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ARC Review: Agorafabulous!: Dispatches From My Bedroom – Sara Benincasa

February 7, 2012 in Health, Reviews

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • List Price: $24.99
  • Publisher: William Morrow (February 14, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0062024418
  • ISBN-13: 978-0062024411
  • Sara Benincasa’s Website

Buy Agorafaboulous at:


In Boston, a college student fears leaving her own room—even to use the toilet. In Pennsylvania, a meek personal assistant finally confronts a perpetually enraged gay spiritual guru.

In Texas, a rookie high school teacher deals with her male student’s unusually, er, hard personal problem. Sara Benincasa has been that terrified student, that embattled employee, that confused teacher—and so much more. Her hilarious memoir chronicles her attempts to forge a wonderfully weird adulthood in the midst of her lifelong struggle with agoraphobia, depression, and unruly hair.

Relatable, unpretentious, and unsentimental, Agorafabulous! celebrates eccentricity, resilience, and the power of humor to light up even the darkest corners of our lives. (There are also some sexy parts, but they’re really awkward. Like really, really awkward.)

If you’ve been following the blog for awhile, you’ll know I suffer (seriously suffer) from Agoraphobia. I’m one of those people who would rather laugh about it then cry because I’d be crying a lot. For years I’ve read books about agoraphobia and not a single one has made me laugh, their all strictly self helps. Then out of nowhere and totally random, I find Sara Benincasa.

Agoraphobia usually follows panic attacks, you start to develop fears of places usually outside your home. In both mine and Sara’s case, you end up thinking of your home as your safe place and just don’t want to leave. It’s not only that you don’t want to leave, your body starts doing all sorts of unfriendly things to make you think its safer in your home. From the shakes to rapid heart rates and to feeling like you are going to throw up everything you’ve ever eaten in your entire life. It’s no wonder we don’t want to leave the house, god only knows what will follow when you do. Hell, you might be lucky and just faint (never happens) or you’ll throw up on the first person you see. Either way, you do not want to leave your house because you know that something horrible is going to happen outside.

Sara hits it spot on with:

“So I didn’t need evidence or logic to know that something singularly terrible lay outside my door. I just needed my inner knowing, my sixth sense, the still small voice that shrieked, “YOU’RE GONNA FUCKING DIE!!” upon my awakening.”

That is exactly what an agoraphobic feels like; we’re all sorts of psychic. We just know bad shit’s gonna come, don’t tell us any different. Our bodies know more then you do. We’re all sorts of enlightened.

What Sara went through makes me cringe; I thought I had it bad. Oh no my friends, Sara takes the agoraphobia crown and sash! Imagine being terrified to use your own bathroom, so much so that you stop eating. Add depression to the mix and you have a recipe that would make most people lay down and die. But you know what, Sara survived! Sure she had set backs, but she got through it and made me laugh.

“I subscribe to the notion that if you can laugh at the shittiest moments in your life, you can transcend them. And if other people can laugh at your awful shit as well, then I guess you can officially call yourself a comedian.”

Sara shows the value of good friends and family, people you truly need when you are going through something as horrific and esteem killing as agoraphobia and depression. She keeps on trucking and ends up living, which is what all of us want to do. It starts out small and little by little you get better, slow process but big reward.

All of this isn’t as heavy as I’m making it seem, trust me. Sara is a comedian, do there are some seriously funny piss yourself moment. There’s one scene where Sara is teaching in Texas, damned if I didn’t howl really loudly. Billy had an issue, a very hard issue. And the fact that Sara hit the floor laughing IN CLASS makes her my hero.

Not only did I laugh, I cried as well. I don’t think Sara knows the true impact her book will have on someone like me. She’s shown that you can get through this bullshit mental issue, you just got to keep fighting. And a damn good sense of humor will help you through.

Thank you Sara for sharing your ups and downs, ones way similar to mine but most of all for making me laugh loudly in public. That’s right, I brough it with me outside. Nothing better then a little fresh air and the strong desire for a smoothie.

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A Mini Interview With Darynda Jones

February 7, 2012 in Author Interviews

For those not in the know yet, Darynda wrote two different endings for Third Grave Dead Ahead. One made me tear up, the other came as a shock when another reviewer told me. Can you explain the endings and why you changed them? How soon before publication did you have a change of heart?

