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Being Made
Sean Mattea was once a preeminent rock singer. From 1993 to 2005, his band, Black Swan, sold millions of records, garnered significant radio airplay and performed sold out shows all over the world. While the stars aligned perfectly to their ascent into rock n’ roll immortality, young Sean suffered through the most human of maturations. Despite his newfound fame and fortune, personal failures and unspeakable tragedy would accompany him as he struggled to maintain his career.
All the while, Billie Shaw experienced a similar rise to prominence as an elite women’s basketball player. Her athletic prowess and determination made her a multiple-time All-American, All-Star and world champion. Throughout the 1990’s and into the new millennium, her professional greatness was also marred by tragedy, family heartbreak and personal shortcomings. Despite their professional successes, they both lacked what was truly important in life.
Once Sean and Billie met, they realized that not only were they very much alike but that a greater power was trying to bring them together the whole time. For years, Sean and Billie thought they had it made. Little did they know, they were “Being Made."
All the while, Billie Shaw experienced a similar rise to prominence as an elite women’s basketball player. Her athletic prowess and determination made her a multiple-time All-American, All-Star and world champion. Throughout the 1990’s and into the new millennium, her professional greatness was also marred by tragedy, family heartbreak and personal shortcomings. Despite their professional successes, they both lacked what was truly important in life.
Once Sean and Billie met, they realized that not only were they very much alike but that a greater power was trying to bring them together the whole time. For years, Sean and Billie thought they had it made. Little did they know, they were “Being Made."
264 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2016
435 people want to read
About the author
Brian Scala
9 books64 followersBrian Scala is a University of New Haven graduate with a Bachelor’s in Music Industry. In his free time, he enjoys watching baseball and hockey, finding good burger joints and traveling to warm weather climates. He resides on Long Island with his loving wife and two American Shorthair cats.
For more information about Brian Scala and his previous works, visit his website at www.brianscala.com.
For more information about Brian Scala and his previous works, visit his website at www.brianscala.com.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 8, 2019
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. (A while ago, I'm sorry I'm terrible)
Being Made follows two main characters, a surprise rockstar, Sean, and his wife, Billie, through their careers and eventually to them finding each other. Both end up being successful on their own, Sean through music and Billie through her basketball skill (and eventually making most of her money through a lawsuit suing a guy .
This is Scala's debut novel, and you can tell, but it's not a deal breaker. He does a great job building characters (though there are WAY too many characters, imo. When he does a summary of "Where are they now?" I could not remember who half of the characters were, even though I only took a couple weeks to read this book) and the paths the characters take were interesting.
There's somehow a lot going on and not a lot at the same time. Both of the main characters suffer through an almost obnoxious amount of things in their short lives, but happen so rapidly that it's a bit hard to feel bad about one thing before the next tragedy hits.
Scala gives the reader a ton of information, almost to the point of overwhelming the reader with pop culture references, which can be a bit of a slog to read through after a while. Also, a lot of the information is fictional, but he shares the info as if it's common knowledge (like all the many songs the band writes) which adds to the reader fatigue at times.
As for format, the style of the book is confusing. If I understand correctly, Sean is the one telling the story (in first person) about his life AND about Billie's (in third person). At the same time, sometimes present day things come into play as well, so it's a bit all over the place. Unlike most books that let you know which POV you were dealing with in the title of a chapter, in this book, you had to read further into the chapter to figure out who you were learning about. Along with all the info dumps and the fact that very few moments of Sean and Billie overlap until towards the end of the book, it just makes for a read that never really let's you get immersed in the story.
Definitely not a bad book, but it sounds like Scala is still developing his style and finding what works best. I wouldn't know who exactly to recommend this book to, but if you stumble upon it, I would give it a chance.
Being Made follows two main characters, a surprise rockstar, Sean, and his wife, Billie, through their careers and eventually to them finding each other. Both end up being successful on their own, Sean through music and Billie through her basketball skill (and eventually making most of her money through a lawsuit suing a guy .
This is Scala's debut novel, and you can tell, but it's not a deal breaker. He does a great job building characters (though there are WAY too many characters, imo. When he does a summary of "Where are they now?" I could not remember who half of the characters were, even though I only took a couple weeks to read this book) and the paths the characters take were interesting.
There's somehow a lot going on and not a lot at the same time. Both of the main characters suffer through an almost obnoxious amount of things in their short lives, but happen so rapidly that it's a bit hard to feel bad about one thing before the next tragedy hits.
Scala gives the reader a ton of information, almost to the point of overwhelming the reader with pop culture references, which can be a bit of a slog to read through after a while. Also, a lot of the information is fictional, but he shares the info as if it's common knowledge (like all the many songs the band writes) which adds to the reader fatigue at times.
As for format, the style of the book is confusing. If I understand correctly, Sean is the one telling the story (in first person) about his life AND about Billie's (in third person). At the same time, sometimes present day things come into play as well, so it's a bit all over the place. Unlike most books that let you know which POV you were dealing with in the title of a chapter, in this book, you had to read further into the chapter to figure out who you were learning about. Along with all the info dumps and the fact that very few moments of Sean and Billie overlap until towards the end of the book, it just makes for a read that never really let's you get immersed in the story.
Definitely not a bad book, but it sounds like Scala is still developing his style and finding what works best. I wouldn't know who exactly to recommend this book to, but if you stumble upon it, I would give it a chance.
February 20, 2025
This book was so relatable. It had so many moments of tragedies that happen to people in real life. I really felt for the characters in these moments. I will say it took me a little bit to figure out the narration style but then I was totally in the story. I can tell that a lot of research went into this book and it felt like a real life memoir. If you like sports fiction, you should check this book out!
October 16, 2024
Brian scala made this book so good all details of music songs singers amazing detail basketball as well so much detail and I was pretty said at the end there that really hit home when she told her story I loved this book and I see there are plenty more for me to read so that’s what I am gonna do
January 31, 2025
Brian Scala writes sports, spice, and second chances, but the real heart of his work is in fictional memoirs. Through his prose, Brian manages to create believable characters who face real-world challenges. Being Made is his debut novel, and he always says it isn't great, but that's just imposter syndrome. If you love detailed histories of sports careers, the feeling of old-school TMZ interviews, and MTV music's Behind the Scenes, give Being Made a try. It's worth the read. 🙂 Better yet, give it a listen. Paige Reisenfeld totally brought his characters to life.
July 15, 2016
Author Brian Scala's dedication to detail in the music and sports world helped mold his characters and grow his characters while taking them through other aspects of life's ups and downs. The main characters were likable and easy to relate to, showing readers their very human side on their ride to music and sports success. It was a pleasant read and I hope to see more from this author in the future.
July 27, 2024
I loved how this was written like you were reading someone journal. I loved all of it, but I would have to say my favorite part out of the whole book is the motivational speech towards the end. If you have read this and you like sports, musicians, or a little bit of spicy, then you should check this book out.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews