The Harmonious Unibrow, or the gritty reality behind the pretty words

SCENE:  Closeup of computer screen rapidly filling with rows of words as a pair of hands fly over the keyboard:

   
          It wasn’t until he heard the creak of a light step on the stairs to his room that he admitted to himself that he’d been waiting to hear it for days now.  That he’d lain awake for nights desperate for it, every one of his senses honed to razor alertness, hoping for it. Declined invitations, conducted a campaign of quiet seduction so unlike him it unnerved and distantly even amused him. Never had he wanted anything more, it seemed. Never had he been so uncertain about getting it.

Tom sat up in his bed, struck the flint to light the lamp next to his bed, and the tiny room glowed in the warm light. His hands shook, for God’s sake, even as he did it. His heart had set up a drumming in his chest.

He saw the light of her candle quiver against the wall first, and then the shadow of her, and then the woman herself. Her cloak was wrapped round her; beneath it, he saw light muslin.

Her hair was down, a sheet of silky darkness burnished by the dueling lights of her candle and his lamp.  He could scarcely breathe. When she saw his lit lamp, she lifted her own candle up with hands that trembled, and puffed it out. 

He couldn’t speak.

In silence, he watched her drop the cloak. Saw, in the shadows, the outline of her slim body through her dress, her long legs, slim waist. And in silence he watched as matter-of-factly she reached for her dress, and pulled it—Oh God—right over her head.

The site of her body completely bare to him all at once was an exquisite physical shock. He stopped breathing.

She began to fold the dress.

He remembered to breathe again. “For the love of God, Sylvie, leave the dress.”

She dropped the dress and laughed then, a soft, shaky little laugh. Lifted her hand to push back the long mass of hair, and he watched, mesmerized, the lift of her small perfect breast when her arm rose, then the waterfall sheen of the hair spilling behind her.

          OK, fairly steamy stuff, eh? We can assume that something passionate and sweaty is about to happen between two beautiful people, specifically Sylvie and Tom in WAYS TO BE WICKED (out in October.)
          Now....pan out from the computer screen to the author—aka, moi—who's feverishly typing these words while the Deadline Clock (think Doomsday Clock, only for authors) ticks the seconds inexorably away. Very likely I'm wearing my hair in one of my two favorite workaday styles, one of which I call The Radish—so named because the whole mass of my hair is scraped up into a ponytail, making my head look like a giant radish—the other of which I like to call the Cowardly Lion (or the Half-Radish) which involves just pulling the top half of hair up out of my eyes in an elastic, like the lion did when he was off to see the Wizard.
          If we're at the eleventh hour on the Deadline Clock, the finer points of grooming will have in general gone straight to hell, sacrificed in favor of spending as much time as possible writing. My eyebrows have probably begun to creep yearningly toward each other across the bridge of my nose in an attempt to form a single, harmonious unibrow, and other parts of me probably need exfoliating, trimming and shaving desperately. I'm probably wearing a red t-shirt (because most of my t-shirts are red, as are, at this point, my eyes) and my jeans are looser than they were a few weeks ago because I frequently forget to eat when I'm on deadline (don't weep for me: when it's over, I celebrate by eating with both hands, practically). And because it's chilly in the house I've absently reached for the nearest thing to put over the t-shirt, which is my lavender robe, so soft and thoroughly worn that if I accidentally drop it anywhere my cat immediately makes a nest in it. (Soft things and sunspots are like Kryptonite for cats—they must surrender. They instantly go all sleepy.) 
          In short, I am sexy as all get out. And the contrast between me and what's going on between Tom and Sylvie and in the story couldn't be more stark, and this always strikes me as pretty funny. Over at the Diva blog we've been talking about fashion this week, and it made me wonder: do we behave differently when we wear different clothes? Does dressing comfortably (some might say a little too comfortably) when I write free my imagination and intensify my focus? Or would my prose become more elegant if I wore a tiara and pantyhose? I once worked for a large company that made jeans, and the workaday attire was casual every single day, not just Friday...but we all worked CRAZY long, intense hours.  There was nothing remotely casual about that workplace.
          So what do you wear to work? Would you rather wear something else? Do you think dress codes make a difference? What's your favorite thing to wear when you're really dressing down?

