LYING DOWN WITH DOGS
Natalie Pantaleo
Valerie Imparato’s corporate career path is nearly sideswiped as she becomes indoctrinated into the racy lifestyles of the affluent and sometimes famous patrons in her coveted server position at one of Philly’s top restaurants … until the fortuitous wisdom of her Italian grandmothers sheds light on
Val’s relationships with money, men, and sex.
Primary Category: FICTION: Urban Fiction/City Life Fiction
Secondary Category: FICTION: Humorous
Tertiary Category: FICTION: Contemporary Women
Other Relevant Subcategories:
- Self-Help and Psychology Humor
- Coming of Age Fiction
- Women Authors
- Philadelphia Audiences
- Restaurant Work
- Chick-Lit
- Relationships
- Humor
- Novellas
- Italian American Author
- Italian American Subculture
Lying Down with Dogs Copyright © 2022 by Natalie Pantaleo
Available wherever books are sold.
Trade Paperback ISBN: 979-8-9860377-1-4
e-book ISBN: 979-8-9860377-6-9
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact The Awakened Press at [email protected].
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Lying Down with Dogs is a humorously anecdotal, fast-reading novella for anyone who’s spent time working in a restaurant, on the dating scene, or can appreciate the funny side of self-help. It will make you laugh out loud and touch your heart as all the big themes play out in this fictional story set in Philadelphia—beauty, money, sex, power, and the question of who’s using who. This little book of big characters is delivered by the narrator, Valerie, who gets a front row seat to a racy, diametric lifestyle that eventually changes the way she views the world.
With dating, relationships and behind the scenes tell-alls taking center stage on TV these days, like 90 Day Fiancé and Restaurant: Impossible, Natalie Pantaleo’s Lying Down with Dogs is simply relevant. Plus, celebrity name-dropping offers a few surprises as a college co-ed comes of age, forging relationships with restaurant co-workers and the affluent customers they serve while providing a peek inside restaurant life from a server’s perspective.
- An awareness that offensiveness is contextual, and environments create their own norms that do not make sense outside of their confines, but work well within them
- An insight into a different subculture for those who never grew up in South Philadelphia or a neighborhood like it
- Laughter! Don’t we all love to laugh, and especially when things have been so somber?
- An interesting sense of irony when we sometimes become what we oppose or resist or fear. Sometimes respect and disrespect switch costumes
- A journey with Val to uncomfortable places and coming out the other side with greater insight; true character gets tested repeatedly through life. It’s how you finish
- An inside look into Italian American subculture, especially the relationship to food
- Heartfelt sentiment through real-life experiences, relatable characters, and honest friendships
- Relating to/identifying with growing up without money, relationships and dating, naivety, crude environments, restaurant environments and morals
- Italian American urban subculture—gives readers a glimpse into the vernacular and nuanced sarcasm/cynicism of South Philadelphia from a female perspective in an otherwise male-dominated genre
- Women who get to be on the inside of a man’s world: the boys’ club is usually reserved for members only. But, in Lying Down with Dogs, Val brings to life the inside system of men who enjoy escaping their wives and girlfriends in the safe haven of the Tavern
- Insight into restaurant life: readers have compared this story to elements of the late Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential but told from a server’s perspective in Lying Down with Dogs
- A pleasant call home for Philadelphians—many early readers from the area have enjoyed the book’s vivid descriptions and mentions of places very familiar and sentimental to them
- For people who sideline, working a second job is common for people of all ages and with various financial objectives—from saving for a new car to raising a family. Oftentimes, a second job presents a diametric environment to jockey, like the schoolteacher who drives an Uber on the weekends
- Personal growth: as with many coming-of-age stories, Lying Down with Dogs’ Valerie is relatable as she experiences the highs and lows of relationships while sharing her introspections
Philadelphians, and predominantly Italian-American folks, and/or those interested in learning Italian American subculture in urban settings: both men and women; 60% female, 40% male
- Late 20s to 70s
- Love the references to Philadelphia (and especially South Philadelphia) throughout the book
- City-dwellers in early life
- 9-5ers
- Mostly corporate jobs; VPs, directors, marketers, media strategists, paralegals
- Many are transitioning from “traditional” positions into work-from-home positions
- Enjoy romantic comedies, and sit-coms such as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and 30 Rock
- Most live in Philly suburbs
- Married for 10+ years, or on their second marriage
- Some retired
Readers want to come home at the end of the day to relax, cook, and enjoy some televised entertainment. Some are not avid readers. However, they are largely college educated and enjoy a well-rounded story when it comes their way…hopefully one with a dose of humor to lighten their day. It’s ideally a book their friends have told them about.
