Chronic pain, headaches, doctors, and more in my interview with Chocolate & Vicodin author Jennette Fulda at Alternet

I interviewed Chocolate & Vicodin author Jennette Fulda about headaches, chronic pain, well-meaning advice, coping mechanisms and more at Alternet. Please pass it on to anyone you know dealing with chronic pain. Thanks! And I promise I didn't just enjoy it because there's a cupcake on the cover. Fulda is very funny but also likens her headache journey to her weight-loss journey (her first memoir, Half-Assed, was about losing half her body weight) and discusses the various friends, blog readers and well-meaning but often clueless medical professionals she encounters along the way. You can buy the book on Amazon and also visit chocolateandvicodin.com for more information...after you read my interview!

Chocolate & Vicodin - the book deal

So happy for Jennette and can't wait to read this book. Also, she quit her job and launched her web design company Make My Blog Pretty. Check it out.

From today's Publishers Marketplace:

NON-FICTION: HEALTH
Author of Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir, Jennette Fulda's CHOCOLATE & VICODIN: AND OTHER FAILED CURES FOR THE HEADACHE THAT WOULDN'T GO AWAY, in which the author humorously explores the twisted maze of eastern and western medicine as she visits doctors, acupuncturists, and chiropractors, and ingests pills, pot, and obscene amounts of ice cream, all in search of the elusive cure for her chronic pain, to Jennifer Heddle at Pocket, by Holly Bemiss at the Susan Rabiner Literary Agency (world).

Not tonight, dear blog readers, I have a...

So I have this headache. I think it's related to my period, but whatever it is, it's really freaking annoying. Yesterday and today I've felt tired, woozy, achy, grouchy, exhausted and, yes, I have a headache. Today I took some Excedrin in the early afternoon and this evening, Motrin, and am a little better, but seriously, it sucks. I hope I'm better by the time I hope on a plane tomorrow night to Kansas City.

So this would be a good time to encourage you to donate to my friend Jennette Fulda's 5K run to benefit the National Headache Foundation. No, I'd never heard of it either.

The National Headache Foundation exists to enhance the healthcare of headache sufferers. It is a source of help to sufferers' families, physicians who treat headache sufferers, allied healthcare professionals and to the public. The NHF accomplishes its mission by providing educational and informational resources, supporting headache research and advocating for the understanding of headache as a legitimate neurobiological disease.

I shall post more this weekend. I'm all about cupcakes, BBQ, hanging out with Emily Farris, and seeing Kansas City. Next week I want to get frames at Fabulous Fanny's because, well, I can't seem to find my purple glasses, yet I know they are in my home. Horrible, perhaps, but having a spare spare pair can't hurt and will definitely improve my self-esteem because wearing my ugly old glasses makes me feel like I've instantly made myself way less attractive. Yes, the old "cleaning my apartment" is on my to do list for this summer/year/life, but in the meantime, I'm gonna go for something retro.

Why Amazon's book stocking system needs a major haul

If you've ever been a small publisher selling to Amazon, or an author/editor dealing with a small publisher dealing with Amazon (that's me! With Pretty Things Press and Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 1 and 2 and Sex and Candy), you know that their stocking system makes no sense. Or, well, it makes sense to them, but sucks bigtime for publishers because they are constantly ordering in extremely small increments. I had to deal with frustration as an editor with my books not always being in stock; I've also had other Amazon issues with them de-listing the rankings of books like He's on Top, but that's another story.

Stephanie Grenier's Blog Blazers: 40 Top Bloggers Share Their Secrets to Creating a High-Profile, High-Traffic, and High-Profit Blog! is one example of the flaws in the system. Today it's still showing "Temporarily out of stock" (and doesn't give potential customers a clue when it will be in stock). Bad Amazon. You deserve a spanking!

One commenter wrote:

Sometimes it’s good to be out of stock. It gives a certain degree of ‘get-it-now-before-it-runs-out-again’ perception to the buyers.

I respectfully disagree. What happened with me, full disclosure, is that Steph's reply to my comment convinced me to order it, but then the lovely Jennette Fulda (an interviewee) said she'd send me a copy, so rather than wait, I'm getting that one and will of course review it here and on Amazon. I really do look forward to reading it; I mean look at the bloggers who are interviewed: Dan Lyons, Jessamyn West, Seth Godin, Penelope Trunk, and onward. I think I found it via SEO Book, but I'm not sure.

My main point is, through no fault of the editor's, she lost a sale, and I'm sure more people will click through and buy a book on impulse if they think they're going to get it right away. One thing Amazon does well is shipping; I order from them often and usually get my book within 2 days, sometimes the next day (Manhattan delivery).

You can, of course, also order it directly from the author, and it does indeed exist:



I especially like the simple but informative blogger bios section, where you can easily find out more about these talented bloggers.

Cool NYC goings on this week

I'll post a full trip report sometime this week, including photos. 3 days in the woods of Silverton, Washington, with my guy and his family and doggies and children. And food, but of course! For now I will say that though they are not Jewish, the feasts reminded me of my family (in a good way). It was super relaxing, in no small part because I did not speak on the phone or go on the Internet for 3 days!

