Christmas nostalgia : Our authors about the best book gift they have ever received (Part 1)

Jackie Mallon, author of Silk for the Feed Dogs It was a copy of The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy. A certain someone knew I'd appreciate the paperback's many idiosyncrasies: the title, so goofy and slapstick-sounding, in direct contrast to the elegant Hitchcockian blond stretched out nude on the cover in an image by Erwin Blumenfeld, a fashion photographer … Continue reading Christmas nostalgia : Our authors about the best book gift they have ever received (Part 1)

“Silk for the Feed Dogs” at the Franco-Irish Literary Festival

This Friday, March 31st, the 2017 Franco-Irish Literary Festival begins and will continue right through the weekend. Organised by Alliance Française and the Cultural Service of the French Embassy in Ireland, this annual festival celebrates the unique relationship between Ireland, France and other francophone nations through highlighting the work of their writers. With fashion as … Continue reading “Silk for the Feed Dogs” at the Franco-Irish Literary Festival

Festive fun: Jackie Mallon’s Fairytale of New York

Blue and Unassuming Under the Christmas Star is a seasonal spin-off from Jackie Mallon's book, Silk for the Feed Dogs. The story returns to the problems of the loveable but habitually disaster-prone Kat as she tries to find some Christmas spirit in the hearts of the famously grumpy New Yorkers. Jackie Mallon manages to capture what it … Continue reading Festive fun: Jackie Mallon’s Fairytale of New York

“The work of the informed imagination”. Jackie Mallon interviews Fionnuala Brennan

Jackie Mallon:  You’ve said you’re fascinated by Goya, and this passion comes through clearly in your novel, The Painter's Women, but where exactly did your interest originate? Fionnuala Brennan:  I studied Art History at Trinity College Dublin, so I was of course aware of the importance of Goya in European art history. Years after I … Continue reading “The work of the informed imagination”. Jackie Mallon interviews Fionnuala Brennan

Jackie Mallon about the aftermath of the Paris attacks and “A Moveable Feast”

We’ll Always Have Paris It is still difficult to comprehend what happened in Paris last weekend. Tonight as I write this there are reports of terrorist threats on cities as diverse as Brussels and Atlanta. Inside a crowded downtown Manhattan cafe, we hear a police siren and fire truck pass and all of us raise our … Continue reading Jackie Mallon about the aftermath of the Paris attacks and “A Moveable Feast”

Summer in Capri with Kat, Edward… and Jackie Mallon

    Excerpt from Silk for the Feed Dogs    A barman accepted the fifty, distracted during the aperitivo rush, so we had a little money until new funds arrived. We figured it would stretch farther away from the city, and the next morning we headed for Capri. I expected to see descendants of Brigitte Bardot … Continue reading Summer in Capri with Kat, Edward… and Jackie Mallon

“A Blooming Good Read”: Jackie Mallon about reading

"I should mention I have no method to my reading. If I had, I would waste less time on unworthy books (ah yes, The Goldfinch…) Currently I’ve chosen well. I am revisiting the illicit charms of Lady Chatterley’s Lover which I read in my early teens probably concealed behind a copy of Smash Hits magazine. … Continue reading “A Blooming Good Read”: Jackie Mallon about reading

“From the menial, I’ll build meaning.”

Why I Write by Jackie Mallon The sound is like a low growl. You mightn’t hear it but even when I look at peace, I’m making it. Then I itch and scrape. Is my stomach empty? Do I need a walk? A nap? A blanket? Kibble? Tranquilizing? Reading, yes, that calms me. For a while. … Continue reading “From the menial, I’ll build meaning.”

New review! SILK FOR THE FEED DOGS: “full of life and personality”

A fun look at the fashion world, March 25, 2015 By Trent P. McDonald “Silk for the Feed Dogs”, a novel by Jackie Mallon, follows Irish farmer’s daughter Kat Connelly as she works her way through the fashion world from the “fashion” house of a bottom feeder in London to the top of high fashion … Continue reading New review! SILK FOR THE FEED DOGS: “full of life and personality”

“In the beast’s lair”: Jackie Mallon interviewed by Marie-Claire Magazine

From the interview that has just appeared in Marie-Claire Magazine and Atlas Jet Magazine, Turkey: MC: Everybody sees The Devil Wears Prada as the book that brought the real face of fashion to literature, and many people compare your book to Devil. But actually Silk for the Feed Dogs comes from a deeper corner of … Continue reading “In the beast’s lair”: Jackie Mallon interviewed by Marie-Claire Magazine

Come on, baby, light my fire

“Come with me, little girl,” said Fausto, leading me back inside. “I’ll light your candy cigarette for you.” The easiness of us surprised me. I had thought a relationship with an Italian man would be fuelled by arguments and accusations, judging by the amount of couples I came upon in the street doing their impression … Continue reading Come on, baby, light my fire

