Catherine L. Hensley will be on tour January 5-12 with her novel New
York Dolls
It’s Fashion Week in New York, and Denton
Hodges just got her first big assignment for Glitter magazine.
Denton’s assignment: Get in the show at the
posh Regency Viscount Hotel, and find a story. But a chance encounter with
hard-partying starlet Amber Donovan forever changes the course of the night—and
Denton’s life. After a night of being chased by the paparazzi, swimming in swag
bags, and falling heart over heels for Hollywood hunk Chris West, Denton’s not
just on the story. She is the story.
Suddenly, Denton’s no longer merely a
low-level assistant. Amber’s latching on like a BFF from hell, Chris is
flirting and cooking her dinner, and as Denton falls for the real people behind
the tabloid screen, neither knows about her ties to Glitter. Only Denton holds
the secret—or so she thinks. Is Anna Creel, Glitter’s icy beauty editor, on to
her? Will Denton be able to write a story exposing her new friends? And is
Chris more than just a friend, or did Glitter get the headline right—“Chris and
Amber: Hot Nights!”?
Step into the spotlight, and peek beyond
the red carpet in New York Dolls.
Bio:
Catherine L. Hensley is a professional
freelance editor and writer. From fiction and nonfiction manuscripts to
academic pieces, she provides an extensive range of copyediting, proofreading,
content editing, and writing services to a wide variety of clients located
around the United States and abroad.
A native of south Louisiana, Catherine
received her master of arts degree in creative writing and media studies from
New York University and her bachelor of arts degree in English from Louisiana
State University in Baton Rouge, with minors in history and mass communication.
Her writing has appeared in The Advocate (Louisiana’s
largest newspaper), OT Practice magazine, Quiet
Mountain: New Feminist Essays, and Mused, the
BellaOnline Literary Review. For more, visit www.catherinehensley.com.
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Contact
Links:
Twitter: @NYDollsTheNovel
Book Excerpt:
Chapter 1
2008
“THE
SHOW’S AT FIFTY-SEVENTH AND Seventh. Here’s your press badge and mini
mic. If you see anyone, just be casual, make chit-chat, see what they
think of the show. We’ve heard Amber Donovan may be there, but nothing’s confirmed. Just try to blend in, have some drinks. It starts at five thirty. Oh, and remember...you’re Anna Creel.”
Right. My first assignment! I never thought it would involve false aliases and conversational spying for Glitter magazine, but...my first assignment! At New York City’s Fashion Week nonetheless. Something
I had absolutely no experience or serious interest in, but I wouldn’t
have to worry about that tonight. I’d be Anna Creel. She knows all about
the fashion in-crowd. Right?
“Isn’t Anna...?” I started to ask my boss, Liz. “She’s our fashion and beauty editor,” Liz replied. Right. Then why isn’t she...
“We have too many shows booked this week. She already has Malandrino and Posen tonight. She doesn’t have time for Isla Dominici. Just smile and keep your eyes and ears open when you get there. Be yourself!”
“As Anna Creel,” I muttered.
“Right!”
Liz was friendly. Maybe not one hundred percent genuine, but this was Glitter after
all. You don’t get to be chief editorial assistant of the country’s
biggest and most popular celebrity magazine by being your real self. I’d
heard she was a Manhattan import, just like myself, but from some
little town in Michigan. She hid it relatively well. No accent,
three-inch stilettos, a skin-tight suit dress, and a conspicuously
obvious D&G belt can make anyone look like a tried and true New York
power woman. But Liz was plumper and didn’t look quite as polished as
some of the other reporters, and she spoke with a monotone, to-the-point
voice, all of which kept her from entirely fitting the Glitter mold. If I ever needed someone in the office to watch my back, I knew Liz, with our shared outsider origins, could do the job.
Watch my back? At Glitter?
I couldn’t believe I was thinking so ruthlessly. But this place was
cutthroat. I could tell after only a few days. (I bet the editorial
assistant underlings at Martha Stewart Living weren’t so fearful. On second thought...maybe they were.) You didn’t advance at Glitter through
sheer hard work and determination, and it certainly didn’t involve
climbing the traditional corporate ladder. Getting the scoop—or the
source—was your most important job function. Even if it meant seducing
the married hunk who’s on the number-two-ranked drama on television.
“If
something like that were to happen...and of course it does not... We
obviously don’t condone that kind of behavior here,” Liz had told the
other two EAs and myself after the office gossip broke on my second day. “But that wasn’t me.”
To
get to the top of the hottest weekly celeb rag, apparently the rules of
deception were the rules of the game. Anna Creel I would be then, for
tonight at least.
Review:
I don't know about you, but with the hustle and bustle of the holidays I find I do not have a lot of free time. I am an avid reader though so I have to find the right book during these times of chaos. New York Dolls was definitely one of these books. It was light and entertaining and enjoyable from page to page. Although I am far from being a fashionista I could feel as though I was one as I went on my journey through this book. It was a light and entertaining read and I thouroughly enjoyed the journey I was taken on through the pages. This was perfect book to finish off my 2014 reading year and look forward to what Catherine L Hensley has in store next for her fans! Without a doubt she is a very talented writer and and has a skill many of us do wish we could master.
Views expressed are those of Two Children and a Migraine and have not been influenced in anyways. A book was supplied for review purposes only.
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