So, without further ado, some cool happenings this week:

Monday, July 28th

Wasp Cove!!! It is one of the funniest things going on in NYC imo. Also, in October episode 104 is called "The Abortion." This show is beyond campy, hilarious 80's soap opera drama insanity. Bigger version of poster here.



WASP COVE
Episode 103: Eenie, Meeny, Miny...MADNESS

In This Month's Episode:
Donna is admitted into the sanitarium under the care of Dr. Salvatore
Verrazano, a tempestuous Sicilian psychiatrist. Daryl tries to seduce
Rip anew, and Daryl's son Wes finally has his way with Sloane. Sexually.

Monday, July 28th @ 8 PM
(Tonight! Holy Cats!)
at Comix
353 West 14th Street
b/n 8th & 9th Avenues NYC
212-352 2716
http://comixny.com for tickets
Tickets $15 in advance $20 at the door
http://waspcove.tumblr.com/

Starring:
Chris Caniglia, Megan Stern, Rachel Shukert, Ryan Karels, Julie Klausner, Jodi Lennon, and David Rakoff

With Special Guests:
Anthony Atamanuik (30 Rock)
Gary Rudoren (Comedy By The Numbers)
Eli Newell (UCB)
Tammy Lang (Tammy Faye Starlite)

Written & Created by Rachel Shukert & Julie Klausner
Directed by Peter Cook

Tuesday, July 29th



Julie Atlas Muz is an amazing burlesque performer. She's been a mermaid at The Coral Room, and I've seen her do everything from a reverse striptease to a mock cocaine number while naked. She is gorgeous and intense and fierce and smart and packs all these qualities and more into her performances. Check out this hot photo of her as a boxer, and, be still my heart, her doing burlesque with cupcakes (see way more of Stacie Joy's Julie Atlas Muz photos here)

DOC & JAM Productions Bring You:
WANTED! Wild Bandits of Burlesque
Tuesday, July 29th (and Every Last Tuesday of the Month)
Show at 11pm; Live music with the Second Fiddles at 9 pm
Rodeo Bar
375 3rd Avenue at 27th Street
New York , NY
NEVER A COVER
(2 drink minimum)
Subway: 6 train to 28th Street

July's saloon/salon features Jennifer Miller, Trixie Little & The Evil Hate Monkey, Julie Atlas Muz, Dr. Lukki, and is hosted by Bradford Scobie as Cousin Rooster.

Wednesday, July 30th



Jennette Fulda, author of Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir and Pasta Queen blogger will be in town! (She'll be here cause she's going on CBS's The Early Show on Thursday, July 31st.) I loved her book so much (review TK) and you can listen to a podcast with her at Seal Press. I also highly highly recommend visiting her site for Half-Assed for insights into her publishing process. This was a weight loss memoir with more than just an "I lost weight and you can too!" angle. And she lost 192 pounds! Not only didn't she reveal which diet she was on, but she also took a broader cultural and political analysis and also stood up for fat people, even as she grappled with her own fat. I can't help but think that that's in part because it was published by feminist publisher Seal Press. I'm not saying there aren't other feminist-inspired weight loss memoirs out there, but I think she does a good job of looking at the culture around fat, food, exercise and body image around her and how that did and didn't influence her life, rather than just "and then I started running and the weight came off" or whatever. I've read, oh, a lot of weight loss memoirs and I think like any genre there can tend to be a sameness to them (read Maia Szalavitz's criticism of David Carr and addiction memoirs at Mother Jones), so anything that breaks out of that is quite welcome. Plus, Fulda's story lives on via her blogs. Here's what she says about Wednesday:

After much deliberation (aka a 9-minute phone call), we've decided to host a meet up at Swizz, a wine and fondue bar at 310 West 53rd St. between 8th and 9th Avenues. We'll be hanging around, dipping bread in cheese or chocolate, on Wednesday, July 30th from 7:30pm EST to probably 8:30 or 9:00ish. If you are around, feel free to drop in, say hi, have a drink, or snack on some cheese.

This is a "bring your own book" signing, meaning that if you want a copy of Half-Assed signed to you, you should buy a book at your retailer of choice and bring it yourself. I'll have a couple of copies available on hand to sell for $15.95, but I can't guarantee they'll last. If you want to reserve a copy, contact me at halfofme (at) pastaqueen [dot] com and I'll give you instructions on how to do so.

You can contact Swizz for directions at 212-810-4444 or visit their web site at 1291swizz.com. I hope to see you there! If you plan on coming, please RSVP in the comments so I can give the restaurant an idea of how many people will be attending.

Jennette Fulda's magic weight loss video

Actually, my subject line is a joke, because Fulda's Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir, is about how she lost over half her body weight, and there's no magic about it. It's a really inspiring memoir and I appreciated that she doesn't make it a simple "I lost all that weight and lived happily ever after." She questions herself and the fat-phobic culture, as well as how she was raised and her ideas about food, nutrition and body image. Mostly, she has a huge task ahead of her and she tells about her process in an engaging way (though my one big disappointment is she didn't talk about what diet she did, though in an interview she said it was South Beach). Check out her blog Pasta Queen and her blog about the book (which I find even more interesting, but I'm a book nerd) Half-Assed Book.



I'm posting this as part of a contest she's holding. You can win a Spaghetti Scepter! I don't even know that that is, but it sounds cool.