The Accidental Bestseller [Paperback]

Wendy Wax (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 2, 2009

Once upon a time four aspiring authors met at their very first writers' conference. Ten years later they're still friends, survivors of the ultra-competitive New York publishing world. Mallory St. James is a workaholic whose bestsellers support a lavish lifestyle. Tanya Mason is a single mother juggling two jobs, two kids, and too many deadlines. Faye Truett is the wife of a famous televangelist and the author of inspirational romances: no one would ever guess her explosive secret. Kendall Aims's once-promising career is on the skids-and so is her marriage. Her sales are dismal, her new editor detests her work-and her husband is cheating. Barely able to think, let alone meet her final deadline, Kendall holes up in a mountain cabin to confront a blank page and a blanker future. But her friends won't let her face this trial alone. Together they collaborate on a novel using their own lives as fodder, assuming no one will ever discover the truth behind their words.

No one is more surprised than they are when the book becomes a runaway bestseller. But with success comes scrutiny and scandal...as these four best friends suddenly realize how little they've truly known each other.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A wise and witty foray into the hearts of four amazing women and the publishing world they inhabit."
-Karen White, author of The House on Tradd Street

About the Author

Wendy Wax is the author of seven previous novels. A former broadcaster, she lives in the Atlanta suburbs with her husband and two teenage sons, who have turned her into the shortest member of their family.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade; 1 Original edition (June 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425227677
• ISBN-13: 978-0425227671
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Award-winning author Wendy Wax has written eight novels, including Ocean Beach, Ten Beach Road, Magnolia Wednesdays, the Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist The Accidental Bestseller, Leave It to Cleavage, Single in Suburbia and 7 Days and 7 Nights, which was honored with the Virginia Romance Writers Holt Medallion Award. Her work has sold to publishers in ten countries and to the Rhapsody Book Club, and her novel, Hostile Makeover, was excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine.

A St. Pete Beach, Florida native, Wendy has lived in Atlanta for fifteen years. A voracious reader, her enjoyment of language and storytelling led her to study journalism at the University of Georgia. She also studied in Italy through Florida State University, is a graduate of the University of South Florida, and worked at WEDU-TV and WDAE-Radio in Tampa.

Wendy's writing has been highly praised and featured in national media such as USA Today and Women's World, and online at On A Clear Day You Can Read Forever, Luxury Reading, Night Owl Reviews and Fresh Fiction, among others. She was honored by the City of St. Pete Beach, which declared May 12, 2011 "Wendy Wax Day."

When Wendy is not writing, she spends time with family, speaking to writer's groups and book clubs, and devouring books.

www.authorwendywax.com ● facebook.com/AuthorWendyWax * @Wendy_Wax

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, what a story teller! What a book! June 9, 2009

By Dianne E. Socci-Tetro TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax

Wow! Just wow! I just this moment finished this book and I'd like to say to Ms Wax BRAVO! If you are a published author, you will appreciate the insiders look at some of the quirks of the industry and perhaps you will even recognize someone you've had to deal with in the past. If you are a pre-published writer, you may appreciate the look into what other authors have to do to get over those dry spells. If you are simply a book lover like me you will appreciate everything about this book. And if you are a woman, you will appreciate the author's views on best friends who will help you out when life seems to be too much; no matter what it costs them. And in this book they all have the potential of loosing it all.

Years ago four women from varied back rounds met at a writer's conference and formed a bond. None of them had been published, but they sure hoped to be one day. Well that "one day" happened for all of them. Each woman writing a different style of books: Faye writing Inspirational Romances, Tanya writing contemporary romances books for a Harlequin-esque company called Masque; Mallory striking, confident and very prolific with her novels. Yet as successful as they are on the surface, each one holds a secret close to their hearts. And then there is Kendell.

Kendell is having problems in the literary world and has tumbled into mid-listdom, not only that, a new book deadline is quickly approaching with nothing yet written, and to add insult to injury her husband has left her for a younger woman.

