Release: May 10, 2021
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Under the Golden Gate Media
Source: Suzyapproved Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
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This book has it all, and it is all true.
Girl Shock! I Dressed As A Girl For Halloween But Then She Took Over My Life
It was all supposed to be for a costume.
Maria Konner takes you on her journey from living a frustrated and bored straight-dude life in the ‘burbs to becoming a fabulous trans entertainer in San Francisco. She also begins to discover herself sexually after a Halloween costume feels better than she ever imagined. What starts as a lark, quickly becomes a lifestyle.
Told in a frank and entertaining manner, Maria details her experiences at Diva’s, the legendary trans bar located two blocks from her new apartment. There, she enters into a world of alternative lifestyles, sexual experimentation, crossdressing, and hardcore kink as she tests the boundaries of her sexuality.
At the same time, she examines the changing concept of femininity within herself and launches her online video series Under the Golden Gate as a performer, host, and producer.
Girl Shock also takes you inside the underground of San Francisco for a true insider’s look at art, music, performance, and humanity. It is full of pictures and links to her favorite videos from the Under the Golden Gate library.
Join Maria Konner on this raunchy, wild ride to self-discovery and get Girl Shocked!
About the Author:
Maria has a biomedical and electrical engineering degree from Case Western Reserve University and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University where she was the valedictorian. She has a love-hate relationship with education as she believes that too much education distracts one from where the real education is, down in the trenches. Maria considers herself to be a musician above all else. ”Good music can’t lie. I don’t listen to words all that much. I care about the vibe more than anything else―it doesn’t matter if it’s a song, a conversation, a business, or a group effort”.
After escaping from the straight suburbs and landing in San Francisco, Maria bubbled up and exploded all over town. She performs around the West Coast with her rock band Not From Jersey! playing guitar and singing mostly original songs, as well as playing jazz/blues/cabaret piano at various venues. She is also a host for her YouTube channel underthegoldengate.com where she performs, interviews guests (and some celebrities too!), and films various events around town interviewing people.
These days Maria is working from home as a cybersecurity architect, making videos of her new piano music, writing down ideas for her next book and plotting to bring underground entertainment back to San Francisco after the COVID-19 crisis.
Girl Shock Review:
“Girl Shock” is a unique memoir and unlike anything you would have read in your life, and it was fascinating.
One of the main reasons I love reading diverse books is to learn something new and be inspired. The memoir is a beautiful tale about a man who doesn’t know where he fits into the LGBTQ spectrum when he decides to dress as a girl for Halloween and realizes he enjoys it a lot. The author also opened my eyes to the differences between drag queens and trans people. I felt like I was right next to the author as she started exploring her new side as Maria. One of the best moments in the story is actually in the second half when she battles with herself and wonders if she continues as Maria or goes back to being “the Dude.”
There are also some interesting side characters like Sebastian and Diane, who added nicely to the storylines. For some reason, I also found Professor Danarama hilarious. Moreover, I love how the author executed the book. There are many pictures, comic strips, video conversations, and so much more. The author adds multiple formats of storytelling which made the story friendly and so entertaining to read.
However, I was irked by some of the graphic content. While I admire the author being honest about her life and the various challenges, as the author herself mentions, there are a lot of sordid scenes. Some of them were too graphic for my taste and tainted my perception, but just a tad. However, I admire the author for categorizing this nicely to avoid it and move on with the story.
Overall, “Girl Shock” is a fascinating story that people should read to understand their lives and struggles.
Book Tour Schedule
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on theGirl Shock! I Dressed As A Girl For Halloween But Then She Took Over My Life by Maria Konner Blog Tour hosted by Suzyapproved Book Tours.
- 2nd Sept. –Rajivs Reviews
- 6th Sept. – We Break For Books
- 9th Sept. – Bookish Heidi
- 15th Sept. – Joannas Bookshelf
- 27th Sept. – ML Book Love
- 1st Oct. – Christina Stephanie Reads
- 4th Oct. –Geaux Get Lit
- 19th Oct. – Rozier Reads and Wine
- 25th Oct. – JP Broker Reads
- 31st Oct. – Dani Reads
