Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club by Maggie Marr

Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club is an extreme eye opener of what the Hollywood scene is all about. Narrator and leading publicist Kiki Dee leads us through the lives of four friends trying to stay on top of their Hollywood game. Actress Celeste Solange is trying desperately to maintain her youthful face, even when it means going under the knife. But the real fact she is trying to hide is her kinky sex tape made with ex husband before it is leaked to the internet and her devoted fans find out she isn’t as sweet and innocent as her persona seems- and before her husband and Worldwide Pictures exec Ted Robinoff realizes it exists. Mary Anne Meyers, the naive screenwriter from Minnesota, is attempting to begin a relationship with the delicious actor Holden Humphrey, but him being forced to act opposite is mentally unstable ex-girlfriend is causing cracks in the blossoming relationship. Lydia Albright, producer and new president to Worldwide Pictures knows about Celeste’s sex tape and how important it is to keep the secret, ensuring the longevity of Celeste’s career and the multimillion dollars her company has invested in the actress. And agent Jessica Caulfield-Fox is trying to help all her friends avoid a scandal, all while trying to juggle her new role as producer/manager/wife/mother.

The four friends stick together, but end up putting all their careers on the line to try to keep the sex tape under wraps. But publicist Kiki Dee has just stumbled upon a very large secret, something so huge, so extreme, that it would throw all of Hollywood into a tailspin. But can she prove it? And can the friends manage to keep their secrets, careers, and personal lives in check throughout the whole ordeal?

Secrets of the Hollywood Girls Club by Maggie Marr will keep anyone on their toes, constantly flipping pages in hopes of uncovering all the dirty secrets the power players of Hollywood keep. If you love the celebrity world, this book is a must for your list!

Interview with Alisa Kwitney

Alisa Kwitney

Q: Where do you find inspiration for your novels?
Sometimes life throws me a plot. There was a year where I kept getting calls from men who thought they were dialing an escort service. That became the genesis for On the Couch. Last spring, I started thinking about the strange circumstances surrounding the death of an ex-lover, and how I wound up cleaning out his apartment with two other ex-girlfriends of his. That became the seed of a book I’m writing now.

But other books start out as daydreams, like The Dominant Blonde, and the YA steampunk I’m brewing.

Q: Your father is a writer and your mother is a journalist. Did you ever feel any pressure to be a writer?

None whatsoever. I started writing at age six, because I was an avid reader, and what Sue the cheerleading coach on Glee calls “a scab eating mouth breather.” Books were my glee club. And comics, too.

Q: You write in a variety of different genres, do you have one in particular that is your favorite?

I don’t really think my range is all that wide – I write in a variety of subgenres, which is kind of like making a lot of different kinds of pasta, as opposed to being a master of wildly different cuisines. But some things remain constant in my writing. I like the battle between the sexes a lot, and I like humor that reveals things, and I love how desire can unsettle people in profound and fascinating ways. I believe that people reveal themselves the most when they believe they are concealed by a lie.

Q: Who is your favorite author/or favorite book?

I can’t just name one, but I do have a particular love for Thorne Smith – he wrote sophisticated supernatural screwball comedies like Topper and the Passionate Witch, which eventually turned into Bewitched.

Q: You worked as an editor for many years with DC Comics. How did being an editor impact your writing skills?

Wow, there are so many, many ways. To begin with, I learned how to work up an idea into a proposal, and how to estimate whether the idea would require 20 pages or 100 pages or 300 pages to execute properly. I learned how to write action scenes. I learned to check to see if the ideas in my head had actually made it onto the page.

 

I also learned a lot from the fact that I was reading and editing comics – I think it made me a more visual writer. The books I write after writing comics or graphic novels are always more visual.

Q: Which part of the writing process do you find is the most difficult for you?

Getting a book to the point where I can start writing it is the hardest. By the time I actually begin my first page, I’ve usually spent months figuring out the whole book in my head. And the first five pages always take me a while to get right. Once I have those, the rest of the book usually flows pretty easily. I rewrite as I go along, so once the book is done, I don’t usually have a lot of editing to deal with.

Q: Does She or Doesn’t She has some hilarious fantasies dreamt by heroine Delilah. How were you able to come up with those scenarios?

Those were the easiest things in the world to write! Most of them were inspired by books and movies I have loved for years, like Shanna and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. My favorite one to do was Bewitched – I’ve always been obsessed with the television series. I could have just gone on and on with the fantasies.

Q: You have been teaching a course on Graphic Novel Writing in New York City. How excited are you to be teaching this class?

It’s been a lot of fun teaching, and I’ve learned a lot in the process. Last week we talked about exposition, and the ways in which you want to leave your reader guessing, and the ways in which you don’t. Tomorrow I’ll be talking about world building.

 

Q: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

 

Read a lot, so that you know what you like to read, and keep trying to write what you want to read. The path to the universal is through the specific. And for God’s sake, don’t start smoking while you write, because it’ll be hell to get back to work once you quit.

Q: What would be or is your favorite place to travel?

 

Ooh, this is like naming my favorite author or book – I can’t decide on just one place. I love walking, though, in the wilderness or through old cities. And I’m very, very fond of cheese. Any place that combines walking and cheese works for me.

                                                                                                    Click Here to Visit Alisa’s Site

I Do (But I Don’t) by Cara Lockwood

I Do (But I Don’t) the debut novel from Cara Lockwood brings us the story of Lauren Crandell, wedding planner. Perfection is her job, and being super organized, overly neat, and a stickler for details is sure to get her far in the business. If only her condescending boss, Gennifer, would notice her qualities, and ignore her shocking “birds nest” hair that G continually calls unprofessional and a disgrace. And if G can overlook the fact that two of Lauren’s weddings goes haywire on the same day, having the firefighters come to the rescue at both events. In particular, the sexy Nick Corona, quite possibly the most gorgeous man Lauren has laid eyes on. And to Lauren’s complete shock- he seems to be as equally attracted to her!

But we all know it can’t be so easy. While Lauren is working on a quickie wedding with a bride from hell, Darla, she realizes the groom is none other than her supposed prince charming, Nick Corona. Devastated, Lauren tries to push her love for this firefighter away, but she just can’t stop running into him. And each and every time she does- he makes a move on her! Lauren does her best to maintain her professionalism and ethical duties as Darla and Nick’s wedding planner, but can she keep holding him off?

Cara Lockwood brings a unique plot line that makes for a fast and entertaining read. The hilarious scenes will keep you laughing, but the seriousness of the situation keeps you wondering how the characters will end up. The first person narration really makes readers feel like they are inside Lauren’s head and all her personal thoughts- something chick lit fans will enjoy. Grab I Do (But I Don’t) for a breezy yet fun read.