| Karen Shelton Bumps Into Jane Seymour |
Karen Marie Shelton
Revised: 02/14/07 - Original Publication - 10/20/98 |
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Saturday October 17, 1998, 12:20 pm
Border's Books on Preston Road at Royal Lane in North Dallas is one of my favorite
Saturday "after lunch" stopping off points. They have a pretty good hair and
beauty magazine section, a solid hair and beauty book section and lots of great computer
books. This is my personal idea of heaven in a bookstore. I don't make it to Border's
every Saturday, but I am there at least twice a month wandering the aisles, my arms loaded
down with books and magazines.
Last Saturday (10/17/98) I arrived, after lunch, to find the parking lot more crammed
with cars than usual. I walked through the double glass entrance doors and sitting at a
small table right in front of me, was Jane Seymour.
At first I blinked because it was such a shock to see her sitting there. I stood and
just stared at her for about 2 minutes.
Then I got my composure and wandered by her table. I could have
touched her hand, I was so close. She looked up briefly as I passed and gave me a
beautiful smile. All of a sudden I felt like a small child meeting a big movie star.
After I recovered from my shock at literally bumping into this goddess of
long hair, I
looked around to see what she was doing.
She was signing a huge mountain of her newly released children's
books, Spat and This One & That One. While I like Jane Seymour and watched Dr. Quinn
from time to time, I have always been mostly a fan of her long hair. So I must confess
that I was not aware of her new career as a children's book writer. I made a beeline for
the stack of unsold books and snagged one of each. Unsigned of course.
Flanking Jane on either side were two Dallas police officers. I didn't want to look
suspicious like a stalker or other odd character, so I made my way to the right of her
table and hung back behind where she was sitting so I could get a full view of her and her
famous long hair.
Obviously a long hair fan like myself would be very interested in Jane's hair.
The star was
wearing her hair straight down and it touched about the middle of her back. I
stared for quite some time at her tresses because I thought her hair would be much longer. I could have sworn that I had seen
her hair to at least her waist. At Borders it definitely did not go to her waist. I was
surprised.
There were people waiting in a huge line to get her signature on her new children's
books "This One and That One" and "Yum" (see the book reviews that
follow).
I sauntered over to one of the policemen who was standing to the side and made
conversation with him.
He
was standing just behind Ms. Seymour and was happy to chat. I told him that running into
Jane was a surprise because I had not read about her visit to Borders.
He said that Jane
arrived promptly at 10 am in her limo to find a line of people that snaked completely
around the Borders store and out the door.
The policeman told me that many people waited very patiently for a very long time to
have Jane sign her books. He said that he had chatted with her briefly and she was very
sweet and had such a charming manner. I told him I was going to write a review about
Jane's for the Hair Boutique and he agreed that I could sort of mill around, if I did not
get in the way. I took him up on his offer and milled around like crazy.
I asked where Jane's husband and co-author, James Keach was. The police officer told me
that supposedly he had other business and could not make the signing.
Jane looked very beautiful. I was surprised at how light her hair looked. On Dr. Quinn
her hair seemed to be a darker reddish brunette color.
At the Borders her
hair had a lot of blonde highlights which gave her overall hair more of a light
caramel color. Her tresses looked healthy and shiny but definitely a lot shorter than I had
imagined.
For some reason I also expected it to be a lot thicker and fuller. I figured
that maybe when she was sitting down her hair would look shorter. So I hung around until
she stood up to leave and her hair still only made it to the middle of her back.
I mentioned, to a woman standing near me, how much shorter Jane's hair was than I had
imagined. The woman told me that after Dr. Quinn it was rumored that Jane had cut about 6
inches off the length for some hair color commercials. The same woman told me that she
heard that Jane had her hair lightened as a result of the same commercials. The woman
mentioned to me that Jane is very pretty in person, but still looks different than she
does on Television. I agreed.
I was also surprised how tiny Jane is. She's a lot shorter and thinner
in person than she appears on television. She had on a beautiful two piece caramel colored
suit with matching shoes. She was skillfully made-up in a manner that highlighted her
big eyes and tasteful jewelry. She appeared very stylish and elegant.
Jane made pleasant
chit chat with all the people that snaked up to her table clutching her two new books.
Jane seemed very relaxed and friendly. There was a big sign posted near her table that
stated that "Ms. Seymour could not sign any memorabilia, only her two books".
There was a big stack of the two books on the table and Jane was busy signing away. She
smiled and laughed a lot and had a wonderful laugh. Jane also had a beautiful smile that
seemed very sincere. I watched the people as they filed past her table and Jane made a lot
of them smile.
