Category Archives: Book covers

Tim’s Magic Christmas in time for Christmas!

November 19, 2015 Melanie 2 Comments

Released in time for Christmas!

Tim’s Magic Christmas

The latest from King Park Press…

Tim’s Magic Christmas – a chapter book geared to children from 7-12. Do you have a young reader in your house? Maybe this makes the perfect gift.

What’s the book all about I hear you say. Well, here’s the back cover blurb.

For Tim Frost, Christmas 2011 is a washout. No Santa. No presents. Nothing. His father lost his job when the mill closed and now the family is on the verge of losing their home.

A chance encounter with Nick Kringle, a modern-day Santa Claus teaches Tim that the greatest gift you receive is the gift of giving.

Buy Links

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

amazon.ca

If you prefer paperback or epub format, contact me for pricing plus shipping and handling (paperback only) for availability.

Book covers, Book Promo, contemporary romance, giveaway, Melissa Foster, Novels, women's fiction

BOOK PROMO ~ Seaside Nights by Melissa Foster

September 7, 2015 Melanie 2 Comments

Seaside Nights

by

Melissa Foster

Fall in love with Sky Lacroux and Sawyer Bass in Seaside Nights, the fifth book in the Seaside Summers series!

Sky Lacroux has finally realized her dream and opened her own tattoo shop in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She’s happy as can be, renting a cottage in the Seaside community while renovations to her new apartment are being completed and preparing the shop for its grand opening. The only thing missing is the one thing she longs for, and has no control over—love.

Sawyer Bass, a professional boxer, plays his guitar to escape the painful reality of his father’s failing health and a recent health warning of his own. But when he spots a stunning brunette across the room, escaping reality goes out the door—and the beautiful woman becomes the focus of his next song—and maybe even the rest of his life.

When Sawyer walks into Sky’s tattoo shop and sees the woman from the bar—Sky—the chemistry between them is instant. Sawyer is everything Sky could ever hope for in a man. He’s honest, loving, sensitive, and potently virile—but boxing goes against everything Sky believes in. The closer they become, the more she realizes that her alpha boxer is waging his own emotional battle—only the battle she thinks he’s waging isn’t the one that threatens to tear them apart.

BUY LINKS

ABOUT MELISSA FOSTER

Melissa Foster is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women’s fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her books have been recommended by USA Today’s book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the World Literary Café and Fostering Success. When she’s not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa has been published in Calgary’s Child Magazine, the Huffington Post, and Women Business Owners magazine.

Melissa hosts an annual Aspiring Authors contest for children and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC. Melissa lives in Maryland with her family.

Visit Melissa on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

Authors Links:

http://www.melissafoster.com/newsletter/

GIVEAWAY

The giveaway will be the previous book in the series SEASIDE SECRETS

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Book covers, Choc Lit, contemporary romance, Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle magazine, Novels, Safkhet Publishing, Sheryl Browne

Sheryl Browne reveals her new covers

August 24, 2015 Melanie 8 Comments

I’m thrilled to welcome fellow Loveahappyending Lifestyle magazine author, Sheryl Browne to Celtic Connexions!

Thank you so much for featuring me and allowing me to share my latest news. I was a bit worried some people might have missed it actually, as I haven’t been shouting very loudly. Much. Ahem. OK, I lie. I’ve been shouting if from the rooftops! If perchance anyone did miss it though, my latest contemporary romance, recommended to the publisher by the WH Smith Travel Fiction Buyer, no less, is now available from Choc Lit! It’s had some super reviews so far. I’ve popped a little snippet or two below, some of which had me hooting out loud, some of which had me filling up – but in the best possible way.

The Rest of My Life: What the reviewers say:

The Rest of My Life is ‘‘HOT! HOT! HOT! Steamy, Heartfelt Romance! – oldvictorianquill

I love books that spot up my glasses with projectile tears. Five stars! – Double-Edged Words

Sheer enjoyment from beginning to end! … Let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to enter the bedroom with the delectable Adam? – Being Anne

Wow! Sheryl Browne has excelled herself with this book… there is not much it doesn’t have! Love, hate, sex, violence, apparitions… – A Chance to Blog

I quite like the cover. Correction, I absolutely ADORE the cover…

*Sigh.* Isn’t it just utterly dreamy?

