“Forget that I went to high school with Lauren Sánchez Bezos (I wish I could). Forget that her new husband is also from our hometown of Albuquerque, and that his stepfather, like my dad, was a Pedro Pan unaccompanied Cuban minor in the 1960s (I wish I could). Forget, too, that while they are drowning in diamonds, I am penniless and struggling to make my car payment this month (I wish I could).”
I’m so sorry for all of the above. Didn’t realize you had to meet Lauren personally as a high schooler or richer than God Bezos grew up in your hometown. And for struggling while they are merry.
As to your romance idea at the end, I love that idea. I’m not the target audience. 🙃
But maybe she evokes in you a sense that she does not belong in so prominent and visible a position. You're trying to cast her as a fraud in a sham marriage.
Sanchez was a local news anchor in LA for like twenty years, and everybody liked her. If this were really about billionaires then all the criticism would be aimed at Bezos, not her.
My opinion of her hasn’t a thing to do with where she “belongs.” That is not something I even consider. I know nothing about this woman other than she is willing to marry someone who is considered an evil psychopath by much of the world. What does that say about her motivation? As for their marriage, I would ask how it is possible to have anything other than a sham marriage with someone who is not capable of love or empathy. I wonder why you defend such people?
I don’t need to meet him. How the billionaires acquire and what they do with their wealth tells me all I need to know. Only those who have no empathy and cannot love are capable of doing the horrible and inhuman things necessary to become the richest in the world. They are evil to a person. It matters not if they are wife or husband. What matters is their choices in life, and those choices are why Jesus said the rich would not go to heaven. I reject them because I reject evil. You misunderstand if you think there is anything personal about it. I have yet to hear an explanation from you for defending such evil. Perhaps you are the spouse of a rich person.
What's interesting to me about Mamdani is that MSM tried the antisemitism approach first, and when that was ineffective, started on the socialist angle.
Perhaps before they started kidnapping and detaining people like Mahmoud Khalil the first strategy might have worked, but most Americans reject this.
I'm not a New Yorker, but I am a Jew, and my life experience has shown that a lot of Americans are passively antisemitic, primarily because they don't personally know any Jews.
I don't think I'm alone in that perception.
And I don't think either attempt to discredit Mamdani is going to deter New Yorkers from electing him. They deserve a mayor who sees the economic landscape clearly and has solid ideas to effect change.
It's not for the putrid administration and their wealthy benefactors to determine the outcome.
🙋♀️ would vote for him… if in his NY DISTRICT... BERNIE SANDERS IS A DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST… I was been before I met BERNIE, who I adore & respect. I was much younger when I “felt the BURN” and found my TRUE DEMOCRAT PARTY STAND…DEMOCRAT SOCIALIST. DEMOCRATS NOW, NEED TO GET WITH THE PROGRAM… SOCIAL PROGRAMS & mindset for the people💙FAIR Taxation TO PROMOTE our COUNTRY BETTERMENT … on & on, just COMMON SENSE GOVERNMENT THAT DOESN’T PRODUCE OLIGARCHY❗️ 🙋♀️PROUD SOUTHERN Democrat SOCIALIST …. Made that way, FOR AMERICA💙🇺🇸💙
I hope you are right, but the levers of power are very hard to pry from the hands of the rich. It has always been so. As Yogi Barra said, "It ain't over till it's over" and it is only beginning. That said, if you listen closely you can already hear the gentle sound of pikes being sharpened and smell the kerosene as the torches are being loaded. Every empire topples and this one is looking pretty shaky right now. It would be less frightening if Canada were not sharing such a long and difficult to defend border with a rogue state.
I have no idea if he will be elected, and if he is, I hope he does not turn out to be the kind of leader George Wallace was - effective, but not for all of his constituents. I'm rather tired of all of the hatred and apathy, of watching the democracy that so many of my family fought for in the wars of the 20th century being pulled apart by people with tiny minds and souls.
I'm a Bostonian, and I can assure you that New Englanders will not assure safe passage for troops headed to Canada.
My understanding is that much of the Canada/US border is physically very difficult to cross. So there's that. And most Americans share a great disinterest in attacking our neighbors. And our military takes an oath to defend the Constitution, not despots.
Yes…that’s a great idea and I would buy as many of your books as possible and gift them. We -the public are hungry to support good literature…ie new York’s new mayor. IMHO you’re one of the best writers on Substack. Always enjoy reading your stories. TY
I didn't realize NYC was bigger than most states in terms of population. At 8.25 million people, it'd be the 13th largest state in the US. This mayor will preside over a bigger population than most US governors.
THIS. All of this!! I write historical romance, and this is exactly what spurred me to start writing my first book... Because in the vast and incredibly diverse tapestry of history, why the fuck do the heroes always have to be titled English rich dudes??? Give me a political radical ready to tear down the system, a starving musician who puts creativity above everything, a man searching for meaning in the midst of the horrors of the industrial revolution.... And for the love of God, DON'T make him a secret duke.
