Monday, February 17, 2014
Brian Scott Mednick, author of Unnecessary Headaches: A Novel
From 1990 – 93, Brian served as producer of the syndicated radio program Soap Opera Radio, which featured interviews with the stars of daytime television. Brian has been active in the New York independent film scene and has worked in various capacities for Geraldo Rivera’s Investigative News Group, Gramercy Pictures, Shooting Gallery, and New Line Cinema.
Brian Scott Mednick wrote, produced, and directed the 1992 short film Confessions of a Male Prostitute, which received a rave from Rex Reed, who wrote, "I am a bit speechless. This is exemplary work...revealing much sensitivity and intelligence. I actually could have hung in there with [these] characters for another hour or so." Mr. Reed further said that Brian has "obvious talent" and concluded, "This short film is so good I would be very keen to see what [Brian Scott Mednick comes] up with in the next few years."
Brian has reviewed film and theater for such publications as Show Business Weekly and Good Times. His political writing has appeared in Metro and on parcbench.com. He was a regular contributor to The Jewish Voice for nearly two years.
Over the years, he has interviewed such celebrities as talk show hosts Alan Colmes and Joy Behar, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, comedian-director David Steinberg, directors Arthur Hiller (Love Story, Silver Streak), Bud Yorkin (Start the Revolution Without Me, Twice in a Lifetime), and Mel Stuart (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory), producer Mace Neufeld (The Frisco Kid, The Hunt for Red October), actress Kelly LeBrock (The Woman in Red, Weird Science), Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau (Crimes and Misdemeanors, Ed Wood), 2013 GOP New York mayoral contender John Catsimatidis, and comedienne Marilyn Michaels. He twice interviewed the late former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, including doing one of the very last interviews he gave.
He has performed stand-up comedy at many New York City clubs including The Duplex and Don't Tell Mama. Brian's second book, an anthology called Drinking Games...and Other Stories, was published on November 1, 2011 and is available for purchase from Amazon.com and CreateSpace. His latest book, the novel Unnecessary Headaches, is now available from Amazon.com and CreateSpace.
You can contact him at BrianScottNYC@gmail.com.
Title: Unnecessary
Headaches
Author: Brian Scott Mednick
ISBN: 978-1-475-23978-2
Page count: 150 pages
Genre: Fiction/Family Life
Price: $15.00
Tell us about your book:
Harvey
and Betty Sugarman seemed to have a good life.
They were both successful in their careers – he a lawyer, she a
journalist – and lived comfortably in Manhattan’s Stuyvesant Town. Most importantly, they took pride in having a
bright son in college named Daniel. But
just as some underlying secrets are about to be revealed, the Sugarmans’ world
changes when Betty is diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
The
Sugarman men try their best to be strong as Daniel struggles to hide his
homosexuality from his parents and Harvey tries to put his dream of a second
career as a writer of Broadway musicals on hold.
Set
against the backdrop of modern day New York City, Unnecessary Headaches is a poignant story of a family trying to
live their lives despite the brutal realities that stand in their way.
“A
moving, memorable, and deeply human story of a family dealing with life’s
heartaches,” says Joe Franklin of Bloomberg Radio. “I couldn’t put it down. A very impressive first novel.”
How long did it take to write the book?
On and off, about two years.
What inspired you to write the book?
The story just came to me.
I wanted to write a contemporary story about regular people whose lives
suddenly change and how they deal with a crisis.
Talk about the writing process. Did you have a writing
routine? Did you do any research, and if so, what did that involve?
I did not have any formal writing process. I wrote the bulk of the book and then
abandoned it for more than six months, then finally looked at it again and
thought it was too good not to finish.
But I had terrible writer’s block.
What do you hope your readers come away with after reading
your book?
Well, the feedback I have gotten from people who have read
it is that they were very moved by the story and actually cried. That is a very big compliment. I hope readers find the story compelling,
care for the characters, and above all are entertained.
Excerpt from book:
SEVENTEEN
Betty came home after spending eight days in the
hospital. Her infection was gone but the
whole experience wiped her out. Once
home, it was like she had just undergone more chemo, for she was tired, in bed
most of the time, and hardly eating. Her
frustration was apparent. It was
difficult to get her to engage in conversation.
When she was awake, she often just sat in the living room staring into
space. She would try to read but just
could not concentrate. And she had
several more chemotherapy sessions to look forward to.
She
finished her last chemotherapy session mid-February and was given the news that
she was in remission. Harvey and Betty
were thrilled. But they were also
realistic – she would need to remain cancer-free for a year and a half in order
to be completely out of the woods.
Daniel was
relieved that Betty was in remission.
