Story of Me
Humor, Lesbian Romance, Written under the pen name "Advocate," Published in 2000, ISBN: 059513744X, $9.99, 136 pages
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Story Summary
Author Commentary
Reader Reviews
Randi is just trying to make sense of it all as she sits in the park, pouring out her woes to a pair of bemused squirrels. The first thing she determines is that she sucks at thinking up snappy titles. Hence, the prosaic name for this classic farce that might best be described as a free fall into insanity.
In truth, it would be hard to find something better to call this screwball comedy, featuring the misadventures of a tall, dark driving instructor and the blonde nurse who's stalking her. Mac is intent on drawing Randi into a madcap plot to exact revenge upon a common enemy; the two-timing wench who dumped Mac for her brother, the doctor—and who, years earlier, deprived Randi of academic fame and a college scholarship. The ill-conceived plan takes them across America to Las Vegas. It's a 'road trip from Hell' that features a wild array of occurrences, ranging from mere mishap to outright disaster. Inexorably—delightfully—the women slide into an endearing, nutty relationship that was simply meant to be.
No matter what genre I write, this seems to be the story that defines me and my work for many readers. Written in three simple acts, The Story of Me embraces the most basic of emotions under the most ridiculous of circumstances. The odd things people think but are simply too sane to say are put on paper in this novella for all to see. It’s is an uncensored look inside my head and at my admittedly quirky sense of humor. I can pretty much guarantee you’ve never read a book like this one.
In addition to a budding, but struggling, romance, the story features a pair of fiesty squirrels. Originally, I had intended for Randi to sit on the park bench and simply tell the reader her tale. But that got old fast. How many scenes of her sitting in the park doing nothing but talking could I write and still believe that the reader hadn't fallen asleep? So the squirrels were added to give Randi something, or perhaps someone, to talk to. Then, somehow, without meaning to, the little rodents took on a life of their own. I began to wonder what they’d be thinking and what happened in their own little lives. If I thought it, no matter how crazy it was, I wrote it, making this the easiest to complete of all my stories. The squirrels really only appear on a handful of pages, but their uniqueness has given them a wacky, but fun, fan base all their own. I still receive squirrel memorabilia from readers and proudly display it on my writing desk.
The story was an experiment in self-publication and over the years it remains one of my best selling books.
Reader Reviews:
After putting down this book with tear in my eyes from laughing and secretly thinking "thank god this didn't happen to me", I realized I was holding a modern day version of the 30's/40's screwball comedy in my hands. Randi's ill-fated trip was fraught with many of the same romantic disasters that won my heart in "Bringing Up Baby" or "His Girl Friday". If something could go wrong but love still bloom; it was mirrored in Randi's conversation with the rambunctious squirrels, whose own tale of woe was a delightful counterpoint. I soon found myself rooting for both Randi and the male squirrel. Blissfully ignorant of Randi's pain, Mac and her family just merrily rolled along and over poor Randi.
If you want great dialogue, wacky situations and just a rollicking good laugh -- read this book.-reader review, Eileen Marks