(Thank you for writing this... It makes me feel less alone (and less crazy.))
Absolutely YES… KUP … ( keep us posted) I have seen enough BLING & BOTOX MONKEY FACES I CARE TO SEE. MEN THAT DRESS LIKE PIMPS & spent more time shining their heads or growing a beard thinking the look is POWERFUL…NOPE, very few real men & very few real women that can love life, family, good times, bad times … work for the best life can give them & still remember where their heart it… WRITE.. & KUP💙
I’d read your romance! I actually read a lot of romance and I avoid billionaire romances in the same way that I don’t watch horror movies before bedtime.
Mine is a Waldorf teacher making $60k a year after 20 years. The 1st graders can’t get enough of him when he plays the recorder to quiet them down. He has a little book of William Blake poetry on the console of his car. And he uses the word “adore”. As in I adore you.
Definitely NOT Bezos! Yes, I would read a book about an ordinary guy who 'does the right thing' and liberates the woman from the clutches of the opulent billionaire.
We are in a time of 'needing to escape' and I think
1. Media is PUSHING the Bezos/Sanchez shit on us to NORMALIZE the oligarchy lifestyle
2 we want to escape and rescue the soulless billionaire.
Very well written. I thought that was the girl you went to high school with. Didn't know he is from New Mexico too. Talk about car payments. Couldn't make mine and my dream car was repossessed on Saturday while she's wearing the however expensive dress and catering to Oprah. What's wrong with this picture? Everything. And you definitely have to publish your book. What about making the hero an undocumented immigrant coming to this country for love and to take care of family? No vampires involved, just monster president.
I know this is not really analogous or even apropos but one of my all time favorite movies is Princess Bride, for all the right reasons. Wesley is a working class guy who knows his station and doesn’t really aspire to wealth or fame, Buttercup could have anyone she wants and in fact is the sought after prize of the most powerful man in the tale, they both want the love they feel from each other and overcome every single objection thrown out by a world that doesn’t understand love. And, of course, Peter Falk 🤣💖
“Forget that I went to high school with Lauren Sánchez Bezos (I wish I could). Forget that her new husband is also from our hometown of Albuquerque, and that his stepfather, like my dad, was a Pedro Pan unaccompanied Cuban minor in the 1960s (I wish I could). Forget, too, that while they are drowning in diamonds, I am penniless and struggling to make my car payment this month (I wish I could).”
I’m so sorry for all of the above. Didn’t realize you had to meet Lauren personally as a high schooler or richer than God Bezos grew up in your hometown. And for struggling while they are merry.
As to your romance idea at the end, I love that idea. I’m not the target audience. 🙃
Bezos makes me barf.
A gold digger.
There is so much jealousy directed at this woman.
You would have to be a person who cares only about money to be jealous of her. She has nothing I want.
But maybe she evokes in you a sense that she does not belong in so prominent and visible a position. You're trying to cast her as a fraud in a sham marriage.
Sanchez was a local news anchor in LA for like twenty years, and everybody liked her. If this were really about billionaires then all the criticism would be aimed at Bezos, not her.
My opinion of her hasn’t a thing to do with where she “belongs.” That is not something I even consider. I know nothing about this woman other than she is willing to marry someone who is considered an evil psychopath by much of the world. What does that say about her motivation? As for their marriage, I would ask how it is possible to have anything other than a sham marriage with someone who is not capable of love or empathy. I wonder why you defend such people?
Have you met him? I have no idea if he is capable of love or empathy and neither do you. Are you similarly angry at the other wives of billionaires?
I don’t need to meet him. How the billionaires acquire and what they do with their wealth tells me all I need to know. Only those who have no empathy and cannot love are capable of doing the horrible and inhuman things necessary to become the richest in the world. They are evil to a person. It matters not if they are wife or husband. What matters is their choices in life, and those choices are why Jesus said the rich would not go to heaven. I reject them because I reject evil. You misunderstand if you think there is anything personal about it. I have yet to hear an explanation from you for defending such evil. Perhaps you are the spouse of a rich person.
"That’s what billionaire romance is: a modern vampire story. He’s dead inside. But you? You bring him to life."
SPOT ON.
(One proofreading note: Mandami is the Dem nominee for mayor, not elected yet)
What's interesting to me about Mamdani is that MSM tried the antisemitism approach first, and when that was ineffective, started on the socialist angle.
Perhaps before they started kidnapping and detaining people like Mahmoud Khalil the first strategy might have worked, but most Americans reject this.
I'm not a New Yorker, but I am a Jew, and my life experience has shown that a lot of Americans are passively antisemitic, primarily because they don't personally know any Jews.
I don't think I'm alone in that perception.
And I don't think either attempt to discredit Mamdani is going to deter New Yorkers from electing him. They deserve a mayor who sees the economic landscape clearly and has solid ideas to effect change.
It's not for the putrid administration and their wealthy benefactors to determine the outcome.