***********************************************************************
P.S. I'M GIVING AWAY SIGNED COPY OF BATS! I'll also choose a random winner of from today's commenters—commenters who aren't related to me, that is. :) So don't be shy—pipe up!

And for those in the know: Jennifer Y. of Georgia found my Stealth Contest hidden here, and she won a signed copy of BATS last night, too! BOY, she was fast! Keep your eyes on my website home page for more Stealth Contests—I do a couple per  month, usually, and I love to give books away to the quick and sneaky among you. :)

Comments

[Jennifer Y.]

Great Blog and cover!

I don't currently have a job, but I would love to be able to dress comfortably anywhere I worked.

[steve]

my everyday attire at the office is: shorts and t-shirt. mostly Old Navy. the office is in the house in honolulu. hence the SUPER casual outfit.

[Haven Rich]

My work outfit, the pj's I mentioned over at Fog. I really cheat on the hair. It's my pony-undercurl style. You pull your hair up in a pony, except on the last wrap with the band (i.e. scrunchy) you only pull your hair half way...leaving it in a loop. Pull tight and there ya go. Not only keeps my hair out of my face but off of my back. I take chemo pills and often shed, worse than a cat lol, so I like this style as a way to not have flying non-attached hair on my back.

Can you tell I'm a hermit? I totally blame my illness, cause it can't be my fault.

Have a wonderful week.

[Bethany]

I'm glad you have a blog now. Pick me! I want to win BATS. :D I'm a receptionist for a law office so I have to dress up. I don't hate it but it's not really what I would choose to wear if i had a choice. It's boring. I used to have a mohawk! It's rough being an adult. Only kidding.

[Lareign]

Well, I work at a newspaper, albeit one where people frequently wear more casual wear than I guess you'd find at other papers. So yeah, I try to wear a nice shirt and a nice pair of jeans when I work during the week. But on weekends, things are a lot more casual, probably because there are less people there. I can usually get by with T-shirts and even sandals on weekends (this is Texas, after all). But I have this really nice, swishy white skirt I got with my friend Ben that I like to wear occasionally, if the zipper wasn't stuck on it. And stuck is it ever. It won't budge. So Ben is operating on it now. But I like it. And I'm needing to buy more formal clothes, since before too long I'll be interviewing (gack!) with other papers for a job after graduation. And I'm pretty sure jobs at those papers will entail slightly more formal stuff than what I wear to work now.

As far as hair goes, handbands are nice. Or my hair is short enough I can usually just let it fall, but not long enough for a ponytail. Everytime it gets close to being that long, I cut it because the length is driving me batty.

[KimW]

oooh, I want to win! Glad I wandered in this morning before I head off to the day job. We dress business casual at work. That means I usually wear nice pants with a blazer or blouse. Sometimes a skirt. I would rather wear jeans everyday or better yet, sweatpants if I could. My favorite thing to wear when I'm dressing down is my PJ's at home. The pretty pink ones are my favorite. haha!

[Teresa Henson]

Great blog and excerpt!

I don't work so I don't have to worry about that anymore! I do think a dresscode in a work place is a good idea, people that dress nice tend to feel nice...or something like that!

[Leslie]

Pretty blog! I loved BATS Julie, and I can't wait to read all of Ways tobe Wicked. If I flatter you enough will I win a book? :)

I work for a big parcel delivery company and wear a uniform to work every day. It does make me feel more professional and I like not having to decide what to wear every morning. I used to do that! My panty hose always had runs! When I dress down, it's in sweats and a HUGE t-shirt.

[Louis Bailey]

I'm retired now so I dress comfortably...if its hot...shorts and tee shirt....cooler...jeans and tee shirt.

[Julie Anne Long]

Hi, gang! Glad you like the blog! :) I was thinking I would post a longer blog like today's once a week or so (probably on a Wednesday), and natter on idly other times. LOL. We'll see how it goes! Feel free to comment at any old time, however. I *will* be adding some features and having some more contests, etc., but I'll keep you posted!

Haven, I know the pony undercurl do you mention. :) I frequently use that one to tame my hair just after I wash it, when it's at its largest and most wildly abandoned. (and I'm putting a hard copy of page proofs in the mail to you soon! :) [Haven has a very cool blog called Romantically Inclined...the link is in the margin over there to the right. -->]

Bethany—a mohawk! Boy, those require a lot of maintenance. :) Trust me, back in the day, I knew quite a few people with mohawks. One of my friends said she finally gave it up because it was too much trouble. LOL. She became downright conservative. Last I heard she was selling real estate, or something. There is happiness after mohawks. :)

Lareign—good luck on venturing out to other papers! I know that "in-between-hair-lengths" feeling you mention—where it's not long, it's not short, and it drives you BATTY.

