Say Everything by Ione Skye

 

In 1987, sixteen-year-old Ione Skye skyrocketed to fame with the breakout role of Diane Court, the dream girl who inspires John Cusack’s iconic boombox serenade in the hit Cameron Crowe film, Say Anything. While Skye seemed perfectly typecast as an aloof valedictorian, she was anything but.

Deserted by her dad, the folk singer legend Donovan, Skye dropped out of school in ninth grade and sought validation through her Hollywood career, working alongside iconic costars like Keanu Reeves, River Phoenix, Matthew Perry, John Cusack, and Robert Downey Jr. But like her sixties It Girl mom, Skye’s greatest weakness was musicians.

On the heels of a toxic relationship with Red Hot Chili Peppers’s frontman Anthony Kiedis, which began when she was just sixteen and he was twenty-four, the actress leapt into wedded bliss with her first great love, Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz.

But marriage was not the magical hall pass to adulthood Skye had imagined. Awakening to her bisexuality and desperately insecure, she risked her fairytale marriage for a string of affairs with gorgeous nineties “bad girls.” The dream marriage imploded, and Skye’s trust in herself and her future went with it.

Set against the backdrop of rock royalty compounds, supermodel cliques, and classic late-century films like River’s Edge, Gas Food Lodging, and Wayne’s World, Say Everything is a wild ride of Hollywood thrills as well as lyrical reflection on ambition, intimacy, and a messy, sexy, unconventional life. -Simon & Schuster

 

“Please don’t tell me if it turns out John Cusack is a jerk,” was what my good friend Ann-Marie said to me when we were shopping at Barnes & Noble.  Ione Skye is famous for her many film roles but perhaps most notable is her role as Diane Court opposite John Cusack as Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything (1989).  My friend Ann-Marie has been crushing on Cusack since the 80s and fortunately for her, Ione spills a lot of tea on her past relationships and people she’s worked with but at least according to Ione, Cusack is a nice guy. 

I didn’t know too much about Ione going into her memoir.  I of course knew her as Diane Court, but I also loved her in a little indie film, Gas Food Lodging (1992).  I just always had the sense that she was a very cool talented woman that I could be friends with and wanted to know more about her.  It  turns out I was right, and she is even cooler than I thought, her memoir is very honest and self-reflective not just about her accomplishments but also her faults and her complicated relationship with her father.  Her memoir reads just like you’re sitting down with a good friend for drinks and sharing your life with them - both the good and bad parts. 

I got my copy of Say Everything at Barnes & Noble.  You can pick up a copy there, or at your favorite local bookstore, library or online shop.  You can also visit the publisher's website linked above for more information.

 

 

Hard Glamour by Maggie Marr

 

Today, we're proud to be one of the stops on the "Glamour Series" blog tour as hosted by AToMR tours.  "Hard Glamour," is the first book in the sexy "New Adult," series.

 

"A promise to keep….

Honoring her mother’s last wish, Lane Channing vows to follow her dreams. She takes the ‘big risk’ and leaves her small Kansas town behind and heads to LA, the city of dreams. She’s got a stellar job lined up, an old jeep, and 20 bucks to last her to her first paycheck. Her hopes shatter when she arrives to find her job’s been given to someone else. Now she’s broke and will soon be living on the streets if she doesn’t do something fast. Welcome to cutthroat – Lane is most certainly not in Kansas anymore.

On the cusp of success…

Dillon MacAvoy has one goal–to become a star–whatever it takes. Even if it
means honing his bad-boy can’t-be-tamed-and-forever-single image. Besides the image isn’t far from the truth. Dillon cares only about his younger brother and his career. He’s on the brink of superstardom if he can just decide on the next right script. But for that, he needs a script reader he can trust.

In a strange twist of fate…

Lane Channing is Dillon’s last chance. If Lane lasts the summer without becoming MacAvoy’s latest conquest, she’s guaranteed a job in entertainment. No problem, as long as she can ignore the heat that pulses through her every time Dillon is in the room. After all, love and commitment with a sweet, hometown girl would only ruin the Dillon MacAvoy brand." 
- summary provided by AToMR tours.