Well, in the first ending, I had a major character die, but knowing who and what Charley is, you can imagine I had no intention of abandoning him. In fact, in my head he was going to play a bigger role in Charley’s life, just through incorporeal means. I wanted him to be a threat to Charley’s love interest on a different level, to be that constant tug of insecurity for the hero, Reyes.

However, after thinking it through further, I realized he wouldn’t be as big a threat as he already is. He couldn’t have the kind of relationship with Charley that Reyes would find threatening, so instead of raising the stakes, I accidently wiped them off the page.

But I had written the book! It was done! We’d already gone through copyedits and the ARCs were already being printed. What’s a girl to do?

Email her editor, naturally.

To give you a little publishing 4-1-1, ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) are printed after copyedits are finished and before the page proofs are sent out. Basically, a writer can still make changes on the page proofs, but generally large rewrites are frowned upon. The book has already been formatted and is pretty much ready for print.

Making the decision to change the ending after the ARCs had been printed was not an easy one. I didn’t even think my editor would let me to be totally honest. But never hurts to ask, right? So I did and she said yes! I was kind of floored but went to work immediately. I tried to change as little as possible to make the typesetter’s job easier. As a result, the ending is almost exactly the same, save for a few lines of dialogue and one pertinent phone call. I hope it’s not too abrupt and I don’t have throngs of readers cursing the day I was born, but it was a chance I was willing to take for the story.

It’s all about the story. :)

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Control Point – Myke Cole

February 6, 2012 in Reviews

  • Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
  • List Price: $7.99
  • Publisher: Ace (January 31, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1937007243
  • ISBN-13: 978-1937007249
  • Myke Cole’s Website

Buy Control Point at:

Army Officer. Fugitive. Sorcerer.

Across the country and in every nation, people are waking up with magical talents. Untrained and panicked, they summon storms, raise the dead, and set everything they touch ablaze. Army officer Oscar Britton sees the worst of it. A lieutenant attached to the military’s Supernatural Operations Corps, his mission is to bring order to a world gone mad. Then he abruptly manifests a rare and prohibited magical power, transforming him overnight from government agent to public enemy number one.The SOC knows how to handle this kind of situation: hunt him down–and take him out. Driven into an underground shadow world, Britton is about to learn that magic has changed all the rules he’s ever known, and that his life isn’t the only thing he’s fighting for.

Control Point is Myke Cole’s debut novel and the first in the Shadow Ops series.

The Great Reawakening came and some people have begun to manifest certain magical abilities. Some can control the elements and some are prohibited type. When you manifest you have two options:  enlist in the military or be named a Selfer.

Certain forms of magic have been deemed illegal and leave it to Army Office Oscar Britton end up manifesting prohibited magic. Even worse, he is a  Lieutenant for the SOC (Supernatural Operations Corps) and he knows what happens when people develop prohibited magic. Forced to go underground, Oscar realizes everything is not always as it seems.

I’m not a big reader of fantasy, let alone military fantasy but I knew I had to read Control Point when I read the blurb. I would say this book leans more to the fantasy angle then the urban fantasy angle, but you know all definitions of UF are loose. But don’t let that deter you, you have to read this book! My only warning is don’t come into this looking for a lot of romance or even sexual tension, there is a small amount but that is not with this story is about.

You’ll love watching Oscar figure out how much his life has changed and how much everything around him has altered since he manifested. How hard it is for everything you know as true to be wrong and different. It grips you and holds tight, though midway through it slows down a little bit while Oscar has more and more internal dilemmas. But it’s to be expected, if he just went along with all the new changes without nary a care, this review wouldn’t be a 4 star.

Another warning, Myke Cole is a military member so for us civilians make sure you flip to the definitions or you’ll be hella lost. As I had an e-Arc I didn’t realize there were definitions at the back so I was a google fool for awhile. There’s a lot of lingo but that’s just in the first half of the book to help you understand Oscar’s lifestyle within the military.

One sentence sums up this début: Internal conflict between right and wrong, morals over duty.

