Jenn McKinlay: As always, I am ever delighted to welcome our dear friend, award winning mystery author, Ellen Byron, to the Jungle Reds and, boy, does she have a story for you. Take it away, Ellen!
Ellen Byron: Before I began writing mysteries, I wrote for TV and film—sitcoms mostly, like Wings and Just Shoot Me, to name a couple you’ve heard of as opposed to the many shows I worked on that died a quick death. I wrote as half of a team, my partner being a friend I made in a sitcom writing class. Eventually we each got married and then segued into parenthood. She had a baby first, a glorious little boy. And we quickly learned that nobody wanted to hire new mothers, even if you had a perfectly great childcare plan in place, like she did. So when I became pregnant, I made a choice I hoped would help us land a new job. I hid my pregnancy. Not for the first trimester, like many do. I hid it for eight months.
I was lucky on one count. As I gained weight, I gained it all over. I wasn’t one of those pregnant women who aside from looking like they swallowed a bowling ball, remained slim. Every part of me puffed out, which allowed me to present as rotund rather than expectant. I went to a thrift store and bought a giant black men’s overcoat that I’d wear to meetings to hide myself from the neck down. We met for a position on Sex and the City when I was at eight and a half months along, and to justify my girth, I blathered on about how excited I was to move back to my hometown of NYC and eat my way through the city. But by that point, my poor coat was busting at the seams. We didn’t get the job.
Attendees to my baby shower were sworn to secrecy. My husband didn’t even tell his coworkers we were expecting. Then preeclampsia put me in hospital and dictated a delivery three weeks before my due date. My husband rushed to the hospital, sharing the news that his wife was about to give birth with his stunned work friends on his way out the door.
A secret shower, a giant coat over a burgeoning belly - my pregnancy was straight out of the sitcoms I wrote for. In my new release, LONG ISLAND ICED TINA, events at a baby shower set the mystery in motion. But I spared the poor mother-to-be in the book my own nutty subterfuge. Still, writing it brought back a lot of memories.
Recently, I took a stab at Marie Kondo-ing a closet and in its farthest reaches I found that old black overcoat. Aside from a few loose buttons, it was in great shape. Debating whether or not to donate it, I asked the classic Kondo question: did the coat give me joy? The answer was yes. Crazy as those eight months of my pregnancy were, they brought me the joy of our daughter —who turned twenty-one two weeks ago.
I kept the coat.
Readers, do you have a piece of clothing that has a special memory attached to it? Comment to be entered to win a copy of LONG ISLAND ICED TINA.
LONG ISLAND ICED TINA SYNOPSIS - KENSINGTON
In the second installment of Maria DiRico's new Catering Hall Mystery series, Mia Carina is back in the borough of Queens, in charge of the family catering hall Belle View Banquet Manor and keeping her nonna company. But some events--like murder at a shower--are not the kind you can schedule...
Mia's newly pregnant friend Nicole plans to hold a shower at Belle View--but Nicole also has to attend one that her competitive (and mysteriously rich) stepmother, Tina, is throwing at the fanciest place in Queens. It's a good chance for Mia to snoop on a competitor, especially since doing a search for "how to run a catering hall" can get you only so far.
Mia tags along at the lavish party, but the ambience suffers at Nicole's Belle View shower when a fight breaks out--and then, oddly, a long-missing and valuable stolen painting is unwrapped by the mom-to-be. Tina is clearly shocked to see it. But not as shocked as Mia is when, soon afterward, she spots the lifeless body of a party guest floating in the marina . . .
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Newsletter: https://www.ellenbyron.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ellenbyronauthor/
https://www.facebook.com/CateringHallMysteries/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ellenbyronmariadirico/
Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ellen-byron
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maria-dirico
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23234.Ellen_Byron?from_search=true&from_srp=true
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19130966.Maria_DiRico?from_search=true&from_srp=true
If that's not a plot from a sitcom, it's how the sitcom keeps an actress's pregnancy under cover (pun intended - this is me), if they don't write it into the story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for my laugh.
And get Long Island Iced Tina. It's fabulous!
Mark, thank you so much! And yup. I did everything except hold a giant purse in front of my stomach.
DeleteOh, goodness, how funny! Thanks for the early-morning chuckle.
ReplyDeleteI’m looking forward to reading “Long Island Iced Tina” . . . .
Thank you!
DeleteWhat a great story, Ellen! Although it was outrageous that women had to go through that to get or keep a job when pregnant. I remember a principal asking me if I planned to have children when I was interviewing for an English teacher job. Apparently, it wasn’t allowed at that time for him to ask me, because the head of the English department jumped out of her chair and shouted, “You can’t ask her that.”
