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April 2003
Compiled by Georgine Olson, of Fairbanks (AK) North Star Borough Public Library & Regional Center, from contributions by the members of Fiction_L.

(To use this list in your library, book club, etc., please include the following credit line: "Compiled by the subscribers of the Fiction_L mailing list." This list may not be used for commercial purposes.)

Bauer, Tricia Hollywood & Hardwood (1952)

A bittersweet tale of an ambitious husband and wife who struggle to escape their blue-collar backgrounds and build successful film and theater careers.

Brockmann, Suzanne Heartthrob (1999)

Jericho Beaumont, an actor whose tawdry past has dampened his career, is forced to work under a very restrictive contract in order to have a chance to make a comeback in Kate O'Laughlin's new film - and Kate isn't exactly the dumb blonde bimbo people think she is.

Cabot, Meggin She Went All the Way (2002)

Lou Calabrese is a tough screenwriter who's had it with men after being dumped by her long-time love, actor Bruno [Barry] di Blase. She heads off to Alaska to prevent director Tim Lord from blowing up a mountainous area while shooting her next screenplay. Along the way, the helicopter in which she's riding with [gorgeous] actor Jack Townsend crashes. That's where the fun begins. Although this sounds completely out there, it's a very good - funny, engrossing, suspenseful, and surprisingly literary.

Campbell, Bethany After The Stars Fall (1985)

Professor Jana Fitzgerald is determined to forget her unhappy childhood in Hollywood, where the price of her father's stardom cost her family heartbreak and scandal. When a famous expose writer joins the journalism faculty, Jana finds him dangerously attractive, but dreads he may uncover her family's secret past.

Collins, Jackie Hollywood Husbands (1976)

They're sexy, successful and shameless, but the past has a habit of catching up with everybody - even Hollywood husbands.

Collins, Jackie Hollywood Wives (1983)

Novel of power, lust, and greed in Hollywood. Can Buddy Hudson hide his lurid past and go on to be the next Marlon Brando? Will voluptuous Gina Germaine satisfy her ravenous sexual appetite and land her first serious movie role? Does Elaine Conti ever win husband Ross back? The answers to these questions capture the essence of life lived on the fastest track of all. Followed by Hollywood Kids (1994) and Hollywood Wives: The New Generation (2001).

Collins, Jackie Lady Boss: a novel (1990)

Lucky's marriage to comedian/movie star Lennie Golden is put to the test when she decides to take on Hollywood by buying Panther Studios. Before the sale can be finalized, Lucky spends some time disguised as a studio secretary in order to "get the dirt" on what's happening in the studio. But she is not prepared for the reactions she gets to her plans.

Coscarelli, Kate Fame & Fortune: a novel (1984)

Four women facing middle age in Beverly Hills also face major and potentially devastating changes in their well-ordered lives. Casual sex and good weather are taken for granted in their earthly paradise, but true love is a rare commodity.

Crusie, Jennifer Welcome to Temptation (2000)

Sophie Dempsey wants to help her sister film a video and then get out of Temptation, Ohio. Mayor Phin Tucker wants to play pool with the police chief and keep things peaceful. But when Sophie and Phin meet, they both get more than they want.

Cuevas, Judy (aka Judith Ivory) Dance (1996)

Sebastien has lived his entire steady, proper life doing the right and responsible thing never questioning his values or his lifestyle. Enter Marie Du Guard who has been away for three years after fleeing her own wedding to Sebastien's brother Nardi. She escaped to America where she discovered a passion for the infant industry of filmmaking. Now, she has come home to France pursue her filmmaking.

Curtis, Sharon & Tom Sunshine & Shadow (1986)

While filming in rural Wisconsin, successful Hollywood director Alan Wilde finds himself drawn to a lovely, intriguing Amish schoolteacher, Susan Peachey, but their love is threatened by the dramatic difference between their worlds.

Dailey, Janet Aspen Gold (1991)

Kit Masters returns to her home on Silverwood Ranch in Aspen, Colorado, after ten years. She spent those years in Hollywood as a soap-opera actress, but now she is to star in her first movie. There are sad memories in her hometown, but there's also Tom Rannon, an old love who jilted her, who is now available again.

Dart, Iris Rainer When I Fall In Love (1999)

Lily Benjamin's life seems perfect - she loves her job as a TV comedy writer, is engaged to a cardiologist, and has a healthy teenage son. When tragedy strikes, Lily's new boss, a man with problems of her own, is the one who understands her pain. As he helps Lily and her son rebuild, something magical and unexpected also happens.

