{"id":11310,"date":"2017-03-20T10:25:31","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T14:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jennytrout.com\/?p=11310"},"modified":"2017-03-20T10:25:31","modified_gmt":"2017-03-20T14:25:31","slug":"say-goodbye-to-hollywood-bonus-excerpt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/?p=11310","title":{"rendered":"SAY GOODBYE TO HOLLYWOOD Bonus Excerpt!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Say Goodbye To Hollywood<\/em> releases tomorrow! I’m so excited. I can’t believe it’s finally almost here. But since there’s still another day to wait, here’s another excerpt to tide you over!<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Read the excerpt after the jump, and don’t forget, you can pre-order it on Amazon<\/a><\/span>, and buy other digital formats tomorrow at Smashwords! (Paperback to be announced soon).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Our panel the next morning is in the grand ballroom, but despite the seating capacity, it\u2019s still standing room only. It\u2019s hot and packed, and Lynn enters to deafening applause. The heat in the space, combined with the noise and the uncomfortable night I spent getting dehydrated by the air conditioner, makes me feel about as bad as I suspect I look. For some reason\u2014insecurity, most likely\u2014I thought I should go for a dressed-down, L.A. chic look. One of those, \u201cOh, I just ran out for a gallon of milk in these deconstructed jeans and classic white tee,\u201d outfits.<\/p>\n

Except celebrities actually had those jeans and t-shirts tailored to make them look that damn good. That was a secret I learned from Jack. I forgot that when I was getting dressed this morning, and now, I look like I just rolled in from painting a house.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Lynn is decked out smartly in a black pantsuit over a turquoise v-neck silk shell. Her diamond ring throws a disco ball pattern on the tabletop, and her hair is immaculately pulled up in a French twist.<\/p>\n

This is a side of Lynn I\u2019ve never seen. She\u2019s usually casual, but carefully staged, like a Food Network host. Now, she appears more polished, more professional.<\/p>\n

Beside her, Marion shows us both up in bootcut jeans, Converse sneakers, and a long ribbed knit tunic. Everything about her wardrobe is understated; she doesn\u2019t need anything to make her look like she\u2019s playing a part. She is exactly as cool as she looks.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning, good morning!\u201d A chipper dark-haired woman warbles into a microphone. She\u2019s probably in her mid-forties and has the tan skin and accent of someone who\u2019s lived in the area for a long time. \u201cI\u2019m Patty Turner, I\u2019m your panel moderator\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Polite applause and a few isolated \u201cWhoo!\u201ds filter up to us. Patty pauses for a bashful smile and laugh. Her name was on an ad that wrapped the elevator doors. She must be a novelist in her own right.<\/p>\n

I wonder what kind of pull she has, that she\u2019s gotten this opportunity. How does she feel about introducing another, more famous writer? Is she grateful to share the spotlight with her, even for forty-five minutes? Is she humbled or embarrassed? I can\u2019t imagine Lynn cheerfully playing second fiddle to a more famous author.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like everyone in the hotel is here,\u201d Patty quips.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcept the haters!\u201d someone shouts from the crowd.<\/p>\n

Lynn leans toward her microphone and says slyly, \u201cWell, we don\u2019t need them, anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she doesn\u2019t. Lynn Baldwin doesn\u2019t need even half of her readers to be an overwhelming success. Yet, her fans seem obsessed with the \u201chaters\u201d, reviewers and readers who don\u2019t care for the book and make their critiques\u2014and sometimes, vitriol\u2014known. Somehow, they believe that even a single dissenting opinion endangers Lynn\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

After the scene I witnessed in the lobby last night, I looked up some of the message boards and fansites that have cropped up in celebration of Beautiful Darkness.<\/em> Facebook, for example, boasts no fewer than three hundred fan groups devoted not just to Lynn, but to individual characters and even inanimate objects like Damian Bennett\u2019s helicopter, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Her fans roleplay, write fan fiction, and create artwork, but they seem dedicated, over all else, to combating \u201chaters\u201d. To them, Lynn is still the suburban everywoman, and they\u2019ll protect her and her book at all costs.<\/p>\n

The internet is a strange place.<\/p>\n

Knowing that even the mildest criticism can get one branded a \u201chater\u201d terrifies me, especially now that I\u2019m in a room with so many fans. I feel like I\u2019m on a spy mission into enemy territory. But it will be useful. Here, I\u2019ll figure out what readers are really looking for, and hopefully, I\u2019ll be able to use some of that as we continue to argue over rewrites.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we already know who Lynn is, we can save her introduction for last,\u201d Patty says, and gestures to Marion. \u201cHow about you introduce yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marion leans toward her mic. \u201cI\u2019m Marion Cross, and I\u2019m directing Beautiful Darkness,<\/em> the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Jessica Yates,\u201d I say on my turn. \u201cI wrote the screenplay for Beautiful Darkness<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, if there\u2019s anything you don\u2019t like, she\u2019s the one to complain to,\u201d Lynn adds. She laughs when she says it, like it\u2019s a clever joke, but my guts churn.<\/p>\n

It must be nice to have someone to blame if your shitty book becomes a shitty movie, <\/em>I snarl internally, but force myself to laugh it off.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd of course, I\u2019m Lynn\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Her last name is lost to a roar of excitement from the audience. She waits for it to subside before adding, \u201cAnd I wrote Beautiful Darkness<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The moderator lets the applause escalate to thunder before she quiets everyone over her own mic. \u201cOkay, okay. Let\u2019s ask her some questions, rather than just shout at her.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of the questions are fairly basic. How did Lynn handle her sudden fame? How did she manage to write a whole book while caring for her husband and children? Did she have any tips for writers who are just starting out?<\/p>\n

