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.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Taming of the Shrew

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The other morning at seven a.m., I had a meltdown in the driveway. Afterwards, images of my mother screaming at my dad in the front yard wh...

Sunday, January 29, 2012

My romantic side

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I am watching "You've Got Mail" for the umpteenth time. There is something about romantic comedies like this that gets me. E...

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Fitting In

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Fitting In

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Funny Girl

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Some may find this shocking but in some ways, being the fat girl was more fun. There was no pressure. You could talk to someone and be fun...

Friday, January 13, 2012

Pictures of You

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(Myself, Kenny G (my date for homecoming), Kenny B, my bff Tracy, Gene and Chrissy Pictures are strange, They bring back so much. I saw t...

Saturday, January 7, 2012

How Did I Get Here?

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Someone recently told me that my blog makes them think about the source of happiness. I think that is an accurate depiction of what I am tr...

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

To roast or not to roast (a Mantz Christmas story)

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It all started with a roast. A beef ribeye roast. The roast was marbled with bones and the scuffle it started stuck in my teeth for days. ...

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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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