So 5 Minutes Ago

Alex Davidson is a publicist for yesterday's stars. Her duties include babysitting them, cleaning up their bad press exposure, and making sure they get everything they need to be happy. When Alex's employer gets bought out by a more cutting-edge company, Alex and her flamboyantly gay assistant must use all the gossip they hear to keep her boss and other colleagues from being forced out. Laura Hamilton reads this amusing narrative with a lighthearted tone, giving Alex the voice of an unappreciated worker. J.F.M. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

February 9, 2004
In this fun, lightweight and gossipy first novel, veteran Hollywood reporter de Vries explores the life of a Hollywood publicist who's looking for love, better clients, a little appreciation ("a publicist is one notch above a maid") and some "authenticity that doesn't come saddled with celebrity." "I hate my life because everyone thinks I have the most FABULOUS job and no one wants to hear anyone
complaining about mopping up after stars," rants Alex Davidson; her agency, DWP, represents only faded stars, though, so while golden boy–cum–druggie Troy Madden is just the kind of client she knows best, he's not going to make her life any easier. When cutthroat BIG buys out DWP, Davidson's future at the firm is in jeopardy. Amid the professional shakeup, though, she falls for Charles, because "in L.A., a WASPy heterosexual male with a sense of humor and his natural nose approached deity status." The plot thickens when G, a name partner of BIG, resorts to unsavory tactics, including kickbacks, and pulls Davidson into the quagmire. The plucky protagonist turns into a modern-day Nancy Drew, solves the mystery and appears to win her man. The story, which has sharp prose, crisp chapter endings and snotty cameos of real stars, develops into a fluffy page-turner. Although improbable fictional celeb names like Scooby, Scrappy and the Phoenix are distracting, this entertaining novel is sure to appeal to stargazers.

May 3, 2004
Containing all the guilty pleasure of a fluffy beach read, this lighthearted debut novel from veteran Hollywood journalist de Vries offers celebrity-fixated fans a humorous, insider's look at the less than glamorous underbelly of Hollywood. Alex Davidson, a New York transplant and 30-something divorcée, hates her job as a publicist, even though she's "frighteningly good" at it. With one-third of her clients "gay, in rehab, or seriously twisted," Alex fears her job is on the line after the agency she works for is bought out by a firm, aptly named BIG. While poking fun at both real and fictionalized celebrities and Hollywood bigwigs may not be a stretch for de Vries, reader Hamilton perfectly captures the author's sarcastic tone and takes her (sometimes painfully) hip dialogue to another level with her vast cache of accents and attitude. Hamilton also lets somewhat clichéd characters like Alex's attractive, gossipy, gay assistant and her has-been client, Troy Madden, shine through more clearly. Simultaneous release with the Villard hardcover (Forecasts, Feb. 9).