BIG & FABULOUS,
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BRENDA CANKLES
By Randi Sherman
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Interview with Randi Sherman:
Interview with Randi Sherman:
Crystal: Today I have the pleasure of hosting Randi Sherman. Welcome Randi! I'm So Excited to have you here today! Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?
Randi: Sure. I’m Randi M Sherman. I’m a native Californian, make my home in California's wine country and describe myself as the Eva Gabor of the Sonoma/Napa area. I have always had a wild imagination and big dreams. I pride myself in an eye for detail, an ear for well-tuned dialogue and an incredible grasp of the obvious. About a million years ago, I performed stand-up comedy in Los Angeles and more recently I did improvisational theater in San Francisco. I earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Chapman University and I’m five-foot-seven.
BIG & Fabulous, The Life and Times of Brenda Cankles is my fifth novel. The fourth The Lobby has won 17 Awards for Humor and General Fiction. Other books include: The Truth About Caroline (2015), Caroline Starts Over (2014) and Paula Takes A Risk (2012).
Crystal: Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?
Randi: One of my favorite scenes in Big & Fabulous, is called Hopes & Dreams where preteen Brenda describes her ambitions.
Crystal: Where did you come up with the idea for your latest release?
Randi: When another book of mine, The Lobby had just been released, someone asked me what I was going to work on next. When I said that I had always wanted to write a book called, Yes, You Butt Does Look Big, she asked what I was waiting for. Although, I wasn’t sure what the book was going to be about, I started writing it that same day. The name also evolved as Brenda Cankles came to life and voila, Big & Fabulous, The Life and Times of Brenda Cankles was created.
Crystal: What are you currently working on?
Randi: It seems like I am always working on new stories. Some are more developed than others. I have a desk drawer filled with sticky notes, torn pieces of paper and notebooks and a computer file filled with chapters and ideas. Right now I do have a few that are getting more attention than others. One is the continuation of Big & Fabulous, and another is…well, if I told ya, I’d have to kill ya.
Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing?
Randi: Coffee. I start with coffee. I believe there is an advantage in writing fiction. You see, I don’t necessarily write a tight outline or in some cases any outline at all. I let my books and characters evolve. I let them tell me what direction to take as they develop.
Crystal: Did you have to do a lot of research for this book or any other? If so do you have a fascinating fact that you have learned you would like to share with us?
Randi: Although my books, stories and characters are fictitious, I like to make them as realistic as possible. I continually research the facts about locations, environment, careers and other nuances and details that readers would appreciate or will provide a deeper look into the characters and why they do what they do.
I’ve become quite adept at using an online language translator. An extra added bonus is that I have taught myself to speak and understand some French and Italian.
People wonder how I did my research or if Big & Fabulous is an autobiography. Am I Brenda Cankles? The answer is yes… and no. Like so many other people, men and women, I certainly know about struggling with weight and body-image. In fact over my lifetime, I have probably gained and lost 800 pounds. Frankly I should be hanging from a charm bracelet. So yes, although I’ll never tell you which pieces of Brenda's personality and her experiences are mine, her life and personality is uniquely hers. Brenda lives out-loud and is a hero of sorts. I aspire to be like Brenda.
Crystal: Who are some of your favorite authors that you like to read?
Randi: Kurt Vonnegut, David Sedaris, Nora Ephron and I love biographies and autobiographies about groundbreakers and outrageous people, families and fortunes.
Crystal: Is there a genre you haven't written that you would like to try?
Randi: As crazy as it may seem, I would love to write a shoot-em-up Western.
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BLURB:
The time for BIG & Fabulous, The Life and Times ofBrenda Cankles is now! The emphasis is on positive body image, Big &
Fabulous is a truly entertaining story that’s strongly written, funny,
insightful and bitingly smart. Inside it’s covers, readers will find no
shortage of acidly hilarious accounts of the highs and lows of living life
inside a big and fabulous body.
Imperfect, impervious and improving Brenda Cankles is an
unlikely heroine. Unfazed by the enduring censure of society, she is determined to realize the fabulous life that she has always believed is her destiny.
unlikely heroine. Unfazed by the enduring censure of society, she is determined to realize the fabulous life that she has always believed is her destiny.
Brenda’s story – written in unflinching first person – is
utterly unvarnished. Here, find a fantastically real person, sometimes
struggling to fit in, but mostly giving the rest of the world the mother-lovin’
bird. From her clunky childhood, through her stumbling yet optimistic
adolescence to her full figured and unapologetic emergence into adulthood.
Brenda is a special brand of warrior. She is big, bold and beautiful. While the
quirky cast of characters who surround her is eternally insistent that Brenda
live her life in the background and fit into society’s mold, she will have none
of it.
utterly unvarnished. Here, find a fantastically real person, sometimes
struggling to fit in, but mostly giving the rest of the world the mother-lovin’
bird. From her clunky childhood, through her stumbling yet optimistic
adolescence to her full figured and unapologetic emergence into adulthood.
Brenda is a special brand of warrior. She is big, bold and beautiful. While the
quirky cast of characters who surround her is eternally insistent that Brenda
live her life in the background and fit into society’s mold, she will have none
of it.
Author, Randi Sherman’s experience as a stand-up comedienne
is evident as she delivers, BIG & Fabulous, The Life and Times of Brenda
Cankles, the hilarious, often laugh-out-loud novel about the inner most thoughts
Brenda Cankles, a very real character who is confident and brave enough to
expect the world to accept her on her terms.
is evident as she delivers, BIG & Fabulous, The Life and Times of Brenda
Cankles, the hilarious, often laugh-out-loud novel about the inner most thoughts
Brenda Cankles, a very real character who is confident and brave enough to
expect the world to accept her on her terms.