Australia, I’m Coming…

…just not in person. Nope. They’re sending Kat and Edward. You see, Silk for the Feed Dogs is now on Kindle Promotion for a limited period in Australia! Time to let everyone know Kat and Edward have landed. I’m calling all my Aussie blogging friends; poking on Facebook my fashion lovelies who are ahead of … Continue reading Australia, I’m Coming…

Love fashion? Read from SILK FOR THE FEED DOGS by Jackie Mallon

Silk for the Feed Dogs is currently on promotion in Australia.   "I got into my dress and new Prada shoes, smeared Ravish-Me-Red on my lips, and arranged the netting of my hat over one eye. I grabbed my coat and couldn’t get out of that draughty warehouse fast enough. Instead of traffic, the streets were now … Continue reading Love fashion? Read from SILK FOR THE FEED DOGS by Jackie Mallon

Helmut Lang Exhibition by Jackie Mallon

Jackie Mallon

Kirsten for Lang back in the day Kirsten for Lang back in the day

As a devotee of his runways in the late 90s and early aughts, I was mighty curious to see this exhibition. The press release describes his use of materials “with a certain history, elements with irreplaceable presence and with scars and memories of a former purpose.” Right then. I was all ready for a nostalgia trip, a slideshow of campaigns featuring his favorite model, Kirsten Owen, captured by his favorite photographer Jurgen Teller, washing softly over my eyeballs as I walked to the Bowery.

Inside I was rewarded with an opportunity for contemplation that would last longer than the time I spent in the gallery and it looks like I won’t arrive at any conclusions during this post either: there’s always time for ruminating on the longevity of fashion; the recycling of clothing; the myth of a fashion icon and the destruction of…

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Today: Jackie Mallon’s choice

There is a passage from classic literature so vividly macabre yet fantastically romantic that it seared itself into my girlhood brain. Nothing Hollywood’s big budget pyrotechnics or CGI wizardry has ever produced has come close to replicating it: the image of Miss Havisham catching fire in Great Expectations. Unlike some little girls I didn’t grow … Continue reading Today: Jackie Mallon’s choice

Kindle edition of GIFTS free this week!

Christmas is not always magic but good books always are. Whether you love or hate Christmas, you might enjoy a good story. Our collection GIFTS: NINE BITTERSWEET CHRISTMAS STORIES is free on Amazon this week: getBook.at/FREE_GIFTS  

Kat, Edward, Gatsby, Capote…and Kevin

The Plaza Hotel in NYC by Jackie Mallon

Jackie Mallon

IMG_0964 The Plaza Hotel is legendary.

It opened in 1907 when rooms cost $2 50 per night. Now they cost around $800. At the time it placed the largest ever single order for gold-encrusted china and boasted 1,650 crystal chandeliers.

In today’s New York it looks discretely down its nose at all these precious little lifestyle and boutique hotels, hipster upstarts serving their Stumptown coffee as if that can begin to compete with the ceiling of the Palm Court.

As a Manhattan landmark it represents the regal opulence of The Great Gatsby and not the Trumped up hubris of The Donald. It continues to be a goddess of the silver screen from its first starring role in Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller North By Northwest to parts in The Way We Were, The Great Gatsby, Almost Famous, Sex & The City, and American Hustle.

The Great Gatsby in one of The Plaza'a suites Scene from 2013’s The Great Gatsby set…

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Kat and Edward at Christmas

Jackie Mallon about her story in our Christmas collection GIFTS

Jackie Mallon

Mallon 2When Silk for the Feed Dog was published in September 2013, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. There was the obvious reason: I was setting it free to be read and hopefully enjoyed––or to be ignored or, God forbid, hated––but at least it was getting an opportunity to go off and make something of itself. The other reason for the relief was that I was free too.

Mercy me, I didn’t have to spend any more time with that Kat and Edward pair!

We’d been living in each other’s pockets for four years. We knew each other’s quirks and foibles, bad habits, and could finish each other’s sentences. We badly needed a break from each other.

Se ya, wouldn’t want to be ya! I didn’t even wave.

I rallied the old brain cells and giddily embarked on a new writing project.

Initially the lightness about me was intoxicating. Everything…

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Excerpt from GIFTS: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Jackie Mallon

From “Blue and Unassuming under a Christmas Star” by Jackie Mallon: “In Sean Kat recognizes not a point of conversation anymore but the repository for all her frustrations. “Give that money back, you little shit. Go on, hand it over.” She holds out her hand and several shoppers gasp. “Come on, it’s Christmas, let it … Continue reading Excerpt from GIFTS: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Jackie Mallon