Christina Mayhew doesn't consider herself a gifted thespian. For beautiful Christina, film acting is simply a surefire way to earn money, which she'll need to get into medical school. At least she has intellectual, gentlemanly producer Martin Tafft to talk to. But while Martin is more than happy to discuss matters of the mind with Christina, his reaction to her secret goal is a crushing disappointment--especially since she has come to see Martin as more than just the boss. Then an accident on the set forces Martin to take the male lead, and Christina gets a taste of his kisses--on screen, at least. Now all she has to do is convince him that he would be perfect for another role...namely her lifetime leading man.
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In an effort to avoid what I knew I should be doing with my life (writing'it sounded so hard), for several years I expressed my creative side by dancing and singing. I belonged to two professional international folk-dance groups. Dancing made for a lousy living, but it was certainly fun. I also sang in a Balkan women's choir. I got to sing the tenor drone, for the most part. My first book, ONE BRIGHT MORNING, was published by HarperMonogram in 1995. What's more, it won the HOLT Medallion for Best First Novel. It was a good start, but my career has been . . . rocky, is the best word for it, I guess. Publishing's a brutal business, but I've got more persistence than brains so the publishing gods haven't killed me yet, although they seem to be trying awfully darned hard, curse them. In September of 1996 my herd of wild dachshunds and I moved from Pasadena, CA, to Roswell, NM, where my mother's family settled fifty years before the aliens crashed. We love it here. No smog, no crowds, no money, but I had no money in California, either, and you don't need so much of it here.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny pairing of liberated female and stuffy male,
By Kate McMurry "Young Adult Author" (United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Her Leading Man (Dream Maker) (Paperback)
Christina Mayhew is a silent-screen actress in Hollywood of 1913. Though a very successful leading lady, for her, acting is simply a way to earn the large amount of money she needs to pay for medical school. Martin Tafft is the producer of her latest film and very much her match in intellect, ambition and personal strength. Martin is extremely disappointed to learn that Christina is leaving the industry after this film wraps. He had very much hoped to work on future projects with the beautiful, young actress. She is one of the most talented--and most exciting--women he has ever known. Christina is very attracted to Martin, and when she realizes that his admiration for her is more than simply professional, she determines to proceed as a liberated, independent woman and propose to him that he be her very first affair. Gentlemanly Martin is shocked to his polished shoe tips at Christina's scandalous offer. He is adamantly opposed to sex outside marriage, tells Christina so, and remains stiffly withdrawn from her until an accident injuring the leading man forces Martin to take over his role. Soon Martin and Christina are sharing kisses on the set so heated, it becomes impossible for Martin to resist extending those kisses into his and Christina's private lives. The setting of HER LEADING MAN is fascinating, and so authentically drawn, reading it delightfully transported me to the world of early Hollywood. The liberated heroine and the stiff, moralistic hero are a great pair of comic opposites, and the heroine's outrageous grandmother provides a lot of laughs, too. The love scenes between Martin and Christina are very emotional and very hot--I really love stories where a repressed hero finally lets go to the cauldron of passion inside him, because the heroine is utterly irresistible to him.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Add this one to your keeper shelf -- Very highly recommended,
By
This review is from: Her Leading Man (Dream Maker) (Paperback)
Film director Martin Tafft grows increasingly disillusioned with the industry. When he began in 1904, he believed that the brilliant creation of motion pictures would be the salvation of humanity, spanning the differences between people to allow them to see the commonalities. Instead, the industry deteriorates into a slough of immorality and decadence. He still has hopes that when "talkies" come into their own actors and actresses will be forced to spend their evenings learning their lines rather than wildly carousing the town. Martin's newest leading lady Christina is made of a different ilk than most actresses seeking stardom. She sees acting as a means to an end. Rejected from scholarships because she's female, she intends to earn sufficient funds to pursue her dreams of a medical degree. To protect her reputation and run interference, she brings her Grandmother to the set as a chaperone. The elderly Mrs. Mayhew, Gran, provides marvelous comic relief with her high-spirited ways and obnoxious remarks. Christina calls her an Egalitarian because "she treated everyone like dirt." Although Christine prides herself on her independence, it helps to have someone with a reputation for hardhead ness and a nasty disposition on her side. Martin's latest project is an Egyptian epic based on the bible. But when his loathsome lead breaks his arm trying to ride a camel, Martin finds himself stepping into the part. Despite the strong chemistry between Martin and Christina, he's not prepared for her out spoken ways when states that she wants to make love with him. Rather than flattered, he's outraged because he considers her perspective to be repetitious of the deterioration of the morals of the industry. He doesn't perceive her outspokenness to be a natural part of her independence and honesty. Now they must act together in the roles of lovers, and as the heat increases on screen, it likewise threatens a conflagration off screen. Especially when their passion takes control, but the moralistic Martin wants marriage and the determined Christina wants a medical career. The entire Dream Maker miniseries has been a huge success, culminating in THE LEADING MAN. Indeed, the early years of the motion picture industry with its rapid changes has provided a fascinating background beautifully captured by author Alice Duncan's talented pen. Further, Duncan has a flair for creating both unconventional and unorthodox characters that really grab the imagination. Christina, like each of her predecessors, possesses strength of character and a gentle vulnerability that makes her markedly appealing. Martin, who's been a background character of each book, finally gets the story he so richly deserves. His concerns regarding the moral character of his industry span the decades, making him a surprisingly contemporary hero. Very highly recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dekightful romance,
This review is from: Her Leading Man (Dream Maker) (Paperback)
Though a very talented actress and in spite of thinking the film industry is a waste of energy, suffragette Christina Mayhew performs in the movies to finance her life's dream of going to medical school and becoming a doctor. To earn her tuition as she already has acceptance from a school, Christina performs in the latest movie produced by Martin Tafft for Peerless Studios on location. Martin is an idealist, but is frustrated with all the negative publicity the young Hollywood industry seems to produce. Thus he finds the intelligent Christina with her accompanying escort, her grandmother, quite refreshing to say the least. Christina soon finds Martin not only her intellectual equal but surprisingly he encourages her to use her intelligence rather than pretend to be a vacuous pretty babe. They begin to fall in love, but Martin's codes of ethics involving people working for him seem like a roadblock to any permanent relationship between them. Alice Duncan's entire "Dream Maker" series has been a delightful look at the first decade of the movie industry, but this novel is by far the best of a wonderful collection because this is Martin's story. Martin has been a key secondary player in the previous novels and readers (except perhaps this reviewer) have patiently awaited his venture into love. The story line is insightful, but also loaded with fun as Christina realizes that she must persuade HER LEADING MAN to reach for the stars with her. Harriet Klausner
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