ABOUT VANESSA
née, Toodles
Vanessa spent the oughts bouncing between the coasts, from Brooklyn to Seattle, with stops in Arkansas, Virginia, and Colorado, before landing in Austin, Texas. She lives with her Ron Swanson-esque husband, paper craft-obsessed daughter, and cats Mei Mei: the feline gargoyle, and Sweetums, an endlessly sweet creature who never met a forbidden surface she couldn't explore.
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When not writing, Vanessa enjoys reading, championing her favorite audiobooks, admission-free hours at Barton Springs, and working out before dawn.
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Her first novel, A CERTAIN APPEAL, released from Putnam Books in 2021. A retelling of Pride and Prejudice, the novel is a romcom with actual "com," and love letter to the sparkling world of NYC burlesque.
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FUN FACT: Vanessa writes in the first person, so this has been SUPER weird for her.
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Top: In which author closely resembles a realtor who would like to get you into a tidy bungalow in Hyde Park, Austin, while knowing full well it's actually in Shadowlawn and that the carpet hasn't been replaced in decades.
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​Left: Duane Park, NYC, December 2012. Dressed as a reindeer for the burlesque show's ​last performance before Christmas. Costume assembled by author, who remains amazed at what can achieved with hot glue.
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Right: Star Wars-themed gym event, May 4,2024. The task required weights be towed across turf without touching the rope to which they were attached with hands or feet; author volunteered to act as spool. She thought this was very clever and would like to note that all the other teams copied this move.
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Left and Right photos intended as visual representation of vastly different subjects/settings of author's books but mostly here because she thinks they look cool.