This weekend, I will be updating the website with writing samples, press, links, and so on and so forth.
Videos are also on the way!
I will even be turning off All My Children and putting down my pint of Cherry Garcia for this. But I will not take my hair out of the curlers. The curlers stay.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Minor car accident
Tonight's In The Flesh reading has been postponed due to a minor car accident.
We have rescheduled for April 16th.
I will still be in Providence tomorrow.
We have rescheduled for April 16th.
I will still be in Providence tomorrow.
"Everybody knows about the Smurfs!"
An awesome vlog about my book and The Smurfs.
Yep, you pronounced my name right the first time.
And thank you.
And yes... we're fucked.
Yep, you pronounced my name right the first time.
And thank you.
And yes... we're fucked.
Monday, March 16, 2009
A heartfelt thank you to my friends and readers, and upcoming tour dates
First off... if you're in New England or New York - I hope you'll come out to one of this week's events. I'd love to see you there!
NEW YORK, NY
Thursday, March 19, 2009; 8:00 PM
In The Flesh Reading Series @ Happy Ending (302 Broome Street, New York, NY)
PROVIDENCE, RI
Friday, March 20, 2009; 7:00 PM
Books on the Square (471 Angell Street, Providence, RI 02906)
NEW YORK, NY
Monday, March 23, 2009; 7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble # 2255 (97 Warren St. @ Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007)
Secondly... Hey, my book is in the stores and stuff! So far, the apocalypse has not arrived. I'm very disappointed! I was hoping for volcanoes! Unfortunately, God's Christian earth has not opened up to swallow all the Jews and heathens, and I am starting to doubt if I actually am a real apostate after all. Aren't we supposed to have some kind of apostate super powers, like invisibility or radioactive Christmas Caroling or something?
Despite the depressing lack of end times, I want to say: THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who has been interested in the book and eagerly anticipated the release along with me.
I've been getting some good reviews, and that's amazing. Although, I have to admit, I don't crave good reviews as much as I just fear bad ones. When I read a nice review, I mostly breathe a sigh of relief and think: "Thank God, I narrowly escaped again!"
But it means so much to me that people have enjoyed reading the book! And in hardcover, even!
More importantly, I've gotten some beautiful emails from ex-Jehovah's Witnesses who see their own childhoods represented in the pages that I wrote. I think that if no one else read the book except for a few ex-JW's who could recognize themselves within - it would all be worth it.
So thank you for all your thoughts and emails, and thank you for reading and for enjoying. Thank you for being so supportive!
Also, some of you know that I went through a a sudden and unexpected personal trauma last September and at one point, I wasn't sure what it would mean for the book release.
Ultimately, I got through it and am stronger for it! But I have to stress that I didn't do it alone.
Just to name a few of the people who supported me and were there for me through it all: Amy Bennett, Tim Ledwith, Dave Inkpen, Danny Kischel, Dan Newbower, Erik Seims, Nassib Hamman, Alexa O'Brien, Jodi, and, of course, my awesome brother Noah. There are more, but names escape me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
To those of you I haven't met yet - thank you for buying the book and for liking the book, or for at least putting the book on your shelf to be read at a later date.
It's been quite a year for me! Thanks to all the amazing people I know, I think it's gonna stay that way!
Yours in Worldliness,
- Kyria
NEW YORK, NY
Thursday, March 19, 2009; 8:00 PM
In The Flesh Reading Series @ Happy Ending (302 Broome Street, New York, NY)
PROVIDENCE, RI
Friday, March 20, 2009; 7:00 PM
Books on the Square (471 Angell Street, Providence, RI 02906)
NEW YORK, NY
Monday, March 23, 2009; 7:00 PM
Barnes & Noble # 2255 (97 Warren St. @ Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007)
Secondly... Hey, my book is in the stores and stuff! So far, the apocalypse has not arrived. I'm very disappointed! I was hoping for volcanoes! Unfortunately, God's Christian earth has not opened up to swallow all the Jews and heathens, and I am starting to doubt if I actually am a real apostate after all. Aren't we supposed to have some kind of apostate super powers, like invisibility or radioactive Christmas Caroling or something?
Despite the depressing lack of end times, I want to say: THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who has been interested in the book and eagerly anticipated the release along with me.
I've been getting some good reviews, and that's amazing. Although, I have to admit, I don't crave good reviews as much as I just fear bad ones. When I read a nice review, I mostly breathe a sigh of relief and think: "Thank God, I narrowly escaped again!"