ReplyDeleteLong Island Iced Tina sounds like a great read. I’m looking forward to it.
Kathy, when I was a teacher in the early 70's, administrators frequently made women leave teaching as soon as they started to show that they were pregnant. Mid 1970's, Title X and then things started to change. But if Ellen was fighting the same fight only 21 years ago...enough said.
DeleteKathy,
DeleteMy Mom was already teaching for several years when she was pregnant with me. In those days, there was no maternity leave. My mom had to use her "Sick Leave" so she could stay home with me for the first three months. Luckily, she had a good friend from graduate school who substituted as a teacher for her classroom during the three months so that she could return to teaching.
A friend was in politics and she could Not take maternity leave when she had her baby. She brought her baby with her to work and there was a baby crib in her office.
Diana
Wow! At least the dept. head asked that!
DeleteYup. I didn't even write about when we went on an interview after my partner had a baby and all the showrunner could talk about was how could she go back to work? He was appalled. Didn't get the job.
DeleteIn 1996 my parents joined us on a trip to Ireland. We started in Dublin and worked our way down to Wexford. Dad bought himself a waxed jacket there on sale because, as he put it, he was freezing his fanny off. A couple of weeks after we all made it home that jacket arrived in the mail. It was evidently too warm for him in the Dallas area but just right for me in NE Ohio. 24 years later I still have it and wear it when the weather's cold and damp.
ReplyDeleteHey Ellen! I'm looking forward to reading Mia's latest catering hall adventure.
Pat D,
DeleteThat is a wonderful memory to have. So glad you have that for the cold weather now.
Diana
Oh, I love that, Pat. I have a sweater I borrowed from my dad when I was fourteen. I never gave it back. I think of him every time I wear it.
DeleteEllen, welcome to Jungle Reds this morning. You should know that one of the first times that I visited this blog, you were a guest and I have been loving your books ever since! I really look forward to this one.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have stories about pregnancy clothes. I kept mine a secret for 5 months, being one of those who looked like she swallowed a basketball. But, my favorite item of clothing is a little woolen kilt style skirt my mother gave me as part of a very spiffy ensemble on my 18th birthday. She died unexpectedly soon after, and in her honor, I wore it every year on my birthday. If I want to do that again, the skirt is in the closet and there is probably only 5 lbs keeping me from wearing it next year.
that's a sweet story Judy. So hard to lose your mom at 18!
DeleteA lovely sweet story, Judy. I completely understand why you would want to keep that skirt forever!
DeleteThanks Judi and Roberta. That skirt is 5" above my knee and it was more than just a bit too tight last birthday. LOL, I really should go back to the gym.
DeleteJudy, thank you so much for the lovely compliment. And what a touching story. The fact you're only five pound away from wearing it makes me a teensy jealous, lol!
DeleteI just have say (through the tears of laughter) I love you, Ellen!
ReplyDeleteAnnette, lol, thank you!
DeleteI love this story - and you, Ellen! I finished the book two days ago and adored reading Mia's next set of adventures. Does your daughter know the coat's story? Better question - do you want her to?
ReplyDeleteI have a collarless indigo shirt a friend gave me before I left Japan in 1977 after two years of living there. By some miracle (it must have been big on me at the time), it still fits and is a perfect second layer around the house in spring and fall.
Edith, thank you so much and right back at ya! xoxo. No, she doesn't know its story. I have to tell her. But I don't want her to feel guilty - like me being pregnant with her cost silly jobs.
DeleteI love that you still have that shirt! What a great memory.
Amazing what women have to go through...thanks for the chuckle this early morning, Ellen. I'm off to discover your book.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite pair of pajamas made of gorgeous cotton are finally giving up the ghost: a tear in an unseemly area is beyond repair. I'm going to have to give up wearing them...but I'm putting off the sad last-time-wearing them as long as I can... No fond memory is attached to them, just comfort.
Amanda,
DeleteLike you, I have a favorite pair of pajamas for comfort. Unfortunately, the designer no longer makes them anymore. The PJs were by Karen Neuberger (?) and I loved them. Not a fan of the new pajamas with the drawstrings these days.
Diana
It's always emotional when you have to bid goodbye to a treasured piece of clothing that's served you well. xoxo
DeleteAnd Amanda - I live in drawstring men's black pajama bottoms from Target. I thought there pants when I first bought them. Then I found out they're PJs. And I bought 5 pair!
ELLEN, love this story, and you know I love you!
