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Marlo Spencer relishes all things retro. Old TV shows, classic movies, and even the collectible lunch boxes to go with them. In fact, she’s quite cozy in her Malibu apartment, surrounded by her treasured knick-knacks and vintage memorabilia. It’s her best friend, Nik, who doesn’t get her fascination with all that “old junk,” as he calls it. He especially doesn’t understand why she’s so keen to get back to their hometown of Napa when her high school sweetheart, Josh, suddenly returns after twelve years in Paris and nary a single phone call, eager to reunite with her. So, when Marlo heads up north to wine country to rekindle her relationship with Josh, Nik tags along, claiming he was already planning to visit his sister, Savannah, Marlo’s gal pal. Once they reach Napa, however, dreams of a blissful reunion are shattered as old secrets and past betrayals are revealed, leaving an unsuspecting Marlo to pick up the pieces. Can she forgive and forget, or will true love find a different path to her heart?

For Lauren Tate, a high-powered TV producer, sex, lies, and scandal make for a great movie-of-the-week, but when she becomes the target of a smear campaign, even the most salacious of Hollywood’s tales can’t compare to her real life drama. With her soon-to-be-ex-husband leading the effort to sully her reputation, and her former assistant threatening to snatch her hard-earned position at Timeless Television out of her hands, Lauren’s perfectly planned life quickly begins to unravel at the seams. Clawing her way back to the top of the TV food chain is no easy task, especially in an industry where backstabbing is a sport and gossip is a fulltime business. But Lauren learns just how cutthroat showbiz can truly be when the hottest scandal in Tinsel Town turns deadly and the Hollywood hunk who’s stolen her heart is missing in action. Can she salvage her career, her reputation, and her love life? Or will Hollywood be the death of her?



Trina Stewart needs cash. Fast. She’s barely got enough dough to keep her fanny off the streets, let alone any spending money for hot nights clubbing on Sunset Strip. And her job teaching English as a Second Language is seriously lacking in both pay and glamour. But not just any job will do. She’s after a real Hollywood job. The kind that makes her $100,000 in film school debt and ten years in Tinsel Town not seem like such a big fat waste of time and money. But a girl can’t fritter away all her time fretting over her next paycheck, can she? Certainly not when a man like Matiu Wulf, a sexy Maori from New Zealand, parks his oh-so-fine self in the apartment above hers while he takes his best shot at Showbiz. If only Matiu didn’t seem so… repelled by Trina. Really, though, it’s Los Angeles that Matiu finds so revolting. He’s only in L.A. to get some scene design experience to beef up his resume, and then he’s headed back to New Zealand to follow his dreams in peace, thank you very much. That’s his plan, anyway, until he falls hard for Trina…and Trina falls under the spell of a toothy-grinned wannabe actor who charms the pants right off her. With Matiu on a mission to win Trina’s heart, and Trina on a mission to nail down that ever elusive Hollywood job, these two soon discover that when love gets tossed in the mix, life in Tinsel Town isn’t all red carpets, after parties, and celebrity gossip. In fact, Hollywood can be a downright bitch!

Jason Tisse is in over his head. As a young black cinematography student at LA’s notoriously tough American Film Institute, he’s got the vision, but not the balls to battle the ruthlessness that is Hollywood. After a failed year at AFI, which includes nearly electrocuting a fellow classmate, Jason embarks on a trip to Europe to hunt down the works of his favorite painter. Armed with an enchanted camera gifted to him by an eccentric film professor, Jason is prepared to master the art of light and shadow as depicted in the infamous baroque artwork of the original Emperor of Light known to the rest of the world as Caravaggio. What Jason doesn’t expect, however, is that the innocent-looking Kodak Brownie camera he’s been given holds remarkable powers, capable of miraculously bringing his idol’s artwork alive with each snapshot. Caravaggio’s work, packed full of sex, religion, violence and some outrageous hilarity, explodes to life and sends Jason spiraling from one escapade to the next. Spanning the bright lights of Paris, the grand churches of Rome and the cutthroat alleys of Naples, Jason must overcome his inhibitions—even at the risk of life and limb—if he is to one day rule his own Empire of Light.

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Book Review: Ten Girls to Watch


The Beeline
Twenty-three-year-old Dawn West was going to be a lawyer, but her dream of being a writer was stronger, and now, she's unemployed and living in New York City. She recently found out that the man she once thought she was going to marry, Robert, has moved on with the perfect girl, Lily, who inexplicably keeps inviting Dawn to parties. At one such party, Lily introduces Dawn to the editor of the magazine Charm, and Dawn ends up with a job that gives her the responsibility of tracking down the previous winners of Charm's "Ten Girls to Watch" for a retrospective, fifty years after the contest was first started.

The Honey
Dawn is a great person who is funny, sweet, and nice. Her situation describes a majority of recent college graduates, so she's really easy to relate to. The pictures of the past winners at the start of each chapter are intriguing and impressive, making the winners and the contest seem all the more real, which added depth to the story. And the opening chapter is killer. After starting to read this book, it was hard to put it down. There are a number of twists in the story that are unexpected, but great, and there’s just the right mix of comedy and drama. The story is inspirational too, and not just for Dawn. As Dawn interacts with these amazing women, she slowly begins to learn from their experiences, especially that not everything happens as expected, and that she is ultimately responsible for her own happiness. 

The Bumble
The only thing that would make this book better is a happily ever after.

The Buzz
When the reader finishes the book, she will likely have a longing to do something, to be like Dawn or the women who won the title of “Ten Girls to Watch.” With such an amazing debut, Charity Shumway is an author to keep an eye out for in the future!

About the Author
Ten Girls to Watch is Charity Shumway's first novel. It was inspired by her work for Glamour's "Top Ten College Women" contest. She spent nine months working on this project for the 50th anniversary of the article. Charity's writing has been published by a wide variety of magazines like Fitness, Ladies Home Journal, and Garden Design. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband. For more information, please visit www.charityshumway.com.
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