My guest
today is Jane Wenham-Jones, the author of Prime Time. If you are a fan of romantic comedy, you might want
to check out this book. Here is Jane to tell you a little more about it.
My new novel, Prime Time, is the story of Laura, who
is persuaded onto a TV discussion programme which has life-changing
consequences.
I’ve done a few TV
shows now – often on little-watched channels with three viewers - and one of
the things I’ve learned is that you need to be ready for anything…
On
Loose Lips on Living TV, I was called
upon to give off-the-cuff relationship advice as part of a live phone-in.
I’m not sure what sort of counsel I
cobbled together – the woman in question was having an affair I seem to
remember, so I probably said: For God’s sake don’t get caught – but it was the
first in long line of situations where I’ve had to think on my feet.
I once nearly spluttered on air
having just heard myself introduced by one regional radio station (clearly
desperate to fill five minutes before the travel news) as a “relationships
expert” and finding I was being called upon to offer guidance to Helen who felt Kevin no longer loved her,
when I’d thought I was just there to plug a novel.
I rose
to the challenge though, trawling my memory for every cliché from every agony
aunt page I’d ever read, suggesting quiet nights in and heart-to-heart chats
over candlelit dinners, even though I knew that Kevin, if he was like most
blokes would probably much rather watch the football than have any sort of
discussion about his feelings, and would be totally aghast when Helen switched
off the TV and served up chicken a la mode in the dark instead.
In fact, I obviously showed a bit too much enthusiasm
for her plight because they then rather misguidedly kept me on the line and offered me Veronica
and her problems with her mother over
which I was utterly lost - “put
the old dragon in a home” evidently being not quite what they were looking for.
On another occasion I got involved in a
"documentary". Again, I was
supposed to be talking about affairs, but this time, how to get away with them
(it was when my second novel, Perfect Alibis, which deals with that exact
knotty issue, had just been published).
When I got there
–"on location" to a frighteningly expensive house in North London - they
wanted me to shave my legs on camera.
The director - who looked about twelve – was the creative type.
They were also filming
a Betrayed Wife, the suitably scary
Lady Sarah Moon – she who cut her husband’s bespoke Savile Row suits to ribbons and distributed his vintage
claret collection around the village.
We met in the hall.
“What are you angry about?” she asked me. I opened my mouth to explain only to
find it covered by one of the crew’s hands.
“For God’s sake don’t tell her you’re promoting
affairs” he said, as she was taken down to the kitchen to hack off chickens'
legs with alarming savagery, and I went upstairs where it was considered jolly
arty to have me sitting in the bathroom half-dressed (the cameraman squashed
uncomfortably in the bath with the lighting man on top of him) pretending to
get ready for a night out.
I haven't shaved my legs for years (this is not an
admission of German ancestry - I have them waxed) and was apparently not much
cop at pretending.
As I sat there under a weight of shaving foam doing
Take Fifty-three, repeating the same sentences over and over again, I not only
drank all the rest of the Lady Chicken-chopper's cooking wine to get me through
the ordeal but persuaded the runner to go out and get me another bottle.
This was, on balance, a mistake. I will spare you
the rest of the story but it involved slurring, agreeing to greater states of
undress and nobody telling me my make-up had run.
Most of the footage ended up on the cutting room
floor – thank the Lord – but in the bit I saw, I looked utterly deranged and in
need of a good social worker.
Nothing is lost however. I drew on that very experience to inform Laura, my heroine in Prime Time, who, one way and another, ends up feeling pretty bonkers too….
About the Book:
A British romantic comedy by Jane Wenham-Jones,
author of 'Perfect Alibis'.
Laura Meredith never imagined herself appearing
on TV, she's too old, too flabby, too downright hormonal, and much too busy
holding things together for her son, Stanley, after her husband left her for a
younger, thinner replacement. But best friend Charlotte is a determined woman
and when Laura is persuaded on to a daytime show to talk about her PMT, everything
changes.
Suddenly there's a camera crew tracking her every move and Laura finds
herself an unlikely star. But as things hot up between her and gorgeous TV
director, Cal, they're going downhill elsewhere. While Laura's caught up in a
heady whirlwind of beauty treatments, makeovers and glamorous film locations,
Charlotte's husband, Roger, is concealing a guilty secret, Stanley's got
problems at school, work's piling up, and when Laura turns detective to protect
Charlotte's marriage, things go horribly wrong. The champagne's flowing as
Laura's prime time TV debut looks set to be a hit. But in every month, there's
a "Day Ten" ...
About the Author:
Jane
is the author of four novels and two non-fiction books – Wannabe a Writer? - a
humorous look at becoming a scribe - and
Wannabe a Writer We’ve Heard Of? a guide
to the art of book and self promotion.
As a freelance journalist she has appeared in a wide range of women's
magazines and national newspapers and writes regular columns for Woman's Weekly
and Writing Magazine, where she is the agony aunt. Jane is an experienced tutor
who is regularly booked by writing conferences and literary festivals to run
workshops and give talks on all aspects of the writing process. She is also a
member of Equity, has presented for the BBC on both TV and radio and has done
her fair share of daytime TV, particularly when promoting her controversial
second novel Perfect Alibis (subtitled How to have an affair and get away with
it...) It was those – sometimes hair-raising – TV experiences that inspired
Prime Time, her new novel. For more information see http://www.janewenham-jones.com and http://janewenhamjones.wordpress.com/.
My Review:
I am not a fan
of reality television, and apparently, not a fan of reading reality television.
I read several chapters and could not get into the story line. The book has
definitely found its audience as it has garnered great reviews.
So, if you are
fan of “reality television” and an avid reader, this book is one you will
enjoy. I encourage you to follow one of the links and read the reviews on
Amazon, and then make your own decision.
Prime Time is available in paperback or e-book from Amazon:
Be sure to follow my blog for more book reviews!
Donna
I hope no one comes over to my blog and leaves me nasty comments, but I'll tell you a little secret....I've never watched a reality show. Not even one. LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking this one is best left for those who really do like those shows! Thank you for a good review!
The only reality tv that I watch is Wipe Out. And, it's actually a game show but it is so funny. Too much reality around me, I don't need it on tv too.
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