Hysterical

Set in the late 1800s, this historical fiction addresses the relatively well known issue of medical murder (physicians procuring bodies for medical research through questionable means) and exposes the carefully guarded historical fact of hysterical orgasm (that women diagnosed with hysteria were treated with orgasm or “paroxysm,” achieved via vibratory therapy, water jet massage, and/or manual stimulation).

The Hysterical Male is designed as a thematically focussed exploration of gender politics in the 1990s. Initiated as a companion volume to …

In this bittersweet slice of working class single New Jersey life, best friends Debby and Beth (both pushing thirty) go looking for love in the wrong place - namely their favorite bar, Oliver's. Rugged contractor Rick eyes Beth but ends up going home with the more assertive Debby. Beth's style is further cramped by the responsibilities of single motherhood. As Debby tries to parlay what was essentially a casual fling into possible marriage with an indifferent Rick, her mother Virginia wonders if her affair with widower Nick is the real thing. Rounding out the romantic possibilities is Bobby, the bartender who flirts with Beth. The women clash as plans go awry, tragedy strikes, and hearts get broken. In the end, Debby, Beth, and Virginia find, if not the relationships of their dreams, peace with each other and within themselves.