First Word

All right, so we've had over 400 views on the California Girl Chronicles trailer. I need to keep promoting it, so please make sure you cl ick here to view it. It's hot! and sexy!  The following is an excerpt for the second book in the series, Brea's Big Break. Enjoy! Book two is set to release in summer 2012. Kale soon returned to Arizona for more on-set work. Other staffers from the office went with him so the place was quiet. I didn’t mind. I was able to get a lot of work done, and believe me, the pile of notes for rewrites had only grown. I’d heard, though, that they were actively casting the movie and that Johnny, the hot man I’d met in the hallway, had won the Drew part. As I rewrote Drew’s scenes, I wondered if he would see the movie. It occurred to me as I wrote the female lead that her words might make him feel the least bit repentant, but somehow I doubted it since Drew never expressed remorse. I was staring out my office window thinking about this when I h...

SPOILER ALERT: The following is an excerpt from California Girl Chronicles: Brea and the City of Plastic. In this scene, she meets Kale, her central love interest in the series. The book is available for sale on 3L Publishing www.3LPublishing, Amazon, Kindle, iBook, Nook and is available to order through Bakers and Taylor for bookstores. I smiled and slinked by him just enough that he could feel my energy but far enough that we didn’t touch. I sensed his smile, turned, and grinned back. As I walked into the lounge area, I heard Drew’s band already playing. I decided to find an open stool at the bar and just hang back until he finished. Fortunately, a guy already drunk got up, or more like fell off, and weaved unsteadily toward the bathroom. I swiftly grabbed the stool, slid up, and could see Drew already at the microphone. I saw his eyes move my way, and he stared right back just for a moment. Then he drifted off into the song. Before I could order, a lemon drop was plunged in fron...

The Dalai Lama's proclamation that "the world will be saved by the Western woman" only highlighted the reality that women are emerging as the leaders of the global change movement. This year's theme for me is all about the self-empowerment of women. I also started the California Girl Chronicles last year out of a desire to create a strong female character. I was inspired not by True Blood Sookie Stackhouse but by Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse. I want to be clear, I am not a huge fan of the Harris' series per se. I think she has created a wonderful character in Sookie, and I adore the Sookie and Eric Northman romance. The rest of the stories only resonate part of the time; however Sookie spoke to me. When I was little I started writing because Laura, the little girl from the Little House books who inspired me. I have apparently always been intrigued with strong girls. I don't like the way Alan Ball's team has diminished Sookie's self-empow...

Here is more grist for the rumor mill to grind out unfounded speculation and fun ... the kudos of the day go to Lizzie Olsen and her wonderful response to the speculation that, um, a conversation with a single man equals a relationship. Good for you Ms. Olsen for responding with a perfectly "smarty" answer to a stupid question. Whether or not she is or is not newly dating the incomparable Alexander Skarsgard is completely none of anyone's business anyway. Besides, her response was right on the money. Truthfully, even if they've shared a date or two that hardly comprises a "relationship." A date, a flirtation, an interest ... yes. A relationship not so much. Good God this is the same press that criticizes celebrities like Kim Kardashian for getting married and divorced faster than I got up this morning and yet is ready to put two people in a conversation off to the chapel. So, why do I care? Well, the unwanted attention and her recent appearance at the awar...

Following is the Prologue to the second book in the California Girl Chronicles series. If you would like a copy of the first book California Girl Chronicles: Brea and the City of Plastic, it's 30 percent off on the 3L Publishing website at www.3LPublishing.com.  My name is Brea Harper, and I am the quintessential California girl. I am blond, fabulously tall, pretty and smart. I’m a screenwriter, but often get mistaken for an actress since I live in Los Angeles among the other pretty people. My desire to write screenplays has nothing to do with fame or glamour. I love to write. Period. It’s how I express my creativity and fulfill my artistic impulses. I live in a small apartment near Hollywood with my best friend Denise, who as you might know already, is quite a live wire and loads of fun. Last I told you, she was having an affair with her boss at the software company where she works. They’re still screwing all over the building, but they see other people. Another dear and new frien...

Another fabulous review of California Girl Chronicles appeared on Cook Travel Write :  California Girl Chronicles: Brea and the City of Plastic , written by Michelle Gamble-Risley, is a must-read for those of you who need a fun (and very sexy) escape.  This story draws the reader right in to the indulgent escapades of Brea Harper, a blonde bombshell who embodies the classic idea of the California girl – at least externally.  Brea is certainly no Cher Horowitz from  Clueless , who we all remember as the gum-smacking, hair-twirling valley girl that said “like” every other sentence.  Brea is smarter than your average bear, and is determined to show her talent as a screenwriter when she moves to Los Angeles.  This is where the fun really starts.  While Brea may have a one-track mind when it comes to her career, she seems to lack this discipline when it comes to her men, causing her love life to become nothing short of tangled and complicated.  A...