Kendell is the main protagonist of this book, or is she really? We find her escaping to the mountains to lick her wounds.... And of course Kendell's BFF's come to help her through this rocky time and hope to kick-start the creative juices that seem to be missing from Kendell's messed up life. I won't spoil anything for you more than has been already, but a plan is hatched, goes into effect and they collaborate on a novel using their own lives and unfortunately their own writing voices.

What no one would fathom is the book becomes "The Accidental Bestseller" (literally) and true to life - what may go well one minute, collapses the next.

We learn the secrets behind each of the masks each one wears and I found my stomach in knots praying that this would work out well for at least some of them in the end. But I'll leave that up to you to find out.

Very fast paced, deeply absorbing, well plotted and written. It has finely drawn characters that you can imagine as your own bet friends. Do not by any means mistake this as a "chick-lit" genre book, it most certainly is not. This book is unique and a breath of fresh air . Something that you will not regret spending your hard earned book buying dollars on. I know that I haven't. Read more ›

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read, but Too Cliche June 5, 2010

By Wildscribe

Format:Kindle Edition

For a fun beach read, this is a perfect choice. If you like a lot of substance, this may not be the best book for you. Although the characters are fun, they are also highly cliche, from the totally falling apart Kendall to the secretly naughty Faye (I don't know about others, but I guessed her secret from the moment it was revealed that she HAD a secret). None of the characters' motivations or secrets were surprising, and not much unpredictable happened throughout the book, down to the surprise confessions near the end. The book also dragged in the middle, with the first major plot point, the finishing of the novel, happening halfway through and killing both the suspense and the pacing. This would probably have worked out much better as two shorter novels, since the length makes it drag on and on. Ironically enough, the cover art of this book seems as misplaced and arbitrary of the cover art of the fictional novel. Still, I'm not sorry I picked it up, and it was a fun diversion. 3.5*

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars FRIENDSHIP -- CAN IT SURVIVE? November 29, 2009

By Laurel-Rain Snow "Rain" TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Four aspiring writers who met at a writers' conference maintain their friendship several years later. Their individual writing careers are varied, but problems of one kind or another plague each of them.

Mallory St. James has "bestseller" status, but she has hit a glitch. Writer's block. Kendall Aims has failed to win an award that would have made a difference, and her publisher is dumping her. And so is her husband. But she has to write one more book, in the midst of the chaos of her life. Tanya Mason, single mother, juggles two jobs, two kids, and a difficult mother. Faye Truett is the wife of a famous televangelist and writes inspirational romances, but beneath this pristine exterior is an explosive secret.

Imagine the furor that arises when the four collaborate on Kendall's final novel for her publisher, and then the secret of this effort ( and so much more!) is unveiled in a most unfortunate way. And the fallout extends throughout all of their lives.

One of the most captivating aspects of this novel is the author's ability to rein the reader into the lives of the characters, detailing every moment and unfolding snippets of backstory and motivation at just the right junctures. When we are totally invested in events, she drops each bomb for maximum impact. Reading late at night and waking up early each morning, I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Winding down to a very satisfying conclusion, I was poised for more. There has to be a sequel!

For The Accidental Bestseller, I vote five stars--definitely!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars I'm So Confused! July 26, 2010

By Melissa Stephens

Format:Mass Market Paperback

For the life of me I can't understand the reviews of this book. I do agree with the "WOW"s that I just read except that my "Wow" is more like, "Wow. What an unbelievable waste of time." This is one of the worst books I've ever finished and the only reason I finished is because it was the only book I brought with me on my recent vacation. I never write reviews, but I felt compelled to give a dissenting opinion here. Never have I rolled my eyes so much when reading a book. In fact, I'm pretty sure I actually said, "Oh, gag" out loud a few times. The language is contrived, I didn't find myself attached to any of the characters and I really couldn't get over how self-adulatory the author was. Please tell me I'm not the only one who saw that! I ordered this book after reading a magazine review and now I'm actually nervous to start any of the others I ordered because I no longer trust the reviews from that particular magazine (or amazon, for that matter!).