30 May, 2020

Read an #Excerpt from For a Selfie with Benedict by Sam Riversag



About the Author:
Born in Versailles, Sam Riversag discovered her passion for literature at an early age when she would lock herself away for several hours reading, like her father who was a great admirer of Proust. She began writing at the age of
eight, her first compositions being about the absence of a mother and the pain of separation and at thirteen she wrote a series of short stories dealing with the theme of friendship between a small boy and a dog. During her student years she turned her hand to poetry and produced an anthology without the intention of publication, writing at that moment being for her a mere distraction, an adjunct to her other artistic pursuits of music and painting.
After completing a degree in law, she launched herself into her legal career before being once more tempted by the urge to write. Having traveled widely, the experiences she has lived in various countries have further animated her to share her memories in print. Another major influence is the world of cinema where she was impacted by Hollywood with its charismatic characters, its counterbalancing between right and wrong and its stories of the impossible love. After returning from a tour of the Amazon, she completed a novel which featured as its main character a sensitive and somewhat romantic cop tasked with solving a complex mystery in order to save his son. But even before publishing, she attended a convention on the British t.v. series “Sherlock” with Benedict Cumberbatch and in next to no time a new work criticizing the addictive nature of social media is produced immediately following the first. The book was published discreetly on line and has since gained enormous success thanks to word of mouth and has forced the author to reschedule her literary projects due to the fact that readers demanded a sequel just when the crime thriller was due for publication. The empathy the public felt for the two main characters was constantly reflected in their comments. Thus the Mary and Lola series was born; original, funny and highly addictive, critics are now speaking in terms of a new style of writing.


Read an Excerpt from For a Selfie with Benedict


And I’ve still got that bloody cat under my feet! Should’ve left him with Simon as he reminds me of him so much. The more he keeps it up, the more he gets on my wick although to be fair I forgot to buy him his food. Well, tough luck on poor pussy.

Besides, he’s fat enough as it is. He’ll eat better tomorrow. No milk today, my love is gone away…

He was so cute and adorable when he was a kitten…nothing like the great lump he is now…

We hesitated for a while before choosing a name because we wanted to sus “her” personality.

We finally opted for Kate since she seemed to have a really graceful and distinguished walk. She had lots of finesse, dead posh. Anyway, Kate grew up and we found ourselves obliged to rename her William. Well…nobody’s perfect. We can all make mistakes. Besides, he/she was our first cat. How were we to know she was a he?

I was the first to notice one fine day when I picked her up to give her a cuddle and I suddenly remarked to Simon.

“Hey, are you sure we were right to name her Kate?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, there’s just a slight problem.”

“Now what’s up? Have you already changed your mind?”

“It’s not that! Have a look!”

“Oh, shit, yeah…she’s got a thingy.”

“We’ll have to change her name!”

“Okay, let’s call him Batman then.”

“Absolutely no way!”

“Mr. Bean?”

“No! William, that’s it, we’ll call him William. That way he won’t get fucked up. We don’t want to give him the impression that he’s descending the social ladder.”

“You what? It’s a fucking cat!"

“So? Just ‘cos he can’t speak doesn’t mean he can’t cop on to what’s happening. I mean, he could become depressive.”

“Oh, don’t be such a snob!”

“It’s got nothing to do with snobbery; it’s a question of psychology.”

“Yeah well in that case, call him Harry. Suits him better. He’s a ginger tom. Harry’s a ginger top.”

“God, you’re so dim sometimes! William goes better with Kate. William and Kate, ye know?”

And so, thanks to me, our pussycat underwent a name change without experiencing the slightest trauma in connection with his social standing or gender identity. Five minutes later, the cat’s continuing to remind me about his food and I’m stricken with remorse. After all it’s not the poor bloody animal’s fault. I shouldn’t be taking it out on him. Come on, he won’t bloody starve to death! But he keeps on bothering me. God he pisses me off! He’s definitely a bloke all right!

Okay, a final and vain attempt at resistance. After having tried to ignore him for the last time, I’m so wracked with shame and guilt that I end up sharing my dinner with the poor little bugger. But his continually complaining meows are telling me that he’s not going to settle for that muck! I finally find myself having to dash out in the rain to fetch him a few tins from the corner shop.

I climb the stairs loaded down with cat food while congratulating myself for having come back out on top after the break-up. Me, a girl who previously was so behind the times at last become a modern and liberated woman. Down with submission! Well, almost. I only give in to the opposite sex when it comes to the moggy.


About the Book:
Check out the Book on Amazon
I am Sam, a french author, I wrote a novel For a selfie with Benedict, which tells the friendship of two fans of Benedict Cumberbatch (the star of Sherlock), who struggle to achieve their dreams and find trust, love and happiness in London.
My heroine, Mary, is passionate, she’s juggling work and family. She has a best friend, Lola, whose strength and optimism combined is something so precious, and a boyfriend, Simon, too confident of himself…
Indeed, they are fictional characters representing real people. So the book has touched the hearts of most, because it tells the story of Mary, her hopes, her dreams, her struggles, her mistakes.
Finally she’s a representation of a lot of person in the world out there she can be hardheaded sometimes!
She has everything to be happy about: She is a writer in an English tabloid and her boyfriend is the ideal man, until she discovers that he is cheating on her. Then she takes things in hand...
I’m so thrilled that readers enjoyed a lot Mary and Lola, were kept entertained…
To have so many readers connect with the book is the best thing a writer could hope for.
Thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch, the superstar of the TV show Sherlock!
It couldn’t have happened without him, he inspired me.