BIG & Fabulous, The Life and Times of Brenda Cankles is Sherman’s
fifth novel, her fourth THE LOBBY has won 17 Awards for Humor and General
Fiction.
fifth novel, her fourth THE LOBBY has won 17 Awards for Humor and General
Fiction.
Publisher: Friesen Press
Pages: 282
Genre: Humor Fiction
Pages: 282
Genre: Humor Fiction
Watch the book trailer at YouTube.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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DEAR SOCIETY,
We have a big job ahead of us. In elementary school, I will be "the fat kid" with a
wild imagination. In high school, I'll try to fit in but won't. I will be an
outcast, considered lumbering and awkward. No one, including my family, will expect
much from me because I won't be like the other girls. Being a big and a
bold and a brash girl, I will be the focus of
your attention as you advise me to stifle myself, adjust my enthusiasm, and be
grateful for any attention I receive.
wild imagination. In high school, I'll try to fit in but won't. I will be an
outcast, considered lumbering and awkward. No one, including my family, will expect
much from me because I won't be like the other girls. Being a big and a
bold and a brash girl, I will be the focus of
your attention as you advise me to stifle myself, adjust my enthusiasm, and be
grateful for any attention I receive.
To the
bullies and doubters, let me be the first to thank you in
advance for continually reminding me that I have the potential to end up as
someone's dusty spinster aunt who shares a can of bargain tuna with seventeen
cats, or that weird neighbor you see but try desperately to avoid.
bullies and doubters, let me be the first to thank you in
advance for continually reminding me that I have the potential to end up as
someone's dusty spinster aunt who shares a can of bargain tuna with seventeen
cats, or that weird neighbor you see but try desperately to avoid.
Although it's
hard to believe, I will cherish our relationship because you, Society, will
never ignore me. I don't know what I will do or have done to garner so much of
your attention and devotion. I'm sure you have other and more important
things to do, like creating jobs, housing the homeless,
raising money to cure cancer, and feeding the
hungry. But, no, you will dedicate television shows and magazine articles to
me, and spend your valuable time and energy comparing what it is
that you consider "perfect" to my reality and encourage me to change
into someone "typical." I know it will be exhausting for
you.
hard to believe, I will cherish our relationship because you, Society, will
never ignore me. I don't know what I will do or have done to garner so much of
your attention and devotion. I'm sure you have other and more important
things to do, like creating jobs, housing the homeless,
raising money to cure cancer, and feeding the
hungry. But, no, you will dedicate television shows and magazine articles to
me, and spend your valuable time and energy comparing what it is
that you consider "perfect" to my reality and encourage me to change
into someone "typical." I know it will be exhausting for
you.
I have to
admit that there will be times when my self-esteem will be tested. Other
times, I'll be a non-believer, and want to give up, possibly disappointing you.
admit that there will be times when my self-esteem will be tested. Other
times, I'll be a non-believer, and want to give up, possibly disappointing you.
Because of
your often obsessive yet unwavering attention and dedication to making me aware
of my shortcomings or, worse, your condescending and hollow and self-serving
attempts to encourage me to accept my "inadequacies" and situation -
you will present me with a challenge. It will take all of my strength and
determination, but I will dig deep within myself to realize I have the
potential to be fabulous.
your often obsessive yet unwavering attention and dedication to making me aware
of my shortcomings or, worse, your condescending and hollow and self-serving
attempts to encourage me to accept my "inadequacies" and situation -
you will present me with a challenge. It will take all of my strength and
determination, but I will dig deep within myself to realize I have the
potential to be fabulous.
Like fine
wine, opera, and stinky cheese, I am valuable, an acquired taste, and, like all
treasures, I should be appreciated and celebrated.
wine, opera, and stinky cheese, I am valuable, an acquired taste, and, like all
treasures, I should be appreciated and celebrated.
Like it or
not, whether you intend it or not, I just might turn out to be a wise,
compassionate, creative, funny, generous, and a kind person. You see, I have
the ability to learn and grow.
not, whether you intend it or not, I just might turn out to be a wise,
compassionate, creative, funny, generous, and a kind person. You see, I have
the ability to learn and grow.
Yes, I am big
and I am bold, and I accept your challenge. Be forewarned. I will be a force to
be reckoned with because I am special. I am beautiful and I am
a superhero. Now, get the fuck off my cape. I have things to do.
and I am bold, and I accept your challenge. Be forewarned. I will be a force to
be reckoned with because I am special. I am beautiful and I am
a superhero. Now, get the fuck off my cape. I have things to do.
Sincerely,
Brenda
Merle Cankles, "The Big One"
Merle Cankles, "The Big One"
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About the Author:
Randi M Sherman is the award winning author of humorousfiction books. With an eye for detail, an ear for well-tuned dialogue and an incredible grasp of the obvious, all honed while performing stand-up comedy in Los Angeles and improvisational theater in San Francisco, Sherman
adds just enough bawdiness to deliver character-driven contemporary novels that will have the reader laughing, thinking and connecting with the characters in her books.
A native Californian, Randi makes her home in California's
wine country. Trying her hand at country living Randi describes herself the Eva Gabor of the Sonoma/Napa area.
wine country. Trying her hand at country living Randi describes herself the Eva Gabor of the Sonoma/Napa area.
Randi earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Chapman University.
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