But it means so much to me that people have enjoyed reading the book! And in hardcover, even!
More importantly, I've gotten some beautiful emails from ex-Jehovah's Witnesses who see their own childhoods represented in the pages that I wrote. I think that if no one else read the book except for a few ex-JW's who could recognize themselves within - it would all be worth it.
So thank you for all your thoughts and emails, and thank you for reading and for enjoying. Thank you for being so supportive!
Also, some of you know that I went through a a sudden and unexpected personal trauma last September and at one point, I wasn't sure what it would mean for the book release.
Ultimately, I got through it and am stronger for it! But I have to stress that I didn't do it alone.
Just to name a few of the people who supported me and were there for me through it all: Amy Bennett, Tim Ledwith, Dave Inkpen, Danny Kischel, Dan Newbower, Erik Seims, Nassib Hamman, Alexa O'Brien, Jodi, and, of course, my awesome brother Noah. There are more, but names escape me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
To those of you I haven't met yet - thank you for buying the book and for liking the book, or for at least putting the book on your shelf to be read at a later date.
It's been quite a year for me! Thanks to all the amazing people I know, I think it's gonna stay that way!
Yours in Worldliness,
- Kyria
Friday, March 13, 2009
Four star review on About.com
From now on, I am going to describe myself as "a young woman who made a lot of bad decisions." There's pretty much no better way to put that.
See, About.com really does have information about everything!
Summary
Pro:
• Exceptionally witty memoir of an otherwise depressing life story
• Manages to make a tragic story interesting, entertaining, and even amusing
Con:
• Not a lot of explanation of Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine, if that's what you are looking for
Description:
• Memoir of growing up in a Jehovah's Witness family
• Describes the life of a young woman who makes a lot of bad decisions
Book Review
There aren't many people like Kyria Abrahams. That's good in a sense, because I'd hate to think of many people enduring what she's gone through, but it's also bad because if more people had her character, they might have an easier time dealing with traumas and crises. Developing a quick but twisted sense of humor must help when coping with difficult experiences, but few develop it quite as thoroughly as Kyria did. It's little wonder that after the Jehovah's Witnesses she became a become stand-up comedian — not the usual sort of transition, but in her case it fits....
Read more on About.com
See, About.com really does have information about everything!
Summary
Pro:
• Exceptionally witty memoir of an otherwise depressing life story
• Manages to make a tragic story interesting, entertaining, and even amusing
Con:
• Not a lot of explanation of Jehovah's Witnesses doctrine, if that's what you are looking for
Description:
• Memoir of growing up in a Jehovah's Witness family
• Describes the life of a young woman who makes a lot of bad decisions
Book Review
There aren't many people like Kyria Abrahams. That's good in a sense, because I'd hate to think of many people enduring what she's gone through, but it's also bad because if more people had her character, they might have an easier time dealing with traumas and crises. Developing a quick but twisted sense of humor must help when coping with difficult experiences, but few develop it quite as thoroughly as Kyria did. It's little wonder that after the Jehovah's Witnesses she became a become stand-up comedian — not the usual sort of transition, but in her case it fits....
Read more on About.com
Saturday, March 7, 2009
My book reviewed on The Apiary
See what Ace Reviewer Carolyn Castiglia has to say about what I had to say about, well... ME!
Reviews and Appraisals
(Wow, first my boyfriend and I get free tickets to 'Bumblecore' and now a nice review? Next I think I will have their firstborn child! Pain free!)
Reviews and Appraisals
(Wow, first my boyfriend and I get free tickets to 'Bumblecore' and now a nice review? Next I think I will have their firstborn child! Pain free!)
The final Powells post
My last day on Powells. Alas!
Setting the Record Straight - Wherein I discuss false memoirs and answer some of your burning questions about the veracity of my life story.
Setting the Record Straight - Wherein I discuss false memoirs and answer some of your burning questions about the veracity of my life story.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Harriet Klausner reviews I'm Perfect, You're Doomed
On Genre go round reviews.
