I Was a Stripper Librarian (+ Giveaway)

 

I Was a Stripper Librarian
By Kristy Cooper
Publication date: July 30th, 2021
Genres: Adult, Memoir

No one at the library she worked at knew about Kristy Cooper’s other job.

On the surface, it seem that being a librarian and a stripper are polar opposite jobs, but in practice Kristy found that they were not nearly as different as most people would think. Strip club customers and library patrons both produce wild stories, and you have to be good at working with people in both professions (whether your clothes are off or not).

In this first-hand account, Kristy describes her decision to get into stripping to make her student loan debt more manageable, overcome her introversion to learn how to hustle customers, learn about sex worker advocacy, and finally transition into full-time library work.

For years Kristy hid her stripping history to fit into the mold of a respectable librarian, but as time went on she realized this wasn’t something she should feel ashamed about. Telling these kinds of stories helps destigmatize sex work, which makes it safer for current sex workers.

Librarianship is changing, especially as the profession begins to evaluate itself through a greater anti-oppression lens. Librarians can learn a lot about class struggle and privacy advocacy from sex workers.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

I got involved with a former stripper before I ever became one myself.

Lillian had gorgeous long red hair, tattoos, and wore glasses. She was working as a barista at a coffee shop in my college town, Champaign, IL. I was twenty-three and finishing off a year of fucking around partying before moving to Ann Arbor to pursue a Master of Science in Information at the University of Michigan.

One day, I went into her coffee shop and, as I often did when ordering things, I became annoyingly indecisive about what I wanted. “I want a green tea, or wait, maybe a chai… I think I’m hungry… I’m sorry I’m wasting your time.”

Lillian just looked at me coyly. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t have anywhere else to be.” I smiled and felt more at ease as she winked.

I finally picked a chai and enjoyed the feeling as her gaze lingered on mine while she handed it to me. Then another customer popped up behind me, and I realized I had to move along, but I knew I wanted to see her again.

Later, I found out from mutual friends that she was newly single and, like me, was hitting the bars like a fiend. We formally met when our friend groups started coalescing at all the local watering holes. After our drinking group finally reached critical mass, we declared ourselves a girl gang, named ourselves Pussy Control, after the Prince song, and convinced ourselves that we were a serious force to be reckoned with. Most guys quickly learned not to mess with us, because we would cackle at them or mock their ridiculous attempts to approach us. We were not the toughest or most organized gang ever, but we did at least manage to decrease the number of random guys hitting on us.

Maybe Lillian’s risqué past was part of what drew me to her. I don’t know. I had never thought there was anything wrong with stripping, but like most people, it was something I didn’t think I would ever do. At the same time though, I was intrigued with her previous job and wondered what it was like to do something considered so socially deviant and potentially stigmatizing. I had actually done sex work before, but it was working as a dominatrix one summer in Chicago. That kind of work had its own stigma, but there was no audience, I didn’t have to get naked, and I also didn’t have to be nice.

Lillian would tell me about the stage and the pole tricks that would leave calluses on her hands. There were her quirky customers, like the man that just wanted her to sit still like a doll on his lap while he spoke to her. She explained how different customers liked different looks for their strippers and how she avoided working at clubs that only featured what she considered Barbie look-alikes. Lillian described living in Baltimore and how she would walk around half-naked all night, make good money, and then go home to her apartment. It sounded so normal, like being a waitress who happened to forget to put the rest of her clothes on.

Meet the Author: Kristy Cooper

Kristy Cooper is a librarian single mom in Michigan. In her spare time, she fights politicians for libraries and will eventually get around to finishing writing her YA series.

Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Will this now make you wonder if your librarian has a secret life?

GIVEAWAY!
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Lark and the Loon (+ Giveaway)

Today it’s my pleasure to be a part of author Rhiannon Gelston’s virtual book tour for her latest release, LARK AND THE LOON.

This is an intriguing story that is a mixture of the author’s memories and transcendental fiction.

◊ Genre: Memoir with a Twist
◊ Publisher: WiDo Publishing (July 17, 2020)
◊ Print & eBooks
◊ Paperback: 284 pages
◊ ISBN-10: 1947966251
◊ ISBN-13: 978-1947966253

Lark and the Loon follows the adventures of a tentative boy named Lark, as he is catapulted out of all that he knows, into a courageous journey beyond his wildest imagination. 

Upon receiving a special gift from his Gramps, Lark embarks on a reflective journey of self-discovery as the innovative story weaves the true-life memoir of his mother (the author) in with a fantastical journey. With some special new-found friends, Lark travels back and forth from a symbolic tree to his mother’s true memories of life and death moments, and simple moments, found everywhere from wild Africa to their very own living room. Lark and his friends must ascend this tree and gain the important life lessons offered along the way if they ever hope to find their way out. Within this journey, Lark finds these lessons, and ultimately himself, in the space between imagination and truth in this wild tale.  

