D.S. Marquis

OF SCHOOL AND WOMEN

In this mostly true story topped up with some social commentary, Marquis draws on her own life experiences to tackle the challenges of balancing earning, loving, and learning as a new adult.  Individuals in the story struggle with morality, integrity, and eccentricity, alongside U.S. Reagan Era news events so close they can feel the breezes.  
     Two first generation college women leave their tumultuous pasts behind and move to Florida’s capital city in search of new career opportunities.  Lynette Autry, on the brink of a new life, moves into the projects, registers for school, and finds a job bartending at the airport. Balancing it all drives her to despondency, until a late-night serendipitous meeting with nurse and pre-med student, Marie Martinez, whose friendliness is contagious. Youthful follies ensue.  Marie falls prey to a too-good-for-true-opportunity. And together with Dillan, a piano playing aircraft mechanic and Fr. Juan, a Catholic parish diaconate, they become part of the spirit of a larger community, where adversity changes to resilience. And helping each other, laughter, love, and self-acceptance prevail.
    OF SCHOOL AND WOMEN is a testimony to the idiom, If you can’t be good, be careful. And to the cultures of college, new adults, airlines, restaurants, bars, drugs, survivors, educators, dissentients, nonconformists, scamming, females, individuality, 80’s pop, disabled learners, Catholics, Latinos, Caucasians, Liberals, and to the declaration of reinventing yourself.