Male Angst Volume I. FML, I Always Get "Those" Chicks
by Bobby Cenoura
by Bobby Cenoura
Male Angst Volume I.: FML, I Always Get Those Chicks is the antithesis to 50 Shades of Grey. In this novel, Reggie recounts two disastrous short term relationships: the first to a weed head Vietnamese mother of two who owns a nail salon and has an obsessed "husband"; and the second to an underemployed yet overweight Hispanic mother of two with two baby-daddies and secret sauce. Add to the character mix an interesting oasis of thugs and lowlifes who are sympathetic to Reggie's cause and help him to count his blessings.
Reggie Jenkins is on to something but he just isn't getting it right. He is quasi-urban: too black for the mainstream, but not black enough for the underground. The passing away of people, opportunities, and relationships in Reggie's life have left a hole that he attempts to fill with sex, drugs, and false ego. Reggie has 'Male Angst'.
Purchase Male Angst Volume I.: FML, I Always Get "Those" Chicks
(Male Angst Series Book 1) by Bobby Cenoura
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MALE ANGST VOL 1: FML, I ALWAYS GET "THOSE" CHICKS
Under the Sea
We both sat across from each other scanning the menus. From time to time, I looked at her to see her face gently illuminated by the faux candle sitting in the middle of the table. It felt good to be out with a cute girl, but a creeping thought was whether or not we should go Dutch, because one, I really didn't know her like that, and two, I didn't want her to think that I was some punk that would just pay for her off the top. I decided that a happy medium would be to offer to pay for the dinner while suggesting that she pay the tip. That way, I would extend my hand in a chivalrous-like courtesy, while allowing her to exercise her new-age womanly right to independence.
When I go to these restaurants, my favorite dish is to order the whole fish. The fish is usually deep-fried and embellished with a chili-basil sauce. The sweetness of basil contrasted the spiciness of the peppers. Of course, the whole fish is usually the most expensive item on the menu, because its price dared to be defiant and read: MARKET. Not that I wouldn't mind ordering a whole fish, but to do so with her is like a team effort. I wanted to put it out there, since I think that it would have created a bond between us, but at the same time, I didn't want her to think I was ordering for her. As my thought process was churning, it was interrupted by a single robotic voice.
"Koos mey, how are you today? Would you layke to start with something to dwenk?"
I looked at Linh and she looked at me from behind her menu, almost as if we were playing peekaboo.
"Get wactha want, I got this round," I said to her with the confidence that it wasn't trickin' if I had it.
"Okay...I'll have a...Mint Mojito."
"Okeyy, an you, sir? Would you layke something to dwenk?"
"Yeah, I'll have a Long Island Iced Tea."
"Zenk yoo."
As the lady left our table, she seemed to try hard to switch her hips, as she dragged her heels across the floor. Then I got a flashback of a lot of Asian people I knew who tended to drag their heels as they walked. I wondered why that was. Maybe, I thought, they had such strong calves that they couldn't help it.
After a couple of sips of my drink, it hit me directly as I didn't have much in my stomach. I was now feeling enthusiastic about the night and wanting to go balls out.
"So, have you ever had the whole Flounder before? It's pretty good. You wanna get a whole flounder? We can share it."
"Meh."
There was a brief silence between us. The thing about the word "meh" is that I am not even sure if it is a word. It's more like an expression suggesting disinterest. For a moment, it was a bit of a buzz kill, my ego expecting cooperation and companionship. I let it go and turned my attention to the menu. Then she spoke.
"Umm they have curry puffs. I love those. Do you like them?"
"They're okay."
The truth was that I really loved curry puffs, but since she took the whole experience down a notch with her lack of enthusiasm, I countered, letting her know that I didn't give a crap if she wanted to continue on this "date." I knew that she probably recognized that her utterance of that friggin' annoying word turned me off and she was trying to make up for it. I let her take the lead in the conversation.
"I am so glad we came here. I haven't eaten since early this afternoon, and sometimes I become a different person when I haven't had food."
"Kinda like the grumpy guy on the Snickers commercial before he gets a Snickers?"
"Yeah, like that."
Okay, so the night was still salvageable. She was actually trying to explain why she was being a drag, and I followed up with it. In an essence, she just apologized to me and I accepted it.
"So I started writing this book," Linh said in between slurping up her soup and taking a bite of her chicken patty.
"What kind of book?"
"It's a crime/thriller/love story."
"What's it about?"
"It's about a girl who belongs to a Vietnamese organized crime family, kinda like the Yakuza, and she is the daughter of the boss. And they hired a highly-trained bodyguard to drive her around, to you know, like school, shopping, etc."
"That's interesting. So where does the love story come in?"
"Well what happens is this body guard starts to fall in love with her, and he doesn't show it directly, but he shows it in different ways, especially when he saves her life."
"So does the girl end up falling for the guy?"
"Actually, that's the thing. It's gonna be one of those unrequited love stories. The girl is actually gonna fall for another guy who the bodyguard eventually finds out that he is from a rival crime family. Then in the end, the bodyguard is going to die saving her life..."