ReplyDeleteI also finished reading Long Island Iced Tina this week, and enjoyed Mia's adventures, including trying to learn how to drive :-)
Thank goodness we have come a long way about workplace and pregnancy.
My clothes story is related to one of my the first workshops I organized with Environment Canada in 1993. It was held in Quebec City during the famous Winter Carnival (Carnaval de Quebec) in a frigid February (-35C/-30F). My boss Linda and I had a premonition that something would go wrong during our flight from Toronto to Quebec City so we carried-on all the workshop materials but checked in the rest of our luggage.
We were right! My luggage went AWOL, and but I was wearing my fave red-black boucle wool suit that my talented mother had made (she made all my business suits). So I was forced to wear the same distinctive suit for the 3 days of the workshop. One (male) workshop attendee remarked that I really must love that suit to wear it for the whole workshop! Of course, Air Canada finally found my missing suitcase after the workshop was over.
Oh Grace, lost luggage stories are so funny in retrospect, but when they happen...it is never a good time. Irwin went to Germany to represent his company at a very important business meeting. His suitcase was lost and he wore the same clothes just about the entire time. He was mortified.
DeleteJUDY: Exactly! Of course, Linda's checked-in suitcase made it but mine somehow missed the connecting flight in Montreal.
DeleteAnd I still have the red-black boucle suit in my closet. I can still get into the jacket but not the skirt.
GRACE: Like you, I had the unfortunate experience of losing my luggage on flights. After these experiences, I always put my clothes in my carry on bags. I learned that I cannot always depend on finding the right clothes to buy wherever I travel to.
DeleteDiana
DIANA: Believe me, after that flight, I also made sure to bring some essential clothes in my carry-on bags. It was a pain having to wash underwear and buy a tshirt to sleep in during that Quebec City trip.
DeleteGrace, what a great story! And how lucky you were that your mom made your business clothes. Sounds gorgeous.
DeleteELLEN: Yes, I was very lucky. My mom designed (made her own sewing patterns) and made all my business suits. I can only fit into a couple of them, but I kept them all in her memory.
DeleteI love all these special clothes stories! Welcome Ellen! Are you still writing for television? and you have some other good news too that I bet our readers would love to hear:)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lucy! I am not writing for TV these days, but I do have some good news. In 2022, I'll debut a new series - the Vintage Cookbook Mysteries, set in New Orleans! My protagonist opens a gift shop at the Garden District house museum of a legendary female restauranteur, where she sells vintage cookbooks and kitchenware.
DeleteI owned the perfect navy blue dress from Lord and Taylor appropriate for weddings and bar mitzvahs, and wore it to many events...until the dry cleaner stole it! I've never been able to replace it.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, I had a favorite pair of boots that fit me and the shoemaker stole it. I was so mad. They subbed my boots with another pair of boots that did not fit! That was the first and the last time I used that shoemaker since it was near my great uncle's house three hours away.
DeleteDiana
Diana
Margaret, no! That's heartbreaking. But... perhaps a short story prompt???
DeleteWhen I was a kid I had an orange sweatshirt my grandmother brought me back from Puerto Rico. I wore it until my mom threw it away because it was so worn out
ReplyDeleteAwww... sweet! I'm sure you were sorry to see it go.
DeletePoor cozy characters. They can't even go to a baby shower without stumbling over a dead body!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid my dad had a second job at the local Moose Hall. It was his responsibility to make sure the upstairs hall, a huge space with a stage and a kitchen, was shipshape after each event. He often took us kids with him, so we knew every nook and cranny of that lodge (including the men's room, which is a whole other story). I can easily see how you could place murders there: an empty banquet hall can be a spooky place, especially if it's in an old building.
Remember when we wedding guests wore long dresses? In the early '70s I worked for a store that had pretty wonderful slinky gowns, and I had a discount. I kept most of them, made from Qiana. My youngest daughter found them in the back of the closet and claimed them as unique prom dresses. We no longer have them, but by the time she wore them they were close to 30 years old already.
I love that your daughter wore your dresses to her promo. I remember Qiana!
DeleteEllen, this is hilarious. Sad because of the circumstances, but hilarious at the same time. And right out of a sitcom.
ReplyDeleteSpecial clothes...none of mine. But I can't seem to let go of The Girl's First Communion dress or the dress she wore as a flower girl at my brother's wedding.
LOL, Liz. And that's so sweet about your daughter's dresses. I have a box of my favorite Eliza outfits from when she was little.
DeleteSuch an important story underneath that coat , right? Lots of history in so many ways—and a sweet and instructive tale.
ReplyDeleteYay for the new book! Xxxxx
Thanks so much, Hank! xoxo
DeleteThis is so funny! The sit-com pregnancy - only you, Ellen!