🙋♀️ would vote for him… if in his NY DISTRICT... BERNIE SANDERS IS A DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST… I was been before I met BERNIE, who I adore & respect. I was much younger when I “felt the BURN” and found my TRUE DEMOCRAT PARTY STAND…DEMOCRAT SOCIALIST. DEMOCRATS NOW, NEED TO GET WITH THE PROGRAM… SOCIAL PROGRAMS & mindset for the people💙FAIR Taxation TO PROMOTE our COUNTRY BETTERMENT … on & on, just COMMON SENSE GOVERNMENT THAT DOESN’T PRODUCE OLIGARCHY❗️ 🙋♀️PROUD SOUTHERN Democrat SOCIALIST …. Made that way, FOR AMERICA💙🇺🇸💙
I can appreciate that. Personally, I don't care for Senator Sanders, but that's not because of his "socialist" ideas.
We do need to turn the ship before we hit the iceberg. If it's still possible.
I hope you are right, but the levers of power are very hard to pry from the hands of the rich. It has always been so. As Yogi Barra said, "It ain't over till it's over" and it is only beginning. That said, if you listen closely you can already hear the gentle sound of pikes being sharpened and smell the kerosene as the torches are being loaded. Every empire topples and this one is looking pretty shaky right now. It would be less frightening if Canada were not sharing such a long and difficult to defend border with a rogue state.
I have no idea if he will be elected, and if he is, I hope he does not turn out to be the kind of leader George Wallace was - effective, but not for all of his constituents. I'm rather tired of all of the hatred and apathy, of watching the democracy that so many of my family fought for in the wars of the 20th century being pulled apart by people with tiny minds and souls.
I'm a Bostonian, and I can assure you that New Englanders will not assure safe passage for troops headed to Canada.
My understanding is that much of the Canada/US border is physically very difficult to cross. So there's that. And most Americans share a great disinterest in attacking our neighbors. And our military takes an oath to defend the Constitution, not despots.
Be well
Yes…that’s a great idea and I would buy as many of your books as possible and gift them. We -the public are hungry to support good literature…ie new York’s new mayor. IMHO you’re one of the best writers on Substack. Always enjoy reading your stories. TY
I didn't realize NYC was bigger than most states in terms of population. At 8.25 million people, it'd be the 13th largest state in the US. This mayor will preside over a bigger population than most US governors.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/U-S-Census-Bureau
THIS. All of this!! I write historical romance, and this is exactly what spurred me to start writing my first book... Because in the vast and incredibly diverse tapestry of history, why the fuck do the heroes always have to be titled English rich dudes??? Give me a political radical ready to tear down the system, a starving musician who puts creativity above everything, a man searching for meaning in the midst of the horrors of the industrial revolution.... And for the love of God, DON'T make him a secret duke.
(Thank you for writing this... It makes me feel less alone (and less crazy.))
Absolutely
Absolutely YES… KUP … ( keep us posted) I have seen enough BLING & BOTOX MONKEY FACES I CARE TO SEE. MEN THAT DRESS LIKE PIMPS & spent more time shining their heads or growing a beard thinking the look is POWERFUL…NOPE, very few real men & very few real women that can love life, family, good times, bad times … work for the best life can give them & still remember where their heart it… WRITE.. & KUP💙
I’d read your romance! I actually read a lot of romance and I avoid billionaire romances in the same way that I don’t watch horror movies before bedtime.
Mine is a Waldorf teacher making $60k a year after 20 years. The 1st graders can’t get enough of him when he plays the recorder to quiet them down. He has a little book of William Blake poetry on the console of his car. And he uses the word “adore”. As in I adore you.
Wild stab? A swinging-branch-to-swinging-branch gold-digger?
Definitely NOT Bezos! Yes, I would read a book about an ordinary guy who 'does the right thing' and liberates the woman from the clutches of the opulent billionaire.
We are in a time of 'needing to escape' and I think
1. Media is PUSHING the Bezos/Sanchez shit on us to NORMALIZE the oligarchy lifestyle
2 we want to escape and rescue the soulless billionaire.
Very well written. I thought that was the girl you went to high school with. Didn't know he is from New Mexico too. Talk about car payments. Couldn't make mine and my dream car was repossessed on Saturday while she's wearing the however expensive dress and catering to Oprah. What's wrong with this picture? Everything. And you definitely have to publish your book. What about making the hero an undocumented immigrant coming to this country for love and to take care of family? No vampires involved, just monster president.
Keith Olbermann refers to her by a silly entertainment piece she did when they worked together once…
Lauren “How To Meet A Baller” Sanchez.
I know this is not really analogous or even apropos but one of my all time favorite movies is Princess Bride, for all the right reasons. Wesley is a working class guy who knows his station and doesn’t really aspire to wealth or fame, Buttercup could have anyone she wants and in fact is the sought after prize of the most powerful man in the tale, they both want the love they feel from each other and overcome every single objection thrown out by a world that doesn’t understand love. And, of course, Peter Falk 🤣💖