No. 1 IN THE LITERARY FICTION > WOMEN’S FICTION FREE DOWNLOAD CATEGORY!
No. 1 IN THE CONTEMPORARY LITERARY FICTION FREE DOWNLOAD CATEGORY!
“This is excellent contemporary fiction … ” Tahlia Newland, founder of Awesome Indies.
As a young actress in a long-running TV show, Mai Rose’s career path seemed clear. But she wants more. Already she’s dumped the show and landed a role in a serious play, with serious actors and a more-than-serious director. And now another opportunity has arisen – a major fantasy film with a role that seems tailor-made for her.
The only problem being that she’s in competition with four other scheming actresses to win the role.
Can she win the part? Does she want to win the part? She has to navigate her way through the demands of the press, the Russian billionaire owner of the newspaper running the competition, boyfriends past and present, her soldier brother and a particularly ambitious (read: nasty) competitor.
And all of them underestimate her.
Building towards an enthralling climax, Actress examines one person’s struggle to come to terms with who she is, what’s important to her and – crucially – what she really wants.
“My emotions while reading this book were all over the place. I like the book. I didn’t like it. I enjoyed the story and was angry at times with the whole book. I was confused at times, but totally in agreement and understanding of the characters through the book. Towards the end I realized the author had me hooked by feeling what the characters were feeling and Mai’s struggle through her own growth and emotions.”
Randolph L. Miller
Extract
She took his proffered hand and let herself be pulled upright. They squirmed through the crowd and up a short staircase to a fire door, which was already cracked open. Mark pushed it wide and in moments they were at the top of a short flight of steps leading downwards.
A car park, and beyond, a row of terraced houses. The lights from a pub that also seemed to be enjoying good business.
Coming up the steps, a man she recognised – square shoulders, short black hair, carrying an air of confidence with him. He glanced up and his smile arrived, bright and warm, and she remembered his name: Friendly. Because he was always so friendly, to everyone. As a commodities trader who’d been sacked for incompetence – actually, dealing drugs – he had made it his mission to be accommodating to all. And as he’d found that the only way to maintain his lifestyle and Barbican penthouse was to continue to sell drugs, his personal manner had become his professional one too.
He put out a hand that Mai reluctantly took.
‘My darling Mai,’ he said, his voice well-bred and without irony. ‘How the devil are you?’
‘Good, thanks.’
Friendly’s attention turned to Mark, another potential customer. He stuck out his hand again and Mark shook it.
‘Freddie Webb. People call me Friendly ‘cos I’m such a bastard.’ The white grin got even broader. Before Mark could acknowledge the name, Friendly turned to Mai again and his eyebrows arrowed together, furry indicators of concern. ‘You all right?’
Mai recognized the various levels of inquiry in the question: Was she all right physically, given that it was a while since they’d met? Emotionally, with everything that was happening to her? Socially, seeing that she’d just broken up with Alfie and here she was with a new man? And finally … all right for anything she might like to ingest or snort?