ReplyDeleteI have a skirt and blouse that have followed me around for the past almost 40 years. I once had a job that required me to be in the Caribbean every weekend and all holidays. Yeah, tough job, right. I discovered a small designer shop in St. Thomas that was in the back of a back alley. Their specialty was introducing new to the US designers. I bought a Kenzo skirt and blouse. It's been a long time since I fit into a size 0, but I love those items too much to part with them.
Ooh, vintage Kenzo! That is a keeper, Kait.
DeleteKait, vintage Kenzo! Wow. And how I do we get that job where you have to be in the Caribbean so much?!
DeleteI would love to meet you in person, Ellen; I'm sure we would keep each other laughing all the time!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite piece of clothing is a navy dress I wore to my son's first wedding. The dress is just so me and has long sheer sleeves, which I love. I was tempted to wear it to his next wedding - the bride said she didn't care - but I didn't. Can't even remember what I did wear but I sure didn't love it like that navy dress. So it hangs in my closet, but I smile whenever I see it.
Judi, what a sweet story. And that second bride sounds like a keeper. ;-)
DeleteHope we get to meet in person someday. xo
Oh, my lord, I'm still laughing.
ReplyDeleteNot a clothing story, but a ever-so-slightly hidden pregnancy tale: I was about one month pregnant with Youngest when I was set to attend my sister's swanky wedding on New Year's Day, 2000. I had had several pregnancy losses, and so didn't want to say anything until I had passed the three month mark. Which left me at the New Year's Eve rehearsal dinner, the reception and the champagne brunch the day after... saying, "No, I'm good!" to every drink on offer.
When I finally revealed my secret in March, it wasn't a great surprise. "Yeah, mom and I knew right away," my sister said. "Being pregnant's the only thing that would have kept you from drinking the whole weekend."
I love it, Julia!
DeleteJULIA: Ha ha, they know you!
DeleteLOL Julia. Snorting actually! Our loved ones know us so very well!
DeleteJulia - that's hilarious!!!
DeleteAfter my first son was born I was given a gift of a beautiful blue velour bathrobe which I still have. Like new since it is worn only during the winter. I love the warmth and material. It will probably last forever.
ReplyDeleteI have a bathrobe I bought from the Disney catalogue when Eliza was little! It's got the perfect collar, one that's hard to find. I'm hoping it also lasts forever.
DeleteOh, Ellen! I adore this story!! Talk about living a sitcom. And I'd feel the same way about that coat. Amazing that you could keep the pregnancy "under wraps" for so long. Can't wait to read "Long Island Iced Tina" - love the title.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Hallie! It was a feat, let me tell you.
DeleteI have a black suit/business coat that was my grandfather's. I don't remember the reason for me acquiring it but I have it. I found one of my grandfather's business cards in the inner pocket. His business cards, from the late 50's did not have the phone number included for some reason so in the corner, in my grandmother's very identifiable handwriting, is the business phone number. I still have the coat and the business card is in a little brass frame that sits on my bedroom dresser. I don't remember granddad wearing the coat, I always associate my granddad's attire as casual with cowboy boots. His boots were especially made for his skinny feet in Kanas. He had brown ones for every day and black for those occasions that called for his black, Sunday suit.
ReplyDeleteDeana, what an amazing piece of clothing to have. And with that business card! Talk about family heirlooms...
DeleteI still wear one of my maternity dresses - it was a fairly expensive black rayon dress with an empire waist that tied in the back and had strategically placed darts in the front so it expanded with me. Now that I think about it though, I guess it is a little longer in the front since I now longer have a baby bump. Oh well, I still love that dress ~
ReplyDeleteThen never let it go, Celia! It sounds lovely.
DeleteEllen, everything you write is funny! I do wish you'd had a chance at Sex in the City--I'm sure those episodes would have been fabulous. Like you, I puffed up all over when I was pregnant with my daughter. I had a fuchsia velour maternity track suit that was my favorite thing, but by the last month I looked like an enormous rolling raspberry. Alas, the track suit didn't pass the Kondo test.
ReplyDeleteDeborah, you flatter me. I'm struggling with humor in a couple of current books, which is nerve-wracking. LOL re: "rolling raspberry." No joy? Bye bye!
DeleteEllen, this is such a funny story with a very sweet ending! Side thought: the creativity that women have to bring just to live their lives is impressive.
ReplyDeleteReally, Keziah. Truth told, it was an incredibly stressful time. I'm glad I can look back on it and laugh.