The Rest of My Life

“You can’t run away from commitment forever … “

Adam Hamilton-Shaw has more reason than most to avoid commitment. Living on a houseboat in the Severn Valley, his dream is to sail into the sunset – preferably with a woman waiting in every port. But lately, his life looks more like a road to destruction than an idyllic boat ride…

Would-be screenplay writer Sienna Meadows realises that everything about Adam spells trouble – but she can’t ignore the feeling that there is more to him than just his bad reputation. Nor can she ignore the intense physical attraction that exists between them.

And it just so happens that Adam sees Sienna as the kind of woman he could commit to. But can he change his damaging behaviour – or is the road to destruction a one-way street?

I’m now also thrilled to share that Choc Lit have issued a further contract for my contemporary romance, Learning to Love. The book, written around a short story selected for publication in the Birmingham City University Anthology, Paper and Ink, is currently available on Amazon for Kindle. Please do feel free to take a browse. Meanwhile here’s a peek at the current cover and the blurb:

Learning to Love – Exploring the Fragility of Love, Life, and Relationships

An emotionally withdrawn, angry little boy is grieving the loss of his mother. Ten-year old Jake’s anger is aimed at his dad, who In Jake’s mind deserted his mum in her hour of need. Dr David Adams, Jake’s father, is carrying the heavy burden of guilt around the death of his wife. For all his training as a doctor, David had been as ill-equipped to deal with her decision to delay anti-leukemic treatment for their unborn baby’s sake, as he is to deal with his son’s grief. He feels Jake’s anger is justified. Now alone with his son, he has no idea how to reach him.

Andrea Kelly, David’s neighbour, mum of three and carer to her dotty mother, is forced by circumstances to take refuge at David’s house and becomes instrumental in bringing this lost little boy and his equally lost father together. Andrea, too, has relationship issues and, as her attraction to David grows, she wonders whether she should love a man who is, by his own admission, flawed.

What the reviewers are saying:

Deals with loss & betrayal in manner that lifts it far above an average ‘chick lit’.

Five enormous shining stars made of platinum!!!

Tissue box at the ready reader! 5 out of 5! On the Top reads for 2013 list!

An entertaining, easy read- a more mature style of chick-lit that might appeal to fans of Katie Fforde.

Truth, lies, deception, love, hate, anger and joy. This book goes on my top ten reads of all time!
DIZZY C’S LITTLE BOOK BLOG – TOP READS 2013!

Did I mention that all of my romance books now have lovely new covers? No? Oh. I think I probably did, but I can’t resist showing them off again. Here we go:

Thank you for indulging me! And a HUGE thank you to all those bloggers and readers who have taken time to read and review my books! I would be lost without you!

Heartache, humour, love, loss & betrayal, Sheryl Browne brings you edgy, sexy, poignant fiction. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Romantic Novelists’ Association and shortlisted for Innovation in Romantic Fiction, Sheryl has seven books published to date.

Sheryl’s new contemporary romance novel was recommended to the publisher by the WH Smith Travel fiction buyer. THE REST OF MY LIFE comes to you from award winning Choc Lit.

Author Links

Loveahappyending Lifestyle

Safkhet Publishing | Choc Lit | Romantic Novelists’ Association

Blog Tour, Book covers, Choc Lit, Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle magazine, Sheryl Browne

BLOG TOUR ~ The Rest of My Life by Sheryl Browne

July 11, 2015 Melanie 1 Comment

The Rest of My Life – When is it time to stop running?

Recommended to Choc Lit by the WH Smith Travel fiction buyer my contemporary romance novel, The Rest of My Life, is here!!

Fun, sassy and a tad naughty in places …

Are we tempted?

Just a little bit?

The Rest of My Life

“You can’t run away from commitment forever … “

And it just so happens that Adam sees Sienna as the kind of woman he could commit to. But can he change his damaging behaviour – or is the road to destruction a one-way street?

