Moments in West FL: Valentines LOVE Tour....Zack Love

New York City, May 2000. The Internet bubble has burst, and Evan’s boss fires him with an email. The next day, his girlfriend dumps him, also via email. Afraid to check any more emails, Evan desperately seeks a rebound romance but the catastrophes that ensue go from bad to hilariously worse. Fortunately, Evan meets someone whose legendary disasters with females eclipse even his own.

To reverse their fortunes, they recruit their friends into a group of five guys who take on Manhattan in pursuit of dates, sex, and adventure. With musings about life, relationships, and human psychology, this quintessential New York story about the search for happiness follows five men on their comical paths to trouble, self-discovery, and love.

*****Five Stars *****

Absolutely loved reading about Evan and his friends and their adventures of being single in NYC! Growing up in the 90's and living through the age of tech changes, I totally fell in love with this book. The five main male characters have great witty and sophisticated dialog and higher education humor. Misadventures happen to bring friends together in the most unthinkable conditions.

I came away with some quirky Heeb-isms and Evan-isms and even a few Narc-isms....for those who have yet to enjoy this book, trust me, each man is humorously and/or lovably unique. So let me share my thoughts on the men...

Evan...oh, Evan Cheson, total geek and computer programmer who is "actually charming and good-looking...with a full head of thick hair...blue eyes...athletic six-foot-one.." *swoon* he sounds so dreamy...and then you realize he's had some not-so-great luck. I mean, he starts off "losing a job and girlfriend, each via email, one day after the next." You can't help but hope something good happens to this sexy 29 yr old man. With the women of NYC though, confidence is a must! The women you are introduced to as you follow Evan's adventures are either "9+ hotties" or giving him a "freebie" that is most definitely NOT free!

Lucky Chucky and Heeb are our next men we come across...Roommates at Harvard, Carlos was dubbed "Lucky Chucky" since he was lucky in everything he did...and not only the luck but the looks as well, something close to a "Latin Telenova Star." However, Sammy had no luck with women, with his "baby face...compact nose...and the thin brown layer of hair combed over...five feet eight inches...and willing to barter math skills." Sammy's nickname came from Carlos because "Heeb. You're a dweeby Heeby who explains nicknames with syllogisms." And thus the nicknames and friendship was formed between two total social opposites. There is so much hilarity that ensues when they venture out that you can't help the out-loud chuckles at some of the social awkwardness that happens.

Narc is a whole other drink of tall, delicious man! Being Evan's roommate at Brown, Yi Wang, as he was known in his home, was six foot two and broke the norm of Chinese men. To his friends, he was "Narc" because he was always willing to try the latest narcotics to hit the 'hood. His passions were basketball and women!! But don't talk any smack on his ethnic background or family! After Evan meets Heeb, the two form an unlikely Posse of men and take on the city of NY (with Narc being one of Evan's recruits into the group)!!

I love that its a man's point of view about relationships and friendships and living in the big city. Love, Lust and Life lessons are written in a way to make you think and remember a time when things were less and more complicated in the world of technology. This is a must read for anyone who remembers giving your email instead of your facebook! And I can't wait for "Sex in the Sequel."

Just some of the many hilarious moments were captured in these memorable quotes:

---"It's about as original and sincere as a flight attendant greeting."

---"Alex, as long as I can keep coming back for one last charity fu@k like this, I may eventually come to terms with the idea that we're breaking up."

---"Dropping the H bomb"

---"But your Jewish!"

"Yeah, but I'm a bagel Jew."

---"No. Sex is different. Sex is a sinfully dirty act...And it's probably very crude and imperfect in reality."

---"Laughing out Loud at Losers of Lust."

---"Amen. God bless the penis."

Zack Love graduated from Harvard College, where he tried to create a bachelor’s degree in Women. With the bachelor portion of that degree in hand, he settled in New York City but – to afford renting his bed-sized studio – found himself flirting mostly with a computer screen and stacks of documents. Determined not to die a corporate drone, Zack decided to sacrifice sleep for screenwriting, an active social life, and Internet startups offering temporary billion-dollar fantasies.

