown up reading Agatha Christie's books- I am proud to say I have read every single one of her mysteries and almost all of her short stories. For being such an avid fan it is surprising that I knew so little about the author's personal life.

Hack's Duchess of Death draws from over 5,000 unpublished letters, notes and documents. Hack weaves each of these resources into an enthralling biography. The prologue starts with the greatest mystery of Agatha Christie's own life- the period of time she mysteriously disappeared for 11 days in 1926. That incident has never been fully explained and was a topic left out of Christie's own autobiography. The incident was largely explained here, providing answers that I have yet to find anywhere else.

Christie's life had its share of hardships- from her first husband leaving her for another woman to living through the trying and life altering period of two world wars- but on the whole she lead a fruitful and abundant life with her closely knit family and her second husband, Sir Max Mallowan.

As a writer the part that fascinated me the most in the Duchess of Death was the beginning of Christie's writing career. She wrote The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot’s first mystery) for fun- to see if she would be able to fool her sister with the ‘whodunit’. She sent it off to publishers and received several rejection letters. Over a year after submitting Styles, she received a letter that changed her life. Someone was interested in publishing The Mysterious Affair at Styles- and thus, her writing career was born. The rest, as they say, is history. Agatha Christie is still credited as being the best selling author of all time.

I found myself strangely emotional as I finished this biography. Hack’s affection for Agatha Christie is abundant throughout the book. I found myself rooting for her from page one. And as I continue to reread her books and watch her specials on television I will remember and cherish the special life she led and her contribution to the world as a true artist.

Duchess of Death can be purchased from www.amazon.com

Image courtesy of: www.amazon.com

My faithful and trusty iBook that I've had for the last five and a half years breathed its last breath yesterday... and I must say I was a little sad to let it go! *But* I am now writing to you from my gorgeous, shiny and new 13 inch MacBook Pro. I am in love with this laptop already. The design is so sleek: backlit keys (!), gorgeous titanium looking frame made of recyclable materials(!)

The website says that it is 'thin and light... polished and refined' and I have to agree. This is the type of laptop that James Bond would have. It will probably take me months to navigate around all of the new technology but luckily I got Apple's One to One service where I have an entire year of personal tutorials from a member of Apple's genius bar. I'm looking forward to writing on my brand new friend for many years to come.

I would love to know what you write on...

After spending a very relaxing week in Portugal (Santa Barbara de Nexe to be exact), I now find myself in London enjoying the beautiful city- the not so beautiful weather- and the lovely people.

The weather was very agreeable in Portugal so I shouldn't complain too much... My days were spent swimming in the pool or laying on the beach and exploring small towns all throughout the Algarve- My nights spent dining with family and friends in the quaintest restaurants we could find.

The Portuguese are fabulous at doing seafood and the one of the restaurants that stood out the most for me, called O Alagoas, specialized in the most spectacular seafood kebabs. I had the monkfish and prawn combination... delightful.

So after spoiling myself with sunning, eating and doing virtually no work whatsoever, I now find myself in London where the culture and intrigue of the city has propelled me to get back to work on my book- which I shall (hasn't happened yet- but tomorrow... tomorrow).

I must also report that the light packing has really worked a treat. So far I haven't cursed myself for 'not bringing enough things' and I actually think I could have gotten away with packing less than I did! Who knew? At the end of my trip I will make a note of the items that I didn't use at all and store the information for later- in order to further my goal of becoming a connoisseur of packing!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and are enjoying your week...

Image by Thomas Wood

Over the next three months I am going to be undertaking a challenge- to finish the first draft of my novel. This isn't necessarily a New Year's Resolution... just something I've been wanting to do for at least 10 years. And the time has come.

So over the next three months my posts on The Daily Connoisseur will be less frequent (probably down to one a week). I want to thank you in advance for your understanding and I hope that you will stay with me on this journey!

Now on to the life changing stuff...

Over the Christmas break I read one of the best books I have ever encountered on the subject of procrastination entitled, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. This book, aptly described by Esquire as "A vital gem... a kick in the ass", is the ultimate handbook for anyone that has ever wanted undertake something- be it writing a novel, starting a business or a new exercise routine. The book strictly addresses resistance, perhaps better known to us as procrastination.

Pressfield, author of such bestsellers as: The Legend of Bagger Vance, Gates of Fire, Tides of war and Last of the Amazons put together The War of Art at just 165 pages- each page contains a major eye opener. The book is broken down in to three sections entitled:

Resistance: Defining the Enemy

Combating Resistance: Turning Pro

Beyond Resistance: Higher Realm

Pressfield describes resistance as a repelling force- one whose aim is to "shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work". With each section of the book, he defines it, he personifies it and he gives us the inspiration to combat it, warrior-style.

For all of us that have ever experienced resistance (and I don't know anyone who hasn't) this book is the ultimate guide that can help you live and realize your dream- no fear necessary. For the next three months I am going to be referring to it religiously... I know I'll need it!

The War of Art can be purchased at: www.amazon.com