I contemplated getting in the line to have her sign my books but the line was very long
and she was getting ready to leave shortly after 12:30 pm. In fact, the line was closed
before I could have gotten there. So I continued to hang around near the autograph table
and watched her thank everyone, get up and gracefully leave the store for her limo. She
was gone in a flash.
All that was left was her table and a stack of her new books.
While I was at the checkout counter buying all my monthly hair and beauty magazines,
the Border's clerk was talking to me about Jane. He mentioned that he was very surprised
at how tiny she was in person. He said she looked so much taller and heavier on TV. He
also mentioned that her hair seemed so much shorter in person and that he thought it would
have been below her waist and much thicker. I told him that when they do TV shows the
celebrities have hair stylists that do their hair all the time. He agreed that maybe that
was the difference.
He said that in the first 30 minutes that she was signing her books, the store was
totally packed with people buying her books and getting her autograph. The
clerk reported "it was a
little scary how many people packed in to see her in person".
I saw one lone bright yellow poster taped to the wall announcing Jane's appearance. I
asked the clerk if I could have a copy of the poster to scan for the Hair Boutique. He
told me that I would have to take the poster off the wall because it was the last one
left. He mentioned that several other fliers and posters had totally vanished. So I
carefully removed the poster from the Border's wall and loving carried it out to my
car.
Usually I tend to find myself in the wrong place at the wrong time. You know, speeding
through radar traps or turning down a road as a train approaches. For some reason I was at
the right place at the right time to see a long hair idol real and in person. It was a great
treat and wonderful surprise. Luck was on my side. Now if I could just win the lottery.
Reviews Of Jane's New Books
This
One 'N That One in Splat! : The Tale of a Colorful Cat (This One and That One)
by Jane Seymour, James Keach, Geoffrey Planer (Illustrator)
Karen's Review
I must say that I am very impressed with the illustrations. They are all well done. The
Splat book has a bright yellow cover with an adorable drawing of This One and That one,
the little kittens. This book was inspired by how Jane Seymour experienced her husband
James with their two young twin boys.
It is a cute story and guarantees some smiles, if not outright giggles. The morale of
this story: never fall asleep with two kittens on the loose. Yum and A Tale of Two Cookies
would make perfect Christmas gifts for the youngsters on your list. The This One and That
One series is bound to be a favorite children's series for years to come.
This
One 'N That One in Yum!: A Tale of Two Cookies
by Jane Seymour, James Keach, Geoffrey Planer (Illustrator)
Karen's Review
This is a great bedtime story for the kids. In case you haven't figured it out yet,
Lady Jane is Jane Seymour and Big Jim is husband James Keach. Illustrator Geoffrey Planer
has done a wonderful job drawing the kittens and making this a very warm and attractive
book. This is definitely a book about the family. In fact, Jane and James wrote the book
for their 3 year old twin sons John and Kristopher.
It is definitely a book to evoke giggles and smiles from most youngsters. This One
& That One is about a warm and loving family of cats. It should appeal to most
children and some adults who still are children at heart. This One & That One is
already very popular and rising on the sales charts. Jane and James will be penning an
entire series of children's books guaranteed to capture the hearts and souls of children
everywhere.
Jane Seymour may have found the perfect new career with her new line of children's
books, This One and That One. A one-hour movie based on This One and That One are already
in the works and it may eventually be a series.
To Read More About Jane's Books:
Tales
for two: Jane Seymour writes books inspired by her twins
Actress Jane Seymour and her husband director James Keach have written two
children’s books, the first in a series, based on their adventures in raising their
three-year-old twins.
Dallas Fashion Awards Event Celebrates Escada, Jane Seymour
Saturday - 10/17/98
After Jane smiled and signed her way through mountains of her children's books at
Borders she made a dazzling appearance as a special honoree at the Dallas Fashion Awards
held Saturday night(10/17/98) to honor fashion designer Escada.
The Dallas Morning
New's Fashion Dallas Section (10/21/98) proclaimed that "actress Jane Seymour
glittered." Jane was in attendance along with 700 guests who laid on the glam in the
Dallas International Apparel Mart's Great Hall. A portion of the night's proceeds were
donated to the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA).
Ms. Seymour was recognized with a special DFA for her personal style. The Saturday
night Dallas gala included dinner, dancing, video tributes to the winners and a runway
presentation of the spring 99 Escada collection.
Ms. Seymour was photographed by The Dallas Morning News receiving her DFA award.
She was
beautiful with her long hair worn long and parted to one side. Escada's chairman, Wolfgang
Ley, gave thanks in his ebullient acceptance speech to Ms. Seymour, Escada's "most
glamorous fashion ambassador".
Ms. Seymour accepted her DFA dressed in a strapless, bead-paved animal print Escada
Gown. "I've never had a standing ovation before" she told the black-tie crowd
that gave her a major welcome.
For more information on Jane Seymour visit the following websites: |