*SHIKSA - (noun) A non-Jewish woman, especially when referred to by well-meaning relatives of the handsome, succesful, otherwise-would-be-available Jewish man she is dating.
Set in Los Angeles, this is an entertaining romp through the themes of work, relationships, religion, Hollywood, sisterhood and the importance of the perfect movie at the right moment in one's life.
The novel chronicles the post-breakup highs and lows of Alexis Manning, a studio publicity V.P. with a sick cat, a broken heart, professional frustrations and a sneaking suspicion she should have been a veterinarian. When her bartender/actor fiance tells her she has to convert to Judaism or say goodbye to him fo rgood, Alexis' well-scripted life hits the cutting room floor and she finds herself reworking her plot line, secure only in the knowledge that everthing would be better if she were starring in a movie and not, in fact, living her actual life.
When her bartender/actor fiance tells her she has to convert to Judaism or say goodbye to him fo rgood, Alexis' well-scripted life hits the cutting room floow and she finds herself reworking her plot line, secure only in the knowledge that everthing would be better if she were starring in a movie and not, in fact, living her actual life.
Unable to escape from the moving picture reels turning constantly in her mind, Lex replays poignant scenes from favorite movies and breaks down her life into dramatic clips, trying to find a tidy ending. She compares her own plights - flim festival drams, uncontrollable actors, astronomical vet bills, bunking with her sister, and fantasies about simpler times with her high school sweetheart and family in New England - to those of her celluloid heroes and heroines, interweaving her trials and triumphs with screen legends such as Vivien Leigh, Russell Crowe, Melanie Griffith, Robert DeNiro, Diane Keaton and Kevin Bacon.
Published in August 2005 by Simon & Schuster’s Downtown Press.
Confessions of a Nervous Shiksa is available at amazon.com and barnes&noble.com