How I Became a Famous Novelist

May 4, 2009
Biting, hilarious and improbably affectionate, comedy writer Hely's debut skewers the literary world with a sendup of the quest to write the Great American Novel. Words are Pete Tarslaw's thing, and after watching a bestselling novelist prattle on about the truth, his “calling” and other ridiculous ideas on TV, Pete concludes that the sole way to save face at his ex-girlfriend's upcoming wedding is to become a famous novelist himself. His quest to construct a by-the-numbers bestseller is guided by rules like “At dull points include descriptions of delicious meals” and where to live (“An easy way to get credibility as an author is to live someplace rugged”), though the real adventure starts once he bags $15,000 for The Tornado Ashes Club
: his dance card is full of one-night stands, dizzying meet-and-greets with Hollywood big shots and appearances at grad schools. Meanwhile, Pete senses his moral barometer plummet as his Amazon ranking rises. Granted, Hely's shooting at some pretty easy targets that have been hit before, but it's hard not to love the way he does it with such merciless zeal.

Starred review from May 15, 2009
Masterly how-to advice from TV comedy writer Hely's fictional narrator about creating a bestseller—no, make that a"literary product."

Hey, anybody can write a novel, right? That's the thought going through Pete Tarslaw's head when he reads about Preston Brooks' bestseller Kindness to Birds. Tarslaw's goals as a novelist can be reduced to a few simple wants: fame, money and getting a few hot chicks on the side. Tarslaw also has a more concrete goal—to humiliate his former girlfriend Polly at her wedding, upstaging her by arriving as a Famous Novelist. Although he sets to work avidly, keeping his eye on a few rules (abandon truth, do not waste energy making it a good book, at dull points include descriptions of delicious meals), he finds that writing a novel is hard work, and he doesn't quite know how to get going."Do you just start writing sentences?" he says."That seemed a bit rash." Fueled by an experimental pharmaceutical provided by his roommate, he manages to write his magnum opus, The Tornado Ashes Club. He eagerly plans to watch it rise meteorically on Amazon.com and even fantasizes laudatory reviews ("Love, loss, and the soul of truth are explored when a wrongly accused man goes on a road trip with his grandmother and a Mexican folksinger"). The reality, however, is somewhat different. As one respected reviewer comments,"It's much like a Las Vegas buffet: everything's there, but none of it's very good." Doesn't matter, though, for the novel becomes something of a cult hit, especially after our hero trashes Preston Brooks' reputation by accusing him of the very fault Tarslaw himself is guilty of: turning writing into a formulaic con game foisted on a na™ve and unsuspecting reading public. In a sobering moment, Brooks defends himself against Tarslaw's puerile comments.

A satiric, facetious and laugh-out-loud funny first novel.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

June 15, 2009
Pete Tarslaw wants to make a lot of money without working too hard, so he can live well, have a house with a great ocean view, and humiliate his ex-girlfriend at her wedding. Losing the marginally legal job he had provides incentive to take on the task of writing a best-selling novel. Approaching the job as a cynic, he researches what people like to read, selects the salient components (murder, mysterious missions, lyrical prose, scenes from places where lots of readers live, easy-to-describe landscapes), and writes his novel. His book is published, becomes popular, gains mixed reviews. In his television interview with an admiring reporter, he stuns the world by revealing his cynical approach to literature and accuses other best-selling authors of using the same tactic. Controversy erupts; book sales rise. Pete is then arrested for the work done at his previous job. More publicity creates more book sales. Pete then writes his memoir, receiving an enormous advance and attaining his dream. VERDICT Hely, a comedy writer for David Letterman and the Fox cartoon comedy "American Dad" and coauthor of "The Ridiculous Race", slams the writing, publishing, bookselling, and book-reviewing world in a funny, thought-provoking, cynical story about being successful for all the wrong reasons.Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Libs., Providence

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2009
Pete Tarslaw hates his life. He has been laid off from his job writing bogus admission essays for privileged dunces to help them get into Ivy League schools. He has no money, ambition, or talent, andworst of allhis ex-girlfriend has just invited him to her upcoming nuptials. Desperate, Pete does what any right-thinking, directionless slacker would; he writes a book in order to become rich and famous and rub it in his exs face. Using the best-seller list as a guide, Pete cynically creates a story dripping with mawkish nostalgia entitled The Tornado Ashes Club. Once published, Petes book finds immediate success. But soon a James Frey-type controversy erupts regarding Petes true intentions. Author Hely relates the story of Pete Tarslaws public rise and fall through a jaundiced perspective. His hilarious set pieces take aim at such fish-in-a-barrel subjects as the publishing industry, MBA authors, book expositions, author forums, and general-fiction readership.But itwill delight fans of loser lit novels such as Philip Roths Portnoys Complaint (1967) and Michael Chabons Wonderboys (1995)(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)