"And what about the guy she falls for? Is he going to end up killing her?"
"No, they are going to end up getting married and he is attempting to consolidate the wealth of the two crime families."
"Hmm...have you decided on a title?"
"Yea, the Vietnamese Princess Bride."
"Ahh, the Vietnamese Princess Bride, or VPB. Hey, wait a minute! Those are the initials for Vietnamese Playboys, this old school gang that wore the scorpion tattoos on their forearm?!"
"Shh!"
"Girl, you betta be careful writing shit and coding it."
"Well at least I would have done something I love before I die."
"No guts, no glory, they say. I think that's pretty cool that you like to write."
"Yeah, I just haven't even finished the first chapter yet, but I love to read stories all the time on my Kindle."
"Well, we have a lot in common, 'cause I like to write, too."
"Really? What are you writing about?"
"A fictional story regarding the relationships between African Americans and Koreans in the inner city."
"That's interesting. Nobody's done that before."
"Yeah, it kind of focuses on the aspect of Koreans owning liquor stores in the inner city and how they relate-kinda how y'all own nail salons. Have you ever thought about it?"
"About what?"
"About how Blacks and Asians have a kind of interdependent ecosystem-we're like the consumers and you guys are like the merchants-if it wasn't for us, y'all wouldn't eat,"
I said in a southern-like accent. She giggled and nodded her head. I continued.
"In my book, the surroundings touch the Korean characters on a deeper level; one of the female characters becomes involved with one of the brothas from the inner city."
"Is it a love story?"
"Not really, because I want to focus more on the cultural aspects to enlighten the reader so they won't get distracted by sexual aspects of man and woman."
When she asked me about my book, I felt like I was connecting with her, and that we had something in common, besides the fact that we both drink and like Thai food. Our entrees had already arrived. I ordered a tofu and vegetable Pad Ka-Prao, which Tara Thai had intentionally misspelled as Ka-Pow to draw the American eye.
At our table, we dined Asian style, and it made me feel closer to her. For me, and where I'm from, people didn't usually order different foods and share with each other. To me, black folks were every-man-for-himself when it came to dining. I briefly recalled a moment in time when I was low on cash and didn't have money for food. This black guy named Rohan would eat chicken in front of my face without offering me any. It wasn't until I started to hang around with Asian people that I realized their "community pot" way of sharing food. They always asked me if I minded dining that way (sharing), but as we ate that night, we had a mutual understanding that we were dining with a sense of camaraderie. During this moment of total immersion, we moved about the table with our wrists, sampling and tasting different entrees and even daring to mix them.
"So what's your deal? You know, like do you got a boyfriend or something?"
"Naw, well I don't have a boyfriend or anything but I am divorced. I figure I would just tell you that from the jump...besides, you might actually know my ex-husband..."
"Oh really? What's his name?"
"Luke."
"I don't think I know him."
"Well, you might see him on my FB page leaving me pet messages. He just doesn't get it."
"Get what?"
"That it's over."
"Wow. So do you guys have kids?"
"We have two, but he isn't around much anymore to see them. My sister takes care of them when I'm away."
"Where is he now?"
"He's stationed in Iraq."
As soon as she said that her ex couldn't get over her, two things jumped to my mind. They were like a push away from her and a pull toward her. I thought to myself, What type of thang-thang does she got that it's making her ex refuse to let it go? That gave me a curious "pull" toward her. While contemplating this, my mind suddenly became overwhelmed by images of "Hamburger Hill" and "Rambo" with some random crazed marine with a scope on top of a rifle kicking down my door for freaking his ex. A part of me wondered if I should even try to get involved with this chick, but another part of me said, Well it's not like she's throwing it at you, so just enjoy the moment and see where it takes you.
( Continued... )
© 2014 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Bobby Cenoura. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only.
Bobby Cenoura is a literary artist born and raised in the Washington DC area. He holds a bachelor's degree in business and social sciences. Bobby has been an avid storyteller since his early childhood. He is also familiar with black market economics. Bobby's literature, influenced by experiences and imagination, is called "quasi urban". Bobby's newest genre entitled "Male Angst", deals with men's dating dilemmas, and dating market economics.
BPM: What is the book genre, target audience and subject matter of the book?
"Male Angst", in the broadest sense of the literary genre, deals with the displeasure a male feels because of the actions he takes or thinks he has to take to obtain desired but apparently scarce resources. The focus is primarily on the displeasure heterosexual males experience in the contemporary, post-modern dating market that they feel are attributable to heterosexual females. The genre utilizes reflection and self-analysis regarding these unpleasant situations to empower males to produce viable solutions. As an ideology, Male Angst counters quasi-feminism without being anti-female at its core.
The target audience is primarily heterosexual males 28 to 58, but women are also welcome to stick their noses in the book to find out how they cause or can mitigate Male Angst!
The primary subject matter deals with the adult subject of dating and sex and what a man is going through to get the things he wants. There is also partying/drug use and other whimsical themes to help the plot along.