Leslie—that's the thing with pantyhose and tights, isn't it? I have a friend whose sister works for a large company that manufactures such things, and she swears they can make indestructible ones, but they build in obsolescence (i.e., make it easy for us to run them!) on purpose so we'll have to keep buying them. :) Something tells me indestructible pantyhose would be none too sexy, however....:)

Teresa...I thought about that...the "if you dress nice, you feel nice." LOL. I suppose that's true. Made me think of office Christmas parties, though. LOL. Oh man, you can dress people up, but if you get a little liquor into them some people lose the ability to edit what comes out of their mouths. Alcohol is a Truth Serum. I had one friend who had to make the rounds the day after a christmas party making abject apologies to half his coworkers. It was hilarious. He wasn't fired, but he was lucky.

Kim—do your pretty pink pajamas have kitties or sheep or sushi or Winnie the Poohs on them? LOL. It seems like the more whimsical jammies are, the more comfy they are, for some reason. My favorite pair has kitties with wings on them. Go figure. (and they're pink).

Steve in Honolulu: what, you don't wear LEVI's?? I'm shocked! (I know Steve. :)

I'm going to dress like you when I retire, Louis. Maybe i'll add a few eccentric hats to my outfits, too, just for fun. LOL.

And now I have to go pick up the ARCs for WAYS TO WICKED from the post office —yay! And then, speaking of hair, I have to go get mine cut, because I now officially have way more hair than face. :) Keep the comments coming! I'll choose a BATS winner late tonight.

[Donna S.]

Hi Julie! Is "Ways to be Wicked" the next book after BATS? I would love to win a signed copy of BATS. :)

I don't work these days, because I mind the kids, which is enough work! I wear jeans and a tee shirt too, usually every day, or shorts because it gets really hot here. I need to branch out. :) It's my DH who goes off to work in a uniform. He doens't seem to mind, but I would love to see him in a suit and tie once in a while.

[Haven Rich]

I adore my pj's and have a few sets of Winnie The Pooh sets. One is for winter, it's like the baby's sleeper suits that zip..only mine buttons (and yes it has the feet too hehe). I have a night shirt that has a cat on it...it says "A Cat is A Cat and That is That!" I fully agree, being the slave to 7 of them. As for colors, I love blues and purples.

BTW thank you Julie for mentioning my group blog. I so love what it has done for aspiring authors (I get tons of emails). Also, how excited about the mail...yayy.

P.s. Since I'm a homebody and sometimes work outside I've always wanted one of those big floppy hats that have a scarf-like tie. I'm strange like that.

[KimW]

My pink pajamas have bunnies on them. Cute bunnies! haha!

[Crystal B.]

I usually wear slacks and a top or a dress. I am a secretary and I have to wear dress clothes. I would love to be able to wear jeans or athletic clothing.
What I enjoy wearing when I am dressing down is cotton leggings and a t-shirt.

[Julie Anne Long]

Crystal, you reminded me of something I've been thinking: I just have to say that I think leggings get a bad rap. :) I've heard complaints from numerous quarters about their latest return to fashion, but I happen to like them. They're pretty versatile, especially in a cold city like San Francisco. Under jeans, to sleep in, under a tunic—you name it.

[Ranurgis]

I agree with you about leggings, Julie and I think I said as much on the Divas blog. They're truly indispensable for me in winter.

[Marcia Hodge]

I've been blessed with a profession where I can trudge sleepily from the bedroom and all of 60 feet to my computer desk as my early morning commute. With luck and if I don't stop along the way for coffee, I can get here in oh...let's say 45 seconds while doing the kitty walk, with Daisy Moses winding about my feet and me trying hard not to trip over her. My work outfit usually consists of shorts, bare feet and a tee shirt. My hairdo is not a problem, since I decided to stop fighting its natural proclivities, had it chopped off to about 5 inches everywhere and let it do its own thing. Surprisingly, that was not a disastrous decision. No more frizz, just natural curl.