For Hannah Fairchild, jaded Hollywood trust fund baby and aspiring astronomer, life as she knows it (financially secure, albeit emotionally frail) goes out of orbit when her father -- the larger-than-life legendary actor and playboy, Leo Fairchild -- drops dead while making love to a nineteen year-old C-list television starlet. Not only has Leo's conniving fourth wife frozen Hannah's trust fund -- putting a pinch on her ability to gaze at the only stars she feels are worth watching -- but the grieving widow has also been having an affair with Hannah's indie producer boyfriend.
Faced with a Fred Segal's credit card bill that rivals the national debt, Hannah is forced to put her planet search project on hold while she takes the job of personal assistant to British actor and People's "Sexiest Man Alive," Louis Trollope. Because Louis is just as egotistical, self-centered, insecure, demanding, flirtatious -- and yes, irresistible -- as her father had been, Hannah is determined to keep him and his super-model girlfriend, bad boy entourage, and over-sexed agent at arm's length. Besides, she's falling in love with his best friend, the screenwriter Mick Bradshaw.
PRAISE FOR TRUE HOLLYWOOD LIES
"...The tone is confessional, the writing laced with venomous humor..." -The Wall Street Journal
"A fine piece of literary work." --The New York Post, Page Six
"Brown captures the humor of working for a megalomanic . . .[A] well-paced, entertaining story." --Publishers Weekly
PRAISE FOR JOSIE BROWN:
"Josie Brown writes with all the secrets, sex, money and scandal of an OK! cover story . . . truly entertaining reading" --Jackie Collins, New York Times bestselling author
"Josie Brown captures the highs and lows of love, lust and marriage, with heart-wrenching pathos. I'm recommending it to all my friends as the perfect beach read!" --Lisa Rinna, actress and New York Times bestselling author
"Hollywood's got nothing on the cast of characters living in the bedroom community of Paradise Heights, who have the secrets, sex, money and scandal of an OK! Magazine cover story. Josie Brown is a skilled observer whose clever dialogue makes for truly entertaining reading."
--Jackie Collins, bestselling author of Hollywood Wives and Poor Little Bitch Girl
"The Baby Planner is as a delight. I wondered, as I was reading it, how I every managed without a baby planner, and by the end I wondered how I ever managed without its author, Josie Brown." --Eileen Goudge, New York Times bestselling author of Once in a Blue Moon
"I loved this juicy-as-it-it-is-heartfelt novel about love, marriage, friendship and sharp, manicured claws. Could not put it down!" --Melissa Senate, author of The Secret of Joy "Poignant and funny! Josie Brown's protagonist is strong, resilient, and unflinchingly honest: she has all the skills she needs to navigate the 'mean streets' of the gated community of Paradise Heights. A great read!" --Wendy Wax, authorMagnolia Wednesdays "Brown proves that a story with suburban bodies can be just as suspenseful as one with dead bodies! Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives is a probing, entertaining fishbowl of married life in a well-heeled, wayward neighborhood. Loved it!" --Stephanie Bond, author of Body Moversseries "I loved it! Josie Brown captures the highs and lows of love, lust and marriage with heartwrenching pathos. I'm recommending it to all my friends as the perfect beach read!" --Lisa Rinna, actress, and author of the novel, Starlit, and the personal growth book, Rinnavation --This text refers to the
Kindle Edition
edition.
- The Housewife Assassin's Handbook [2011, Signal Press] - The Baby Planner[2011, Simon & Schuster] - Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives [2010, Simon & Schuster] - Impossibly Tongue-Tied [2006, HarperCollins] - True Hollywood Lies [2005, HarperCollins; 2010 Diversion Books]
In fact my novel, Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives (Simon & Schuster), is being adapted by producer Jerry Bruckheimer as a dramatic series for ABC TV.
Like most authors I know, I'm a voracious reader. My favorite classic authors are Edith Wharton, John le Carre, Martin Cruz Smith, Jane Austen, Graham Greene, P.D. Wodehouse, Margaret Mitchell, Glen David Gold, and Raymond Chandler.