Fancy a peek at the video?

BUY LINKS

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Choc Lit

ABOUT SHERYL BROWNE

Heartache, humour, love, loss & betrayal, bestselling author Sheryl Browne brings you edgy, sexy, poignant fiction. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Romantic Novelists’ Association and shortlisted for Innovation in Romantic Fiction, Sheryl has seven books published.

Sheryl’s new contemporary romance novel was recommended to the publisher by the WH Smith Travel fiction buyer.

THE REST OF MY Life comes to you from award winning Choc Lit.

Author Links

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

Loveahappyending Lifestyle

Choc Lit | Romantic Novelists’ Association

Book covers, Books, cover reveal

COVER REVEAL ~ Coming in time for Christmas in July! Day 6

June 26, 2015 Melanie 3 Comments

COVER REVEAL

DAY 6

The latest from King Park Press…

Every day this week, a bit more of the cover of my latest project has been revealed here at Celtic Connexions. Now you see the entire image. Isn’t it fabulous?

What’s the book all about I hear you say. Well, here’s the back cover blurb.

And the full cover wrap…

Book covers, Book Promo, Janice Horton, Love a Happy Ending Lifestyle magazine, Novel covers

Castaway in the Caribbean by Janice Horton

May 28, 2015 Melanie 2 Comments

Castaway in the Caribbean

More fun than you’ll find in any travel brochure…

Vacationing on the beautiful Caribbean island of Antigua, Janey Sinclair is persuaded by her magazine editor boss to do a quick island hop in order to supervise an impromptu photo-shoot for the front cover. With no flights immediately available, Janey is directed to the harbour.

Captain Travis Mathews hates tourists, although he’s not above making a bit of money off a prissy and sharp tongued young British girl when she’s desperate to get to the neighbouring island of Tortola.

After striking a deal, they set off together in Travis’s weather-beaten old boat. When the vessel comes to a sudden full stop in the sea, the mismatched pair end up as castaways on an uninhabited island.

In this fast moving romantic adventure about a vacation that turns into a tropical nightmare there’s more fun than you’ll find in any travel brochure.

castaway

A message from Janice:

I was incredibly fortunate to spend most of last summer in the Caribbean, writing and researching my latest novel Castaway in the Caribbean. The Virgin Islands inspired me with the modern day setting for this romantic adventure novel because, of this chain of around ninety small islands, islets, cays and rocks in the Caribbean Sea, many are uninhabited. For proper research I got to sail around Tortola, the larger of the British Virgin Islands, in a restored schooner that had been used in the filming of the original Pirates of the Caribbean movie. To better write my story and to develop my plot, I explored many other Caribbean islands, tropical jungles, and cave systems.

You may be interested to know that in one of the pivotal scenes my heroine, Janey, has to climb up a tall and rather perilous waterfall. A couple of chapters later, she then has to get down that same waterfall and to do so she has no choice but to throw herself from the top and into the raging flow of water by way of a series of naturally formed ‘flumes’ in the rock. I described the scene – and the sheer terror of my poor heroines’ experience, through her point of view and that description comes from personal experience! When I was on the tropical rainforest Caribbean island of Dominican Republic, where they filmed the Jurassic Park movie, I did indeed climb up and jump from several tall waterfalls – although unlike my heroine I was wearing a life vest and a helmet to protect my head!

Many of my other experiences while researching in the Caribbean are well documented on my website at janicehorton.co.uk and on my blog and Facebook page too, if you are interested in reading the details and seeing the photos!

I eventually settled down to write this romantic adventure story on the Caribbean island of Utila, the smaller of the Bay Islands, just off the coast of Honduras. Likened to the Key West of long ago, Utila is a quaint, unspoiled and laid-back little island. Sitting on the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere, it is also a paradise for scuba diving, which is exactly what my husband was doing every day while I was busy writing this story.

