Publication date: October 20th, 2020
Publisher: Rand-Smith LLC
Pages: 268
Synopsis:
In the first book in THE RISE AND FALL OF DANI TRUEHART series, RISING STAR, fifteen-year-old Dani Truehart is living a life that is not quite her own. Driven by her mother's desire for fame and fortune, she has spent her childhood dutifully training for a career as a pop star. On the brink of discovery, doubts begin to creep into Dani's mind as she questions her own desire for fame, and she wonders whether she can trust the motivations of the adults who are driving her forward.
Following a brilliant audition arranged by her vocal/dance coach and former '80s pop icon Martin Fox, Dani is thrown full-force into the music industry. She leaves her friends, family and scheming mother behind to move with Martin, who has become her legal guardian, into the Malibu compound of her new manager, Jenner Redman. Jenner, the former swindling manager of Martin's boy band, leverages what's left of his depleted fortune to launch Dani's career.
Isolated from her life at home and trying to stay apace with her demanding schedule, Dani struggles to keep in touch with those she loves, connect to her withholding mother and find her voice as an artist. With Martin and Jenner at odds over their rocky past and finding herself unprepared to handle the pressures of her future singing career, Dani's debut album and future stardom are at risk of falling apart.
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Guest Post
Top 5 Favorite Scenes and Why
In no particular order:
When Martin picks Dani up for her interview and he is horrified to see the make-over Jodi has given her. We all have had those moments when our parent tries their hardest to make us look or seem cool and it backfires miserably. I love how Martin tries to seem excited so he doesn't hurt Jodi's feelings and Jodi is oblivious how awful Dani looks.
The scene when Sean surprises Dani and takes her to Homecoming. Dani is feeling really low when she opens the door expecting to see a delivery guy. When she sees Sean and all her friends dressed for the dance, she has a rare moment where she gets to be a regular teenager and go to a dance. I get caught up in her excitement every time I read it.
I love the conversation Dani has with Terrance right before she hears the songs he has written for her. Up until this point Terrance has treated Dani like an annoying, toddler whom he's forced to babysit. But they finally connect through music and it alters their dynamic entirely. I love when that happens in real life -- sometimes one small conversation or shared experience can make a huge change in how you relate to someone.
When Greena reveals to Dani that she sabotaged her Olympic dreams because Jodi's criticism and drive were making Greena suicidal. It's a dark conversation that changes the course of their relationship and how Dani views her parents. When Greena admits how bleak things got for her and the dangerous way she chose to derail her gymnastics career, she stops treating Dani like a child and starts treating her younger sister as an equal. Often in families, relationships are based on protecting the young members, by concealing some sort of truth that someone deems too much for a young person to hear. When you hear that truth that has been withheld, it's both scary and empowering. It's a step towards being an adult that you cannot turnback from once it is made.
I love Dani's audition scene -- that whole chapter really. Doubt and nerves almost detail her big break, but she is able to pull it together at the last minute and amaze Jenner. I love those moments in life where you're put on the spot and your mettle is tested. Sometimes you fail, sometimes you succeed and it all comes down to believing in yourself at that moment and giving it everything you've got.
Michele Kwasniewski, is an entertainment industry insider who has seen what the Hollywood machine can do to people -- having worked for many years in film and television production on such films and TV shows as Primal Fear, Independence Day, Evita, Face/Off, Big Brother, and many TCL, HGTV, and Discovery series including: Meet the Pandas, Adoption Story, Wedding Story, and Extra Yardage.
With her book, she shares the glamour and excitement of fame as well as the hard work it takes to achieve success and the price of living life in the public eye. Everyone wants to be famous, but most people have no idea what that really means. Michele has seen it firsthand. She is an active member of the Producers Guild of America.
Michele's colorful experiences in the industry inspired her to write THE RISE AND FALL OF DANI TRUEHART series. Michele lives in San Clemente, California with her husband, their son, and their disobedient dachshund. RISING STAR is her first novel.
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