Over the next several weeks, he was able to concentrate on his studies
and spend lots of time with Troy.
At the end
of March, Betty received a phone call from Dr. Spitz, who was concerned about
her white blood cell count. Betty needed
more tests, which revealed the cancer was back.
Her remission did not even last two months.
Harvey and
Betty were devastated. More chemotherapy
was to follow, as well as radiation.
They could barely muster up the energy to talk to each other, except to
agree on one thing: they were not going to tell Daniel. He was so elated at the news of Betty being
in remission that they feared telling him would make him neglect school and
worry.
Still
thinking his mother was in remission, Daniel insisted on coming up from
school. With Betty in good health,
Daniel felt now was the time to come out to his parents.
One
afternoon in mid-April, after the three had a very nice lunch in Union Square,
Daniel stood in the living room and declared, “I’m gay… I’m...I’m gay.”
Time seemed
to stand still as the words flowed from Daniel’s mouth like a bowling ball
shattering the glass coffee table.
Harvey and Betty looked at each other.
There was silence. Then Harvey
cleared his throat and said, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, dad,
I’m sure.”
Harvey
nodded thoughtfully. Betty seemed a bit
in shock.
“Mom? Are you all right?”
“I...I
don’t know what to say.”
“Well, are
you angry?” Daniel asked.
“No, I’m
not angry. I...”
“I think we
just need to sorta take this in,” Harvey offered. “You know, just let it settle and then maybe,
you know, analyze it and think it through.”
“Well,
there isn’t much to think through,” Daniel said. “I’m gay, I’m happy, and I love you. And I thought you should know.”
“Well, we
appreciate that, we do,” Harvey said.
Daniel
seemed to expect more from Betty but she just seemed dazed. Daniel needed to get out of there and was
about to leave when Betty asked, “Is Troy gay too?”
“Yes, he
is.”
“So are the
two of you...”
“Yes,
mom. Troy is my boyfriend.”
Another
long silence.
“Well, why
don’t I let you both talk or do whatever,” Daniel said. “I’m gonna go out.”
“Yes, yes,”
Harvey said. “Good idea. You come out – I mean, ha, I mean go
out. Come out? Did I say that? You go out and do...what...you do.”
Daniel left
the apartment. Harvey and Betty sat
still for a bit before Betty said, “I think I want a glass of wine.”
Betty went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of
Chardonnay from a bottle in the fridge that was left over from dinner a few
nights ago. She took a generous sip
before firmly telling Harvey, “I blame this on the Internet!”
“What?”
“I’m
serious. Everything is online now. Everyone is free to be whatever they
want. No consequences. You want to have sex with dogs, there’s a Web
site for that.”
“Betty,
listen to yourself.”
“I can hear
myself perfectly fine. Are you going to
tell me you are happy with this news?
You’re happy that our only child will never get married or give us
grandchildren?”
“You don’t
know that. Look, it’s a lot to take
in. But let’s not lose sight of the
bigger picture. I mean, he’s a good kid. Always has been.”
“I had
doubts about sending him to that hippie arts college in the middle of
nowhere. I never liked the idea.”
“Hippie?”
“I really
needed this, right? I really needed this
with all that’s going on with me.”
“Hey, that
kid has a life outside of us, okay?
Where is your compassion? Where
is that big bleeding compassionate liberal heart now that your son needs it?”
“Leave me
be, will you?”
“No! I am not giving you a pass because you’re
sick. Do you remember when we first
met? How we used to joke about being two
commie left-wing liberal Jews? A perfect
match. Remember years ago when you got
all worked up because you thought we were committing some crime by having no
black friends? I have news for you,
lady. When you got sick, we didn’t have
any white friends either, okay?! I had
to deal with this all by myself. And you
– now, of all times – you have a problem with hearing that our son, the most
important thing in our lives, having a problem with him telling us he is
gay? Good God, woman. Are you crazy? He told us he is gay and you are treating it
like he robbed a bank. I love
Daniel. No matter what. I am proud of him. I am proud – hell, I am overjoyed – he found
someone like that Troy. Think of someone
else besides yourself, Betty. Daniel is
our world.”
“And you
want him to deal with all of the shit that goes along with being gay? The jokes and the attacks and the AIDS? I just want him to be regular.”
“Regular? He’s not a cup of coffee!”
“You know
what I mean!”
“Betty, we
are in twenty-first century New York City.
Things are different now. Daniel
is a smart kid, he knows how to take care of himself.”
Betty sat
down and started to weep. Harvey sat
next to her and put his arm around her.
“It’ll be
okay,” Harvey assured her. “It’ll be
okay.”
Where can we go to buy your book?
Amazon.com
Any other links or info you'd like to share?
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