75% female, in business, some self-employed; most employed by large corporations
- Women between the ages of 20-80 who’ve spent time on the dating scene, worked in restaurants, watched Sex and the City, Gossip Girl, and The Carrie Diaries
- Many Stay-at-Home Moms
- Teachers, journalists, sales, acupuncturists
- Homemakers
- Married, widowed, or previously married
- People who live in Philadelphia (or similar East Coast City)
- Women and men who’ve worked in a restaurant
- Those of Italian descent
- People who’ve been on the dating scene
- Girlfriends/BFs
- Smart, savvy, good sense of humor
- Career oriented
- Quick witted
- Not easily threatened by men
- Into Self-Help
- Cerebral men
- Grown children between 18-30
- Stable income
- Hard workers in life
- Middle class or upper middle class
Audience Feedback: Amazon Customers + 120 Live Readers
“I laughed out loud!”
“It was fun to read.”
“I loved it!”
“I would love to read more.”
“I love the title. It is a true attention grabber and promises the reader a juicy page-turner.”
“So good! Couldn’t put it down.”
“Well-written, frank, ‘non-rose-colored glasses’ story about strong women making their way in life.”
“I was sorry when it ended. I wanted more!”
“After living in cities [for the] majority of my life, and frequenting restaurants all the time, I can totally relate to your book. Love the perspective of being a fly on the wall at a famous restaurant and seeing it from the employees’ perspective.”
“Love the title!”
“…brought a flood of memories of the neighborhood, the sights, sounds and people.”
“Anyone who knows me knows I’m not an avid reader, but I just finished Chapter 1 and I cannot put it down. Seriously. It’s like The Wonder Years meets Sex and the City. I feel like I am there…it’s so real.”
“Your vivid descriptions allowed me to see, taste, and smell the South Philly streets…and actually left me dying to sap up a bowl of mussels white with a loaf of Sarcone’s bread. Your impeccable recollection of those crazy times, combined with your fabulous and articulate wit, painted a welcoming mural of South Philly life.”
“My heart was pounding reading the ‘Frankie Story’.”
– Matt Davies, Tech Sales
Jonathan Hacohen, Canadian attorney, author, and podcast host interviews Natalie about the book and its Philly influences.
Lying Down with Dogs and three other Philly-based books were brought to the stage at Theatre Exile for two sold-out shows, June 2023.
Lying Down with Dogs is brought to life on stage by Michelle Marciano as “Val” in a scene from Book2Stage, Theatre Exile, June 2023.
Book Signing Event at Keller Williams Real Estate, Ardmore, PA
Book Signing Event at Lorretta’s Café in Bristol, PA
Natalie Pantaleo on location for Lying Down with Dogs in South Philadelphia
Photo Credit: Frangipani Photography
Portrait by artist, Barbara Hyman of Long Island, NY: https://barbarahymanart.com/
The Awakened Press Publisher, Lindsay Allison Dierking and Lying Down with Dogs author, Natalie Pantaleo in Scottsdale, AZ
Front & Back Cover
Jonathan Hacohen, Canadian attorney, author, and podcast host interviews Natalie about the book and its Philly influences.
Lying Down with Dogs and three other Philly-based books were brought to the stage at Theatre Exile for two sold-out shows, June 2023.
Lying Down with Dogs is brought to life on stage by Michelle Marciano as “Val” in a scene from Book2Stage, Theatre Exile, June 2023.
Book Signing Event at Keller Williams Real Estate, Ardmore, PA
Book Signing Event at Lorretta’s Café in Bristol, PA
Natalie Pantaleo on location for Lying Down with Dogs in South Philadelphia
Photo Credit: Frangipani Photography
Portrait by artist, Barbara Hyman of Long Island, NY: https://barbarahymanart.com/
The Awakened Press Publisher, Lindsay Allison Dierking and Lying Down with Dogs author, Natalie Pantaleo in Scottsdale, AZ
Front & Back Cover