To feed his steady diet of NYC nightlife, he regularly crashed VIP parties in the early 2000s and twice bumped into his burgeoning crush, a Hollywood starlet. But – much to Zack’s surprise – neither of those awkward conversations led to marriage with the A-list actress. Zack eventually consoled himself by imagining fiascoes far worse than those involving his celebrity crush. In the process, he dreamed up a motley gang of five men inspired by some of his college friends and quirky work colleagues. And thus was born Sex in the Title. But the novel is not autobiographical: Zack never had his third leg attacked by any mammal (nor by any plant, for that matter). In fact, keeping his member safe has been one of Zack’s lifelong goals – and one of the few that he’s managed to accomplish.

Welcome Author Zack Love!

Thank you for doing an interview with Sweet, Beautiful, Moments in West FL!!

ZACK LOVE: Thanks so much for inviting me on to your blog, Jen!

Here were the Questions...

If someone asked you why they should read it... What would you say?

ZACK LOVE: I'd say there there's something in it for everyone -- especially if you're looking for a good laugh and/or a nostalgic walk through the New York City dating scene back around Y2K. But I tried to write something that could be enjoyed by just about any reader -- male, female, single, married, seeking fluff or substance.

If you had to describe your writing style with one word... What would it be and why?

ZACK LOVE: genre-busting. It's not any one kind of writing, really. Sometimes it's dialogue-driven, other times philosophical, and other times completely ridiculous.

If you had to describe yourself with one word... What would it be and why?

ZACK LOVE: Delusional. How else can one crank out imagined worlds and then presume that enough people will want to pay for them to put dinner on the table?

What is the thing you find toughest about being an Author?

ZACK LOVE: That it's just me and a few hundred other million people trying to be authors. Sometimes I wonder if there are more writers than readers. That could spell trouble for us.

Is there an Author that inspires you to write?

ZACK LOVE: Not really. The inspiration to write is more of a compulsion -- or even a malady -- and I've had it since before I could even name authors.

Who is your favorite Author, currently?

ZACK LOVE: Don't really have one. I'm a huge fan of Milan Kundera, the Russian writers (Nabakov, Tolstoy, Dostoyevksy, etc.), Mark Twain, and so many others that it becomes clear that I really am quite far from having a favorite "one!"

What is your favorite book of all time and Why?

ZACK LOVE: Same problem here.

When reading... What genre do you prefer?

ZACK LOVE: Same problem here too. Wow, I'm starting to feel like one of those annoyingly uncooperative interviewees, but my preferred genre really depends on my mood.

We all claim a book boyfriend or girlfriend at one time or another... Who is your current book boy/girl friend?

ZACK LOVE: I have yet to find a "book girlfriend" who's any good at making out, so I'm currently single in that department. But if at some point I tire of human girlfriends, I may have to explore the book version!

Enough about books...

Let's get to know you!!!

This or That?

ZACK LOVE: Definitely that. You've had enough of "this or that" and "this and that" in my answers. So this time, let's just go with a very definitive and decisive THAT.

Vanilla or Chocolate?

ZACK LOVE: Chocolate, although I'd really prefer to get a scoop of each.

Sour or Sweet?

ZACK LOVE: Depends what the food is, but generally sweet.

Money or Happiness?

ZACK LOVE: Well, considering that I don't have much money, I'm going to assume that this means my answer is happiness!

In the bedroom...

Submissive or Dominant?

ZACK LOVE: Is this a Playgirl interview?

Handcuffs or Blindfold?

ZACK LOVE: Apparently, this a Playgirl interview! But then you'd probably want a photo of my six-pack abs...

Whipped Cream or Lotion?

ZACK LOVE: Whipped cream tastes so much better!

Sweet/Slow or Hard/Fast ?

ZACK LOVE: All of the above!

Thank you for spending time with Sweet, Beautiful, Moments in West FL and hope everyone enjoyed your visit and learned a little more about the author of "SEX in the Title"

EXCERPT 1

“So what’s the body count?”

“The body count?”

“You know: how many women have you slept with in your twenty-nine years?”

Evan wasn’t sure whether to overstate the number to look sexually impressive to a soft porn star, or whether to understate the number to look less promiscuous and more like the responsible, clean cut, solid-boyfriend type. Since he still hadn’t quite figured out what Tina was looking for or who she really was, he decided just to tell the truth.

