Summer Reads Part 2

Warning: not only is this going to be the second part of my summer reads blog list, but it's also going to serve as the second round of the "how much I love Steve Hely" rants!
So, I'm finishing up How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely, just in time to go on vacation, and I'm kind of bummed that I couldn't have made it last a bit longer. It is a PERFECT summer read. It's not super heavy, and it's pretty easy to put down and come back to when you're filling up your busy summer-time minutes. But, the catch is that it's not the fluffy attitude that most are looking for, in fact, it's kind of the opposite.

How I Became a Famous Novelist is the story of Pete Tarslaw, a snarky college entrance essay writer-for hire, who is stuck in a rut in both his social life and at his job. After he gets an invitation to his college girlfriend's wedding and loses his job, Pete is inspired by a feel-good author named Preston Brooks to write a book; he figures, if Preston Brooks can sell his soul for money by writing a mushy piece of garbage, so can he! Pete winds up shacking up in his aunt's cabin in Vermont, writing a list of every predictable plot theme in mainstream literature, and that list is what he bases his novel, The Tornado Ashes Club, on.

Following the whirlwind of selling his manuscript for print options, as well as the rights to make a film, the rest of the story is Pete's narrative of the absurdity of being an acclaimed author, and how his world changes from mundane to dizzyingly ridiculous.

-Whitney

P.S. I went to do a search for a picture of Steve Hely and it turns out that someone made a website for Pete Tarslaw's fictional work (The Tornado Ashes Club) featured in How I Became a Famous Novelist. How funny!

http://www.thetornadoashesclub.com/

P.P.S. How I Became a Famous Novelist isn't set to release until July!