Book Review
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Starstruck by Ruby Preston
Publisher: Dress Circle Publishing
Publication Date: June 29, 2015
Format: Paperback - 238 pages
Kindle - 735 KB
ISBN: 978-1511541763
ASIN: B011LOZGE8
Genre: Women's Fiction
Buy The Book:
With her Broadway opening night a few weeks away savvy young producer, Scarlett Savoy, is finally ready for her brand new musical to take center stage. Only two major things stand in her way - the beautiful but mercurial Hollywood diva she's cast in the lead and a handsome familiar face from her past who flies back into her life. From high stakes rehearsal rooms, to paparazzi fueled scandals, to the star-studded red carpet of opening night, Starstruck is a page-turning journey behind the scenes of Broadway, all set against the glittering back drop of Manhattan. Will Scarlett make it to opening night before the curtain falls on her dreams?
Book Excerpt:
SCENE ONE
Scarlett blinked as a camera flash made her momentarily lose her train of thought. She paused to collect herself. Her heart raced as if urging her feet to follow suit. She could feel all eyes on her as sweat pricked her brow. She prayed that her panic at having the lens of every major theater news outlet aimed in her direction didn’t show.
She pasted her most professional smile on her face and continued, “As I was saying, thank you all for joining us today as we kick off rehearsals for Broadway’s newest original musical, Swan Song. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to a familiar Broadway face, our director, Kyle Jared.”
She gestured to Kyle with a “please save me” glance as he stepped blithely in front of the gaggle of reporters and photographers in the crowded rehearsal studio. Scarlett sagged against the wall amid the cast members at the side of the room, waiting for her pulse to slow. She knew she was being ridiculous. Of all the challenges she had faced so far while producing her first Broadway show, talking to the press shouldn’t have felt like such an ordeal.
Scarlett had attended the traditional Broadway “Media Day” meet and greets many times, back when she was a Broadway assistant. This time was different and her stage fright had caught her off guard. Introducing Swan Song to Broadway somehow brought home the fact that she was “all in” on this show.
“You did good, kid,” Lawrence whispered in her ear. “You sounded like a pro.” Lawrence was the show’s major investor and often her guardian angel. She reached out and squeezed his hand. In a tailored suit with not a single silver hair out of place, he looked every bit a Broadway moneyman.
“I’m a producer — I thought that meant I could avoid the spotlight,” Scarlett whispered back.
“Well, you’d better get used to the attention. A beautiful, young Broadway producer with a hot show. Sounds like front page news to me.” Lawrence leaned down and kissed her cheek quickly.
Scarlett shot a proud smile up at Lawrence, just in time to catch Bliss Hadley, Swan Song’s leading lady and Hollywood darling, glaring in their direction. Lawrence caught Bliss’s look as well.
“That’s my cue,” Lawrence said, winking at Scarlett.
“Don’t go,” Scarlett pleaded in a whisper. “I need you here.”
You’ll be fine. You’ve got this. I’ll just…” He glanced at Bliss, who was still glaring. “I’d just be in the way. Break a leg!” And with that, he took his leave. Scarlett sighed. First rehearsal and the backstage drama was already in full force.
Bliss’s “casual” rehearsal clothes perfectly complemented her designer figure. Her platinum hair, à la Marilyn Monroe, was immaculate. Stylist: Check!
When it came to press, Bliss, at twenty-six, was already a master. Did they teach classes to movie stars on the art of not blinking? Even as Scarlett laughed to herself at the absurdity of that, she realized she probably wasn’t that far off. Scarlett eyed the cameras again warily. In a few minutes she’d have to face the media again. This time in a receiving line set-up: three-minute interviews, one by one, with every theater website, newspaper, and blogger with a press pass.
She suddenly wished she’d asked the show’s publicist, Karen, for more tips on how to survive these press onslaughts. Thinking of her conversation with Karen just moments before the event got her mind racing again.
“My assistant got a call from Bliss’s personal press agent. You’ll need to jump on that. Hollywood stars and their people are a necessary evil these days.” Karen had told her, sounding disgusted at the mention of her Hollywood counterparts. “I can’t have some Hollywood know-it-all thinking they know how Broadway press works, which they never do, and getting in the way. I need you to run a little interference. Get a sense from Bliss’s publicist of any issues that Bliss may have, any special needs or landmines.”
“Landmines?” Scarlett had asked, wondering where this new task was going to fit into her already overwhelming to-do list.
“Secret drug problems, anger management, sex scandal cover-ups, you know, anything that could come to light and be a distraction for us along the way. See what you can get out of him. Here’s his number.” She reached into the pocket of her crisp navy blazer and handed Scarlett a phone message slip.
Scarlett glanced down at the name scrawled on the paper and the LA phone number.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Scarlett blinked as a camera flash made her momentarily lose her train of thought. She paused to collect herself. Her heart raced as if urging her feet to follow suit. She could feel all eyes on her as sweat pricked her brow. She prayed that her panic at having the lens of every major theater news outlet aimed in her direction didn’t show.
She pasted her most professional smile on her face and continued, “As I was saying, thank you all for joining us today as we kick off rehearsals for Broadway’s newest original musical, Swan Song. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to a familiar Broadway face, our director, Kyle Jared.”
She gestured to Kyle with a “please save me” glance as he stepped blithely in front of the gaggle of reporters and photographers in the crowded rehearsal studio. Scarlett sagged against the wall amid the cast members at the side of the room, waiting for her pulse to slow. She knew she was being ridiculous. Of all the challenges she had faced so far while producing her first Broadway show, talking to the press shouldn’t have felt like such an ordeal.
