Swagger RX

Is winter getting you down?

Have a dose of S-W-A-G-G-E-R

• All natural, pure endorphin with a secret ingredient, known by its trade name "S.A.$.$.”

• 100% effective for the relief of dull, dry, moods and cravings for chocolate (okay, won’t guarantee the last but it got your attention, right?)

• In a blind, random, totally uncontrolled trial (in my living room with the curtains drawn) two out of three participants (that’s myself and my two pre-teen girls) noted a significant increase in swagger when following the RX prescribed below.

How did we do that? (Warning: swagger, when properly viewed and/or listened to, is contagious. Do not read any further if you are content to wallow in listless below-zero February misery).

All right, fearless reader, if your eyes have dared to stray thus far, let me introduce myself and I'll share my favourite inspirations for becoming swagger-licious.

Hi. I’m the wallflower-nose-in-my-book-geek girl-but-you’d -never-guess-that-I’M A HOT GIRL WITH SOME SERIOUS SWAGGER.

What’s a forty-something/mother of two pre-teens/thriller author listening to? Ke$ha. Yeah, you heard me. Tik Tok. And I listen to it even when my kids aren’t around. In fact, it’s the first song on my playlist. Why? Because the girl’s got some serious swagger.

And before I continue, let’s just talk about Ke$ha’s name for a minute. First of all, there ain’t no double e in her name. It’s a soft “e.” And in case we don’t get what this girl is all about, the dollar sign inserted in lieu of the ‘s’ in her name is pure swagger. With a capital $. (And that’s US dollars, too.)

I know the song isn't going to win awards for lyrics. But the girl has attitude. And I love it. Everytime she sings, "And the party don't start 'til I walk in" I can't help but sing along, copping a little attitude along the way. Usually while I'm carpooling. In rush hour traffic. With my daughter staring at me incredulously. Sometimes, just to really show my swagger, I turn the volume up until... well, I have to admit I can't stand really loud music.

Who else possesses contagious swagger? Swagger that this geek girl-lawyer-turned-thriller author would love to emulate?


Why agent Sidney Bristow, of course. I was just watching the pilot of Alias the other night, and man, this secret agent could put on the swagger when she wanted to. It made just want to leap off my couch and kick some butt! My dog retired to her crate. She can only take so much of my swagger.







But right now, I'm lovin' it! It's my dose of sunshine, my Reese's peanut butter cup (am I the only parent who stea-- borrows them from their kids' halloween loot on the premise that they can't take them to school?), my delicious little secret that I keep snug under my long johns on these cold, dreary days.


Until my daughter turns on the radio. And TikTok comes on. And then...


Do you have a favourite artist/actor/book character that brings out your inner swagger?

-- Pam Callow is the author of a new legal thriller series for MIRA Books. DAMAGED, debuting struggling thirty-something lawyer Kate Lange, will be released June 1, 2010. When confronted with a killer, you can bet Kate gets her swagger on!