I am wild about Jennifer Ashley.

I fell for her ages ago when I read the genius of a book The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie, and I’ve been an avid reader and hand-seller of her books (written as both Jennifer Ashley & Allyson James) since then. She writes beautiful books, and I have no idea how she writes so many of them in a year. She’s either the hardest working woman in publishing, or she’s cloned herself.

All this is to say that I’m thrilled Jennifer has taken some time out of her insane writing schedule to join us for Girls Who Wear Glasses month in celebration of One Good Earl Deserves a Lover (Yes…yes…I know it’s March today…but it’s sort of Month-ish) to talk about her favorite lady in lenses– Julia Sugarbaker from Designing Women!

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One favorite show of my younger years was Designing Women. I loved those four strong ladies, each striving to make it on their own, all finding friendship and support with each other. I liked the message the show sent, that women could make it on their own, without having to compromise what they cared about..

The leader of the gang, Julia Sugarbaker (played marvelously by Dixie Carter—who can forget the “Ray Don speech?”), was beautiful, strong, opinionated, and yet compassionate. And she found no shame in pulling out a pair of designer glasses when she needed them and mounting them on her nose.

Because I’m a woman who has worn glasses since age seven, I love seeing glasses-wearing women portrayed as being beautiful, smart, and strong. Cause you know we are! :-)

I wear glasses *all* the time, because I can’t see a foot in front of my face. (If you look at my author photo, you’ll see them in my hand—I had to take them off for the shoot so light wouldn’t reflect on them),

So I have affection for Julia and all the ladies of Designing Women, who showed us that women could be beautiful, successful, resourceful, self-sufficient, and surrounded by friends, and that wearing glasses didn’t slow them down a step.

I raise a glass to girls with glasses!

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Thank you so much for coming over to play, Jennifer!

Your turn readers — in honor of the Designing Women of Atlanta and Jennifer’s fabulous Scottish MacKenzies — let’s talk accents! What’s your favorite accent? Tell us in comments and one lucky commenter (US only) will win a copy of Jennifer’s The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie — and get acquainted with the family! 

Katharine in her awesome specs

I’m thrilled to host the fabulous Katharine Ashe today on the blog. As you know, Katharine and I are co-bloggers over at The Ballroom Blog — Do you read that? You should. It’s Regency fun. — and aside from writing epic Regencies, she is a lady in lenses. Very. Cool. Lenses (see left). 

So, when I decided to launch Girls Who Wear Glasses month in honor of Pippa Marbury, the heroine of One Good Earl Deserves a Lover, I knew Katharine was going to have to weigh in on spectacles. I knew she’d have lots to say, and a definite favorite girl who wears glasses. 

Boy, do I love this post! 

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I know a little girl of 5 and ¾ years. Let’s call her Rosella. (It’s her favorite name that isn’t her own, though Minnie would do nearly as well.)

She is my favorite GWWG.

Why?

1. She happily, proudly wears a princess dress her aunt made for her that is emblazoned with Cinderella, Briar Rose and Belle. When asked which princess she likes best, she points to each in a row, then again, then again. She is not a girl to be pinned down to one ideal of femininity. Then she adds that she’s rather fond of Rapunzel too — Disney’s latest version. (A girl after my own heart, indeed.)

2. Rosella wears her princess dress into the creek behind the house, and traipses home without any notion that it’s covered with mud and rusty leaves.

3. She adores my ten-year-old son like a brother, a mentor, a playmate and a best friend. And he adores her right back.

4. She eats Parmesan cheese in giant chunks.

5. She pairs purple leggings with pink-and-orange-striped dresses and paisley skirts with polka-dot blouses. Her rainbow Build-A-Bear sparkles with lamé and sequins. Her world is full of color, life and joy.

6. She loves bubbles.

7. She sits barefoot on the kitchen counter eating potato chips.

Rosella’s awesome glasses

8. When the doctor said, “Time for glasses!” she picked out the thickest, purplest, swirliest frames in the store. She wears them with pride, panache and thorough unselfconsciousness.

When I grow up, I want to be just like her.

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Me too!!!

Your turn, reader! Tell Katharine and me what one trait you’d like to borrow from a kid in your life, and one lucky commenter (US Only), will win a copy of Katharine’s How to Be a Proper Lady — one of Amazon’s best books of 2012!

Today the beautiful and talented Shana Galen is joining us for Girls Who Wear Glasses Month! Shana’s gearing up for the release of her next book, If You Give a Rake a Ruby, out next week, and she’s taken a little time to hop in the hot seat and tell us about her favorite lady in lenses–Ariel Winter!