The story explores friendships, philosophies, and everyday challenges and joys, both from a child's perspective and from a parent's perspective. This memoir with a twist results in a coming-of-age story that ultimately leads to a new understanding of self, others, and the world that surrounds us.

LARK AND THE LOON is available at AMAZON * Barnes & Noble * WiDo Publishing. Also, be sure to add it to your TBR List on Goodreads.

Here’s an excerpt from the book for your reading pleasure.

 

Gramps

“Life is a verb.”

—Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Gramps was very thin and very tall. He used to be taller, but he stood a little bit hunched over these days. He had white hair that stood straight up out of his head as if he had his finger in an electric socket at all times. He had a long mustache too, but this was always perfectly groomed, not a hair out of place.

Sometimes he would put some wax in it and turn the hairs up at the ends so the curls matched the permanent, mischievous smirk on his face. Sometimes he let Lark’s little sisters braid it or put glitter in it, and he’d unapologetically wear it like that all day. He had been known to dye it green on St. Patrick’s Day or pink for Valentine’s Day. Gramps always had some sort of sweets hidden in his pocket; he always had a kind word or bit of good advice for those who needed it; and he always had a twinkle in his eye.

People often said Lark looked like Gramps, but Lark couldn’t quite see it. Lark was anything but tall; in fact, he was one of the smallest kids in his class.

He did have unruly hair like Gramps. No matter what he did, it stood up in every direction, and it was white—but a blonde white.

He was a towhead, even more so in the summer months. Perhaps they did have the same eyes if he looked really hard at Gramps’ eyes.

Sometimes it was hard to find the eyes behind the memories.

Gramps had lines of memories all over that smiling face. He had lines like the waves rolling in, notable especially next to his eyes, where the remnants of endless smiles lingered. These wrinkles served an important purpose as permanent reminders of both good and hard times lived. There was the depth of a blue ocean next to those lines, overflowing with memories from somewhere so very far away and yet so close and near.

Yes, that was the comment Lark heard the most: that he had the same smiling, blue eyes with that same twinkle.

Meet the Author: Rhiannon Gelston

 

RHIANNON GELSTON loves to lose herself in all things creative. She enjoys writing, painting, live music, traveling, sports, being outdoors, exploring, playing, spirituality, and energy work. She has a BA in English and an MS in Occupational Therapy with a pediatric focus. Rhiannon just had her first novel published. It is a memoir with a twist called, LARK AND THE LOON, available wherever books are sold. 

Rhiannon grew up on Spa Creek in downtown Annapolis. Home for Rhiannon will always be the sound of the halyards hitting the masts on a breezy day, a pile of crabs saturated in Old Bay, raft-ups with friends as kids cannonball off of the stern, and time with family and friends, in, on, and around the Chesapeake Bay.

She lives in Annapolis with her husband, their five lovely and lively children, and their black lab, McNasby.

Connect with Rhiannon on Facebook and Instagram.

Be sure to enter the tour wide giveaway. It ends May 3. The grand prize is a $25 Amazon Gift Card and an eBook of LARK AND THE LOON. The second-place winner has to be a US resident as the gift is a signed copy of LARK THE LOON. The third-place prize is an eBook that two winners will receive. If the Rafflecopter widget doesn’t work, you can still enter by clicking HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today. Doesn’t this sound like a fascinating memoir, especially with the twist?

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His Name is Cwiz: Lessons From a Lifelong Friendship

There’s just something about the word friendship that makes me smile so when I learned of author Jeremy Rhyne’s latest release, His Name is Cwiz: Lessons From a Lifelong Friendship, I was delighted to tell you about it.

His Name is Cwiz is a rollicking tale of living life to the fullest.

Format: Paperback 

Publisher: Circuit Breaker Books!

Pub date: April 13, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-953639-02-8

eISBN: 978-1-953639-03-5

Genre: Memoir/Humor

Page count: 328

When a rattlesnake almost kills his best friend, Caesar “Cwiz” (pronounced Quiz) Ruiz, author Jeremy Rhyne can’t help but recall all of the wild times they shared growing up in Southern California — and the profound impression Cwiz has made on his life. Starting with a covert one-man band in a high school health class that had the entire room laughing, Cwiz always kept Jeremy on his toes. Through near-death experiences, Bible study pranks, a kidnapping, hijinx across Europe and Asia, crashing the OJ trial, game show dating to falling in love and finally growing up, Cwiz and Jeremy came of age together in surprising and hilarious ways.

Now Jeremy has collected all of their unbelievable stories into one book that ultimately charts Cwiz’s journey from class clown to respected and well-loved community member. His Name is Cwiz is the remarkable story of a lifelong friendship with a remarkable man — part jester, part sage — and the valuable life lessons learned along the way. 

