Book Synopsis
After several years of living life in the fast lane, bestselling novelist Marny Ottwiler vows to take control of the chaos that has invaded her everyday existence. This proves to be easier said than done. Over the next year she rides a roller coaster of experiences that are chronicled in hilarious detail. Follow along as she navigates through fame, family, friendships, and the writing of her next blockbuster series of books. Oh yeah, and the choice she has to make between two loves.
Quick Facts
Release Date: November 20, 2012
Genre: Contemporary/Chicklit
Formats: Kindle/Paperback
EXCERPT
“Salacious novelist Marny Ottwiler has checked herself into the
spectacular Meadow House Retreat, best known for its celebrity clientele and
exclusive acreage in the mountains above the City of Angels, Los Angeles,
California. Sources close to the beautiful, yet flighty Ms. Ottwiler insist she
is simply researching her next book and does not suffer the chemical dependency
that has been rumored, nor has she had a breakdown due to her recent affair
with up-and-comer Kyle MacDonald, which appears to have ended her short-lived
marriage to the ruggedly good looking action hero, Andrew Morris. As you may
recall, she has also been linked to numerous other heartthrobs, most notably
British rock star Malcolm. No word yet as to when we can expect her next
bestseller, but it promises to be a doozy!”
Malcolm put down the paper and looked at
me, raising his brow while trying to conceal his amusement. He was dressed in
torn jeans and a t-shirt he must have outgrown by the time he was twelve. His
hair was its usual carefully disheveled mess, falling dangerously close to his
eyes and over his collar. He was tan from his recent vacation on his private
island in the Caribbean, and his green eyes were piercingly clear. I shrugged.
“I have a good publicist.”
“Who, not that hideous little gnat of a
Nazi, Karla with a “K?”
He moved closer, dropping the paper next
to me on the unmade bed, where I was sitting in little more than a tissue thin
t-shirt and my most comfortable, although admittedly disgusting, sweats. It
wasn’t just that they were old and spaghetti stained, but also I had been
wearing them every day for the past three weeks. My normally honey-colored and
highlighted hair hung limply around my face, roots exposed, and I had been
crying before his arrival, so no doubt my lids were rimmed in puffy redness.
Still, as he sat next to me and put his arm around my shoulder, he had the
courtesy to tell me I looked beautiful as always.
“You are such a liar,” I smiled.
“Well, yes, clearly. In all honesty you
look perfectly wretched, but one can only handle so much truth when in as
delicate a state as you are.”
“Thanks for sheltering me.”
“My pleasure.”
“Is it?”
“Who wouldn’t want to spend their day
comforting a damsel in distress, housed in some luxury mental institution for
the wealthy and spoiled? Especially when the aforementioned damsel is as lovely
as you. Would it be out of the question that you might one day soon burn this
ensemble?” he asked, motioning towards my clothes.
“I’m trying to blend in with the other
depressed, drug addicted, self -mutilating, over indulged inhabitants. It’s all
a part of my research.”
“One does have to admire your
dedication,” he smirked.
It was at that moment that my roommate,
Deany, entered the room, and upon seeing Malcolm, immediately began hyperventilating.
“You’ve met before?” I teased, getting
up to close the door before she alerted the powers-that-be to the fact that I
had a boy in my room, as that was a big ‘no-no’ here.
“I don’t believe we’ve had the
pleasure,” Malcolm smiled, offering his hand.
Deany waved her hands and let out a
little shriek as I handed her a brown paper bag, and suggested she breathe into
it. She did so, never taking her eyes off the rock star in the room. The rock
star who returned his attention to me, asking how long I’d be here
“researching”.
“I’m hopeful that I can finish up
quickly,” I told him.
“Do you need anything while you’re
here?” he asked.
“Some vodka would be nice.”
“Ahh, yes, I remember you have a
fondness for that, don’t you?”
I wanted to ask him why he was here, but
I knew he wouldn’t be capable of giving an honest answer. A common thread I was
coming to learn, among all of the men in my life. Instead, he stood up and said
he should be going. He walked over to the window, pushed it open, blew me a
kiss, and then jumped down to the grass below. Deany passed out.
