{"id":12,"date":"2020-11-03T13:11:12","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T13:11:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dianeayres.com\/w\/?page_id=12"},"modified":"2023-04-10T20:30:59","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T20:30:59","slug":"work","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dianeayres.com\/w\/work\/","title":{"rendered":"Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diane Ayres – Other Girls<\/strong><\/p>\n

From her very first day at Willard College for Women in the late seventies, Elizabeth Breedlove is trapped. The school\u2019s motto promises an oasis \u201cwhere a woman chooses her own destination,\u201d but so many faculty members and students have already decided what Breedlove\u2019s destiny should be\u2014based solely on her small-town high school picture in the frosh photo pamphlet,\u00a0Mugs and Plugs<\/em>.<\/p>\n

She magically gets a choice room in Fey House, the upper-class dorm, and a gorgeous \u201cBig Sister\u201d keen to help her navigate the social world of Willard. And even though she\u2019s an English major, her assigned advisor is the notorious feminist psychology professor Jojo Crews\u2014who immediately makes her feel she is part of some double-blind gender clinical trial. That\u2019s especially true after her new late-night poker buddies warn that everyone at Willard is instantly branded either \u201ca Virgin, a Debutante or a Lesbian Vampire.\u201d And she struggles to explore her own identity in a thick web of academic rivalry, secret codes of domination, all manner of swordplay, and the constant threat of long-ticking secrets about to explode. Everyone wants a piece, or a\u00a0bite<\/em>, of her.<\/p>\n

Which makes her story an intensely dark and witty saga of friendship, lust and, at long last, love.<\/p>\n

Originally published in the early 2000s,\u00a0Other Girls\u00a0<\/em>was decades ahead of its time in its exploration of women\u2019s friendships, gender fluidity and feminist satire.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>

While the book was well-received, there were problems with its publication: Ayres\u2019 voluminous last-pass edits were not incorporated into the finished hardcover. (One online reviewer noted, \u201cI couldn’t put this book down. I have to wonder if the editor was so compelled that they actually read the story, and thus missed simple things like grammatical errors, character name spelling changes \u2026 Despite these things I couldn’t stop thinking of how genius Ayres must be. That is how INSANELY pulled in I was by this story.\u201d) The changes were also not incorporated into the paperback, and then the publisher chose not to create an e-book. So, Ayres\u2019 agent, Joy Tutela at the David Black Literary Agency, helped her get the rights to the novel back. Ayres re-edited the book, and sought a new publisher. Today, an updated version of Other Girls,<\/em> has been published by Untreed Reads. It is now available for the first time in ebook, paperback and hardcover. Click here to order your copy<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Past Projects<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Rotation Stabilizes<\/h3>\n

In 1998, Diane’s poetry chap book, Rotation Stabilizes<\/em>, was published.<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Naked Came The Cheesesteak<\/h3>\n

Diane was asked to join a group of Philadelphia writer friends who dared create the serial novel Naked Came the Cheesesteak<\/em>.<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Philadelphia Noir<\/h3>\n

Her short story \u201cSeeing Nothing\u201d was included in the 2010 collection Philadelphia Noir<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Recent News \u2013 Other Girls Goes Into 2nd Publishing<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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\u201cPainting a picture of the women\u2019s college \u2026 spunky, searching characters \u2026 the Sturm und Drang<\/em> involved in female friendships and love affairs \u2026 so many relationship configurations and emotional roller coasters \u2026 \u201c<\/h5>\n
\u2014 Publishers Weekly<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/blockquote>
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\u201c\u2026 a frothy good time, packed with sex, seduction, betrayal, revenge, and a healthy addiction to midnight poker. We\u2019ve heard this girls\u2019 school high jinks tale before, but it\u2019s rarely been this much good plain fun.\u201d<\/h5>\n
\u2014 OUT Magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/blockquote>
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\u201cAyres is a talented writer\u2026I was struck time and time again by her intelligent humor and witty dialogue, and the puns that sparkle throughout the book \u2026 a skillfully woven web of dyke drama and \u2026 \u00a0college life\u201d<\/h5>\n
\u2014 Lambda Literary Review<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/blockquote>
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\u201cA wittily frank story of a freshwoman\u2019s coming of age.\u201d<\/h5>\n
\u2014 Philadelphia Inquirer<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/blockquote>
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\u201d Other Girls is a dazzling debut \u2026 a romantic, erotic, hilarious and at times, heartbreaking story about love among women \u2026 The book blithely morphs from dead-on satire to lesbian soap opera, from comedy to tragedy, from period piece to political statement \u2026 [it] also has humor in abundance. Ayres is as good with one-liners as she is with more sustained comic bits \u2026 rowdy, bawdy, utterly believable \u2026 thoroughly entertaining\u201d<\/h5>\n
\u2014 Philadelphia Gay News<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/blockquote>
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\u201cEngaging \u2026 amusing \u2026 a spirited \u2026 look at college life in the late 1970s\u2026 the characters and their stories hold together well.\u201d<\/h5>\n
\u2014 Pittsburgh Magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/blockquote>
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\u201cAn impressive debut. Take this one to the beach.\u201d<\/h5>\n
\u2014 New York Jewish Week<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div><\/span><\/blockquote>
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