New Rom-Com Shows How Hollywood Manufactures Celebrity

LaPuerta Books and Media announces the December 27 release of Gerald Everett Jones's thirteenth novel, "Mick & Moira & Brad: A Romantic Comedy."

Witty dialogue is very much the order of the day. Hollywood trade secrets - and gossip - are the center of it. Mick McGraw is an aggressive Hollywood agent who reps famous singers. Moira Halimi-Joubert is a headstrong criminal defense attorney who studied opera. Brad Davenport is an arrogant billionaire hedge-fund manager who has a soft spot for dogs. Mick wants to make Moira a superstar, but she may have to dump Brad.

What does the battle of the sexes look like when the combatants are equally matched - and might actually like each other? #MeThree?

The twisty plot takes rom-com fans inside a big-time movieland packaging agency as Mick's team scrambles to put together a stadium concert patterned on Cher's "Farewell Tour." The superstar they've scheduled has canceled just nine weeks before opening night. They need a totally new show theme - and a new star. With Moira in the role, her "Follow This!" show brings back famous names and songs from pop culture - and surprises everyone, including Moira, who must decide whether to pay the high price of fame.

The book has already attracted rave reviews. Showbiz insider Roberta Edgar, coauthor of the award-winning book "Million Dollar Miracle" says, "This is smartly written with strong, sometimes very witty, dialogue. The narrative is rich with insights into "the biz," particularly the music industry. Jones nails the latest in upscale fashion and other contemporary cultural trends. The story is fun, it moves fast, and it's about Hollywood."

"Readers' Favorite" reviewer Pikasho Deka writes, "A seamless blend of witty dialogue, humor, and romance makes 'Mick & Moira & Brad' a thoroughly entertaining read you don't want to put down. Gerald Everett Jones's novel is a treat for anyone who loves romantic comedies. With a fast-paced plot and vibrant characters - whom you're not going to forget soon - the narrative feels like a breeze. The three main characters, Mick, Moira, and Brad, all have strong yet distinct personalities that create a compelling dynamic, which is a delight to the reader. Their interaction involved some humorous and quick back-and-forth dialogue, and those were some of my favorite scenes from the book. If romantic comedy is your go-to genre, you will have a blast with this one."

As these reviewers agree, the book offers a tantalizing view of how major entertainment agencies manufacture celebrity. As Jones describes Moira's new stardom, "Show business wasn't just a job change. She'd jumped into an alternate universe, a phantasmic place with its eccentric traditions, rules, and jargon. A place where talent was never enough, where emotions are manufactured, delivered, and manipulated as a product."

Himself a veteran of the Los Angeles music business, John Rachel, author of the recently released novel "Love Connection: Romance in the Land of the Rising Sun," applauds the showbiz realism: "A star is born? Not anymore. A star is manufactured. Gerald Everett Jones in a style of storytelling that is uniquely his and endearingly superb has spun a riveting yarn of an epic makeover, a young lady who's plucked from the legal profession and thrust into the limelight of pop stardom. It's a fascinating look behind-the-curtain at what goes into the creation of music icons like Lady Gaga and Beyoncé."

"Mick & Moira & Brad" is available for preorder in trade paperback from booksellers worldwide, as well as in Kindle e-book format from Amazon. The release date is December 27, 2022.

Gerald Everett Jones lives in Santa Monica, California. This book is his thirteenth novel. He is a board member of the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC), a Film Independent (FILM) Fellow, and a winner of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) Diversity Award. He holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from the College of Letters, Wesleyan University, where he studied under novelists Peter Boynton ("Stone Island"), F.D. Reeve ("The Red Machines"), and Jerzy Kosinski ("The Painted Bird, Being There").

Learn more about the author, including his other multiple-award-winning novels, at his website geraldeverettjones.com.

[Featured photo credit: The Everett Collection. Author photo: Gabriella Muttone, Hollywood]