[Back][Forward]

Estee Lauder was my first gig, but I later got in with some of the hottest designer fragrances and cosmetics lines. I swear, being in that venue day after day was a divine gift for peopIe-watching! Multitudes from so many walks of life offered a smorgasbord of human behavior, which I would later use for building characters.

Sometimes, I found myself tickled by what I observed. At other times, I was amazed by the antics of certain individuals. From time to time, I was even appalled by what I’d see. I’d grab fragrance cards or napkins and jot down whatever little scenario had gained my attention, at that moment, and stick them in my handbag. At home, I’d pull out the cards or napkins and write the scene down in my journal. I compiled a bunch of anecdotes and stories together that eventually became the basis for my first attempt at a writing a full-length screenplay, which I subsequently entitled, “All That Glitters.” That’s the one that garnered support from an industry professional who suggested I build my career by first getting published. Of course, real life was still demanding that my bills get paid, so I moved into a full-time job as a make-up artist with Chanel, at Barneys on Madison Avenue.

Doing make-overs all day long for prestigious Chanel, at Barneys fantastic retail store, was certainly fun and lucrative. But, standing on my feet all day and meeting the demands of this career also short-circuited my writing urges. After a couple of years, I came to the fork in the road where I had to ask myself it this was what I was committed to doing for the rest of my life—or, at least, for the next ten years. After soul-searching, I decided I had to focus on writing, again, and find a way to dedicate myself to practicing the craft on a more consistent basis. I decided to enroll in a writing class at the NYU School of Professional Studies, but even more life-changing was the decision to go back to bartending, which I’d done during college. I reasoned that bartending would afford me precious daytime hours for writing and studying, since I’d be working nights. And this turned out to be very true. But, since life never progresses in a linear fashion, neither did my best-laid plans to work nights and study diligently during the day. The fact is, after I concluded my course at NYU, I got sucked into that late-night partying world so many bar and restaurant employees get sucked into, and lost my way on my writing career path. I met Dante somewhere down around the Seventh Ring of Hell before I realized what was happening—and almost three years had gone by!

There have been pluses and minuses from my foray into bartending. I have gained much material from that experience, which I use to this day in my writing for Amber Quill Press. My Amber Allure releases certainly reflect that, especially “Gift With Purchase.” My recent “Hair!” release and Amber Heat’s “Urban Ambrosia” also contain influence from my New York bartending days. I guess I've learned to glean the positive from a potentially hazardous situation. But--more on that tomorrow!