Now here’s an excerpt for your reading pleasure.

CHAPTER 31

Traffic School

 Cwiz had his fair share of driving infractions. He was not slavishly devoted to obeying the speed limit—or any other vehicle code provisions, for that matter. As a result, he found himself obligated to attend traffic school from time

to time.

In years past, traffic school typically involved spending an entire Saturday in a classroom auditorium with hundreds of other miserable souls. The school would start early, like 8 a.m., and would usually drag on until 4 p.m., with a fifteen- minute break in the morning, a one-hour lunch period, and then a second fifteen- minute break in the afternoon. It was brutal.

Because every single person in the room already knew how to drive, the entire thing felt like a complete waste of time. This was not education; it was punishment. Telling people the rules of a four-way stop will not prevent them from speeding, but boring them to tears for eight hours on a gorgeous and sunny Saturday just might.

Cwiz was resigned to his punishment on this particular Saturday, but he decided he was going to extract his fun tax. He was going to find a way to redeem his miserable Saturday with an experience that he would never forget. He brainstormed and came up with a plan.

When he arrived, about ten minutes before the start of class, the auditorium was nearly full. Hundreds of people slumped in their chairs, preparing to suffer. Cwiz surveyed the scene from the back of the room and then walked purposefully toward the center stage. He took the podium and saw hundreds of pairs of eyes land on him.

He said, “Good morning, everyone. I’m your instructor today. You can call me Jimmy.”

An uncomfortable silence descended on the room, broken only by the shifting

of a roomful of strangers in squeaky chairs.

Cwiz continued, “I have some good news for you today. Although these classes normally go until 4 p.m., I actually have a wedding to go to this afternoon. So, my plan is to rush through this material as quickly as I can and get us out of here before noon. Sound good?”

The class suddenly perked up in their seats. Some people started clapping.

Various whoops and hollers of delight broke out around the auditorium. A contagious grin spread from stranger to stranger. Cwiz heard someone shout, “Yes!”

Cwiz went on. “I won’t tell if you don’t, okay? Now I have to get something I forgot in my car. I’ll be back in a few, and then we’ll get started.”

Cwiz walked down the center aisle through the room, savoring the open smiles and excited buzz. He walked out of there like he had just given a State of the Union speech. These people were in love with him.

He walked out the back, went to the restroom, and then snuck back into the classroom, grabbing the last seat in the last row. A guy with a hoodie drawn over his head, one row in front of him, noticed him sitting there.

Hoodie said, “What are you doing?” Cwiz said, “I’m here to learn, bro.” “But you’re the instructor.”

Cwiz just shook his head and gave him an evil smirk. Hoodie said, “Are you serious, dude? That’s cold.”

Just then, the real instructor came in. He walked down the center of the aisle and took the podium, just as Cwiz had done a few minutes before. The instructor said, “Good morning, everyone. My name is Mr. So-and-So. Hopefully all of you picked up the class materials outside. Please raise your hand if you did not get the material.”

The class sat mute and confused, until one girl raised her hand.

When the instructor gestured toward her, she said, “Um, I think you must be in the wrong class. Another instructor actually came in here and started the class, but then he had to go get something and he is coming back.”

The instructor looked put out. He said, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Who came in?”

The girl said, “Some guy came in and said he was our instructor today and that we were ending early.”

He smiled. “No, I’m afraid not. I am the instructor, and we are going until 4

p.m. today like we always do. Now, do you have your materials, Miss, or not?”

The classroom groaned in agony. One of the students yelled out, “I want the other instructor back.”

Meanwhile, Cwiz sank into his chair and whizzed himself with glee, laughing alone, counting the minutes until he could call his buddies and tell them what he did.

 LIFE LESSON:

Never underestimate the power of expectation.

 Meet the Author

Jeremy Rhyne is an attorney living and working in Orange County, California. When he is not fighting for truth and justice in the courts, he enjoys standup paddling, reading, running, traveling, and listening to Patrick O’Brian novels on a loop.

He is married with two daughters. His Name Is Cwiz is his debut book.

Here are some informative links for Jeremy and HIS NAME IS CWIZ:

Briam Baumgartner, “Kevin” from “The Office,” reads HIS NAME IS CWIZ: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMYfBx6AJyW/

Launch Party Live from Las Vegas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNi31Flha9L/

Website: https://www.jeremyrhyne.com/

Blog: https://www.jeremyrhyne.com/blog/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremyrhyneauthor/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/JeremyRWrites

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56448562-his-name-is-cwiz

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/His-Name-Cwiz-Lifelong-Friendship/dp/195363902X

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/his-name-is-cwiz-jeremy-rhyne/1138541355

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have you ever pulled anything like Cwiz did in the excerpt? Does the word friendship make you smile?