“I’ve been with about sixty-seven women.”

“What do you mean ‘about sixty-seven?’ You say ‘about sixty’ or ‘about seventy.’ But not ‘about sixty-seven.’ You’re obviously keeping track.” Tina looked amused at another opportunity to toy with Evan.

“All right. You got me,” Evan conceded. “I’ve been with precisely sixty-seven women.”

“Unless, of course, you said ‘about’ because the total depends on how you define ‘being with a woman.’ For example, if you just got a blowjob and nothing else then maybe you don’t count that.”

“OK. To be more precise, I’ve had sexual intercourse with sixty-seven women.”

“All right, so then you’ve probably been with many more women than sixty-seven?”

“Yeah. But I don’t keep track of those.” Evan suddenly wondered why he didn’t bother to keep track of anything but consummation.

“I see…So when did you get started on these sixty-seven women?”

“You mean, how old was I when I lost my virginity?”

“Yes.”

“Twenty.”

“So you’ve slept with sixty-seven women in just nine years.”

“Well, actually I’ve had six serious relationships that together took up about two years.”

“Serious? Let’s see…Six serious relationships in two years…So each one lasted an average of four months. You call that serious?”

“Well, it was an intense four months. And I wasn’t seeing anyone else. You know, that’s kind of a big deal in New York,” he added ironically. “Dating someone exclusively for four months in New York is like four years in Anchorage.”

Tina chuckled at Evan’s joke. “All right, so not counting the serious relationships, you’ve slept with...” She crunched some numbers in her head. “You’ve slept with sixty-one women in just seven years…That’s an average of almost nine per year…A new woman every forty days.” Tina seemed impressed, which suddenly made Evan feel rather promiscuous.

EXCERPT 2

“What’s SQ?” asked Evan.

“Sexual Quotient.”

“What’s that?”

“Basically, it’s your odds of getting laid. Everyone has an SQ. Just like everyone has an IQ.”

“I’ve never heard that term before.”

“That’s because I made it up.”

“That figures. Finally applying your actuarial skills to what really matters, eh?”

“Yeah…It’s an idea I had always sort of toyed with, but after I lost Yumi to my boss, I really began to develop and refine it.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I started obsessing over why she suddenly dumped me for him. And in the process of figuring that out, I developed the concept of SQ.”

“So how does it work?”

“Your Sexual Quotient is really just an attempt to quantify, on some absolute scale, how attractive you are to the opposite sex. In general, the higher your SQ, the more desirable you are.”

“So the higher your SQ, the easier it is for you to get laid.”

“Right. But your SQ determines a lot more; it effectively defines your bargaining position in a relationship. The lower your SQ, the more likely you are to be dominated by the person you’re with,” Heeb explained.

“You really think so?”

“Look at me. I always end up being the doormat because of my SQ. But if you look at models – male or female – they generally get away with demanding more and giving less.”

“So how do you figure out your SQ?” Evan asked, suddenly eager to compute his own Sexual Quotient.

“Well, your subjective SQ is how attractive you are to a particular person. And your objective SQ is just the average of all the scores you got for all of the people out there.”

“So how do I calculate my SQ for a particular woman?”

“It’s calculated the way you would calculate your personal income taxes.”

“How’s that?”

“Various facts cause you to take deductions from the total, although with taxes you want the deductions and with your SQ you obviously don’t. Because the lower your objective SQ is, the fewer women you attract, and the less picky you can be. And that’s a bad thing. And for anyone who wants to marry a Jew, it’s a disaster.”

“Why?”

“Because there are only about fourteen million Jews in the whole world, which leaves about seven million for each gender. So let’s say I’m willing to date any Jewish woman who’s twenty to forty years old. That leaves me with a choice of about two million women in the world. And if we assume that half of those women are already taken, I’m left with a million eligible women roaming about six billion people. And, chances are, the million that’s not taken is not taken for a reason.”

“A million?”

“Yeah. And if you want to get really precise, we need to shave off at least another three hundred thousand, because I can’t date any Chasidic, Orthodox or even Conservative Jews.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I’m compatible only with bagel Jews.”

“Bagel Jews?”

“The ones who are Jewish culturally but not religiously. Which leaves about seven hundred thousand.”

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