This is a quick, entertaining and very hot read.  If it was summer time, I'd say it would make the perfect beach read. 

I loved the initial premise.  When I was in high school, I had similar goals to Lane's.  I always dreamed of going to LA and working as a television producer.  Lane took the leap that I was too broke and chicken to make. So, it was fun to live the LA dream vicariously through her.   Lane is a very strong and intelligent character.  However her initial naivete about what exactly an internship entails and doesn't entail seemed improbable to me but perhaps her age excuses that. 

While Dillon had his charms and a back story that explained his flaws, I found that his issues didn't always justify his actions.  I also had a hard time understanding how the success of his career seemed to rest solely on his wild bachelor image.  Despite this, I found Dillon to be a likeable leading man in this tale.

I was also really intrigued by the subplots and secondary characters such as Amanda, Lane's LA friend and Dillon's brother Choo. The second, forthcoming novel in the "Glamour," series, "Broken Glamour," features Amanda.  I suspect and hope subsequent novels in the series will focus on additional characters mentioned in "Hard Glamour," as I'd love to re-visit them and learn more about them.

As "Hard Glamour," contains explicit sexual scenes, I'd recommended it for New Adult and adult Romance fans only.  For additional reviews of "Hard Glamour" by Maggie Marr, please visit the rest of the stops on the tour and for more information on Maggie Marr and her books please visit her blog. 

Please note that I received no financial compensation for this review.  I received an advanced reader's copy of the novel from the tour hosts in exchange for a fair and honest review.
 
If you're a resident of the USA or Canada, you can enter to win a copy of "Hard Glamour," by Maggie Marr from our tour hosts!!

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The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner

One of the highlights of Book Expo America was having the opportunity to meet Jennifer Weiner, best-selling author of hits such as "Good in Bed," "In Her Shoes," and the book I received from her at BEA, "Then Came You."  Jen gave a hilarious and motivating speech at the Blogger Con prior to BEA.  You can read the transcript of this speech on her blog.  She enthusiastically hyped her new novel, "The Next Best Thing," which will be released on Tuesday, July 3.  I was fortunate enough to be able to receive an advance copy of the novel and I read through it at a rapid pace; it was hard to put down.  "The Next Best Thing," is perhaps thee best thing Ms. Weiner has written.

"The Next Best Thing," follows Ruth Saunders, an aspiring 28 year-old writer who lives in Los Angeles with her grandmother.  Ruth's parents were killed in a car accident when she was just a little girl.  Ruth survived but suffered severe facial scars that impact her self esteem.  However, Ruth is determined to realize her childhood dream of writing and producing a sitcom as warm and funny as the ones she grew up with.  When her dreams are realized and she gets produce her show, "The Next Big Thing," she soon discovers it's not as dreamy as she thought when meddling executives, temperamental actresses, and budgets threaten her creative vision.  On top of that she is trying to cope with her grandmother's engagement and her unrequited crush on her adorable boss, Dave.

I loved this novel.  I've always wanted to be a screenwriter.  I went to college with dreams of being a writer/producer.  I've got tons of ideas and scripts that never went anywhere so it was exciting to read a story about a girl who gets to live that dream.  While Ruth's experiences prove that it isn't quite as wonderful as you'd imagine, she was so motivated that it made me motivated. I also enjoyed Ruth's grandmother's Hollywood experiences as an extra and her relationship with Maurice.  It was so refreshing to read about a 70 year-old who still lives boldly. It was also interesting to read about Ruth's (seemingly) unrequited love Dave.  His paralysis didn't get in the way of his dreams either.  While this novel is full of heart, it doesn't shy away from criticizing Hollywood's quirks.  Ms. Weiner was the co-creator and co-executive producer of the short lived ABCFamily sitcom, "State of Georgia,"  so she certainly has first-hand experience of the tribulations a showrunner would face.

I encourage everyone to read "The Next Best Thing."  You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll stay up all night reading it!  You can read a sample of the novel, here, where you'll also find a list of all the places where you can pre-order it.

