Nineteen: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Model

Depressed, broke, and suffering the effects of a brutal childhood; our hero heads to New York City. He leaves behind college life in a small midwestern town to earn a living in one of the most competitive fields in the world. Pushing aside his overwhelming self-doubt and insecurities, he arrives in New York City with only a bag filled with clothes. Nineteen is his story. Enter his world and walk beside him as D.L. paints a portrait of his life as an outsider in the 1980s fashion world. Without help or any contacts, our protagonist attempts to make enough money to go to a good university and change his life forever. Embark on this intimate journey into a world remembered and created from the troubled, yet determined mind of a nineteen year old boy. His pragmatic mind coupled with a tortured soul will lead the way.

Review :
"Nineteen" by D.L. Janney is the gritty story of a vulnerable but spike-tough young man determined to make a better life for himself. He has a "look," and this will catapult him into the glam-fashion model world of the 80's. You live Daryl's story by his side as he barely survives in a grubby postage-stamp room outside NYC, to an equally depressing prostitute-ridden boarding house in Milan, and finally on to exotic locales only the rich and famous may ever see. Daryl's journey invites us into the mind of a young man who, when he was small, was repeatedly nearly drowned by his father in the public swimming pool of his mid-western town. A young person who saw little love and even less encouragement growing up. A young person of rare physical attraction and toughness and decency, but drained of self-confidence and wracked by painful and persistent self-doubt. There is no fairy tale ending for this young man ... but there is hope. -J Bean Palmer, Author "Nineteen is a coming-of-age story on the level of Catcher in the Rye and other classic writings, and is highly recommended for advanced and mature teens into new adult and adult audiences; especially those interested in pursuing novels about the nature of transformative processes." -D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Reviews "A young person of rare physical attraction and toughness and decency, but drained of self-confidence and wracked by painful and persistent self-doubt. There is no fairy tale ending for this young man ... but there is hope." -J Bean Palmer, Award-winning Author "Make no mistake that our chief protagonist in Nineteen has his demons to deal with every step of the way no matter the apparent success. This is a book that reminds us all that life is about timing...being at the right place, at the right time and that all it takes is one person to believe in you!" -Jeffrey Felner, Book Reviewer, New York Journal of Books "A surprisingly engrossing first novel by a compelling writer. Evocative scenes alternate with meditative descriptions of a journey through real and imagined terrain. Its searching protagonist is at once young, naive, wise, cynical, searching, hopeful and jaded. A book I found difficult to put down." -Anonymous, Amazon