Davis-Goff, Annabel Night Tennis (1978)

Julia, a forty-three-year-old film director married to a successful Hollywood agent, is finishing up a movie at a British studio where she meets Nick, the young stepson of her temperamental female star. She finds Nick becoming important to her, and when she returns to Los Angeles Nick surprises her by following.

Dietz, Denise The Wishing Star (2003)

This actually three romances and a mystery all in one. It's set in the soap-opera world, one Dietz knows well - her sister had a recurring role in General Hospital.

Graham, Heather Dying to Have Her (2001)

Soap opera diva Serena McCormack's road to success takes a deadly turn when a co-star is murdered and the clues point to Serena as the intended victim. When P.I. Liam Murphy is hired to protect her, Serena can't deny the attraction. But as the ratings soar, so do the threats on Serena's life.

Graham, Heather Long, Lean , and Lethal (2000)

When soap star Jennifer Connolly moves in with Abby Sawyer in order to care for the aging Hollywood legend, she is thrown together with Abby's very attractive stepson even as she tries to dodge a stalker's attentions.

Grey, Zane Majesty's Rancho

The daughter of rancher Gene Stewart is kidnapped for ransom by rustlers who have been raiding the Arizona ranch. Lance Sidway, tired of being a Hollywood cowboy, comes to the rescue with his beautiful horse.

Hambly, Barbara Bride of the Rat God (1994)

Enjoying her life as the rich and sultry vamp of the silver screen, Chrysanda Flamande disregards an elderly Chinese gentleman's warning about a curse on her newest piece of jewelry, and finds herself named the bride to a demon.

Isaacs, Susan Almost Paradise (1984)

The story of Jane and Nicholas Cobleigh takes a look at the comedy and heartbreak of twenty years of marriage.

Jensen, Muriel Fantasies and Memories (1987)

Destiny, a Hollywood fashion designer, is ordered to bed for two months of rest. Her doctor, her ex-husband Rafe Janiero, and her daughter Cara, arrange for her to spend the summer in Maine with Rafe and Cara. During the summer she comes to appreciate Rafe's love for her, to the delight of Cara.

Krantz, Judith Dazzle (1990)

Jazz Kilkullen, part owner of Dazzle, the hottest photography studio in Hollywood, has her problems. Her father, Mike, owns 100 square acres of prime ranch land that his ex-wife and her daughters are trying to wrestle away. Her almost-husband has returned, and she must decide between the affections of movie star Sam Butler and Casey Nelson, her father's ranch hand.

Krantz, Judith Scruples: a novel (1978)

Novel about the super rich and super sexy beautiful people of the fashion, film and magazine world. Billy Ikehorn, ugly duckling turned swan, lives a life of sensuality. After the death of her wealthy but older husband, she marries a film producer and creates the glamorous Beverly Hills boutique "Scruples" to cater to every whim of the rich. Scruples Two came out in 1992.

Lambert, Gavin Inside Daisy Clover (1963)

Depression-Era movie moguls and an adoring public can't hear or see enough of the tomboyish movie star, 15-year-old Daisy Clover. But there's a catch: they insist Daisy always be the girl on the screen instead of herself, which only shows they don't know Daisy, who's determined to be heard in her own right. Novel is spicier than the 1965 movie starring Natalie Wood.

Lovelace, Merline A Man of His Word (1999)

Engineer Reece Henderson had enough problems with the Chalo River Dam repair without having to make way for a film maker.

McNaught, Judith Perfect (1993)

A real gun substituted for a prop on the set of director Zack Benedict's latest movie results in his adulterous wife's murder, for which he's convicted. Escape from prison throws Zack into the life of Julie Mathison, whose Blazer he highjacks to a remote Colorado hideout.

Perry, Eleanor Blue Pages: a novel (1979)

Lucia and Vincent Wade are the golden couple of film-making, well on their way to becoming a Hollywood institution. She writes the screenplays which he, twelve years her junior, produces and directs. But one day Vincent decides he no longer wants to be part of this perfect scenario and walks out on their marriage.

Phillips, Susan Elizabeth Breathing Room (2002)

When self-help guru Dr. Isabel Favor loses her fiancˇ and her money, she finds her empire in shambles. She flees to Italy for comfort. She soon finds disaster, in the form of Hollywood villain Lorenzo Gage.

Phillips, Susan Elizabeth Glitter Baby (1987)

Beautiful, spirited Fleur Savager is transformed from an innocent cover girl into a full-grown woman with the courage to confront betrayal, dark secrets, misfortune, and one man's obstinate and reluctant heart.

Phillips, Susan Elizabeth Honey Moon (1993)

Orphaned sixteen-year-old tomboy Honey Moon is unexpectedly picked by fortyish cowboy actor Dash Coogan to costar in his television show. Over the following decade the relationships between Honey and Dash, and between Honey and a third costar Eric Dillon, go through dramatic changes.