Research is a valuable tool for a writer, so I do hope all the fun and adventure I had in the Caribbean has found its way into the pages of Castaway in the Caribbean.

castaway

Love Janice xx

Janice Horton writes contemporary romantic fiction with a dash of humour and a sense of adventure. Look out for Janice’s new release for 2015 ‘Castaway in the Caribbean’ and her Amazon Kindle bestselling books ‘Bagpipes and Bullshot’ and ‘Reaching for the Stars’ and her fun ‘Voodoo Romance’ series of novellas. Her nonfiction guide to online promotion ‘How To Party Online’ is recommended reading for all authors and writers by publishers. Janice is a regular blogger from her website at janicehorton.co.uk and you’ll also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Janice Horton – writer of romantic adventure novels

My Author Website & Blog at janicehorton.co.uk

Follow me on Twitter: @JaniceHorton

Friend me on Facebook Page

Link to my Amazon Author Page

Check out my page on Goodreads

My LLm Bookshelf

Senior Editor at: Loveahappyending Lifestyle Mag

Janice’s books are available from Amazon

Castaway in the Caribbean is out now in Kindle format and will be available mid-summer 2015 as a paperback.

Browse Castaway in the Caribbean on Amazon UK

Browse Castaway in the Caribbean on Amazon Dotcom

Other Amazon sites are available worldwide

No Kindle? No problem. Amazon provides a FREE to download Kindle App for all smartphones, tablets and computers. You can read this title for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

COMPETITION

Prizes:

1^st Prize Mermaid Necklace (UK only)

2^nd Prize – ecopy of the book (international)

2^nd Prize Shell box (UK only)

3^rd Prize Caribbean spices Necklace (UK only)

4^th Prize Purse & pen (UK only)

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A Shadow in the Past, Book covers, Books on Billboards, Gary Walker

Using posters to publicize your book

May 7, 2015 Melanie 8 Comments

Fancy seeing the cover of your book on a billboard, bus stop, subway/metro station? Think it’s impossible? Too expensive? What if I told you, you could get two posters for your online advertising for the low price of £15. Here are four posters done by Gary Walker of Look 4 Books.

A Shadow in the Past

Nineteen-year-old Sarah Shand finds herself thrust back into the past. There she struggles to keep her real identity from a society that finds her comments and ideas strange and her speech and actions forward, unlike Victorian women. When Sarah verbally confronts confining social practices, including arranged marriages, powerful enemies commit her to a lunatic asylum. After falling in love with the handsome Laird of Weetshill, Robert Robertson, she must decide whether to find her way back to her own time or to remain in the past with him.

The Consequences Collection

The Consequences Collection is an eclectic compilation of twelve stories ranging from non-fiction through creative non-fiction to pure fiction, in prose and poetry.

The story of a Scottish Home Child is based on fact and told from the child’s point of view; The Mystery Woman of Kinettles is a non-fiction article on the appearance and subsequent disappearance of a woman’s body near the Wellington County House of Industry (Poor House) in 1879 Southwestern Ontario.

Some of these stories are lighter than others, and some might even beg you to leave the lights on.

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Gary’s posters are unique to each book which makes them even more popular with the authors he supports. The two below are the most recent ones he did for me.

From a touch of medieval…

to a modern setting…

You can see more of Gary’s work on pinterest or on his Books and Life blog.

Which one of these book posters to you like best?

Anneli Purchase, Book covers, cover reveal, Novel covers, Novels

Cover Reveal~THE WIND WEEPS by Anneli Purchase

May 3, 2015 Melanie 7 Comments

I’ve been shopping, found a designer I like, and bought a new outfit. Now I have a new image. It’s not for me, but for my novel, The Wind Weeps.

The Wind Weeps has so many tangible elements that I could have focused on any number of them for a cover image. The story involves boats, the BC coast, commercial fishing, handsome men, beautiful women, and the isolation of the coast. But my designer, Anita B. Carroll of http://race-point.com , suggested that since the book has so much emotion in it, why not go with a cover that reflects it.

Remember the terror Julia Roberts felt in the movie Sleeping with the Enemy? That’s the kind of terror Andrea feels about her husband, Robert. But in her case it isn’t so easy to escape him. He has taken her to live in a remote cabin on the coast, all communication unavailable to her.