What's the next best thing to a sit-down interview?  An email interview, of course.  I recently had the opportunity to interview Ms. Weiner via email for a brief chat about the novel, writing, and The Bachelorette.

You said on Twitter that “not a lot” of “The Next Big Thing” was related to your “State of Georgia” experience.  Could you share a situation that was?

For an episode about the girls falling for a pair of grow-your-own-everything urban farmers, we had to cast a goat. Easy, right? Except the goats had head shots. And resumes. And reels. Eventually, I just went with the grand Hollywood tradition of hiring the skinniest one...but that was too funny not to use in the book.

I loved the relationship between Ruth and her grandmother.  Was this relationship inspired by your own life and if yes, how so?

My Nanna -- God love her, she's 95 and totally with it – and I are very close. We didn't grow up living near each other, but she's very much a part of my life, and my daughters' lives, so I used a lot of her character as inspiration for Grandma Rae.

How did you research the experiences of someone who uses a wheelchair like Dave?

Priscilla Hedlin, who blogs as Wheelchair Mommy, was nice enough to read an early version of THE NEXT BEST THING and tell me what I got wrong and right.  

Ruth is a huge fan of “The Golden Girls,” and classic 80’s sitcoms.  What were some of your favorite shows as a child?

I wasn't allowed to watch TV as a kid! My parents were very strict, so it was PBS and maybe, if we were lucky, some Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. But when I was old enough to watch on my own, I loved "The Golden Girls," and the friendship among the four women, and the notion that you could build your own family -- find people you love and make a life with them.

You have a lot of advice on your website for people interested in getting their novels published.  I’m 30 and have been writing screenplays as a hobby for over a decade.  Do you have any advice for budding screenwriters? 

Not so much...I'll have to think of some, and add it to my website. I don't know that I'd recommend my path -- move to Philadelphia, write novels until someone notices them -- to other wannabe screenwriters. You kind of have to move out there to make it happen. 

Could you briefly describe your writing process from idea to finished project?

I come up with a character -- a voice in my head, an idea of who this woman is, where is and where she's going. Then I'll outline, start writing, veer wildly from outline, rewrite, and have a draft after about six months. My agent will give me notes, I'll rewrite, then give it back, then she'll give me more notes, and I'll rewrite again. Same thing happens with my editor...and then we're done, about 10 months from the start! 

You’ve written two novels about Cannie Shapiro.  Do you have any plans for new stories about characters from your other novels?

Not at the moment, but we'll have to wait and see. 

You’ve been very vocal in your criticism of The New York Times for not giving fair recognition to female writers.  What books by female writers, besides your own of course, are you most excited about lately?

I just posted a summer reading list on my blog, with lots and lots of great female authors: http://jenniferweiner.blogspot.com/2012/06/first-can-i-kvell-there-is-amazing.html.  

How do you find time to write, blog, tweet, promote your work, and raise a family?

LOTS of help. Seriously. Tons. I have an assistant and a sitter who both work eight-hour days, and in the summer my sister and my mom pitch in, and my daughters go to camp, so I have part of my days free for writing.  I worry sometimes that my daughters will remember me as faceless-woman-behind-computer...but I hope they'll see me as someone who found work she loves, and was able to make a living doing it. Which, of course, is what I want for them -- to find work that fulfills them, so they're happy to get out of bed and go to work, every day. 

As someone who live-tweets for the Bachelor/Bachelorette, who’d you like to see Emily up with this season?

I think she's got some good chemistry with Arie, but Jef-with-one-F cracks me up. I have a hard time seeing them together, long-term, but he's good viewing.  

If you'd like the opportunity to meet Ms. Weiner and ask her some questions of your own, head on over to her blog for details on how you can win such an opportunity.  Or, you could attend one of her signings.

Happy Reading !

Note: I received no financial compensation for this review or interview.  I just love to promote great books.  Special thanks to Jennifer Weiner for participating in my email interview and her publicist for sending me an advanced copy of "The Next Best Thing."