Pick up a copy and see for yourself, Control Point grips hard and holds on tight.

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PJ Interviews Cody Young and Becky Klimowicz‏

February 5, 2012 in Author Interviews

~ photo by PJ Schnyder

I met Cody and Becky at Tri-State Martial Arts.

They’re one of those couples you just have fun spending time around, whether it’s training or out having a few drinks or watching MMA fights.

Becky is warm and very open. She’s beautiful and of slight build, and has non-stop energy. When we’re working out, she never quits, never stops, and you just have to keep up with her. Even if you knock her down, she’ll always get right back up and pop in a few good hits of her own too.

Cody is a well-rounded, fierce fighter. He listens carefully when you have a question and never hesitates to help demonstrate a new move or give tips on how one could improve. He was one of my favorite people to ask for help whenever I was training at Tri-State.

The love they have for each other is the kind of thing that makes you believe in happily ever afters.

I don’t put people I know into my books. But the two of them, either together or individually, have inspired more than one scene or set of dialog.

PJ: Becky, can you share the story of how/why you started training at TSMAA?

Cody trains so much, I started taking classes at Tri State just so I could spend more time with him. (laughs) Just kidding… mostly. I started out taking the conditioning classes to get in shape. I was terrified at first (and pretty bad!) but everyone was so welcoming and I had a lot of fun so I stuck with it. Eventually, I realized I was actually learning skills and I wanted to improve my game, so I got into the Muay Thai and CSW (Combat Submission Wrestling) programs. Now I take about 7-8 classes a week.

PJ: Cody, you once told me that us girls were too nice to each other in MMA practice. Can you explain why it’s important for us to practice with partners who won’t be nice?

Well if you’re too nice to each other, you might be practicing defenses that won’t be effective when someone’s really coming at you. So in order to reinforce proper technique you need to make sure you have training partners that aren’t too nice, but still maintain control so you’re not hurting each other. Your partner needs to know how to make you feel uncomfortable without putting you in danger.

 

~ photos by PJ Schnyder

PJ: Becky, how do you feel about training with the guys? Especially the competitive fighters?

I am often the only girl in the class, so I have to work twice as hard to keep up. It used to be pretty intimidating training with the “big guys”. A lot of them are 6 inches taller and have 50 pounds on me, so I have a disadvantage from the start. But the guys are great. They understand the balance between going hard enough to push me, without overdoing it. I wouldn’t learn anything if they just went easy on me, so I like it when they push my limits. And sometimes that means I get punched in the face or kicked in the stomach, but I’ve learned that I’m a lot tougher than I thought I was.

PJ: Cody, what are the benefits of Becky, and any woman, training in mixed martial arts?

There are benefits for anyone to train in any area of martial arts. The beauty of mixed martial arts is that you’re gonna train on your feet and learn how to defend yourself standing up but also, especially for a woman, learning how to defend yourself on the ground with someone bigger and stronger than you. This is a benefit that you’d get from MMA that you might not get from a traditional form of karate or boxing.

PJ: Becky, can you tell me a little bit more about your passion for running?

I run about 20-25 miles a week, and it’s sort of my therapy, my time to block out the world and be alone with my thoughts. Ask Cody, I get very grouchy when I don’t have time to run.  I started running about 3 years ago, because it was something I hated to do and couldn’t do well and I wanted to challenge myself. Since then, I’ve run a handful of half marathons, and I just finished my first marathon in November – something I would have said was impossible if you had asked me two years ago. Now, I am looking forward to my next marathon, and probably an ultra in the near future.

 

~ photo by PJ Schnyder

PJ: Cody, what are your plans for your fighting career?

To win my next fight.

PJ:  Cody and Becky, anything you’d like to share/promote? (like upcoming fights, etc)

February 11, I’m fighting for Xtreme Caged Combat at the World’s Gym, 1100 Roosevelt Boulevard in Philly. I’ll be fighting Mike Rogers, hoping for my fourth win. Tickets are $40. (Contact Cody via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=42605527)

***

Mackenzie from Heart’s Sentinel survived a brutal attack by a crazed stalker. She found her strength and learned not to be a victim. Learning to defend yourself is incredibly important.

