Meg asked Beth Harbison:

I LOVE your Shoe Addict series, the only one I still have to read is the Christmas one. Are you going to be writing any more? I am a shoe addict, but not the pricey ones. Why spend a lot on one pair, if you buy cheaper ones you can buy more. :)

Beth Harbison Hm, Meg. That's certainly food for thought. The truth is, most of my shoes come from TJ Maxx (aka "heaven") or Nordstrom Rack. So I tend to get GOOD shoes, but at a GREAT price (whereas I have had bad luck/back problems, etc. from really cheap box store shoes). But I guess it's not really all that great a fantasy to set a scene in TJ Maxx, versus, say, a fancy boutique that I can write as going all-out to sell the fantasy. And I am ever mindful of the old saying that "men buy the product, women buy the story" - it's so true of me. I don't believe I have ever bought a pair of shoes without a mental picture of the date I'll be wearing them on, or the party I'll be going to in them, or whatever... So if I say "Louboutin's Gela Davis 100mm black crepe satin pumps" anyone can look them up and see the fantasy, whereas if I said the more realistic "Italian Shoemakers spike heel pumps", 1. it'll be harder to see which I mean, and, 2. a more practical shoemaker like that is less likely to have such a funky mental picture. Does that make sense?

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