Disclaimer: the following passage has some profane language. Reader discretion is advised. This excerpt is from California Girl Chronicles: Brea and the City of Plastic. It is available for sale on Amazon or the 3L Publishing website . He fell back on the bed. We both lay together and tried to recover from such a powerful physical act. He turned his head to face me. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and said, “Fucking wow! What the fuck was that?” “I think that was the best sex I’ve ever had,” I replied and reached across to wipe the sweat off his brow. This suggestion seemed to intrigue him. He looked at me with this strange grin and replied, “Really? You? Me?” I sighed, leaned into him, kissed his lips, and replied, “Quite right.” “All right, look at me. I’m a man now,” he declared facetiously. “Sweetheart, you made me a man. I think … no, I know, I have superpowers too. See what you did! Now I’ll have to save the world or something. Or just make a movie about it.” “I’ll ...

Readers of the first print run of California Girl Chronicles: Brea and the City of Plastic missed out. When I did the second print run, I rewrote and added a lot of new material. Some of it was to provide more character development and some of it was to develop relationships a little deeper. The reviewers, and we've had over 20 requests to review the book in the last two weeks, are seeing the new edition. So, here on the blog I'm going to pull some relevant excerpts from the new edition to give you a peek at what you didn't get to read. The following is the revised scene when Brea first meets our kind and loving producer, Kale. I smiled and slinked by him just enough that he could feel my energy but far enough that we didn’t touch. I sensed his smile, turned, and grinned back. As I walked into the lounge area, I heard Drew’s band already playing. I decided to find an open stool at the bar and just hang back until he finished. Fortunately, a guy already drunk got up, ...

Hugely annoyed that California Girl Chronicles is out of stock on Amazon and not yet available in bookstores? Well, you can purchase a copy at the 3L Publishing website and forget waiting for Amazon to restock. Our distributor Bakers and Taylor will not start listing the title until March, so it will take time to weave into the stores. In the meantime, you can get it at 3L Publishing, and you're really supporting me, the author, and not Amazon, which I'm sure doesn't need all of your support anyway. We've had over 20 book reviewers request the book this week. Here is what the book is about:  Meet Brea Harper, she is the next Carrie Bradshaw only transplanted in Los Angeles. Funny, witty, beautiful, and very sexy, Brea takes readers on a wild ride into her outrageous romantic and professional life. Demoralized and forced to work in what she calls   bikini hell   just to make ends meet, Brea pursues her career to become a screenwriter only to be continuously distrac...

The discussion about the likable or unlikable character sparked some responses on Tumblr particularly in reference to Justine in the movie Melancholia (Justine suffered severe depression and as a result did some pretty unlikable things). I was considering the discussion that suggested that her depression and behavior should be understandable since she was sick. I guess the discussion (for me) needed to veer toward whether or not you can relate to a character enough to sympathize with him or her. In Justine's case, I could not relate to her enough to understand what I felt was "unlikable" behavior. When I was younger I had my own bout with depression (certainly not as severe as Justine's case) but even while I spent a number of days crawled up in bed, I didn't do things to hurt others or lash out in passive-aggressive ways (e.g., her sex on the golf-course moment). Hence, I could not relate to her. Watching her behavior was more like watching someone through a len...

My favorite funny moments from book two of California Girl Chronicles, Brea’s Big Break:  REAL BODY PARTS “And you think you’re going to get somewhere with me like that?” I flatly asked. Johnny looked up, quit eating, and looked me right in the eyes. “Fuck no!” he retorted. “You’re hot and nice. I like you. And I like that you have real body parts,” he chuckled as he looked down to take another bite. I looked down at my body parts and nodded, “Yep! Real! No one would purposefully make their boobs this small,” I said with a laugh.  I CUT HER HAIR As Johnny talked about the business and his encounters on various movie sets, I started to like him. He was candid and enthusiastic about acting and his craft. He mentioned his last girlfriend was a major film star, but he would not divulge whom. He did say he met her when he played a small role in her film. He said she was down-to-earth but had this strange obsession with her hair. She wanted to become famous for her hair like Jennif...

Brea and Lance pull into a parking space in an old rust-colored beat-up Dodge Daytona. Lance runs round and opens the door to let her out. As she gets out, she looks around slightly embarrassed. BREA (V.O.) California girls prefer convertibles. The only thing convertible about that was the broken window.

Bad dialog can kill a great book or screenplay. When I run across terrible dialog, I literally cringe and grit my teeth. In fact, when I receive submissions loaded with bad dialog, that alone can kill my interest. What constitutes weak dialog? Here are some tips. Everyone sounds the same . What happens is that every character sounds alike, which is really a problem of the author's voice is being applied to all of the characters. I've read books where you could tell the difference between the dialog and the narrative. Your characters each have to have their own voices. A great technique to solve this problem is to find words or phrases one character constantly uses while the others don't use at all. Something as simple as making one always use profanity while the other one does not (of course the profane dialog needs to also apply to the right character and demographic of that character). In my book California Girl Chronicles , Kale, a main love interest, always calls her ...