Free The Last Dreamer by Barbara Solomon Josselsohn Page A

that morning, and she wasn’t going to let any insecurities change that. The bottom line was, she had loved being part of Jeff Downs’s world, and loved being Iliana Fisher, New York Times reporter on assignment. It had satisfied a need she had been feeling a long time.
    And she was going back next week to do it again. She could hardly wait.

Chapter 6
     
Where do ex–pop stars go when it’s time to leave the soundstage? Here’s one who’s made the switch from rehearsal studio to design studio, proving that a TV star’s success can extend beyond reruns!
    Later that day at the dining room table, Iliana finished typing and leaned back in her chair. Not bad—it was a lively lead, and it focused on celebrity, which was what Stuart wanted. She was pleased that after years away from Business Times , she still could develop a solid business story.
    She continued:
The ex–pop star in question is Jeff Downs, one of the four teenage boys who made up the Dreamers, the centerpiece of the one-time hit sitcom Guitar Dreams . Back then, Jeff Downs was a superstar. His slender frame graced posters in teenage girls’ bedrooms across the country, and his modest smile shone on magazine covers week after week after week.
But after a handful of years in the limelight, and many more out of it, Jeff has done an about-face. While once he filled the dreams of teenyboppers, now he covers their beds—with blankets that bear the name of his successful New York–based textiles firm.
How does it feel to go from pop stardom to business ownership? What does a former star miss—and what doesn’t he miss? How did he come to land in New York? What did his years on TV teach him about making a go of it in the world of commerce?
Would you be interested in a 1,200-word profile about Jeff Downs and Downs Textiles? I’m ready to get started as soon as you give me the word. Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Iliana
    She typed the last words and sat back, proud and satisfied. It was a good query, one she thought any shrewd business editor should find irresistible. Hell, if she were Stuart, she’d lock the piece up immediately with an assignment and a contract! She knew that Stuart had indicated in his email that he wanted to see a finished article and not a proposal, but as soon as she had gotten home from the city yesterday, she had decided to reach out to him this way. She would have felt too guilty otherwise to go back to Downs Textiles next week—especially when Jeff was including her in a client meeting and then taking her out to lunch. Jeff had been so generous and personable, and she figured that if she could at least get some interest from Stuart to hang her hat on, she would feel better about returning to be with him again. She could gradually nudge Jeff into seeing Business Times as a strong and significant publication—maybe even a preferred outlet for business coverage over the Times Business section—so that when she eventually told him she’d sold the piece to Business Times ,he’d be fine with the switch.
    It was a great story idea and would make a great article, she thought. Of course, she still needed Jeff to agree to share some thoughts about his past to give the story some color, but she felt confident that she could convince him to do so. He liked her, she could tell—he liked and admired her, and she thought he would trust her when she told him some anecdotes and personal comments would make her article better. And once it was published and out in the world, it could open up even more writing opportunities for her. Feeling that things were falling into place, she tapped “Send,” and the email was on its way.
    Then, just for good measure, she went to the New York Times website and found an email address for the New York section editor. Why not? If Stuart didn’t like the idea, maybe the Times would, and if she somehow ended up with two acceptances, she could figure out then what to do. As an old