Samantha Bryant believes in love, magic, and inexplicable connections between people. Her favorite things are lonely beaches, untamed cliff tops, sunlight through the leaves of trees, summer rains, and children’s laughter. She has lived in many places, including rural Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Vermont, England and Spain. She is fierce at heart, though she doesn’t look it.
She’s a fan of Charlotte Brontë, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Neil Gaiman, Nicole Perlman, and Joss Whedon, among many others. She would like to be Amy Tan when she grows up, but so far it doesn’t look like she’ll be growing up any time soon.
Samantha writes blogs, poems, essays, and novels. Mostly she writes about things that scare or worry her. It’s cheaper than therapy. Someday, she hopes to make her living solely as a writer. In the meantime, she also teaches middle school Spanish, which, admittedly, is an odd choice for money-earning, especially in North Carolina.
When she’s not writing or teaching, Samantha enjoys time with her family, watching old movies, baking, reading, and going places. Her favorite gift is tickets (to just about anything).
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Going through "the change" isn't easy on any woman. Mood swings, hot flashes, hormonal imbalances, and itchy skin are par for the course. But for these four seemingly unrelated women, menopause brought changes none of them had ever anticipated--super-heroic changes.
Helen discovers a spark within that reignites her fire. Jessica finds that her mood is lighter, and so is her body. Patricia always had a tough hide, but now even bullets bounce off her. Linda doesn't have trouble opening the pickle jar anymore…now that she's a man.
When events throw the women together, they find out that they have more in common than they knew--one person has touched all their lives. The hunt for answers is on.
Character interview with Patricia O'Neill from Going Through the Change: A Menopausal Superhero Novel
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| Artwork by Charles C. Dowd |
Where were you born, and what was it like growing up there?
I grew up in a podunk town in Illinois and haven't looked back since. It's not worth a dot on a map and no one outside the state has ever heard of it. In all honesty? It was dull as the dirt it was made of.
What is the happiest memory from your childhood?
Ha! Leaving. Getting that field hockey scholarship to a college Up East was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Do you have a close relationship with your family?
God, no. My mom, God rest her, was a weak woman. She couldn't live without a man in her life and none of the men who passed through our lives were worth a hill of beans, including my fool of a father and every stepdad who came after him. Once I left home, we hardly spoke. Somewhere I've got some half-siblings, I think, but I steer clear of all that Jerry Springer crap.
Do you have any hobbies? What are they?
I enjoy the finer things in life. I like to go to shows, eat amazing dinners in beautiful places with people who amuse me, travel, shop for designer clothing. I'm not afraid of hard work and it has paid off in spades. I love my life--or at least I did before The Change took a change for the weird. I ruined a lot of nice clothes learning to control this thing.
What kind of clothing do you prefer to wear?
There's nothing like a well-tailored suit to bring out the best in a woman. My favorite ensembles are in bright colors that bring out the redness of my hair and show my height and strength. They say "the clothes make the man," and that's even truer of women in business. We have a hard row to hoe, making our way into the upper management and beyond. It helps to look the part.
Have you ever been in love? How did that work out for you?
I don't believe in love. Like the old trope says, I like my men strong and disposable, like Kleenex. Some have lasted longer than others, but no one has ever really had my heart. I'm not interested in letting anyone else have that level of control over my life. If they get serious, I show them the door. Women would get a lot further in this life if they could let go of the notion that a man is somehow necessary to happiness.
What is the most important lesson you've learned about life?
You can't rely on other people. There's only one person in this world I trust completely and you're looking at her.
What was the most embarrassing moment in your life?
Where did they dig you up? I hate these kinds of questions. It's like that job interview question about your greatest weakness. There's no good way to answer this. I don't get embarrassed. You can't embarrass someone who doesn't care what you think.
What do you regret most in your life? Why?
Are you even listening? I don't believe in regret. What's the point in lingering over the past? What's done is done. What matters is what is still to come.
What is the strangest situation you've ever found yourself in?
Until recently, I would have said my whole life has been one strange situation after another. I've always been a fish out of water, making my own way upstream. But now I know that I didn't really know what "strange" meant. You do know you're talking to a woman who sometimes breaks out in armor-plated flesh, scales, and talons, right?
Who is your enemy? What makes you enemies?
Cindy Liu. It's cliché to say it, but it's true in this case: it's complicated. We've been friends for forty years. She's the only friend I've ever really had. But here lately . . . well, let's just say her moral compass has been skewed. To tell the truth, she's never been the same since she lost her fiancé back when she was in her thirties. But this? She's been running experiments on herself and on others. Even on me! We're going to stop her--me, Leonel, and Jessica. When I get my claws on her, she's going to pay for what she's done to me and to them. She's got some serious explaining to do.
Who do you most admire in your world? Why?
If you ever tell him I said this, I'll deny it, but Leonel Alvarez. He--she--whatever. Gender is a little complicated with Leonel. Anyway--Leonel is the truest heart I know. We might not see eye to eye, but I know he's got my back and there's no one I'd rather have watching out for me--even if he's excruciatingly naive and annoyingly honest sometimes.
