The Year Of Living Famously (Red Dress Ink Novels) [Paperback]

Laura Caldwell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Red Dress Ink Novels | Publication Date: November 1, 2004

Some girls seek fame, others have it thrust upon them. . . Clothing designer Kyra Felis has never been one to worship celebrities--she'd rather read a good book or make a blouse out of a tablecloth. She marries Hollywood man-of-the-moment Declan McKenna for love, with no inkling of how his notoriety will send her life spinning out of control.

But once Kyra reluctantly becomes a celebrity by association there's no turning back. And even though she has all the trappings of success, she can't do the things that make her happy--throw a party; drink a glass of wine (or four) at a quiet café; confide in her friends. When Declan's fame literally endangers Kyra's life, she starts to wonder, can she survive more than a year of living famously?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Plenty of women wonder what it would be like to be married to a movie star, but designer Kyra Felis finds out when she marries Irish actor Declan McKenna. When Kyra meets Declan in Las Vegas, he is on the cusp of stardom. The two have a whirlwind courtship, and Declan proposes after a few months. Kyra is reluctant to leave New York for L.A., but her love for Declan wins out. At first, it's just a matter of adjusting to the culture and attending a premiere here and there, but then Normandy is released to rave reviews and an eager, vast audience, and its star, Declan, and, by default, Kyra are launched into superstardom. Everyone wants to interview Declan, and the paparazzi follow the couple everywhere. Declan's success helps to launch Kyra's clothing line, but she is not sure she can deal with life in the spotlight. Caldwell's snazzy, gripping third novel gives readers an exciting taste of life in the fast lane, exposing the truth behind the fairy tale. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Laura Caldwell, a former civil litigator, is a Scholar in Residence at Loyola Law School where she is also an award-winning law professor. Caldwell's first book, Burning the Map, was selected by Barnes & Noble.com as one of The Best of 2002. Following that, A Clean Slate received a starred review from Booklist. Caldwell began publishing thrillers and suspense novels in 2005. Both her debut mystery, Look Closely, and The Rome Affair, the novel that pulled her into the Mosley case, received critical acclaim. Laura's newest, an international thriller called The Good Liar, has been heralded as "a massive achievement." She is published in ten languages and over twenty countries.

Before beginning her writing career, Laura was a trial attorney, specializing in medical malpractice defense and entertainment law. She is published in the legal field and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Law at her alma mater, Loyola University Chicago, where she teaches litigation writing and international criminal law. Laura is also freelance magazine writer and has contributed to several anthologies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Red Dress Ink (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373250754
• ISBN-13: 978-0373250752
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #559,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laura Caldwell: Former civil trial lawyer, now Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Director of Life After Innocence, published author of 10 novels, 1 nonfiction book, public speaker, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend.

Caldwell, lawyer, turned author who left the law behind, or so she thought. With 10 novels published in over 22 countries and translated into more than 13 languages, research on her 6th novel led her to the criminal case of Jovan Mosley, a young man sitting in a Cook County holding cell without a trial. After hearing about his case, Caldwell joined a renowned criminal defense attorney to defend him, ultimately proving his innocence and inspiring her first nonfiction book, Long Way Home: A Young Man Lost in the System and the Two Women Who Found Him (Free Press, Simon & Schuster).

Due to the Mosley case, she founded 'Life After Innocence' at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, a innovative program which aids exonerees--people who have been wrongful convicted and later found completely innocent--to start their lives over.

Her fictional works, began as chick-lit now turned mystery, includes a returning character, Izzy McNeil. Izzy a Chicago lawyer finds her way into a myriad of situations she must use her wit and legal skill to work through. Three books published the fourth due out March 2011, with at least three more on the horizon. Pick up an Izzy book now and travel through the streets of Chicago while solving crimes with her.

Laura is also a freelance magazine writer and has been published in Chicago Magazine, Woman's Own, The Young Lawyer, Lake Magazine, Australia Woman's Weekly, Shore Magazine and others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bittersweet & cleverly written Hollywood Tell-All, April 8, 2005

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Year Of Living Famously (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)

"The year of Living Famously" is a year in the life of an up and coming fashion designer and the struggling actor she marries, whose star rises and threatens their marriage due to media exposure and obsessive fans. The book is cleverly written as a tell-all autobiography from the wife's point of view.

Kyra Felis is a native New Yorker and would-be fashion designer whose chance meeting of struggling Irish actor, Declan McKenna, in a Las Vegas casino results in tabloid fodder of an affair (he is currently linked to his piranha-like leading lady, Lauren). After sending an apologetic e-mail to Kyra, he mentions that he will be in New York for location shooting and would like to get together. They meet and immediately fall in love, and she is suddenly moving to LA to marry him.

They manage to have a small amount of time to enjoy each other until an independent film he starred in a few years earlier is released to great press, and he becomes an "overnight" sensation. This causes tremendous strain on their marriage, as she is suddenly thrust into the media spotlight and is followed by paparazzi and forced to contend with her husband's PR machine.

They are forced to move from their beloved apartment on the beach to a fortress in the Hollywood Hills. Suddenly she does not know who she can trust; who is a friend and who is a hanger on? Meanwhile, her star as a fashion designer rises, but she secretly wonders if she is merely riding on the coattails of her famous husband.

Eventually Lauren re-appears and wants Declan back. While Kyra knows in her heart that all those stories romantically linking Declan and Lauren in the press are fabrications, the relationship is slowly put through the wringer until she finally decides that she has had enough and flees back to New York. Will Declan choose fame over love? Lauren over Kyra? Will Kyra and Declan settle their differences and realize they were meant to be together?

Not up until the last page does the reader know the outcome of this witty tell all. Highly recommended - I managed to finish it in two days.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and accurate, December 21, 2005

By 

Barbara L. Pinzka "Book Friend" (Cincinnati, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Year Of Living Famously (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)

Struggling fashion designer Kyra marries struggling actor Dec, who hits it very, very big with his first major movie, catapulting them into a life of constant scrutiny by legitimate and paparazzi media. Her career also takes off, causing the blare of publicity to include her as well, much to her great misery. In this journal/diary of their first year together, Kyra wonders if a marriage can survive fame and learns it's hard to find someone to trust.

Several years ago I worked as the media spokesperson for a very, very famous person and found myself thrust into the spotlight more than I had imagined, and I hated it. Caldwell describes perfectly what it's like to feel one's privacy invaded and to be the subject of often outrageous gossip.

As I once told a reporter, "Rich is good; famous isn't."

Although the plot twists are quite predictable, Caldwell has a fresh and funny writing style. A good, if quick, read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable, February 17, 2005

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reads a lot - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Year Of Living Famously (Red Dress Ink Novels) (Paperback)

This book is well-written and an enjoyable read. The characters are interesting and made me want to keep reading in order to find out what happened to them. The only negatives are that the so-famous-so-fast aspects of the plot are a bit hard to swallow and the constant oh-poor-me attitude of the heroine, who just coincidently gets the career of her dreams as a side benefit of her marriage, does get tiresome at times.