Putney, Mary Jo Spiral Path (2002)

Hero is an actor; heroine is an actress turned director. They were married; the marriage failed - and this is the story of their second try. A Holiday Fling in Putney's 2002 anthology, Christmas Revels reprises some characters from The Spiral Path. Here the heroine is trying to rescue a local theatre in her hometown. She turns to a movie industry pro who she'd never thought to see again.

Roberts, Nora Genuine Lies (1991)

Eve Benedict, a smoky-voiced sex symbol with two Oscars, summons Julia Summers to Hollywood to write her biography. Julia loves her work and the secure home it has given her 10-year-old son, but hates the glitz and glamour of Beverly Hills. Paul Winthrop, Eve's stepson, believes that Eve is making a terrible mistake with the biography. Little do they know how far some people will go to never see this biography told, let alone in print.

Roberts, Nora Skin Deep (1988, Book 3 of "The O'Hurleys")

The high price of fame meant learning to deal with obsessive fans. But this one was different. He was watching and waiting, and Chantel O'Hurley was afraid. She needed help, and it came with a $500-a-day price tag--Quinn Doran, a P.I. with the kind of tough, go-to-hell looks that made a woman's pulse race. Chantel didn't need his arrogant insinuations. She needed to stay alive.

Seidel, Kathleen Gilles More Than You Dreamed (1991)

A guest at a Hollywood hotel, Jill Casler--the daughter of a celebrated Hollywood director from the 1940s--agrees to help handsome Doug Ringling--whose look-alike uncle starred in her father's greatest film--find a lost script that could smear her father's memory.

Singer, June Flaum The Movie Set: a novel (1984)

This juicy romance follows the lives of five Ohio State University dorm mates who survive numerous marriages, discarded dreams, and scandalous affairs. At the heart of the group is Buffy, a Vivien Leigh look-alike, who marries her college sweetheart. They wind up making a fortune in shopping centers, and put all of their money into a Hollywood studio.

Steel, Danielle Family Album (1985)

A melodrama of the enduring love between talented movie star-director Fay Price and the playboy shipping heir Ward Thayer and the growing pains of their five children. Includes the grit and glitter of Hollywood life from the war years of the 1940s to the 1980s.

Steel, Danielle Heartbeat (1991)

Bill Thigpen, creator of the hottest show on TV, was happy until his wife and kids left him. Adrian Townsend was happy until she became pregnant and her husband made her choose between him and the baby. The two meet and fall in love.

Stuart, Anne The Monster in the Closet (in the 1992 anthology Silhouette Shadows)

Sutcliffe, Katherine Darkling I Listen (2001)

Fleeing malicious rumors, a scandal that sent him to jail, and an obsessed stalker, Hollywood bad boy Brandon Carlyle returns to his Texas hometown, where he comes face-to-face with a nightmare and with a beautiful stranger named Alyson James.

Weir, Theresa Last Summer (1993)

Unimpressed with hometown boy Johnnie Irish's superstar status, widowed schoolteacher Maggie Mayfield nonetheless falls for the returning idol, who has only revenge on his mind.

Wells, Robin Ooh, La La! (2002)

Kate Matthews is a dowdy history professor who specializes in the New Orleans red-light district and has a penchant for sexy lingerie. She's hired to be the history advisor on a movie directed by Zack Jackson. She's a stickler and he just wants to stick it to her because her perfection is driving him nuts.

Whedon, Julia Girl of the Golden West; a Novel (1973)

A young woman returns to her Hollywood home to adapt her successful novel for the screen and to see a musician whom she has long regarded as her idol.

Willis, Connie Remake (1995)

Tom works as a film editor in twenty-first-century Hollywood where all the new movies are digital remakes of twentieth-century movies. Between episodes in the Hollywood drug-and-sex scene, he is immersed in the lore of old movies and the technology of an industry that no longer uses live actors. Then he meets Alis, a star-struck young girl determined to be in the movies.

Wolf, Joan Summer Storm (1994)

A struggling actor is dazzled away from his young wife by the temptations of a glittery Hollywood starlet.

Wolper, Carol Secret Celebrity (2002)

Seeking to break out of a personal rut, filmmaker Christine Chase investigates her fiercely private subject's world and learns disturbing truths about the lengths some people will go to for fame.

Also, a book-length bibliography:

Slide, Anthony. The Hollywood novel : a critical guide to over 1200 works with film-related themes or characters, 1912 through 1994. c1995

www.webrary.org/rs:flbklists/hollywromance.html
First published on the Web: 8/6/2003
Last updated: 8/6/2003