Say Yes to the Dress?.The Reds go shopping!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Once, on an airplane from Boston to California, I watched five straight episodes of What Not To Wear. I only meant to watch ne, but I was mesmerized. Riveted. Fascinated. I mean---Stacy and...what’s his name?—were amazing. Brilliant. It was Cinderella come to life. It was relatable.  The women were thrilled (after they got over being embarrassed.).  It was such a happy ending, every time.

 There’s also my on the road staple (after CHOPPED): Say Yes To The Dress.  Do you watch that? And, of course, Project Runway.  I used to love paper dolls. I guess it’s the same-ish thing.

So! What fun to have our own little version on Jungle Red today. As Annette Dashofy—Agatha nominee Annette Dashofy!—takes us on her journey to say yes!  And she has a very critical question for you at the end.

The Quest for the Dress

         By Annette Dashofy

 First of all, thanks so much to Hank and the ladies of JRW for having me back. It’s always so much fun and a huge honor to hang out with you gals!

But then I’m faced with what to write. There are so many big issues out there today, but most depress the hell out of me. Or make me want to bash heads. Not good since I’m trying to stay out of jail and the psych ward. Some research, I’d rather avoid.

 So I’ve decided to share what’s become a real hot-button topic over on my Facebook page.

 What dress should I wear to the Agatha Awards Banquet?

By the way, congratulations, Hank! I’m still in shock to be nominated along side you, Margaret, Catriona, and Louise. I have to check the Malice Domestic page every other day or so just to make sure I haven’t hallucinated the whole thing.

Anyhow, last year, I already had a dress for the banquet long before the nominations were announced. The big question was what SHOES to wear with it. This year, I’m starting from scratch. Dress. Shoes. Accessories. All of it.

My quest started online.

And of course the thing with Facebook is once you look at one fancy dress on a store’s website, you receive hundreds of ads for similar dresses on your page. Cyber window shopping!

For a chuckle, I started posting a few of the ones I liked. Oh. My. My friends have very strong opinions about fashion. No black! No navy! You need bright colors! Looks like a mother-of-the-bride dress!

(Well, yeah. It is. They don’t label them Agatha Awards Banquet Dresses. Although I think they should.)

I was told I should wear red.

No, green. Definitely that blue one. No, hate the blue one.

  

It was so much fun! Like the fashionistas on the red carpet picking apart J-Lo’s latest haute couture.

Entertainment value aside, I couldn’t select any of the Nominees for Agatha Banquet Dress 2016 without first trying them on. With my good gal pal Jessi Pizzurro in tow, we headed to the mall to buy The Dress.

I started with three that met my criteria. No plunging necklines. Must have sleeves. Cocktail or tea length. Of those first three, one was a maybe. Two were NO FRIGGIN’ WAY. I handed those out to my able assistant who had wrangled several more. One was gown length. Another had a very low neckline. I told her, no. She said, “Try them on!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

This went on for close to two hours.

At some point, she brought me a navy blue number with a full skirt, lots of fabric and a very low neckline. I said, “No!” She said, “Try it on!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I tried it on. And I didn’t hate it. What I did hate was that my friend and able assistant was totally right. The dress didn’t look like much on the hanger, but it looked pretty darned cute on me!

Eventually we had it narrowed down to that one and two others. My head was spinning, so we hid them on a rack near the fitting room and went for a walk through the mall, just in case one of the other stores had something I liked better. They didn’t. But while walking, my subconscious kept fixating on that one dress that looked sort of okay on the hanger, but pretty cute on me.

Yes, that’s the one I bought.

This is it.

It’s darker than it shows up in the photo. You’ll have to wait for the Agathas to see it on me, though.

Which brings me to the next conundrum. Shoes! What do you think? Navy? Silver? Beige? And accessories? I’m thinking pearls, but I’m open to suggestions.

HANK:  Oh, black shoes. (My answer to everything, though. No matter what the question.)  And no necklace. Big earrings, instead.  But that's just me.  And I agree on one major thing: always try it on.  
So, fashionistas—what’s the shoe verdict?  And do you watch Project Runway? Say Yes to the Dress?  Why--or why not?


**********************************

Annette Dashofy is the USA Today best-selling author of the Zoe Chambers mystery series about a paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania’s tight-knit Vance Township. CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE, published by Henery Press, was a finalist for the Agatha Award for Best First Novel and for the David Award for Best Mystery of 2014. BRIDGES BURNED has been nominated for the Agatha for Best Contemporary Novel of 2015, and WITH A VENGEANCE, the fourth in the series, will be available this May. 

www.annettedashofy.com

https://www.facebook.com/annette.dashofy/

Annette's Agatha nominee is BRIDGES BURNED---but her new book is:

With a Vengeance

Paramedic Zoe Chambers and the rest of rural Monongahela County’s EMS and fire personnel are used to wading into the middle of trouble to rescue the sick and the injured. But when someone with an ax to grind seeks retribution by staging accident scenes and gunning down the first responders, Zoe finds herself forced to not only treat her own brethren of the front lines, but also, in her role as deputy coroner, seek out whoever is killing her friends.

