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.

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Hazy days

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It's a hazy day. The sky is grey with smog and it was in the nineties yesterday. It's fall but it doesn't feel like it. I get u...

Thursday, October 24, 2024

5 am musings

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It's 5 am. This is my magic time. I love to write at this time. I wake up, make an espresso and get to work. My brain sometimes works f...

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Don't Worry Baby

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I feel like I'm in crisis mode constantly. I'm always worrying about something. I have a lot of angst, and I know a lot of it is job...

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Dream the impossible

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Change is on the horizon. I can feel it. Something big is coming and I am ready. I've had dreams for a long time. Big dreams. Some migh...

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Awake

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So I am awake. It's 2:30 am. The tapping on the keys of my phone brings me comfort. My phone's blue light is like a candle guiding m...

Monday, September 23, 2024

Duckie

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This one is just for you my blog friends and dedicated to my shih tzu Chewbacca. Duckie You didn't quack You barked And you followed I ...

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

504 am

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I often title my blogs after what time it is when I start writing. Writing has become such an ingrained part of my life. It's like breat...

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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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