An avid reader and writer, Tracie Banister has been scribbling stories since she was a child, most of them featuring feisty heroines with complicated love lives like her favorite fictional protagonist Scarlett O'Hara. Her Hollywood-themed Chick Lit novel, "Blame It on the Fame," was released in January, 2012.
Visit her blog where she writes about books and other fun stuff. Her Twitter handle is @traciebanister.
Blame It on the Fame tells the story of the five women who are in contention for the Best Actress award at this year’s Oscars. These are five very different ladies, ranging in age from 24 to 48, and they are all at very different places in their lives and careers. For some, this nomination is a dream come true. For others, it’s a nightmare. All of them will experience tremendous highs and lows on their journey to the ultimate red carpet event.
I decided to write Blame It on the Fame because I’ve always been fascinated by Hollywood, all the glitz and glamour, the premieres, the parties, the designer gowns, etc. and there’s nothing more star-studded and fabulous than the Oscars. What we see on the red carpet at this event every year are the public faces of the nominees. I wanted to know what was going on behind-the-scenes with these actors and actresses. How overwhelming was the whole experience? How thrilling? How terrifying? How did being part of the Oscars change their lives? And that’s how Blame It on the Fame was born.
An interesting tidbit about me is that I like visiting old graveyards (my mother and grandmother share the same predilection, so it's a familial eccentricity.) There is so much history in cemeteries. Every grave has a story, which appeals to the writer in me. I can spend hours reading tombstones. One can learn such fascinating things from a tombstone - how the person lived and died, who loved them, who their family was, what they meant to the community.
I have two writing tips for my fellow novelists:
1) Always print up a hard copy of your manuscript and do your proofreading from that. You will be amazed (and horrified) by how many mistakes the eye will miss when looking at a computer screen. And you cannot trust Spellcheck to find every error for you. Proofreading is best done the good, old-fashioned way.
2) Writing is a very sedentary pursuit and sitting in the same position for hours on end, staring at a computer screen, can be mind-numbing. I think it's important to take a break from your work every few hours and do something physical. Talk a walk, jump on a treadmill, do some yoga stretches, whatever. Just get that blood flowing and those endorphins pumping through your bloodstream. It will improve your writing, trust me.
Good luck to everyone with their writing!
Tracie
Good luck to everyone with their writing!
Tracie
Blame It on the Fame can be purchased at: Amazon and Smashwords
Great post with some good advice! Being from Atlanta, have you ever been to Savannah? I vacationed there last summer and was told it is the "city of the dead" - one huge burial ground!
ReplyDeleteYes, I have been to Savannah and I loved it! I went on several walking tours, including a "haunted" one at night that took me past several historical cemeteries. That's where I learned how the phrase "saved by the bell" came to be!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I loved "Blame it on the Fame" and can really see how your love of Hollywood really shines through.
ReplyDeleteI learned to drive in a graveyard. My mother would take me to a tiny cemetery with winding roads and loads of space between gravestones and let me run wild.
I also agree about working off of a hard copy - I was appalled at some of the mistakes I found.
Lovely post. I love the book and your impeccable research truly paid off since one definitely feel it in the authenticity of every character.
ReplyDeleteGraveyard, eh? methinks your next heroine should have a predilection for them as well, that way you can showcase all you've learned from your quirky visits ;-)
Great post, Tracie. "Blame it on the Fame" was a fun read and if anyone loves Hollywood and showbiz, then this is the book for you!
ReplyDeleteI'm reserving your room in our house for October. :-) In Fredericksburg, there are numerous graveyard tours throughout the month.