One woman in the crowd blushes and stammers, \u201cDamian and Ella are so real. What inspired them? Where did they come from?\u201d<\/p>\n

A few murmurs of agreement ripple through the crowd.<\/p>\n

Lynn smiles and says, \u201cThey came from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

This takes me aback. I\u2019ve heard and read writers answering this question before, and the response is almost always that they were based on people in real life, or they came to the writer in a dream. Sometimes, \u201cthe muse\u201d gets the credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it was damned hard work,\u201d she adds, to the room\u2019s delight. \u201cI knew I had a story to tell, but until I sat down and really put pen to paper, brainstorming ideas and stuff, I didn\u2019t have anything. I had to build these characters and this world from the ground up. Anyone who tells you there\u2019s an easier way is selling you something.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m struck by the profoundness of her statement, and her ability to accept the praise without downplaying the effort she invested. For all that Lynn is brand-new to this, she at least has a handle on one of the most important aspects of being a woman writer. She won\u2019t let her light be smothered under a bushel of societally-imposed modesty.<\/p>\n

The next question concerns the movie, specifically how explicit the famed sex will be. Marion describes her vision for sensual, but not pornographic, love scenes. \u201cWe don\u2019t want the sex to be the only thing they talk about,\u201d she says, though both of us\u2014hell, everyone in the room\u2014knows that\u2019s unavoidable.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve trimmed a few scenes here and there, for the same reason,\u201d I add. \u201cA lot of factors come into play when you get into distribution and the MPAA\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThough I\u2019m sure it wouldn\u2019t hurt us to get slapped with an NC-17,\u201d Lynn interrupts, drawing laughs from the audience. Before I can continue, she goes on. \u201cBut the script isn\u2019t finalized, yet. As our wonderful producer often reminds me, nothing is final until the film ships.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not only false, it\u2019s also a dangerous illusion to foster in a known control freak. My guess is that Jack resorted to telling her that as a way to distract her from an objection he didn\u2019t want to discuss, but it wasn\u2019t smart of him.<\/p>\n

The next person to ask a question doesn\u2019t look nervous or star struck at all. She wears a retro-cut dress printed like scribbled-on parchment and holds a notebook. Her pen is poised above the paper. \u201cI\u2019d like to address an earlier answer you gave, Ms. Baldwin. You said that your only inspiration for the characters of Ella and Damian came from your own head?\u201d<\/p>\n

For no discernable reason, Lynn\u2019s face tightens into that smiling mask of anger I\u2019ve grown painfully used to. \u201cNo, no. I said the characters came from my brain. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve made any secret of the fact that our wonderful producer, Jack Martin, was the physical inspiration for Damian.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to tease Jack mercilessly\u2014the nonsexual version of teasing, anyway\u2014when we talk next. If Lynn keeps referring to him that way, I\u2019m going to demand he credit himself as \u201cWonderful Producer Jack Martin\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill he be in the movie?\u201d someone shouts, and the moderator hushes her, saying, \u201cLet\u2019s all wait our turns.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman in the parchment dress is still standing, not satisfied with Lynn\u2019s response. \u201cThat\u2019s what I want to discuss. Fans of Martin\u2019s movie Last Man Standing<\/em> have noted similarities between Beautiful Darkness <\/em>and a popular fan fiction based on that movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there are similarities, they\u2019re certainly coincidental.\u201d Lynn is openly frosty, now, though I can\u2019t blame her. It sounds a lot like she\u2019s being called a plagiarist, in front of hundreds of fans. \u201cAfter all,\u201d she continues, \u201cthere are no new ideas. To every author\u2019s lament.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s take another one,\u201d the moderator tries, but the questioner raises her voice to speak over her.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlagiarism detecting software noted that seventy percent of Beautiful Darkness<\/em> is identical to the fic, \u2018Darkness Standing\u2019, and readers and reviewers have found the plot and characterization identical.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSit down!\u201d someone shouts, and a few people cheer and clap.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t a discussion I\u2019d like to have at this time,\u201d Lynn says, staring past the woman.<\/p>\n

I follow her gaze and see two women in t-shirts emblazoned with \u201cSTAFF\u201d coming down the aisle toward the questioner.<\/p>\n

Lynn continues, \u201cIf you would contact my publicist, I\u2019ll be happy to discuss this issue further.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour publicist won\u2019t return my emails,\u201d the woman shoots back impatiently. One of the staff members taps her on the shoulder. She collects her bags and, without a further scene, leaves. A smattering of applause and boos follows her.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, let\u2019s get back to the movie,\u201d the moderator says, her voice unsure. \u201cWill Jack Martin be in the cast?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, heavens, no!\u201d Lynn brightens up, smoothly glossing past the incident. \u201cNo, he has a much more important role.\u201d<\/p>\n

And like that, the plagiarism accusation is forgotten. But a new dread takes up residence in my stomach, alongside all the others in my growing collection of anxieties.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Say Goodbye To Hollywood releases tomorrow! I’m so excited. I can’t believe it’s finally almost here. But since there’s still another day to wait, here’s<\/p>\n

Read moreSAY GOODBYE TO HOLLYWOOD Bonus Excerpt!<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11310"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11310"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11311,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11310\/revisions\/11311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}