Life of JEM: My Life In The Inland Empire

A BLOG ABOUT THE ZANY CHILDHOOD AND ADULT ADVENTURES OF A GIRL FROM THE INLAND EMPIRE WHO MOVED OUT OF THE INLAND EMPIRE ONLY TO END UP BACK IN THE INLAND EMPIRE.

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

The runaway

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So I'm working on a YA novel. It might end up a novella. I've been working on it for a while albeit sporadically. I won't go int...
Friday, March 7, 2025

The world is a stage

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As Shakespeare has said in his play As You Like It, "All the world is a stage." It is. Truly.  Finally, at 53, I've realized I...
Sunday, March 2, 2025

Sunday mourning coming down

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David Johansen has died. He was the lead singer of the NY Dolls, one of my favorite bands of all time. I ended up watching the Scorsese docu...
Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Wednesday Morning Writing

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It's Wednesday morning. Five am. As I sit here, I know I should be writing. Instead, I'm listening to a podcast and watching my baby...
Saturday, February 22, 2025

The 3 Puppy Magi

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Some days, it feels like Christmas. This gift of the three shih tzus from the universe feels magical. Like the three magi, they bring so man...
Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Life of JEM podcast! Writers on Writing!!

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 Hi all!  Check out my podcast! There's over 70 episodes on my Life of JEM: writers on writing podcast! With writers such as Reyna Grand...

Across the Universe

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These new puppies have took my love and as Stevie Nicks sang, they took it down. It's like being covered in snowy love. I'm envelope...
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About Me

Juanita E. Mantz (JEM)
JEM's life story is the stuff that memoirs are made of. JEM went from punk rock high school dropout to corporate lawyer to rock star deputy public defender and nonfiction writer. JEM's stories, blog and video podcast document her journey so take a look! Her YA memoir, "Tales of an Inland Empire Girl", is available via Los Nietos Press (and through all national retailers). Her book tells the poignant story of her chaotic YA life growing up in the IE. Her chapbook, "Portrait of a Deputy Public Defender, or how I became a punk rock lawyer", was also released in Aug 2021 by Bamboo Darts Press. JEM is married to her wonderful husband Adrian who is a dentist. They have two Shih Tzus, Frodo and Chewbaca (Chewie to his friends). Her work has been published in Aljazeera, The Acentos Review, The Dirty Spoon Radio Hour, Entropy, As/Us, Inlandia, & Mutha magazine, among others. Go to her author website for more info at https://juanitaemantz.com. JEM is in the creative writing MFA low residency program at UNO. She has presented at AWP, Beyond Baroque and the UCR Punk Conference.
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