AUTHORPALOOZA GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY - LUCIE SIMONE

This giveaway is now CLOSED!  Congratulations to Krystal Lynn, the lucky winner of Lucie Simone's new e-book, PICTURE PERFECT, and thanks to all who participated in the contest.

In the City of Angels

by Lucie Simone

I’ve lived in Los Angeles for eighteen years, and when I first came to Tinsel Town, my head was filled with wild ideas about my new home. Like most Americans, my impression of what life in LA might be like came from TV and movies. I figured everyone in LA either drove a luxury car and lived in a million-dollar beach home, or they were gang members ruling the mean streets of LA with a 9 millimeter and a tough ‘tude. Luckily for me, however, Los Angeles is home to over three million people from all walks of life. And despite my non-celebrity status and not having a single gang affiliation, I managed to fit in just fine. I discovered that you don’t have to be a bazillionaire (although it helps!) or belong to a crime syndicate to thrive in the City of Angels. All it takes is a little imagination.

One thing Los Angeles does have a lot of, though, is dreamers. Home to three prestigious film schools (I went to one!), countless acting classes, five major motion picture studios, and hundreds of production companies, Los Angeles plays host to scores of people all hoping to fulfill their showbiz wishes. Seriously, you can’t throw a rock in this town without hitting somebody with a screenplay hiding under his bed or a headshot in her purse.

But with so many dreamers descending upon Los Angeles every year (I swear these people are being shipped in!), and only so many golden opportunities floating around, LA is also home to a lot of heartbreak. When I first moved here, I met loads of people with big ideas of being on the silver screen or working behind the scenes. And I also saw a lot of them give up on their goals after struggling too long chasing that ever elusive “big break.” I’ve been witness to many a crushed fantasy, my friends.

So, when I decided to write my first novel, HOLLYWOOD ENDING, I wanted to explore the lives of those Hollywood hopefuls. The people who came to Tinsel Town with their sights set on finding a career in the land of make-believe. I chronicled their struggles and their achievements. Their heartaches and their victories. I wanted to reveal life in Los Angeles for the not-so-rich-and-famous. Because it really isn’t all red carpets and after parties.

But when it came time to work on my second novel, PICTURE PERFECT, I thought it would be fun to look at the lives of a few dreamers who actually did make it in Hollywood. Of course, it isn’t all rosy. Showbiz can be a very cutthroat industry. One that runs on rumors and churns on scandal. In a business where who you know is often a lot more important than what you know, loyalty can be a costly companion. Especially when one’s reputation is at stake and the gossipmongers are at work. Of course, just about any business is susceptible to a little scandal, but in Hollywood, it gets hit with a spotlight. And that’s what makes it all the more fun!

To be entered to win an advanced ebook copy of PICTURE PERFECT, leave a comment, sharing your favorite Hollywood gossip story. Britney Spears’ breakdown, Paris Hilton’s jail sentence, Winona Ryder’s shoplifting arrest (remember that?), or you name it!

Please be sure to leave your e-mail address, along with your comment, so that I can contact you if you win!  Drawing will take place on Wednesday, July 4th, so get your comments in by midnight on Tuesday, July 3rd.  

Thank you so much, Lucie, for dropping by Books by Banister and being a part of Authorpalooza!  I wish you much luck with PICTURE PERFECT and all your writing endeavors!

Book blurb:

For Lauren Tate, a high-powered TV producer, sex, lies, and scandal make for a great movie-of-the-week, but when she becomes the target of a smear campaign, even the most salacious of Hollywood’s tales can’t compare to her real life drama. With her soon-to-be-ex-husband leading the effort to sully her reputation, and her former assistant threatening to snatch her hard-earned position at Timeless Television out of her hands, Lauren’s perfectly planned life quickly begins to unravel at the seams.

Clawing her way back to the top of the TV food chain is no easy task, especially in an industry where backstabbing is a sport and gossip is a full time business. But Lauren learns just how cut-throat showbiz can truly be when the hottest scandal in Tinsel Town turns deadly and the Hollywood hunk who’s stolen her heart is missing in action. Can she salvage her career, her reputation, and her love life? Or will Hollywood be the death of her?

PICTURE PERFECT will be available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes & Noble on August 31st!

Author bio:

Lucie Simone has a passion for travel, romance and all things chick lit. She also has a degree in Journalism and a Master of Fine Arts in Television Production. Her love of comedy (and living under the delusion that she might one day be an actress) resulted in a stint studying improvisation, which, ironically enough, taught her to be a better writer. She lives, loves and writes in the City of Angels

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