Earlier this year, we reviewed The Girls Guide to Dating Zombies, and we introduced you to Lynn's satirical wit, and we are very happy to bring you her latest novel, Bleak!
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Synopsis:
Lights! Cameras! Inaction!
New York writer Ricki Carstone knows it’s extremely unlikely a movie of her debut novel, Jarndyce, and Jarndyce, will actually get made—the odds are like one in a hundred or something—but Moxie Bernard (hello! most famous teen on the planet!) has signed on to star. Plus, the producer is throwing her a super fabulous party in Hollywood (with Moxie!) to celebrate the relaunch of her book with a younger, sexier cover. Clearly, this is one movie option that’s going to make it all the way to the movie theater.
Ricky is so confident, she quits her dead-end paralegaling job, and moves out to Los Angeles to keep an eye on the project. There, with the encouragement of Harry Skimpole, a handsome out-of-work actor who knows all the ins, outs, overs and arounds of moviemaking, she decides to try her hand at screenwriting. Churning out a script seems so much easier than a full-length novel. Thankfully, experienced screenwriter John Vholes is willing to teach her the ropes—for a small fee, of course. (Well, the fee starts small.)
A fish out of water, Ricki quickly adapts to the strange and puzzling ways of the entertainment industry. Or does she? Her cute neighbor Simon seems to think her new friends are taking advantage of her. But what does he know? He’s a bitter ex-screenwriter who never got a single movie produced, and she’s about to see her name in lights any day now. Or month. Or year. Bleak—a smart and funny update of Charles Dickens’s classic Bleak House—is for anyone who’s ever held on to a dream just a little too long.
Book Inspiration:
Lynn says "I drew inspiration from my own experience as an author whose book has been under option for many years. When Fashionistas was first optioned in 2004, everyone
warned me not to invest emotionally, but I held nothing back. For a
year, I lived in a state of unbearable anticipation, unable to focus on
my writing because I expected at any moment for the film to come through
and change my life. Then one day I was watching Bleak House on
Masterpiece Theater, and I saw Richard Carstone bop from one career to
yet another, unable to settle down because he was waiting for the court
case to be resolved in his favor and change his life, and I thought, Oh,
no, that's me."
Review:
I didn't think this book was going to be such a quick read! I ended up finishing it in 2 sittings, mainly because I wanted to see what was going to happen to Ricki next! If you have ever wondered about getting your start in screen writing, this novel will thoroughly explain how it is NOT a walk in the park! Having taken screenwriting in college, I can tell you writing a 30 'minute' (actually more like 16 minute nowadays) is difficult. You have to tell what action occurs, as dialogue happens, what music is in the background, noises that are heard, etc. It truly boggles the mind at how much goes into the media we see on tv, or in film (shudder, I can't even fathom writing a 2 hour movie script!). kudos to the author for showing how difficult it is for a book to become a script, much less a film!
You feel like you are reading the author's diary or tale of her life, versus a fictional novel, and that is what drives it's fantastic pace-Ricki makes bad decisions, she isn't perfect, she doesn't have the greatest of relationships with her family, but she sticks it out. Those things I think most of us can relate to! And because of that feeling, I felt a little abandoned at the end of the book- the author ended the book well enough, but after being there as Ricki went through so much heartache, I felt deflated at the ending. But if you're like me, and most readers, you can imagine the next part of the story, and sometimes what we imagine is the best part the author can give us- internal inspiration!
If you're looking for a book that plays on a classic, with a twist, check this one out! (and hey, the Kindle edition is really reasonable!)
I didn't think this book was going to be such a quick read! I ended up finishing it in 2 sittings, mainly because I wanted to see what was going to happen to Ricki next! If you have ever wondered about getting your start in screen writing, this novel will thoroughly explain how it is NOT a walk in the park! Having taken screenwriting in college, I can tell you writing a 30 'minute' (actually more like 16 minute nowadays) is difficult. You have to tell what action occurs, as dialogue happens, what music is in the background, noises that are heard, etc. It truly boggles the mind at how much goes into the media we see on tv, or in film (shudder, I can't even fathom writing a 2 hour movie script!). kudos to the author for showing how difficult it is for a book to become a script, much less a film!
You feel like you are reading the author's diary or tale of her life, versus a fictional novel, and that is what drives it's fantastic pace-Ricki makes bad decisions, she isn't perfect, she doesn't have the greatest of relationships with her family, but she sticks it out. Those things I think most of us can relate to! And because of that feeling, I felt a little abandoned at the end of the book- the author ended the book well enough, but after being there as Ricki went through so much heartache, I felt deflated at the ending. But if you're like me, and most readers, you can imagine the next part of the story, and sometimes what we imagine is the best part the author can give us- internal inspiration!
If you're looking for a book that plays on a classic, with a twist, check this one out! (and hey, the Kindle edition is really reasonable!)
About the Author:
Lynn Messina grew up on Long Island and studied English at Washington University in St. Louis. She has worked at the Museum of Television & Radio (now the Paley Center for Media), TV Guide, In Style, Rolling Stone, Fitness, ForbesLife, Self, Bloomberg Markets and a host of wonderful magazines that have long since disappeared. She mourns the death of print journalism in New York City, where she lives with her husband and sons. She is author of seven novels, including the best-selling Fashionistas, which has been translated into 15 languages and is in development as a feature film!
Follow her on Facebook and Twitter, and check out her website too!
And be sure to take the Bleak or Bleak House quiz after you read the book!
(I scored Genius, so apparently I really paid attention, LOL)
Lynn Messina grew up on Long Island and studied English at Washington University in St. Louis. She has worked at the Museum of Television & Radio (now the Paley Center for Media), TV Guide, In Style, Rolling Stone, Fitness, ForbesLife, Self, Bloomberg Markets and a host of wonderful magazines that have long since disappeared. She mourns the death of print journalism in New York City, where she lives with her husband and sons. She is author of seven novels, including the best-selling Fashionistas, which has been translated into 15 languages and is in development as a feature film!
Follow her on Facebook and Twitter, and check out her website too!
And be sure to take the Bleak or Bleak House quiz after you read the book!
(I scored Genius, so apparently I really paid attention, LOL)
Disclosure / Disclaimer: I was sent this ebook, free of charge, for review purposes, by the author. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.
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