We have love, anticipation, happiness, hope, desperation, indecision, ambivalence, frustration, fear and joy, just to name a few of the emotions found in The Wind Weeps.

Andrea once loved orchids, but Robert has turned them into a symbol of his control over her. The orchid on the cover seems to be weeping. The sky is blood red, the sea is dark and rough. And yet Andrea is determined to survive and get back to the man she wishes she had married, the one who has never stopped loving her.

For more than just a romance, why not click on the link to download The Wind Weeps. You won’t sleep until you finish it.

Amazon.com

Or if you are in the UK:

Amazon.co.uk

For those with e-readers other than Kindle, go to Smashwords.com

AUTHOR BIO

Anneli Purchase is an author and freelance copy-editor. She writes for the Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine, which she also helps to edit. Anneli lives on her little acre of paradise on Vancouver Island with her husband and two spaniels. She has published three novels and is working on her fourth.

Book covers, Book Launch, Book Promo, Melissa Foster, Novels

Promo ~ CATCHING CASSIDY by Melissa Foster

May 1, 2015 Melanie Leave a comment

CATCHING CASSIDY

HARBORSIDE NIGHTS, Book One

Release date April 28, 2015

“Catching Cassidy was laugh out loud funny, heartwarming, sexy, and hands down one of my favorite reads so far this year!” — #1 NYT Bestselling Author of The Bet – Rachel Van Dyken

Wyatt Armstrong never imagined that instead of celebrating his college graduation, he and his twin sister would be dealing with the death of their parents. Then again, Wyatt had never been one to think past tomorrow. He heads to their summer home in Harborside, Massachusetts, with his best friend Cassidy Lowell in tow, to deal with his parents’ death and to try to figure out his next step.

Six foot two, infuriatingly handsome, and flirtatious, Wyatt Armstrong has always been there for Cassidy, helping her pass her classes and fend off unwanted advances, while driving her insane with his one-night stands—but that’s what best friends are for, isn’t it? Having each other’s backs. There was never any doubt that she would accompany him to his family’s summer home—but she never expected to begin seeing Wyatt as more than a friend. Or has she been ignoring her feelings all along?

It’s impossible to ignore the sizzling heat between them as Wyatt and Cassidy get even closer, but Cassidy knows Wyatt’s past, and she has a real job to begin in the fall. Wyatt may be a sure thing for the summer, but Cassidy needs more. For the first time in his life, Wyatt is forced to look toward the future if he doesn’t want to lose the one woman who’s shared his past and owns his heart.

***

HARBORSIDE NIGHTS is a sexy, hot, and evocatively real New Adult Romance series that follows a group of friends who have known one another for years as “summer” friends, and now come together after college to build their lives. They’re tough, edgy, and accepting—most of the time. This series is written in the loving, raw, and emotional voice readers have come to love by New York Times & USA Today bestselling, award-winning author Melissa Foster.

Check out the awesome video trailer for CATCHING CASSIDY (Harborside Nights, Book 1). Releasing April 28!

PRE-ORDER links:
KINDLE: http://amzn.to/1xplPq5
NOOK: http://bit.ly/CatchingCassidy_Nook
KOBO: http://bit.ly/CatchingCassidy_Kobo
GPLAY: http://bit.ly/CatchingCassidy_GooglePlay
iBOOKS: https://itunes.apple.com/…/catching-cassidy-ha…/id907998032…
Paperback: http://amzn.to/1Ew4xv2

ABOUT MELISSA FOSTER

Visit Melissa on social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

Authors Links:

http://www.melissafoster.com/newsletter/

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GIVEAWAY

3 ecopies of SLOPE OF LOVE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour, Book covers, Carla J Hanna, Interviews, Masquerade Book Tours, Novels, YA fiction

THE STARLET SERIES by Carla J Hanna BLOG TOUR #StarletTour

April 21, 2015 Melanie 2 Comments

Titles: Starlet’s Man / Starlet’s Web / Starlet’s Run / Starlet’s Light

Series: The Starlet Series #0.5–#3

Author: Carla J. Hanna

Publication Dates: 2012-2014

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Series Links: Goodreads | Amazon

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Synopsis–Starlet’s Man

Lights, Cameras, and Lies. High school student athlete, Manny Biro, is caught between the boy he should be and the man he wants to become.