Scarlett had attended the traditional Broadway “Media Day” meet and greets many times, back when she was a Broadway assistant. This time was different and her stage fright had caught her off guard. Introducing Swan Song to Broadway somehow brought home the fact that she was “all in” on this show.
“You did good, kid,” Lawrence whispered in her ear. “You sounded like a pro.” Lawrence was the show’s major investor and often her guardian angel. She reached out and squeezed his hand. In a tailored suit with not a single silver hair out of place, he looked every bit a Broadway moneyman.
“I’m a producer — I thought that meant I could avoid the spotlight,” Scarlett whispered back.
“Well, you’d better get used to the attention. A beautiful, young Broadway producer with a hot show. Sounds like front page news to me.” Lawrence leaned down and kissed her cheek quickly.
Scarlett shot a proud smile up at Lawrence, just in time to catch Bliss Hadley, Swan Song’s leading lady and Hollywood darling, glaring in their direction. Lawrence caught Bliss’s look as well.
“That’s my cue,” Lawrence said, winking at Scarlett.
“Don’t go,” Scarlett pleaded in a whisper. “I need you here.”
You’ll be fine. You’ve got this. I’ll just…” He glanced at Bliss, who was still glaring. “I’d just be in the way. Break a leg!” And with that, he took his leave. Scarlett sighed. First rehearsal and the backstage drama was already in full force.
Bliss’s “casual” rehearsal clothes perfectly complemented her designer figure. Her platinum hair, à la Marilyn Monroe, was immaculate. Stylist: Check!
When it came to press, Bliss, at twenty-six, was already a master. Did they teach classes to movie stars on the art of not blinking? Even as Scarlett laughed to herself at the absurdity of that, she realized she probably wasn’t that far off. Scarlett eyed the cameras again warily. In a few minutes she’d have to face the media again. This time in a receiving line set-up: three-minute interviews, one by one, with every theater website, newspaper, and blogger with a press pass.
She suddenly wished she’d asked the show’s publicist, Karen, for more tips on how to survive these press onslaughts. Thinking of her conversation with Karen just moments before the event got her mind racing again.
“My assistant got a call from Bliss’s personal press agent. You’ll need to jump on that. Hollywood stars and their people are a necessary evil these days.” Karen had told her, sounding disgusted at the mention of her Hollywood counterparts. “I can’t have some Hollywood know-it-all thinking they know how Broadway press works, which they never do, and getting in the way. I need you to run a little interference. Get a sense from Bliss’s publicist of any issues that Bliss may have, any special needs or landmines.”
“Landmines?” Scarlett had asked, wondering where this new task was going to fit into her already overwhelming to-do list.
“Secret drug problems, anger management, sex scandal cover-ups, you know, anything that could come to light and be a distraction for us along the way. See what you can get out of him. Here’s his number.” She reached into the pocket of her crisp navy blazer and handed Scarlett a phone message slip.
Scarlett glanced down at the name scrawled on the paper and the LA phone number.
Her heart skipped a beat.
My Book Review:
Welcome back to the bright lights and lively musicals that is Broadway!
Author Ruby Preston weaves a fascinating trilogy that follows aspiring Broadway producer Scarlett Savoy. In Showbiz, the first book of the Broadway Trilogy, the reader is introduced to Scarlett as she spreads her wings and learns the ropes as an assistant to the King of Broadway, producer Margolies. In the second installment of the trilogy, Staged, Scarlett has wrangled funding for her pet project, a new musical called Swan Song. With the funding secured, a talented young director hired, and a Hollywood star for the female lead, all Scarlett needs to do to get the musical in production is a Broadway theater. And there lies the problem, because the theater owners aren't willing to take a chance on a novice producer, what's a tenacious girl to do? Why kick up her heels and attract the attention of the eligible son and heir apparent to the Stewart theatrical empire! Now in the third book, Starstuck, the financing is in place and so is the famous Hammerstein Theater, and Scarlett is leading her team to the bright lights of Broadway with the opening of their musical, Swan Song. But the road to the opening is filled with backstage drama, a Hollywood leading lady diva, and an old love from Scarlett's past, will Swan Song be a hit or a bust when the curtain falls?
When I read Showbiz and Staged, I couldn't imagine author Ruby Preston would being able to recapture the magic and mystique that is Broadway in another story. Well, I stand corrected, because she once again pulls out all the stops and sprinkles fairy dust on another fascinating tale of the inner workings of NY's famed musical theater industry. Starstruck easily captivates and transports the reader back to the magical Great White Way in a seamless and entertaining style.
Written in the third person narrative, the reader follows sassy and persistent Scarlett Savoy as she tries to get her first big musical, Swan Song in the big lights and on the stage of a famed Broadway theater. Even with the trials and tribulations that she endures along the way, there's no stopping this Broadway baby from getting her way! And if that isn't enough, the author mixes in a delicious romance to keep our hearts fluttering!
With an exciting cast of characters who are realistic, have flamboyant personalities and larger than life egos; humorous dialogues and interactions; and a masterful style of creating a storyline with chapters that are set as scenes, and plenty of show tunes spread throughout the story to keep you humming along, Starstruck pulls out all the stops and provides excitement and entertainment that is simply Broadway!
Author Ruby Preston stays true to the musical theater that is part of her real life profession. She provides the reader with a fascinating story rich in detail and vivid descriptions of the inner workings of the production of the musical theater industry with a touch of romance that keeps the reader engaged and wanting more! Bravo, Ruby!
The Broadway Trilogy is a sensational must read series for all fans of Broadway musicals!
RATING: 5 STARS
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Great review!
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