I’ll be at Tri-State Martial Arts for a free Women’s Self Defense Workshop on Feb. 25th from 2pm- 5pm.

If you’re in the area, you may see me or Cody or Becky there.

I’ll also be giving one attendee a signed print copy of my paranormal romance,  Heart’s Sentinel.

Tri-State Martial Arts Academy

1323 E. Lincoln Highway

Levittown, PA

 

~ photo by PJ Schnyder

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Spaz Reviews: Black Night – Christina Henry

February 4, 2012 in Reviews

  • Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
  • List Price: $7.99
  • Publisher: Ace; Original edition (February 28, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1937007065
  • ISBN-13: 978-1937007065
  • Christina Henry’s website
Purchase Black Night (Madeline Black #2) at:

Madeline Black is an Agent of death, meaning she escorts the souls of people who have died to the afterlife. Of course, not everyone is happy to see her… 

If obstinate dead people were all that Maddy had to worry about, life would be much easier. But the best-laid plans of Agents and fallen angels often go awry. Deaths are occurring contrary to the natural order, Maddy’s being stalked by foes inside and outside of her family, and her two loves-her bodyguard, Gabriel, and her doughnut-loving gargoyle, Beezle-have disappeared. But because Maddy is Lucifer’s granddaughter, things are expected of her, things like delicate diplomatic missions to other realms.

Half-angel Madeline Black has recently discovered she is the daughter of a fallen angel Azazel who is the right-hand man to Lucifer. Turns out, she’s also a descendent of Lucifer from her mother’s side. When she is not Azazel’s daughter and her gargoyle Beezle’s doughnut enabler, she is an Agent of Death. She picks up souls and brings them to the Door, and the soul chooses whether to pass on or to stay and haunt the earth. We pick up with Madeline about a month after the events from the first book, Black Wings. I was eager to start this book because I enjoyed the first book overall. But as soon as Black Night started, I grew concerned with the direction the book was taking and then I just grew frustrated.

First of all, there is a love triangle. Actually, it’s more of a love square. There’s the guy she’s in love with, Gabriel. Since Gabriel is half-nephilim, it is against Lucifer’s law for them to ever “be together”. They are trying to hide their affections but their obvious mooning over each other ensures every other being around them knows what’s going on by just watching them together. To further add tension to the scenario, he is to be her assigned bodyguard. Their love for each other is held over their heads as a way to get them to do Lucifer’s bidding, or else Gabriel will be executed.

The other guy who is courting her, J.B. used to be her boss as an Agent, and now we discover that his mother is the Queen of the Faerie court. Of course she is. Madeline mentions how aesthetically pleasing he is from the start of the first book, so the fact that he is attracted to her right back is no shock. He asks her out on a date, which she declines, but he still enjoys making Gabriel jealous, knowing Gabriel cannot act on his affections. Well, at least until Gabriel goes missing. But then J.B. moves on with a fearie named Violet, and Maddy experiences twinges of what most-definitely-are-not-feelings-of-jealousy. Are they? /headdesk.

Enter yet another romance contender, fallen angel Nathaniel who is a total assclown. She has been promised to him by her father Azazel, and they are to begin courting immediately and be married in a year. But wait! Turns out Nathaniel might not be such a jerky jerk after all, as she gets to spend time with him in the Faerie land and court because -of COURSE- he is accompanying her there. But then! Nathaniel does something that makes him douchecanoe extraordinaire and I just about threw my e-reader. And then they kinda sorta find Gabriel, but what is being planned for him is really just… ugh. I’m emotionally exhausted just recapping all of this. And the truth is, it all felt so forced.

I wanted to like this book. I get the humor and love the all the gore, but there are parts that just leave me feeling meh. And sadly for me, the world building I enjoyed in the first book greatly lacked in this one. The flashbacks we got of Evangeline in the first book Black Wings were missing, and that was one of my favorite elements of the series initially. I understand that character met her end, but I enjoyed getting more origin stories of Lucifer and his children. The world building of the fallen angels was lacking and the introduction of werewolves and faeries were just … boring. And the love square I mentioned above? From a romance perspective, it totally failed. I am still going to read the third book in the series, Black Howl, and am praying it’s not such a hot mess.

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