Everyone around him accepts the Hollywood life. He doesn’t. Manny wants no part of acting. On the surface, his childhood best friends seem to have it all: money, power, success. Between the lines, they are all confused. Alan is a messed up want-to-be director focused on pushing scenes to their sexy potential. Beth is an athlete driven to escape from a dark past. Janet is Manny’s kid sister caught up in fashion and trends. And Marie is a lonely actress exhausted by the culture that makes everyone’s favorite stories.

What is the price of fame for all the characters? Conflicts and truths will unfold in this thought-provoking installment of Carla Hanna’s young adult Starlet Series, Starlet’s Man.

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Synopsis–Starlet’s Web

Love. Lies. Acting. A novel about celebrity influence & teens in Hollywood. What makes a star shine? Humility empowers the spirit. Sometimes.

Discover the Starlet Series for new adult & college readers and uncover the life of a talented actress caught in Hollywood’s web of lies.

I’m actress Liana Marie Michael. I won an Oscar at 17 but whatever. Celebrity is what it is: marketing a product. I’m part of a tight-knit group. I keep to myself and don’t complain about my life. I’ve been happy until lately.

Evan dumping me leveled me. Matthew shocked me. I knew he couldn’t hurt me with my bodyguard so near, but his eyes…so I have trust issues. Dating super-hot Byron didn’t help clear the confusion either. I’m torn between going to church on Sunday and making a living from pop culture.

But experience builds perspective. My days of shutting up needed to end. First, I told Manuel. Then I told my mom. It turned out awesome until I learned the truth.

Now I’m screwed. Totally. Let’s face it: Hollywood’s web entangles everyone.

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Synopsis–Starlet’s Run

Love. Intentions. Acting. Life is more complicated than a Hollywood story.Fictional actress Liana Marie Michael writes her second memoir, Starlet’s Run, as she suffers through the Five Stages of Grief. But when Lia’s scripts speak for her and drama becomes her life, can she find the strength to run her own lines and shape her new role?
~ – ~
I’m actress Liana Marie Michael. Hollywood’s obsession with beauty made my actress-mother stay competitive. Athletes use steroids. Actors use plastic surgery and anti-aging drugs. So now I’m a physical mess inside, dealing with it, and starring in a major motion picture.Of course I can’t quit. I have brain surgery, feel alive at Grandma’s Montana ranch, go back to Hollywood and act. My boyfriend, Manuel, and I want to get married. Everyone has an opinion. I ignore the millions of naysayers until consequences turn dire.I believe that dwelling on pain is a waste of time. Indecision is exhausting. I want to write my own future. But I’m only eighteen years old.In a world where an actress is a product and everyone is a critic, can our young love survive? Should it?

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Synopsis: Starlet’s Light

Love. Trust. Acting. Cancer survivor-actress gives up the fight until she sees the light. Liana Marie writes her third memoir as she struggles with trust and commitment and shapes the role she plays.

I’m actress Liana Marie Michael and am dying. In my last two memoirs, I show how I’m the ideal Hollywood product. In writing Starlet’s Web and Starlet’s Run, I realized that the drama in our stories affects the lies in our real lives. The thin, young ideal of beauty is as much of a lie as the plot twists and dialogue we create to hide our insecurities.

In this memoir, I make a mess of my love life while shooting a film in Great Britain. I dump Manuel for his own good. I love him with all my heart. So how could I not when he has a bright future? My dad visits and puts my past in perspective. I spend weekends in the hospital. I learn to rely on Franz, Evan and Amelie. Yes, I hook up with my Swiss billionaire-heir friend Pierre even though I miss Manuel every minute. But it all makes sense, especially since I am so done with acting.