 At the same time, Vance Township Police Chief Pete Adams races to track down a gun, a mysterious all-terrain vehicle, and the sniper before Zoe goes back on duty, placing herself—and Pete—firmly in the gunman’s crosshairs.

Trashy Reality Show Addicts, Unite! a guest post by Tammy Kaehler.

JULIA SPENCER FLEMING: We here at JRW like Tammy Kaehler. I gave an enthusiastic blurb for her first Kate Reilly racing mystery, DEAD MAN'S SWITCH, and Hank called the second book in the series, BREAKING POINTS, "A high-octane mystery that'll keep you turning pages at top speed." 

So we thought we'd check in on Tammy, since BREAKING POINTS was launched this week. Was she touring throughout her native California? Behind the wheel, reporting for the Sports Car Club of America? Signing books until her hand cramped? (Yes.)

Turns out she was thinking about reality TV...




Confessing My Reality TV Addiction

Hello, my name is Tammy Kaehler, and I’m addicted to trashy reality television shows.

I hear you all chorusing a virtual response, thank you.

Truthfully, “addicted” might be a strong word (though isn’t denial the first sign of a problem?). I can go days at a time without watching them, it’s true (unlike books, which I can’t do without for even 24 hours, but that’s another post). But I’ll admit to a well-stocked DVR and to reality shows being my first choice when I allow myself unfettered (and unaccompanied) television time.

But I discovered there’s a good reason for my addiction fondness for them: social comparison theory, in which social psychologist Leon Festinger posited that we compare ourselves to others to evaluate our personal and social self-worth.

That seems like a blinding case of the obvious, right? (No offense to Leon.)

Doing a little digging around (thank you, Wikipedia), I learned that upward social comparison can provide inspiration to improve oneself—unless we’re comparing ourselves to the relentless depiction of the ideal in the media and feeling unequal (not as pretty as Diane Kruger, not as thin as Angelina Jolie, not as anything as Charlize Theron). In that case, the comparison can be damaging to one’s self-esteem.

Downward social comparison, when we look at those who are worse off, can be similarly positive and negative. While active downward comparison can be bad, if we’re actively denigrating others, passive downward comparison can make us feel superior or better about ourselves.

Which brings me back to reality television. Because after enough hours of this kind of intelligence-challenged television programming, I rationalized figured out why I enjoy these shows so much. 

 

First of all, after long days of managing people and projects at my day job, then writing, blogging, tweeting, facebooking, pinteresting, and answering e-mail at home for my author job … sometimes my brain needs a break. I need an absolute lack of thought, plot, and written words. I crave entertainment with zero redeeming value. (You gotta have highs and lows, am I right?)

Second, I watch some (not all) reality shows because I’m entertained by the people and stunned by what they do that I won’t (spend $20,000 on a wedding dress?). I never expect people to be as bitchy, controlling, over-the-top, or downright mean as they are on these shows—but I need to be able to write about all kinds of people, not just the people I meet, know, and expect. Tah-dah! That makes watching reality television into research!

 

But mostly, I watch them to be comforted by the knowledge that I’m nowhere near as terrible, hypocritical, or deluded as they are. Downward social comparison at work.

And if you scoff or look down your nose at me … realize what I’m doing for you: I’m giving you your own opportunity for downward social comparison! You can feel smug and validated that at least you’re not like that poor little author out there in Southern California who has to turn to “Say Yes to the Dress” or “Dance Moms” for validation.

But it’s cool. I own it. I love those shows, as well as “The Millionaire Matchmaker” and “What Not to Wear”—though I draw the line at one episode of “Toddlers and Tiaras” a month. 

 

So now that I’ve bared all, do you have your own true confessions? Guilty pleasures? (Is there a real psychologist out there to tell me I got social comparison theory all wrong?) I've got a copy of my brand-new Kate Reilly racing mystery, BREAKING POINTS, for one of you!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some dresses to go say yes to….

 When she's not "saying yes to the dress," you can find Tammy at her website and at three different blogs: From the Pits, Two for the Road and the Poisoned Pen Press. You can friend her on Facebook, catch her reviews at Goodreads and follow her on Twitter as @tkaehler.