In an effort to give full disclosure, I
must admit that it is not entirely out of the realm of possibility that I may
have developed a slight dependency to certain inebriants. A breakdown over the
likes of either Kyle McDonald, or one Andrew Morris however, is sheer madness,
and grounds for a lawsuit. Kyle is a nineteen year old pretty boy, who couldn’t
act his way out of a bag, and Andrew, well, the jury is still out. Suffice to
say, I never would have spent more than ten minutes with Kyle, had Andrew not
been so gaga over his leading lady in “Rescue at Midnight”.
My thought process at the
moment is like this. All of that is in the past, and what I must deal with now
is a book that is long overdue. Tabitha, my editor, is calling me hourly
requesting new pages. Pages I have led her to believe I have, but which, in
fact, are all blank. Merely a white lie, right? I have the paper. Here’s the
thing, though, the book is half - finished, and yet I’ve somehow managed to
delete it. Now of course Tabitha has the first eight chapters, but do I want to
admit that not only have I lost it, but I can’t remember any of it because I
was less than sober when I wrote it? No, I do not. Do I wish to start the whole
thing over again? No, I do not. Do I have a clue as to what I am going to do
next? I’m thinking about a nap. “When in doubt, run away”. That has become my
new motto. I learned it from Malcolm. You might recall he’s just jumped out a
window. Not the first time, nor will it be the last time that he does so.
The Author
Bridget Straub is an author, artist and mom who has been writing for as long as she can remember. When she’s not blogging at bridgetstraub.com she is painting or spending time with her family. “The Salacious Marny Ottwiler” is Ms. Straub’s third novel. Also available, “On a Hot August Afternoon” and “Searching for My Wand”.
Learn more about the author at: http://bridgetstraub.com
Guest post (by the author)
A day
in the life…
Okay,
here goes, a day in the life of Bridget Straub, writer extraordinaire! Too
much? Am I over selling it a bit? Well, you know what they say (and by “they” I
have no idea who they are talking about), you have to sell, sell, sell. Yep,
that’s what goes on in the life of any writer who has a book to promote. What,
you thought we just got to write? I wish.
My days
start with getting the kids off to school. Once that is accomplished, then the
laptop comes out. I go through my emails and click on three separate LinkedIn
groups I belong to, looking for something interesting to read about marketing,
social media and/or publishing. Some days I find something and some days I
don’t. After that, I generally write and post something on my blog, http://bridgetstraub.com/
before forcing myself to exercise. You know how all of this sitting
around and writing can make your derriere spread.
Exercise
consists of doing a quick “ultimate” workout followed by a walk, on which I
look around for interesting photos that could later accompany a post on the
aforementioned blog. Back at home, I return to the laptop and spend a few
minutes on Facebook trying to make my presence known and avoiding Twitter, of
which I am not a huge fan. Twitter has become much less personal than when I
first joined and I'm not sure if this is due to my increase in followers or
just the way it is going. So much of it is selling. Pet peeve: I hate it when
someone follows you and so you follow back only to have them send you a message
telling you to buy their book or go to their website. I know what you do
because I saw your profile. I’d have gone to your website already if I was
interested, and if not you need to woo me, not sell right off the bat.
Another
quick glance at email and then finally I get to write, yay! Now, what I write
will depend on where I’m at in my work in progress. At the moment I am all over
the place. I have a new novel that is about half finished, but I also have a
few others that are complete and just need to be edited. Lately, much of the
writing I have been doing is to promote “The Salacious Marny Ottwiler”.
Whatever I write, the one thing that is for certain is that it will be fun. You
see, I love to write and I love to spend time with the characters I write
because I never know what they will do next. I am not the kind of writer who
plots out storylines or gives herself a certain amount of words or pages she
must write each day. I just write until I either come up blank, or I have to do
something else, such as get those kids I mentioned. Given the chance, depending
on the day, I’ll write some more after dinner and then the next day, I’ll do it all over again.
Twitter: @bridgetstraub
One copy of the book and a $5 Amazon Gift Card to one randomly drawn commenter at the end of the tour. Be sure to follow the entire tour for even more chances to win!
And please come back and check out my review!
Looks like a fun book. I'd love to have a copy!
ReplyDeleteThanks and happy holidays!
anne.j2 (at) gmail.com