View our feature on Lisa Daily's Fifteen Minutes of Shame.
What happens when America’s favorite dating expert finds out on national television that her husband is cheating on her? Darby Vaughn’s fifteen minutes of fame quickly becomes fifteen minutes of shame when the story of her divorce is splashed across supermarket tabloids. If Darby takes her philandering husband back, her career will be over. If she doesn’t, she’ll lose the only man she’s ever loved. As she rebuilds her life with help from her girlfriends, Darby has to make some tough choices, but she stays true to her heart every step of the way.
“I laughed, I cried, I cringed, I cheered! Fifteen Minutes of Shame is a dream of a read.”—Dennie Hughes, USA Weekend’s Relation Tips columnist and author of Dateworthy
Lisa Daily can tell you why he didn't call, the color you should never wear on a first date, and even where to snoop for evidence if you think your guy's been fooling around. Millions read her dating advice column or tune in to see her every week on DAYTIME, and the early buzz on her debut novel FIFTEEN MINUTES OF SHAME says it pops with the same signature quirky humor and fresh, irreverent voice that made her dating advice book, STOP GETTING DUMPED! a bestseller.
Women from 16-60 flock to Lisa's popular Dream Girl Academy at the Learning Annex in New York City and events across the US. Lisa is a dating coach, speaker and popular media guest -- she has done more than 2000 interviews on top radio and television shows, including iVillage Live, MTV Live, Entertainment Tonight and top UK national morning show, This Morning, and she appears as a real-life dating expert on the HITCH movie DVD starring Will Smith. A frequent source for reporters, Lisa has been quoted in hundreds of publications, from the New York Times, Washington Post and Chicago Tribune to Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Men's Health, Christian Science Monitor and US Weekly Magazine.
HERE'S THE REST...
It only took one episode of BEWITCHED to know that advertising was the career for me.
There was Darren, smack in the middle of some adventure with Samantha, stuck on a roof wearing nothing but a tie or jammed in the back seat of a car that drove itself. Then, Larry his boss would show up unexpectedly and Darren would quickly turn his latest mishap into a pitch-on-the-fly.
One crazy idea later, Darren had saved the day.
This seemed like a good career for me. After all, I had crazy ideas all day long.
I loved advertising. I loved working with smart people who themselves had crazy ideas all day long, I loved working on a new project, a new problem, every single day. It was fabulous training, and I learned more about good writing in one year at my first job than I had before (or since). Tommy Thompson, my first Creative Director, made me cry on more than one occasion as he critiqued my work, but he was by far the best writer I ever worked for, and the person who taught me more about writing than anyone else. I feel fortunate to have worked with him, and all of the other talented writers and art directors who helped to shape my writing and broaden my horizons.
I decided to write a dating advice book because I was always the one giving dating advice to my friends, and suddenly they were all married. I think part of me missed the girl talk, the feeling of helping someone through something difficult. So, I wrote Stop Getting Dumped!, which became a bestseller in both the US and the UK, and is still pretty popular. (Thank you, thank you, thank you readers!) I started writing a dating advice column. A few years later, I began doing a weekly relationships segment on Daytime, a syndicated morning TV show. I love the weekly gig - there are a lot of topics that are more fun to cover in a visual medium like television. The producers and hosts are fantastic, and I look forward to doing the show every week.
I wrote FIFTEEN MINUTES OF SHAME for a couple of reasons: When my dating advice book first came out, a very prominent dating expert was going through a nasty divorce. I thought, there, but for the grace of God, go I (and every other coach or guru on the planet.) The idea intrigued me how one event could effectively level your entire life - a relationship expert whose husband cheats not only loses her career, but her husband as well. And while I was in no way interested in participating in such a disaster, it always intrigued me, how sometimes people are forced to go through the most traumatic events of their lives while the whole world is watching. And no, it's not about me.
As far as I know.
WANT TO GET/STAY IN TOUCH?
For more on me, please visit my website www.lisadaily.com or my dating advice blog http://www.lisadaily.com/datingexperttv
This review is from: Fifteen Minutes of Shame (Paperback)
Darby Vaughn is a successful relationship expert, having authored several books, columns, and personal appearances on the subject. At first suspicious that there is something going on with her husband and publicist Will, he is soon able to explain it all away and she embarks on her latest book tour. Nothing prepares her when her idyllic world comes crashing down when she discovers on national television that she has been dumped by her husband, as he has reconciled with his ex-wife and taken the daughters she has been raising with him. What's a girl to do? If you are Darby, you barf on Matt Lauer's shoes in full Technicolor. At first, she wallows in self pity, particularly when she is abandoned by her fans and turns into a late night joke. Then she brushes herself off and tries to do damage control deciding to seek custody of her ex's children. Her attorney prepares her for the worst. As new opportunities come her way both professionally and personally, Darby realizes that she might not be able to have it all.
Real life TV relationship guru Daily's fiction debut is a hilarious tale of a woman wronged who is forced to lick her wounds in a public arena. The dialogue is crisp and the characters are well developed. She cleverly inserts dating tips from Darby's columns to bring authenticty to her character. I particularly enjoyed her second chance at romance.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Fifteen Minutes of Shame (Paperback)
Darby Vaughn has become America's favorite television dating expert. During a tour to promote her latest book, and teach one seminar, she is a guest on one of today's famous talk shows. When the host shows her that morning's newspaper and she learns that her husband has not only been cheating on her, but filed for divorce, Darby is blind-sided! So she does the only thing she can do: she passes out. Humiliated on national television, Darby's entire world begins crashing around her. Her husband had given Darby no clue that he was unhappy. Even more humiliating is that when Darby goes to ask him WHY, the reporters are suddenly there with their cameras clicking away.
Darby still loves her husband, but the public is now watching to see what she does. If Darby breaks her own zero-tolerance rules for cheaters and takes him back, her career will be over. Yet if Darby does not, she will lose the man she loves.
*** This is the type of story that pulls the reader in several directions at once. I felt so bad for Darby's problems, but also became so irritated at her groveling. One thing this story clearly showed me is that the public's opinion on famous people can be fickle and two-faced. The story is written well, but slows down too often for me. I kept wanting the pace to pick up. ***
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Fifteen Minutes of Shame (Paperback)
I loved Darby's voice and attitude; Daily shows that even though Darby is a dating expert, she can still be thrown a curveball by life (and men). She winds up falling hard hard hard, and then has to make a very tough decision. I loved the tension built up in the romance here, but I questioned a major turnaround Darby has at the end (I don't want to give it away). I understand why she made her decision, but it seemed slightly out of character, though was motivated by love. This is a rollicking romance but also one with a maternal emotional core, and the lessons Darby learns, as well as imparts, are valuable ones.
While I enjoyed Darby's hilarious stint on reality TV, what moved me more was her relationship with Holt and what she learns from it ("you can't manufacture love by adhering to a plan"). Perfect beach reading (or anywhere reading), it made me consider Darby's dating advice (some I agree with, some I didn't). Kudos to Daily for turning her real-life career as a dating expert into a fun novel that also gets at what being a stepmother, and falling for a family, not just a man, is all about.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
