BOOK DESCRIPTION: After thirty-four years of just letting life happen to her, Paula Tenenbaum’s mundane existence was suddenly interrupted. It was bad enough to be fired from her job because she was “average”, but on that same day, her boyfriend also dumped her for being “un-dynamic.” Somehow, someway Paula needed to make a change. But before she could figure out what her first step should be, her scheming neighbor Larry tapped into her silent desperation and dreams and challenged everything that she believed about herself. At first Paula was skeptical and scared, but quickly, she realized that she had nothing to lose, as she donned the persona of the successful, and vibrant individual that she had always dreamed of being, navigating thru business, colorful personalities and the people that she had idolized from afar. Written with sharp humor, and huge personality, Paula Takes A Risk is the hilarious story about the metamorphosis of Paula Tenenbaum, who naively enters into an adventure that changes her life. This is a story certain to strike a chord in anyone who secretly desires change, but is afraid to make it.
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Randi Sherman, a
native Californian, lives in San Francisco. With her tremendous grasp of the
obvious, Randi has always had the ability to find humor in the mundane and
share the laughter. She dares to examine and discuss everyday foibles, which
obliges people to stop taking themselves too seriously.
Developing characters
and writing have been a part of Randi’s life since she was a teenager,
umm-mmum-mumm years ago. She spent time performing stand-up comedy at Los
Angeles club amateur nights and studied Improvisation in the Bay Area.
Realizing that she preferred having an income, living indoors and eating
regularly, she reluctantly put her dreams on hold and entered the corporate
world, yet never left behind her sense of humor and creative storytelling ability,
skills which were not always appreciated during budget and strategy meetings.
Now, after living
indoors for a while and eating, albeit too much, her book, Paula Takes a Risk
is here. Randi’s unique wit, writing style and candor will surely make the reader
sit up, stand up, roll over or assume an interested leaning position and take
notice.
Randi would never
claim to have a genius IQ, the body of a super model or always have the right
thing to wear. However, she can spell the words, “smart” and “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
Randi maintains a trim, well-toned body that is cleverly concealed beneath
twenty pounds of soft protective layering and she has the appetite of a bird.
(By “bird” I mean vulture.) Her entire wardrobe consists of black, black and
varying degrees of black, except for those items that are covered with lint
because she put them through the wash with a tissue.
Things that Randi
cannot live without: people to laugh with, her car horn, a gym membership where
there are chubby women who break into a sweat while putting on a jog bra, wine,
waist capes, and her partner, Carol.
Randi does not like
mean-spirited people, liver, left-overs, communal dressing rooms, tight
underwear, and people who point.
Randi is five-foot-seven.
Randi is five-foot-seven.
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GUEST POST: Am I
A Trouble Maker? By Randi Sherman, author of PAULA TAKES A RISK
TROUBLE MAKER?! Who? Me? Well, maybe just a little. Can’t
we just call it dilemma design? I do however, clean up my mess. I am a problem
solver. In fiction, the author needs to create obstacles to make the story and
characters interesting. Otherwise, why not write a business manual or a book
about crocheting?
Creating and resolving characters dilemmas are my favorite
things about writing fiction. I think about all of the possibilities and take
into consideration all of my character’s short-comings and perceived obstacles.
I list all of the risks and ramifications. Then I asked myself: What if there
wasn’t a perceived notion of what is the right or wrong thing to do? What if
there wasn’t a risk? So, in the case of PAULA TAKES A RISK, I decided to charge
ahead and overcome the obstacles as they presented themselves using common
sense, humor and chutzpah to transform Paula into the fearless and accomplished
person she always dreamed of being.
When the reader meets Paula, she is afraid, lonely, and
bored with her life. She let life happen to her, doing only what’s expected and
not making any waves in the process. Being ‘average’ cost Paula her job, her
boyfriend and her self-confidence. She desires change and an exciting life, but
lacks the motivation and courage to take a risk and make her dreams come true.
So it was my job as the writer is to find a way to give it to her, to solve her
problems and change her life.
I asked Paula to endure uncomfortable situations, make
ill-advised decisions and jump without knowing where she would land. Like
anyone taking a risk, Paula is not only apprehensive, and overwhelmed, at times
she also excited and surprised. As a result Paula becomes learns how to be the
woman she never thought she could be and discovers that without risk, there is
no glory.
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Connect with Paula!
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thanks for featuring Randi!
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