Excerpt of The It Girl and Me: A Novel of Clara Bow​ ​by Laini Giles + Tour-Wide Giveaway!!

Sepia Stories Publishing
Pub. Date: March 25, 2017
Pages: 341

Series: Forgotten Actresses, Book #2
Gere: Historical Fiction / Biographical


Daisy DeVoe has left her abusive husband, her father has been pinched for bootlegging, and she’s embarrassed by her rural Kentucky roots. But on the plus side, she’s climbing the ladder in the salon of Paramount Pictures, styling hair for actress Clara Bow.

Clara is a handful. The “It” Girl of the Jazz Age personifies the new woman of the 1920s onscreen, smoking, drinking bootleg hooch, and bursting with sex appeal. But her conduct off the set is even more scandalous. Hoping to impose a little order on Clara’s chaotic life, Paramount persuades Daisy to sign on as Clara’s personal secretary.

Thanks to Daisy, Clara’s bank account is soon flush with cash. And thanks to Clara, Daisy can finally shake off her embarrassing past and achieve respectability for herself and her family.

The trouble begins when Clara’s newest fiancé, cowboy star Rex Bell, wants to take over, and he and Daisy battle for control. Torn between her loyalty to Clara and her love for her family, Daisy has to make a difficult choice when she ends up in the county jail.

Here, Daisy sets the record straight, from her poverty-stricken childhood to her failed marriage; from a father in San Quentin to her rollercoaster time with Clara, leaving out none of the juicy details.

Excerpt of The It Girl and Me

 

“The Wild Party, scene three, take six,” said the slate boy. He clacked the halves together and retreated.

“Action!”

Clara frolicked into the frame, turned enthusiastically, and let out a booming “Whoopee!”

The dangling microphone shook for a moment, then emitted a poof, like a giant creature exhaling.

“Cut!” Dorothy called.

Everyone on the set looked up at it in confusion. Clarence lowered the mike, his eyes filled with fear. Roy Pomeroy stalked over, grabbed the thing away from Clarence, and examined it. He hacked at the twine with his pocketknife, then shook his head. “Clarence, bring me a new tube. This one’s blown.”

After fifteen minutes of searching for a replacement, Clarence dashed over to Pomeroy with it. Pomeroy pulled the microphone apart, pushed in the tube, and reassembled it. This time, instead of heading back into the sound booth, he waited to see what happened.

“Places, everyone!” Dorothy called. Cast and crew resumed their spots.

“The Wild Party, scene three, take seven,” said the slate boy.

“And . . . action!”

There came Clara again, executing her perfectly casual turn, her face animated.

“Whoopee!” she exclaimed.

Poof.

Dorothy shook her head.

Pomeroy turned to Clarence again. “Any tubes left?” he asked through clenched teeth.

“Eight, Mr. Pomeroy.”

Pomeroy reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills, then handed them to Clarence. “Get over to that place on Sunset. Pick up as many as they have in stock. We’re going to need plenty.”

While the cast and crew had a laugh over the tubes, Artie leaned over to me.

“She’s having to learn to use her voice for the very first time, and it scares the hell outta her.”

“And learn lines too,” I said. “She wanted me here for support the day they tested her. She was sobbing, Artie. Told me she couldn’t possibly be in pictures with a voice that bad.”

He shook his head. “It’s not bad. It’s just Brooklyn. We gotta help her develop some confidence. Everybody’s got mike fright right now. Think of all the foreigners in Hollywood who have accents thicker than butterscotch pudding. I got seated next to Vilma Banky and Rod La Rocque at a dinner party a couple months ago, and I couldn’t understand a word she said. Where the hell is she from, anyway? Those are the people who need to be worried. Clara is up to forty-five thousand fan letters a month! She’s Paramount’s biggest earner. They won’t kill her career over that voice, but I don’t want her sabotaging herself either.”

“I heard they’re giving Greta Garbo all the time in the world to lose some of her accent,” I said.

“Clara’s got a better voice than that.”

“If she can keep that stammer in check,” I said.

“She only does it when she’s nervous. She’s had it since she was little.”

“That long? I had no idea. I thought she was just frightened of sound.”

“We’re all scared of sound. But audiences want it. We gotta teach Clara how to act all over again.”

 

Buy the Book

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About the Author

 

Originally from the counterculture mecca of Austin, Texas, Laini discovered a love of reading early on, and when she was eight, decided to be Nancy Drew. This dream was dashed when she realized she was actually a big chicken, and that there were no guarantees of rescue from tarantulas, bad guys with guns, and other fiendish plot twists. She finished her first “mystery novel” (with custom illustrations) when she was nine.

She set the writing aside for a while when life got in the way, but was led back to it through her interest in genealogy and 18 months of enforced unemployment due to moving north for maple-flavored goodies and real beer. Reading old microfilm stirred new life into her interest in writing, and watching early silent films struck the match.

Like most other writers, most of her monthly budget is spent on coffee and books. She lives with her husband and their two gray cats in Edmonton, Alberta.

For more information, please visit Laini Giles’ website. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

It's Giveaway Time!!!

 

During the Blog Tour we will be giving away 5 paperback copies of The It Girl and Me! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form HERE.

Giveaway Rules

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on November 29th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US & Canada only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

 

Good Luck!!

 

  

The It Girl and Me Blog Tour Schedule

 

Wednesday, November 1

Kick Off at Passages to the Past

Thursday, November 2

Feature at What Is That Book About

Friday, November 3

Feature at So Many Books, So Little Time

Monday, November 6

Review at Bookish

Tuesday, November 7

Feauture at WS Momma Readers Nook

Thursday, November 9

Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog

Friday, November 10

Review at A Bookaholic Swede

Monday, November 13

Review at Creating Herstory
Excerpt at Myths, Legends, Books & Coffee Pots

Wednesday, November 15

Review at A Chick Who Reads

Friday, November 17

Excerpt at A Literary Vacation

Monday, November 20

Feature at Let Them Read Books

Wednesday, November 22

Feature at The Lit Bitch

Thursday, November 23

Review at Locks, Hooks and Books

Friday, November 24

Feature at CelticLady’s Reviews

Saturday, November 25

Excerpt at T’s Stuff

Tuesday, November 28

Review at View from the Birdhouse

Wednesday, November 29

Review at A Book Drunkard