Kyria Abrahams was raised as a Jehovah Witness, which she explains means humans are divided between the have and have nots; the have true believers will live forever in a new Eden on earth while the "worldly" will be shunned though ironically the Jehovah's Witness extended community pray for their salvation. She did not celebrate Halloween or her birthday except with thank you prayers to the Lord. Every night she would go to bed expecting the end so had her end of the world pack ready for expeditious movement. She shunned a friend for having a devil’s device, an Ouija board. However, when she married as a teen she began to have doubts as she hated her spouse and turned to drugs and alcohol. When that failed she went on line where Ms. Abrahams discovered a whole new world out there including adultery. Now in her twenties, she is a shunned fallen one having kicked Jehovah out of her life and having the Jehovah Witness “fire” her.
This is a well written autobiography that provides insight into the lifestyle of a former member and her family. The keys to this intriguing account are that the author uses humor and clearly remains fond of her apparently dysfunctional family and even the religion; she avoids acrimonious nastiness. The memoir changes in tone from semi-humorous to totally serious at the point Ms. Abrahams married as she quickly detested her husband and turned to escapist self destructing activity. Although the author seemingly has turned her life around as evident by this fine book, she fails to explain how and what helped her overcome two plus decades of upbringing. Still Ms. Abrahams provides readers with a profound anecdotal look of growing up as a Jehovah Witness.
Harriet Klausner
(Time Magazine on Harriet Klausner & Wikipedia on Harriet Klausner)
Kyria Abrahams was raised as a Jehovah Witness, which she explains means humans are divided between the have and have nots; the have true believers will live forever in a new Eden on earth while the "worldly" will be shunned though ironically the Jehovah's Witness extended community pray for their salvation. She did not celebrate Halloween or her birthday except with thank you prayers to the Lord. Every night she would go to bed expecting the end so had her end of the world pack ready for expeditious movement. She shunned a friend for having a devil’s device, an Ouija board. However, when she married as a teen she began to have doubts as she hated her spouse and turned to drugs and alcohol. When that failed she went on line where Ms. Abrahams discovered a whole new world out there including adultery. Now in her twenties, she is a shunned fallen one having kicked Jehovah out of her life and having the Jehovah Witness “fire” her.
This is a well written autobiography that provides insight into the lifestyle of a former member and her family. The keys to this intriguing account are that the author uses humor and clearly remains fond of her apparently dysfunctional family and even the religion; she avoids acrimonious nastiness. The memoir changes in tone from semi-humorous to totally serious at the point Ms. Abrahams married as she quickly detested her husband and turned to escapist self destructing activity. Although the author seemingly has turned her life around as evident by this fine book, she fails to explain how and what helped her overcome two plus decades of upbringing. Still Ms. Abrahams provides readers with a profound anecdotal look of growing up as a Jehovah Witness.
Harriet Klausner
(Time Magazine on Harriet Klausner & Wikipedia on Harriet Klausner)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Interviewed!
Marie Mundaca gets me chatting about The Snorks and demonic wedding dresses on Hipsterbookclub.com
Nick Zaino is very understanding about my root canal on Funny Grown Here, where I say something about hipsters and atheists and "meat on a stick".
Yay!
Nick Zaino is very understanding about my root canal on Funny Grown Here, where I say something about hipsters and atheists and "meat on a stick".
Yay!
Style Wars: I may or may not have tagged a copy of your book
Hi. I came by the bookstore to see if my book was on the shelf. It is! I hope you like it.
Caesar then noted: "If you picked that book up and walked out with it right now, they would still arrest you."
Facebook, slippery pig catching, and other initiations
FYI, I have a group for my book on Facebook, over yonder: Facebook Book Group Face Thing.
Please join, if you're so inclined.
It's a great place to connect with ex-Jehovah's Witnesses, and I also send out initiations to upcoming events.
Obviously, that word should be "invitations", but the spellchecker suggested "initiation", and I liked the concept that people would have to go through some sort of initiation before being allowed to attend my events.
"Sure, there's no cover charge. But you will have to run naked through those brambles with your testicles covered in jam!"
Please join, if you're so inclined.
It's a great place to connect with ex-Jehovah's Witnesses, and I also send out initiations to upcoming events.
Obviously, that word should be "invitations", but the spellchecker suggested "initiation", and I liked the concept that people would have to go through some sort of initiation before being allowed to attend my events.
"Sure, there's no cover charge. But you will have to run naked through those brambles with your testicles covered in jam!"
Monday, March 2, 2009
Powells.com
This week, you will find me blogging daily over here:
http://www.powells.com/blog/
I hope you'll stop by and say "howdy."
http://www.powells.com/blog/
I hope you'll stop by and say "howdy."
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