Welcome, Shana!

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I had to get glasses when I was 13. You would have thought the world was about to end from the way I carried on. I was afraid no boy would ever ask me on a date, and everyone would call me “Four Eyes.” My mom gave me a poster of Marilyn Monroe wearing glasses and that helped. A lot.

Maybe if I’d had a role model like Ariel Winter, who plays Alex Dunphy on Modern Family, I wouldn’t have stressed so much. From pictures I’ve seen, Ariel Winter wears glasses in real life too.

Celebrate your girl who wears glasses — what makes her so fabulous?

One thing I like about the character of Alex is that she isn’t afraid to show how smart she is. When I was in school, it was cool to act like an airhead. Girls weren’t supposed to be smart. We were supposed to wear pink and be pretty.

What’s one trait you wish you could steal from your four-eyed female?

One trait I want to steal from Alex Dunphy is her prowess in math and science. I was never good at either. No surprise, I was good at English.

What lesson can we all learn from your lady in lenses?

Be true to yourself.

You’re breaking bread with your vision-impaired vixen…what question are you dying to ask?

I’d ask what her vocal training was. Since I have a three-year-old, I’ve been watching a new show about a princess named Sofia. Ariel Winter does her voice and sings too. Her voice is amazing, especially for her age.

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Your turn, readers! Tell Shana and me who you had pinned to your childhood walls, and one lucky commenter (US Only) will win a copy of When You Give A Duke a Diamond!

I’m so excited to host Sara Ramsey on the blog today — Sara is a full on blast, and we’ve had some great meals and great gossip sessions and great laughs in the few years since we met for the first time! And I am really enjoying her Muses of Mayfair series (and their titles!), which began with Heiress Without a Cause and continues with Scotsmen Prefer Blondes.

When I started Girls Who Wear Glasses month, I just knew that she would pick someone awesome for the blog…and I was right! Not only has she chosen one of the most iconic, important, downright idolotry-worthy women of our time…I cackled with glee when I saw the image she attached to her email–what a fabulous choice!

Welcome, Sara!

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I freaking love Meryl Streep. She’s not only an amazing talent, but she’s also someone I can picture having a conversation with over a bottle of wine. And I deeply admire how she’s built her career in an industry that values female youth.

I also adore that she wears glasses so often. One of Meryl’s most iconic glasses-wearing roles is Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. Her glasses are part of her powerful, highly-driven image – they’re sharp and vaguely sexy, and she often uses them as a prop to express her disapproval.

By contrast, the glasses she wears when giving acceptance speeches in real life are more blunt and squared-off, still lovely but a bit more utilitarian. They’re the glasses of a woman who accepts that she needs them and doesn’t care about anyone else’s approval.

Technically, I’m a girl who wears glasses. But unlike Meryl, I don’t quite embrace them. When I wear glasses, I feel like I’ve just stumbled out of bed (sadly, not in a sexy way). I still feel prettier when I wear my contacts – and I wear them for sixteen hours a day, when I should probably give my eyes a break.

I don’t like divulging this insecurity. It’s almost like I’ve failed as a woman, since I should be evolved enough that such stupidly superficial things don’t matter. But Meryl and all the other amazing women who wear glasses are a huge inspiration to me – not just for little things like being comfortable in glasses, but for big things, like succeeding in male-dominated industries or persevering even when it seems that the roles (or book contracts) have dried up.

The bottom line is that Meryl Streep inspires me to live a fuller, more dedicated creative life. Being a writer requires you to be vulnerable enough to bleed yourself onto the page – and impervious enough to withstand rejection and criticism. This is all so much easier if you have enough confidence in yourself to wear your glasses to the grocery store without feeling like a freak. My goal is to be more like Meryl, and to choose hard, interesting projects (with the occasional “Mamma Mia!” thrown in for fun). And a small but important step on that journey is to own my glasses-hood.

So, thanks to Sarah MacLean for giving me the chance to think about this – and thanks to all you other hot glasses-wearing ladies for rocking out with such confidence!

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All hail Meryl and her awesome!

And all hail Sara and her awesome! I love this blog post because it shows just how much the little things count in our day to day lives. As Sara’s friend, I can say with 100% conviction that she has in no way failed as a woman — she’s beautiful and smart and talented…and that’s a full-on win!

Your turn, readers…let’s stare insecurity down!

Tell Sara and me what your best feature is, and we’ll give one lucky commenter (US Only), a copy of her latest, Scotsmen Prefer Blondes!