As for contemporary authors, I think that both Martin Cruz Smith and John Le Carre are two of the best writers alive, and I love the writing styles of Helen Fielding, Jackie Collins and Allison Pearson. I think John Lescroart and MJ Rose are amazing, both as authors and author advocates.
I'm a cinephile (I see everything--chick flicks, action films, art house movies, almost every kind of foreign film) and I'm a walker and hiker--anywhere from four to eleven miles a day.
Otherwise, I'M WRITING. Or researching for my next books....meeting the wonderful people who let me know that what I write resonates with them...or hanging out in my fave bookstores (which is any bookstore in any town I happen to be in, at the time).
I've got a sweet romantic husband (who both cooks AND walks the dog, come rain, sleet or flood), and two great funny kids, a boy and a girl. Yeah, I know, I'm lucky, and I should count my blessings. (Believe me, I do!)
I'm also the author of three non-fiction books: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Finding Mr. Right [Alpha/Pearson]; Marriage Confidential: 102 Honest Answers to the Questions Every Husband Wants to Ask, and Every Wife Needs to Know [Signal Press]; and Last Night I Dreamt of Cosmopolatans: A Modern Girl's Dream Dictionary [St. Martin's Press]
As a journalist, my celebrity interviews and relationships trends articles have been featured in Los Angeles Times Syndicate International, Redbook and Complete Woman magazines, as well as AOL, Yahoo, AskMen.com, Divorce360.com, and SingleMindedWomen.com
You can connect with me here, or on:
- Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/JosieBrownAuthor - Twitter: http://twitter.com/JosieBrownCA
PRAISE FOR JOSIE'S BOOKS:
The Baby Planner
"Brown takes baby mania to its illogical, hysterical extreme in this bubbly romp....But what begins as a light foray into Bugaboo country turns into something bigger than a satire of status-obsessed Bay Area yummy mummies as Brown takes a dark look at the fears of parenthood and family, with Katie's heartbreaking longing for a child unveiling a disturbing reality about her marriage and family. Still, the message from the somber realities is one full of hope: love makes a family, commitment keeps it together." --Publishers Weekly
Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives
"Josie Brown writes with all the secrets, sex, money and scandal of an OK Magazine cover. Truly entertaining reading."--Jackie Collins, Hollywood Wives
"Josie Brown's writing is whip-smart as well as wickedly funny, and just as you are enjoying the ride she takes you on, she shatters your heart with her insight into modern lives." --Tatjana Soli, New York Times bestselling author and 2011 recipient of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction for The Lotus Eaters
"Already touted as the perfect summer beach read, this character driven (sometimes steamy) book can best be described as the offspring of an affair between Desperate Housewives and a Jennifer Weiner novel....A quick look into the sometimes catty world of wealth where priorities get shifted, friendships get broken and marriages, like their mansions, get rearranged. It was light and fluffy (with some excellent dialogue.)..." -- GoodHousekeeping.com
"I loved it! Josie Brown captures the highs and lows of love, lust and marriage with heartwrenching pathos. I'm recommending it to all my friends as the perfect beach read!" -- Lisa Rinna, acatress, and author of the novel Starlit
True Hollywood Lies
The tone is confessional, the writing laced with venomous humor..." --Wall Street Journal
"Brown captures the humor of working for a megalomaniac...[A] well-paced, entertaining story..." --Publishers Weekly
"A fine piece of literary work." --New York Post
Impossibly Tongue-Tied
"Brad, Angelina, Britney and Kevin may want to check out Josie Brown's new novel, Impossibly Tongue-Tied, for its ripped-from-the-headlines plot that mixes their scandals together..." - PAGE SIX, New York Post
Josie lives in Marin County, California, with Martin and our two children.
Martin, my husband: THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO FINDING MR. RIGHT, and MARRIAGE CONFIDENTIAL: 102 HONEST Answers to the Questions Every Husband Wants to Ask, and Every Wife Needs to Know.
