Stay Tuned's Supporting Cast: The Diva, The Angel, and the BFF
Lauren Clark
If you need an escape from the long, cold winter days, Stay Tuned will bring some warmth and cheer. Stay Tuned is a fun, fast-paced, behind the scenes look at the television industry. The story centers on Melissa Moore, producer for the six and ten o'clock news. Unlike many female heroines of today, Melissa's life is not perfect - far from it.
While I loved writing Melissa's character, and watching her grow and develop, the real fun was creating the supporting cast: over the top, high-maintenance news anchor Alyssa Andrews, Ruth's nurse Sharice, and best friend - extraordinaire Candace Daughtry.
Alyssa is gorgeous and deliciously evil - think reality TV diva - blithely oblivious to the fact she's completely self-absorbed. She's a stereotypical news anchor, perfect on camera, mean as a snake as soon as she's off the set. In real life, the anchors I worked with are down-to-earth, real people who care about their jobs and viewers. Still, it was great fun to make Alyssa a Paris Hilton look-alike with a serious jealous streak and a mean right hook!
Sharice was a blast to write. She's a no-nonsense, give it you straight, single mom working in the nursing home where Melissa's mother lives. Sharice sees all and knows all, despite being in her early twenties. She's had a hard life, cares deeply for her son, Darius, and looks after Melissa's mother (Ruth Bailey) with the faith of an angel. Sharice's humor and sharp wit became the perfect balance for the serious complexities of Melissa's mother. Sharice, like Melissa's BFF Candace, can always be counted on to give Melissa her honest opinion every time, no matter what!
Candace Daughtry is based on my best friend, Lisa. I took all of her wonderful qualities, turned her into a hair stylist, and made her (a little bit) obsessed with Dr. Phil! Like Lisa, Candace is the best friend a girl could ever have - someone you can call at midnight, the person you laugh the hardest with, the person who knows your worst faults and loves you anyway. My friend Lisa had beaten some of the toughest obstacles in life a person can face, and I wanted to draw on that same tenacity and inner fire in Candace. She's a true friend - I hope everyone is blessed to have a Candace (or Lisa) in her life!
I hope you enjoy Stay Tuned as much as I loved writing it! I'd love to hear what you think about the story and characters. Feel free to drop me a line at laurenclarkbooks@gmail.com.
BUY THE BOOK: Stay Tuned
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That sounds a real fun light hearted book. I have to admit, and I'm sorry to say, I have never heard of Lauren before. Maybe it's because I've always had my head stuck in thrillers. Now having my kindle my genre of book choices has widened, so I think this is just the sort of book I need to have a look at to lighten the load!
ReplyDeleteNow bought. Thanks for the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteGreat guest post! I love learning about the supporting cast, because they can really make or break a great book!
ReplyDeleteLisa - Glad you liked the Author Guest Post and the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteSamantha - thank you for allowing me the opportunity to host Lauren's tour! This was an interesting author guest post, I enjoyed reading more about the supporting cast too!