BPM: The book is from the point of view of a main character who has two disastrous relationships. Can you tell us a little bit about them?
The main character is Reginald Jenkins (Reggie), who is a thirty-something single guy who is getting his bearings dating after getting out of a long-term committed relationship that took up most of his early to mid-twenties. Reggie realizes that the perceived quality of women he meets is drastically different than his late-teen to early-twenty years. He meets Linh, a Vietnamese mother of two in her early twenties, who still parties hard, and whose family owns a nail salon. Linh has a husband in Iraq who she stays married to solely for appearances sake. The second woman is Leslie, an El-Salvadorean mother of two in her early twenties with two baby-daddies and sloth.
In addition to the relationships and situations with these women, Reggie talks about his current circle of friends and lowlifes and his sub-optimal job condition.
BPM: This new book is very different from the book we last showcased called Seoul Revelations what prompted you to write from the first person and why this book? Why now?
One, because I wanted to get guys to read: I buddy of mine who read an excerpt said he could not stop laughing once he started reading it because it reminded him so much of things he went through while dating.
Two, Because Pseudo Feminism appears to be running rampant. Pseudo Feminism is the theory that the average postmodern woman will embrace the benefits of feminism but not bear the costs of feminism especially when it comes to dating. For example, a working woman who embraces the fact that she makes a professional level salary but still feels like a man should pay on the first date.
I believe it is caused by Biology and Sociology being at odds with each other in the post-modern predicament. Biology, I believe, prompts women to desire men who can provide, while sociology prompts women to provide for themselves, thus sending a 'mixed' message between partner/provider. It almost as if the women who can provide for themselves look for men that are better providers than even they are. They effectively want their cake and to eat it too.
BPM: I also noticed that there were mentions of 'dating market economics' in the book. How does this tie in to the genre?
Dating Market Values: My hypothesis is that at any given age, time and other factors, each male has a dating market value. Since men are "beggars" and women are "choosers" (scientific evidence per the Bateman principle (elaborate if asked) women spend more resources on mating and therefore are the choosier sex as opposed to men, who virtually have an unlimited amount of offspring, therefore is the more "competitive" sex), a man's dating market value must be slightly to moderately higher than the market "price" of a woman who is in her MVW (Market Value Window: period of time where a woman is in her reproductive prime, socially and legally). Factors that affect men who are in their MVW's dating market value are assumed as follows:
In addition, since Market Value is relative to the woman's, the woman usually has a "-" where the man has a "+". For example, women who are considered "fat" don't usually date men who are as fat as they are. So a man can be fat, but a woman will take him if she is relatively fatter than he is. Therefore weight after a certain poundage man decrease a man's MV, if the woman that chooses him has a weight heavier than his, this makes him relatively lighter, and thus he gets a "+" in her eyes.
BPM: What are your goals as a writer? Do you set out to educate? Entertain? Illuminate a particular subject? Inspire?
I have a few more books to put out as an urban fiction writer: A sequel dealing with the fallout from the dramatic events that took place in Seoul Revelations, and a spinoff called "Hustlin' life", which focuses on the drug kingpin P-Nutt and his customers, which will educate readers about what goes through the minds of hustlers and customers. Next is a book called "Southsiders". This book is to illuminate the topic of gang life and race relations in southern California.
I plan to spend a lion's share of my time ushering in a genre I created called 'Male Angst' The Male Angst series will entertain and illuminate people to the types of challenges that some men face with regard to dating and relationships. It includes novels entitled "Who Motivates the Motivator" which discusses the ins and outs of personal training and "FML I Always Get Those Chicks" which talks about the dating life of a lowly guy looking to 'come up'.
Then I plan to write fantasy/epic novels and more intricate 'heist' or 'thriller' novels; possibly touching on cyber-security. Ultimately, I would like to be a movie producer and see my stories come alive on the big screen.
BPM: How do you feel about ebooks? Have they helped your business to grow?
Currently my feelings about ebooks are mixed, most likely because I am new to them. For example I have over 800 downloads of my book but just one review. So I don't know if people have a habit of downloading books for later. I think ebooks are a great opportunity for an author to get their idea out relatively inexpensively. At this time I cannot say they helped our publishing company's business grow because our publishing company has had greater success with physical book sales at events than online. That doesn't mean the potential for growth online is not there.
BPM: Share with us your latest news. How may our readers follow you online?
"FML I Always Get Those Chicks" is now available. The movement begins, now! My publishing company, Slice of Pain, will be running a dinner and a movie raffle promotion for that as well. In addition "Black People's Problems" will be coming out sooner than that, more than likely this month.
Follow me on Twitter: @BobbyCenoura or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeoulRevelations. Join the Male Angst Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/maleangst
* Purchase Male Angst: FML I Always Get "Those" Chicks
(Male Angst Series Book 1) by Bobby Cenoura
* Purchase Seoul Revelations by Bobby Cenoura
Amazon: http://amzn.com/1491065265
