Author Interview: Jacqueline Firkins

I’m so excited to share with you an interview I did with YA author and costume designer Jacqueline Firkins, who’s working on a very exciting creative project that blends her love for YA lit with her talent for dressmaking and design. Having a bit of a passion for fashion myself, this couldn’t be more up my street! Now, on to the interview!

Please introduce yourself to our readers!

I’m a writer, costume designer, and lover of beautiful things. I’m on the fulltime faculty in the Department of Theatre & Film at the University of British Columbia where I also take any writing class they’ll let me into. When not obsessing about where to put the buttons or the commas, I can be found running by the ocean, eating excessive amounts of gluten, listening to earnest love songs, and pretending my dog understands every word I say.

Tell us about your fantastic literature/dressmaking crossover project! How did you come up with the idea of promoting YA books through costume design?

Honestly, it started when I was struggling to figure out what to do with social media. I got on Twitter and Instagram by request of my publisher but I wasn’t well versed in either and tend to be quite private about my personal life. I wasn’t posting much of anything, and what I did post (mostly pics of my dog) only went out to a few friends. Then I realized I’m a visual designer by trade and could use my unique skill set as a costumer, particularly on Instagram, which is a very visual platform. I made a few dresses that tied in with my first book cover and used them as giveaways before the release. When COVID hit, I was struggling quite hard with the loss of my theatre community and the sense of connection with other artists. Knowing how much I’d enjoyed making the book-themed dresses for my release, I reached out to a few authors and asked if they wanted a dress for their books. It’s a way of connecting in times when we’re all very isolated. I’m doing something I enjoy–something that uses my otherwise unemployed skills–and helping to promote work from people I care about. Also, when times are hard, being able to provide a bit of joy to others can feel like a triumph. That helps me get through some of the isolation.

How do you decide which books to highlight?

I started by reaching out to authors I knew. Once I’d done a few, I picked out some books I’d enjoyed that I thought lent themselves well to bookish dresses, and reached out to those authors, too. Now that I have several up, a few authors have contacted me to request one as well. As long as I can find the time and money, I’m game. I’ve been focusing mostly on smaller releases and debuts because the authors need more support and the work I do holds more meaning, but at this point I’m pretty open to what comes next, whether that’s me falling in love with a book and its cover, or another author reaching out to connect. All of it brings joy and builds community.

How does the design process work?

I start by reading the books. Getting a feel for tone, themes, and the world within. Much of the design comes from trying to reflect the colours, textures, and other visuals of the covers, but I try to make them reflect the content as well. For example, The Sound of Stars has a character who hides books and another who loves music. So I included two book-sized pockets and a special iPod pocket on the sleeve. They also go on a road trip, so a coat that carried things seemed useful. For a sophisticated historical drama like The Flight Girls, the look is more adult and more serious. For Jenn Bennet’s The Lady Rogue, a book that references vampires, I included red velvet ribbons that spring from the neckline like a wound. For Kit Sweetly, which centers around a medieval-themed restaurant, I used influences of medieval clothing but brought them into a more modern silhouette. Some of the dresses come together really quickly. Others take quite a bit of trial and error.

How long does it typically take to create a dress?

They range a lot. I suppose since I started the project, I’ve finished one about every 10 days, balancing that with other commitments, including my full time job. But I might finish a fairly straightforward one in 3 days, while one that’s more complicated or takes more trial and error takes a few weeks. That said, ordering materials across the border can take 2-4 months, so sometimes the wait to get started is considerable!

Do you have a favourite dress (so far!)?

I had a total blast doing The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue because it’s a historic romp so I got to pull in some fun period details and give the whole thing a swashbuckling look. I also like the unabashedly romantic ones with yards and yards of tulle. They take a while, but I like the softness in the final look.

If someone were to design a costume based on one of your books, what might it look like?

I only have one book out now, and I think I made 12 dresses for it, so they’re all out there in the world now. I loved the cover with its bold red and huge heart. Anything that picks up that colour and motif would suit. I recently saw a mock up of the cover for my sophomore release and it’s quite different, but I think it’ll still lend itself to something fun. Can’t wait until we have a final design and I can dig in.

How did you get into costume design?

I was one of those teenagers who had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. I took a little of everything in college and graduated with a degree in literature because I’d taken the most classes in the subject. But I’d spent most of my time in the theatre making sets and costumes. As much as I loved reading great stories, my true passion was helping to create the worlds and characters within those stories and delivering them to new audiences. I sewed, so I got hired working on costumes before I finished school. Eventually I stopped trying to convince myself it was a hobby and committed to the career.

Are there similarities between costume design and writing?

Oh, loads. They’re both forms of storytelling. They both require an understanding of character, form, human behavior, symbolism, theme, world-building, hierarchies, sociology, history, emotion, how people relate to image, and a hundred other overlaps. They both require research and observation. And the final product involves collaboration with others, though in writing that’s a more condensed part of the process.

You mentioned you were in the process of editing a new novel – can you tell us a bit about it?

I go back to my classic lit roots a lot, so while my debut (Hearts, Strings, and Other Breakable Things) is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park, my sophomore release is my tribute to Don Quixote. Both are contemporary YA romances with a comedic bent, but they draw on characters and themes from the source material. In How Not to Fall in Love (currently slated for a fall 2021 release) a girl who’s become jaded to romance by working in a wedding shop teaches her always heartbroken neighbor how to stop falling in love. Turns out, he might have something to teach her, too.

What’s your favourite part of the writing process?

First drafts have a wonderful freedom to them. I also enjoy the more precise sentence-by-sentence analysis of editing, though it works best for me when I have critical feedback I understand and can incorporate, whether that’s from a trusted critique partner, my agent, or my editor. Without an outside eye seeing what’s on the page (vs what’s in my head that I THINK is on the page) I can edit myself in circles for years.

Did you start writing your novels knowing they would be young adult novels, or did that classification come later?

I very specifically wanted to write YA. I like writing about firsts. First love. First steps of independence from the family unit. First really bad choices. The whole glorious mess of learning through experience. I also wanted to write the books I wasn’t finding when I was a teenager. Love stories all centered around impossibly beautiful girls. These days there’s a push for strong, brave girls, but now they’re mostly strong AND beautiful. I think shy, awkward girls who don’t walk into a room to the gasps of thousands deserve love stories too.

Could you tell us a bit about your road to publication?

I got my first book published through hard work and perseverance. It took me about 3 years to get an agent, which I did by querying a few different manuscripts while taking writing classes and trying to improve what I was submitting. I’m mortified now at the first things I sent out, which were definitely not ready! The first book my agent sent out on submission didn’t sell. It was a super dark comedy that didn’t really have an obvious audience, and probably still needed some work to make the story its strongest. The second was my Mansfield retelling, which I wrote partly to see if something with a clearer market would strike a chord with editors. Also, I love Mansfield and felt like it deserved more space on the shelves beside the many, many Pride and Prejudice retellings.

A wonderful thank you to Jacqueline for sharing her time and her thoughts with us – be sure to check her out on Instagram to see more of her beautiful designs, and for updates on her upcoming book!