DeleteEllen, welcome to Jungle Reds! That is a wonderful story about your coat. Did your coat have inside pockets? I remember when I was about three years old that I noticed my Dad's coat had inside pockets. I was surprised that my Mom's coat did Not have inside pockets. I read something about women's coats not having inside pockets.
ReplyDeleteTrying to recall if I have a piece of clothing that brings memories for me. I have a black dress that was custom made for my Grandmother (she was tall and built differently from most women). Though I am about four inches shorter than my grandmother, the dress fit me like a glove! Black is not my color so I wear something in my colors around my shoulders.
There are layering pieces that I have kept for many years because they are well made and they last for a long time. Once I really like something, I keep it forever!
Regarding the Kondo test, I read something about limiting to 30 books? I wonder if that meant 30 books for each room or for the entire house?
Isn't it discriminatory to Not hire a writer because they are pregnant? I remember when an actress filed a lawsuit against a producer? a studio? under Americans with Disabilities Act because she was pregnant. I agree with Deborah that if you had a chance at Sex and the City, those episodes would have been fantastic!
Loved the Advanced Copy of Long Island Iced Tina. The plotting was so clever and funny!
Diana
DIANA: I remember the uproar when it seemed that Marie Kondo was suggesting only 30 books. But this article states that she never made that statement, so us book collectors are ok!
Deletehttps://www.wsj.com/articles/marie-kondo-says-you-can-have-more-than-30-books-just-wake-them-up-first-11549008700
Thanks, Diana. And I'm sure it's illegal not to hire someone because they're pregnant. But they never say that's why they're not hiring someone. BTW, that dress custom-made for your grandmother sounds wonderful!
DeleteThanks, Ellen. Yes, it is wonderful. I think you saw me wearing it at the Awards Banquet 2017 in Vancouver ?
DeleteDiana
GRACE: thanks for the link to the article.
DeleteDiana
Ellen, you always crack me up! Congrats on your new series! I'm so excited for you. Can you tell us more about it?
ReplyDeleteWhy, I'm so glad you asked! Here's the series synopsis:
DeleteIn this new humorous mystery series from Agatha Award-winning author Ellen Byron, twenty-eight-year-old Ricki James leaves Los Angeles to start a new life in New Orleans after her showboating actor husband perishes doing a stupid YouTube stunt. The Big Easy is where she was born and adopted by the NICU nurse who cared for her after Ricki’s teen mother disappeared from the hospital.
Ricki’s career dream comes true when she joins the quirky staff running the spectacular Garden District home of bon vivant Genevieve “Vee” Charbonnet, one of the city’s most legendary restauranteurs. The mansion, built in 1867, has recently been opened to the public as an historical site. Ricki gets to turn her avocation – collecting vintage cookbooks – into a vocation by launching the home’s gift shop, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware, where she’ll sell the cookbooks along with unique kitchenware, much of it also vintage or antique. In her free time, she’ll hunt for the birth parents she never knew. When murder bedevils the site, Ricki will also find herself in the unexpected role of amateur sleuth, putting to use the observational skills she’s developed ferreting out hidden treasures.
Will Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware be a success… or given some of the Crescent City’s nefarious denizens, a recipe for disaster?
Ellen, that sounds like a fantastic new series! Somehow I picture Ricki James looking like Ricki Lane ? Wonder if Ricki will take a DNA test to find her birth family? These days people are taking DBA tests.
DeleteDiana
It was common knowledge in my hometown that young Catholic women, straight out of college were favored for teaching positions.
ReplyDeleteThose in charge figured they would get married soon and immediately get pregnant. Once the baby arrived, they would quit teaching. This way they avoided too many teachers with tenure!
Wow. That is raw on the part of your hometown! Hopefully, they don't do that anymore.
DeleteI do have a jacket that reminds me of a trip to Disneyland with my cousin before he passed away. I always remember that time when I see the jacket in my closet. I'm looking forward to starting your new series. I'm a big fan of The Cajun Country series and can't wait for the next book 8n that series.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Dianne. And how lovely you have something to remember your cousin by.
DeleteLong Island Iced Tina is wonderful. Looking forward to many more adventures with Mia.
ReplyDeleteNot quite so hidden pregnancies happened in WWII also. My parents were buying their new home, and worried they would not be approved, if mom stopped working. She bought a Channel Suit and wore it to every meeting. Towards the end she was holding the skirt up with double safety pins. At the closing, the builder said: I am including in a fire place for the new baby. He knew all along.
LOL, Coralee, what a great story about your mom! And thrilled you enjoyed the book. xo
DeleteLove this series! I have my wedding dress and a matron of honor dress and hat!
ReplyDelete