A few summers ago, when my then 10-month-old daughter was napping, I decided to tune in to Keeping Up With the Kardashians for the first time. I'm serious when I say I don't watch TV--I tune into Fox News at night when I'm making dinner, but that's about it. (Although I will admit to following one reality show: The Bachelor. I love it.) Therefore, I stared at the TV in abject horror: "What do these people do all day?" and better yet, "This is what America watches with near-religious devotion?" The whole concept was grounds for some serious satire.
And that was the inspiration for my new novel! Here's the description:
Although I first got the idea four years ago, I wrote this novel between May 2015 and May 2016. Back in the spring, before the final draft was complete, I started sending it out to literary agents. The feedback was encouraging and many wanted to see a complete draft. However, it needed some work: it was too short, for one thing. And the publishing industry is tough. I'm also new at this; for the last ten years, I've been focused on political opinion writing.
Still, getting detailed feedback from agents on Park Avenue in New York was all the encouragement I needed to keep going.
It's her senior year of college, and 21-year-old Elise Apple is going on Spring Break with her spoiled sorority sister, Carson. The girls are travelling to an MTV-style Spring Break blowout in Florida, broadcast live on the Right Now Network. In an attempt to boost ratings, the Right Now Network enlists the help of reality TV star—and shameless attention whore—Kandi Kardeza, along with her four daughters, Karmen, Kallista, Kiki, and Kadence. The Kardezas promise to make it “the wildest spring break ever.”
Thanks to Carson’s diva antics, she and Elise are invited to audition for Skinterns, a new reality show starring Kadence Kardeza and her coworkers at an internship. Elise is pursued by two men: the wealthy, famous Chase Rinehart, and a behind-the-scenes network employee with a hidden past. As Spring Break snowballs out of control, Elise starts to see that the Right Now Network is evil. The producers are willing to exploit vulnerable people, ruin lives, and stage ridiculous scenarios just for ratings. All hell breaks loose when the Kardezas stage a kidnapping and hostage crisis at the resort just to nab some more headlines. Elise is torn between going home to her beloved family and friends in the Midwest, or paying off her student loans and embracing the glamorous life of reality stardom.
Although I first got the idea four years ago, I wrote this novel between May 2015 and May 2016. Back in the spring, before the final draft was complete, I started sending it out to literary agents. The feedback was encouraging and many wanted to see a complete draft. However, it needed some work: it was too short, for one thing. And the publishing industry is tough. I'm also new at this; for the last ten years, I've been focused on political opinion writing.
Still, getting detailed feedback from agents on Park Avenue in New York was all the encouragement I needed to keep going.
I'm still planning to get a literary agent, which is essential for writers who want to land a major publishing contract. But first, I'm entering my novel in the Writer's Digest book awards. Writer's Digest is like the Bible for aspiring and professional authors, and when I heard about the contest, I knew I had to enter. Besides, placing in a major contest is a shoe-in for getting a publishing contract.
The deadline isn't til August 6th, so I'll consider the next three days an open-comment period for anyone who wants to read my novel and offer criticism or suggestions. Here is the link, where you can download my novel to a Kindle or as a PDF document. Enjoy!