We are all flies and spiders in a web of stories. If I live a more authentic life, can love prevail despite my many faults? Can truth alter Hollywood’s web?

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Character Interview:

Thank you for featuring the Starlet Series on your blog! I’m so excited to share my memoirs with you: Starlet’s Web, Starlet’s Run, and Starlet’s Light. I wrote them in the hospital while I recovered from surgery. A spiritual counselor suggested I work through The Five Stages of Grief to help me find my own voice. I’ve been acting for so long that I didn’t even know how to use my own words to describe my feelings. Now, I no longer speak in scripts all the time. I write my own story and am excited about my future.You won an Oscar at 17. What was the role that you won it for?I play Muse in the feature film Muse Series, an immortal destined to
ignite the passions of revolutionary artists and leaders throughout time.

My Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role was for my characterization of a mixed-race black woman, aka Sally Hemings, in the controversial hit historical-fiction Jefferson’s Muse.Before you started dating Manuel, how did he fit into your life?Manuel has always been my best friend since we were in diapers. I don’t have many friends. People don’t know what to say to me on the street, and I don’t talk to strangers. I’ve only connected with Manuel. Everyone else thinks I talk like a fool, especially Manuel’s friend Beth. She and I were friends once but she didn’t like Kate, my former BFF. Kate was a great BFF who turned into total nightmare. I’m so grateful she and Manuel broke up so I could date him. I love him so much.How did you react to finding out you had cancer?I was so mad at my mom, Mommy Dearest squared. I threw-up and trembled at first. Then I thought about why she snuck me anti-aging drugs and just totally understood somehow. The pursuit for perfection in Hollywood is so intense. I was born into the mentality that I have to be sweet and nice and cute and sexy. If you’re not young and smooth, you can’t work. So I “get” my mom but I don’t like her. She’s said she’s sorry so many times. I know she is but I also don’t want to hear it. I want to forgive and forget, move on and heal. I also want to change Hollywood so that more kids don’t have to get cut up or take anti-aging drugs to compete. I see it like steroid use for athletes to be competitive. If the entertainment industry doesn’t stop pushing the Barbie body, every teen acting-hopeful
will do what they have to do to compete.

Assuming you had some time to travel when you were in Great Britain filming, did you get to tour around some of the country? Was there any particular place you liked best?

I did. The set was in Wales, outside of Newport. My nurse was from
Aberdare so I visited it with Pierre, Evan, and Amelie. We all loved it. I connected with Wales, appreciating the harsh working conditions of a coal-mining people in the setting of peaceful, rolling hills. I bought a t-shirt there of the Celtic knot and think it is a perfect reflection of how we are all interconnected. I liked London, too, but a piece of my heart stayed in Wales.

If you had the chance to do it all over again, what if anything would you do differently?

I’d stick up for myself. I did what I was told to do. I didn’t have a
backbone. When you’re an actor, you mold to the will of writers and your director. Since there is so much pressure, you deal by staying focused and playing a role. We call it compartmentalizing. But the truth is I succeeded because I was a wimp. Evan dumping me wiped me out. Kissing Byron after I had Manuel didn’t make any sense and tore at me daily. How could I be such a loser? It was different when I was sure I was going to die. I thought my actions were unselfish. But I learned from being in Wales and studying the Celtic knot that we are all tied to each other and need to be honest and accept that we can’t control our future. We have free will and have to choose an authentic path based on trust and the best intentions.

Thank you for stopping by today, Liana. I know the part of Wales you mentioned having been there myself. It truly is a beautiful part of the country.

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Author Bio

Carla J. Hanna lived in Santa Monica, CA where her children played with the children of celebrities. She mingled with plenty of nannies and a few good celebrity moms. Her award winning books, The Starlet Series, include Starlet’s Man, Starlet’s Web, Starlet’s Run, & Starlet’s Light. Starlet’s End is scheduled to release September 2015, subject to change from publisher interest.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

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Giveaway: There is a giveaway for this tour. $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble Gift Card or Book Depository Spree; One (1) Necklace (Based on Cover Image). Ends 5/1. The code is provided below.

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