By Danielle Jackson, author of The Accidental Pinup
I knew when I first started writing The Accidental Pinup that I wanted the heroine of this book to be confident. It didn’t matter what she looked like, how she wore her hair, or what the world perceived her to be… Cassie Harris was going to love herself and know her worth. The fact is that other people—other characters on page, even—discount Cassie because she’s a plus size Black woman business owner trying to catch her big break to take her career and boudoir photography studio to the next level. But Cassie knows from the start that she’s the best and she deserves to be respected for the job she’s been hired to do.
But when that job morphs from being the photographer to the photographed? Even Cassie, a confident woman who loves her body and curves, has her doubts. Because it’s not just any old photo shoot she’s now starring in… It’s a sexy lingerie ad campaign. Now, Cassie has experience with lingerie photography; she’s the owner of Buxom Boudoir, Chicago’s premiere boudoir and pinup photography studio. She makes her clients feel comfortable and powerful and beautiful at their most vulnerable. And when she has to model dreamy lingerie in front of Reid Montgomery, a fellow photographer with a bit of a bad boy reputation, Cassie isn’t insecure about how she’s going to look, she’s worried about doing a good job in a situation she wasn’t anticipating.
It was important to me that Cassie didn’t just practice body positivity, but body acceptance. Cassie’s hot and she knows it. But though she’s used to calling the shots on set and aside from goofing off with her friends, she hasn’t been a model. To bring her vision fully to life for the photo shoot in question she has to pose, scantily clad, outside… in winter. In Chicago! But beyond thinking she looks great, Cassie also has to feel it. It’s through these photo shoots and seeing the photographs after the fact that Cassie really embraces that she’s beautiful, powerful, and in charge of how the world is going to see her.
And the fact that Reid thinks all of this, too, is icing on the cake. But that’s an entirely different blog post ;-)
Body positivity, body neutrality, and body acceptance are all different things—yes, we should find different bodies beautiful. Yes, we shouldn’t judge people based solely on their outward appearance (because you really don’t know what is going on with someone, the size of their body notwithstanding). But above all, we should accept people as they are. It’s easy to judge someone by what is presented to us first and foremost, and it’s often hard to go beyond the surface. But we owe it to each other to get to know people and understand their values and motivations. And I hope, through this fun love story, more people start to do exactly that.
Danielle Jackson is a contemporary romance author, avid reader, lackluster-yet-mighty crafter, and accomplished TV binge-watcher. Once upon a time, she was a publicist in publishing and continues to cultivate her love of books and reading by chatting with the best authors in the business as an event coordinator at an independent bookstore and as the co-host of the Fresh Fiction podcast. She also moderates panels, interviews authors, and hosts a romance book club. Danielle lives in Chicagoland with her very own romance hero husband, darling daughter, and two tempestuous cats. For more information, visit https://daniellejacksonbooks.com/ and follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @DJacksonBooks.