This review is from: True Hollywood Lies (Paperback)
If anyone has ever had a bad few days, it's Hannah Fairchild. Not only has her famous movie-star father kicked the bucket and left his trust fund to his latest conniving wife, but her boyfriend has dumped her for another woman. Hannah's only option at this point is to take a job as a personal assistant to Louis Trollope, who also happens to be one of the most eligible and sought-after actors.
Known for going through beautiful women like water, Louis immediately tries to make a play for Hannah. Hannah knows better though and forces him to remain at a distance. Meanwhile, she hooks up with Mick Bradshaw, screenwriter and who also happens to be Louis's best friend. But Louis isn't happy unless he gets what he wants, and he wants Hannah...
Hannah has to juggle her job (which is never-ending), her love life, and her life in general- including her passion for Astronomy). But where does one end and one begin? All the while she tries to find time for her passion for star-gazing (the kind in the sky, not the Hollywood variety!).
Filled with backstabbing, fun and glamous, True Hollywood Lies is quite the glamour chick lit read. I enjoyed it until the end. Hannah was a great main character- down to earth, strong and intelligent. Author Josie Brown keeps the romantic side plots both sizzling and uncertain- one really never knows who will end up with whom until it happens. The actual story line is also filled with twists and turns.
I cannot say that this book is extremely realistic- after all, what woman has a couple of famous gorgeous men pining for them? - but it's a delightful and suspenseful read.
Overall I definitely recommend this book for a glamourous, sun-soaked yet somehow down-to-earth good read.
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This review is from: True Hollywood Lies (Paperback)
Loved it, loved it, loved it.
I picked up TRUE HOLLYWOOD LIES because I overheard a person who works at my local bookstore raving about it. She said that everyone she's ever recommended it to also loved it. I thought that, at the very least, it would be a fun read. And having once lived in LaLa Land, I might find some fun in reliving all the things I liked and disliked about it...
I'm happy to report that the bookseller was right. I could easily relate to the way the heroine, Hannah, had this love/hate relationship with Hollywood (having one myself). Also, she's got the personalities down pat. I could actually imagine that some of those lines as said. The author's bio says that she has interviewed stars and knows the patter, as well as what comes out of the mouths of their handlers.
Also, all the hot spots mentioned in the book are those that the stars really do hit. So for me, it was a great read, almost like visiting again....
As for the plot, Hannah is wonderfully vulnerable, not at all a clueless shoes-and-shopping type, but smart and savvy and filled with some honest pain (it's explained in the book). You can see how she is easily in love with both the men in her life, who are different types but both lovable in their own way. In fact, is surpirsed me to read one of the reviews below which indicate that the ending was "predictable", but I have to say that I disagree. The plot had me wondering until almost the last few pages what choice Hannah would make. I guess that other reviewer is smarter than the average bear (or reader, in this case).
Then again, as with most fun books about women, you know that the heroine will do okay...but I felt that "True Hollywood Lies" was the kind of book you don't ever want to end, which is probably why the other reviewer felt that way.
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This book started off great and quickly lost momentum. The main character was weak and I do not like novels that portray woman as weak and so in love that they find their boyfriends bad behavior acceptable. This was one of those novels. I kept hoping that Hannah would wake up, realize Louis was a cad and dump him. Unfortunately she seemed desperate to save the relationship...and for what? So that he could dump her!
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First Sentence:
In the Hollywood you know, here's how the world ends: The ice caps melt. Read the first pageKey Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Louis Trollope, Dead End, Beverly Hills, Sunset Slurpee, Los Angeles, Killer Instincts, Miss Simone, New York, Team Louis, Fred Segal, Leo Fairchild, Axis of Evil, Jamaican Blue, Motorcycle Guy, Ethan Blount, Hotel Bel-Air, Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Lion's Den, Randy Zimmerman, Ritz Carlton Suite, Viper Room, Academy Award, Bennett Fielding, Château Lynch-Bages, Daddy Dearest
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