I am searching for a CP for my 72,000 word novel, "King of Hollywood," a light-hearted mystery-comedy. Here's a blurb:
FADE IN: Los Angeles, 1938. In its golden age Hollywood is a glittering dream factory, but not for Charlie King, a bit actor with leading man dreams and a character actor’s face. While the major movie studios churn out one classic after another, Charlie toils away in the serial Westerns that are the bread and butter of Clarion Pictures, a studio not quite on Poverty Row, but definitely in an adjacent neighborhood. When his uncle, Clarion’s cantankerous studio boss Cornelius Klinker, goes missing, the good-hearted but bumbling Charlie is drafted into the search.
It’s a case that would challenge even his fictional PI heroes, and Charlie would much rather spend his spare time at a racetrack or nightclub than look for a man he considers to be Satan’s chief emissary on Earth. Nevertheless, Charlie is soon chasing leads across Los Angeles, from the tony Bel Air Country Club to the run-down studios of Gower Gulch, and clumsily interrogating a variety of suspects, from a gorgeous but reclusive superstar of the silent era, to a former vaudevillian turned evangelical preacher and, most alarmingly, to his formidable and deeply disapproving uncles.
Unfortunately for Charlie, his investigation isn’t the only matter demanding his attention and when his two best friends become rivals for the affections of Charlie’s alluring but reckless cousin, Sunny, Charlie finds himself caught in the middle of their feud. A more welcome distraction arises when Clarion’s stunning young ingenue, Gwen Perry, takes an inexplicable interest in Charlie, although this development lands him squarely in the crosshairs of the studio’s cowboy star, Cord Harden, an ill-tempered brute with a dark secret. Sadly, life at home is no refuge for Charlie, as his bachelor bungalow has been invaded by a preternaturally large and temperamental creature that terrifies his friends and enemies, alike.
"King of Hollywood" is the first in a series and unfortunately, it does not stand up well to its sequel, "King of the Buckaroo Boys." Hence, the need for help.
I am happy to take on any finished MS for critique, although I admit that I am not a fan of fantasy/horror/science fiction and would do better with a cozy, historical fiction or romance. Drop me a line if you are interested!
FADE IN: Los Angeles, 1938. In its golden age Hollywood is a glittering dream factory, but not for Charlie King, a bit actor with leading man dreams and a character actor’s face. While the major movie studios churn out one classic after another, Charlie toils away in the serial Westerns that are the bread and butter of Clarion Pictures, a studio not quite on Poverty Row, but definitely in an adjacent neighborhood. When his uncle, Clarion’s cantankerous studio boss Cornelius Klinker, goes missing, the good-hearted but bumbling Charlie is drafted into the search.
It’s a case that would challenge even his fictional PI heroes, and Charlie would much rather spend his spare time at a racetrack or nightclub than look for a man he considers to be Satan’s chief emissary on Earth. Nevertheless, Charlie is soon chasing leads across Los Angeles, from the tony Bel Air Country Club to the run-down studios of Gower Gulch, and clumsily interrogating a variety of suspects, from a gorgeous but reclusive superstar of the silent era, to a former vaudevillian turned evangelical preacher and, most alarmingly, to his formidable and deeply disapproving uncles.
Unfortunately for Charlie, his investigation isn’t the only matter demanding his attention and when his two best friends become rivals for the affections of Charlie’s alluring but reckless cousin, Sunny, Charlie finds himself caught in the middle of their feud. A more welcome distraction arises when Clarion’s stunning young ingenue, Gwen Perry, takes an inexplicable interest in Charlie, although this development lands him squarely in the crosshairs of the studio’s cowboy star, Cord Harden, an ill-tempered brute with a dark secret. Sadly, life at home is no refuge for Charlie, as his bachelor bungalow has been invaded by a preternaturally large and temperamental creature that terrifies his friends and enemies, alike.
"King of Hollywood" is the first in a series and unfortunately, it does not stand up well to its sequel, "King of the Buckaroo Boys." Hence, the need for help.
I am happy to take on any finished MS for critique, although I admit that I am not a fan of fantasy/horror/science fiction and would do better with a cozy, historical fiction or romance. Drop me a line if you are interested!