Janessa After Dark Janessa Jaye Champagne

We've been gone for a hot minute, but Miss Jaye is back with the next installment of The Renovation - she's reached the halfway point in her project, but is she wiser...or just older?

PART ONE: So What Happened?
Miss Jaye talks about what this project was supposed to be at the beginning and how it started to change. Self reflection is never easy - but this trip has been bananas!

PART TWO: The Story So Far
To understand where you're going, you've got to understand where you've been! Miss Jaye gives a rundown of the 7 books in #TheSquad that she's read do far, with some of her thoughts - the good, the bad, and the extremely ugly! Plus, she loves any excuse to make a SEX & THE CITY reference!

PART THREE: You're Doing Great Sweetie!
Are you though? Are you really? In this section Miss Jaye talks through some of the feelings that were coming up as she worked through the early episodes of THE RENOVATION and how the project continued to change and morph the deeper in she got!

PART FOUR: The Shit Hits The Fan!
Personal growth is hard enough without a global pandemic throwing a wrench into the works! In this section, Miss Jaye talks about how the arrival - and very long stay! - of Mean Miss 'Rona intensified her feelings of loneliness and isolation - but also helped her gain perspective in rather surprising ways!

PART FIVE: Let's Marie Kondo This Shit!
She's got a new focus, and she's ready to go! Miss Jaye sets up what she wants to achieve in the second half of this series and talks about the next book in #TheSquad - we're not exactly sure what it's about, but we know that she's already halfway there!

PART SIX: The World Turned Upside Down
Once again, we are so fortunate to have this episode's Brene Brown quote read by none other than Ash from The Upside Down Podcast! Find out more about where you can hear the show - they helped get Miss Jaye through lockdown, and they keep coming out with great content while we all wait patiently for season 4!

While we're going to be serving up some humor and plenty of snark, mental health is no laughing matter. Nothing in this series is meant to constitute medical advice, and is presented for entertainment purposes only. If you or someone you love is struggling with suicidal thoughts, contact the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit SuicidePreventionHotline.org. We love you.

Miss Jaye is back with yet another episode of Janessa After Dark's spine-tingling horror-themed Series 2 - and the interview for this episode is absolutely iconic!

First though, Miss Jaye talks a little bit about the "first girl." Not to be confused with the final girl, a well-known slasher trope that was initially defined by Carol Clover in her book MEN, WOMEN, AND CHAINSAWS, the first girl is the first big on-screen kill by a killer in a slasher franchise, and really helps set the tone for how the killer operates and what the film is going to be about - things that impact the series through subsequent sequels.

In addition to discussing the first girls form the "big three" slasher franchises (HALLOWEEN, FRIDAY THE 13TH, and NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET), Miss Jaye also connects them back to the first iteration of the slasher motif, Hitchcock's PSYCHO, as well as the British film PEEPING TOM that came out the same year.

And Miss Jaye's very special guest for this episode is the "first girl" from the HALLOWEEN franchise: Sandy Johnson, who played Judith Myers in John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN! They talk about her role in that film as well as her appearance in Playboy, her new love of conventions, and her other film work! It's a great conversation between two fabulous broads, so don't miss a moment!

Miss Jaye is back with the next step on her journey for healing, wholeness, and hot-mess-reduction: Lysa TerKeurst's UNIVITED: LIVING LOVED WHEN YOU FEEL LESS THAN, LEFT OUT, & LONELY. The first book in #TheSquad presented from a Christian perspective, Miss Jaye needed to unpack a few troubled memories from her past to get through this one!

Part One: The First Cut Is The Deepest
Miss Jaye opens up about some of her feelings about organized religion, and Chirstianity specifically. Like many queer people, Miss Jaye's experiences with the church have been at time...troubled. But a lot of that trouble can be traced back to one person: Pastor Ken.

Part Two: The Ick Factor
As she's reading the book, there is something about the language that doesn't sit quite right with her - and it starts to bring up other less wholesome references!

Part Three: Being Right Vs. Ending Right
Miss Jaye starts to "drink the Koolaid" (I know, I know, not exactly a great reference when it comes to trusting religions, but here we are) and gets drawn in to a section about bitterness, and choosing grace instead.

Part Four: The Power of Positive Delusion
Well, that ended quickly! In this section, Miss Jaye comes back down to earth as she contemplates the difference between humility and humiliation, and how certain religious teachings always seem to work out better for those with a certain amount of privilege.

Part Five: All Good Girls Go To Heaven
Further questioning the balance between privilege and oppression the author represents, Miss Jaye wonders why this is so clearly targeted at women...and what that says about the role of women in religious life.

Part Six: Never Saw That Coming
She thought she had this book figured out - until it through her a real curveball! Maybe this perspective has more in common with Miss Jaye's "woo woo" beliefs than she first thought...but that may not be a good thing.

Part Seven: Everything Was Beautiful & Nothing Hurt
A beautiful lie is still a lie. Miss Jaye ponders faith and compliance, and tries to explain her view of the world, creation, and religion...through a beach ball?

Part Eight: The Porn Star Next Door
Never one to turn down a juicy juxtaposition, Miss Jaye asked none other than fellow UND alum, boylesque dancer, and adult film performer Chris Harder to read the opening Brene Brown quote for this episode! He's sweet and sexy, smart and spicy - he's just the porn star next door!

While we're going to be serving up some humor and plenty of snark, mental health is no laughing matter. Nothing in this series is meant to constitute medical advice, and is presented for entertainment purposes only. If you or someone you love is struggling with suicidal thoughts, contact the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit SuicidePreventionHotline.org. We love you.