FREE to 15 May
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Family Portrait Vol. 1
by Gillian Felix
Description
Adriana Banovic’s 15th birthday sucked! She was fired after eight years of playing Shayanne Montgomery on the #1 soap in the country, found out that her family was on the verge of bankruptcy and worst of all, forced to return to Westwood Academy. Her only saving grace was a chance glance at dreamy mystery boy Haze Lyndon. Armed with only his picture and a determination to find him - even if it means turning Los Angeles over on its ass.
In this young adult novel you'll meet Robin Banovic, Adriana's father; financially challenged, dealing with the death of a family member and his brother's disappearance. You'll meet Savannah DaCosta aka Savi, mother/manager; Savi enjoys the life her rock star daughter Leighann has provided. When Leighann makes a choice to end her career, Savi sees it as a personal attack. You'll meet college boy Haze Lyndon; New to Los Angeles, Haze soon realizes how quickly money changes hands in the City of Angels. Will he return to questionable ways to survive or go back to the safety of his family in Wisconsin?
Book Trailer
Excerpt
Adriana strutted into the audition hall, pleased with herself that she snagged an audition for a national television commercial. No thanks to her useless agent, Stanley Jenkins. This was all her; she found the audition on a website, submitted her headshot, and called to follow up.
It called for a female spokesmodel between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. Even though she had just turned fifteen, she was confident she could qualify. She was on the number one soap in the country for eight years.
The audition hall was like a cattle call. Girls of all ages and sizes turned up, but that did not faze her. She was prepared to give it a shot. Adriana signed in and waited.
Meanwhile, down the hall Haze Lyndon was gearing up for a teen magazine photo shoot. He was in between demographics. That in between age where he could be a teenage girl’s fantasy and at the same time women could easily lust after him and that would be okay, kind of like Justin Timberlake.
The obviously gay photographer was very smitten with Haze. Haze was sure of himself enough not to be freaked out. He even ‘worked it’ at times, sending the photographer into a frenzy of excitement.
“Where did you say you were from again?” Luca, the photographer, asked as his camera snapped away at Haze. Haze was quickly becoming his favorite subject. He marveled at his chiseled body and that face, those eyes, those high cheekbones. It was like God himself had sculpted Haze with his own hands. Haze was truly a work of art. To Luca, a precious work of art.
“Wisconsin,” Haze replied as he positioned himself to catch the floodlights. A trick he’d picked up from his photographer ex-girlfriend, who taught him how to use light to accent his natural features. At first he was camera-shy, but she quickly put him at ease. At first he only worked with her. Slowly she eased him out of that and encouraged him to spread his wings. She knew she couldn’t hold on to him. As much as she loved him, she knew he had something special that the world had to see.
“You have a good look; you'll go far. Your mixed race thing could put you at an advantage against the blond, blue-eyed California boys,” Luca said as he paused for his assistant to reload the camera.
***
Down the hall, Adriana waited for her turn to audition. The place still had lots of girls even though the process seemed to be going by quickly. She got up to stretch her legs and get some water at the water fountain down the hall.
She noticed a photo shoot taking place in the room adjacent to the water fountain. Curious, she headed toward the window and peered through the glass.
Everything was random, large floodlights illuminated a gray backdrop cloth. The room was divided into two parts by a portable screen room divider with an opening at either end. The dimly lit back room was closest to the room entrance; there was a table with a laptop and camera equipment, story boards, a notebook and other items.
Adriana spotted the photographer, a handsome-ish petite Italian talking to his butch assistant, dressed all in black. She was about to walk away when she spotted Haze. Her eyes fixated on him. He emerged wearing jeans and a graphic tee. Adriana was simply mesmerized by him. He was the handsomest man she had ever seen. She entered the room for a closer look. ‘Was he for real?’
The photographer instructed Haze on the next set-up. At first no one noticed Adriana as she stood in the shadows. She was unable to take her eyes off him. ‘Who is he?’ she wondered.
The photographer received his freshly reloaded camera from his assistant. Just then Adriana noticed a Polaroid of Haze on the floor; she picked it up and stared at it. Her fingers traced his smile. His brown eyes were lit up, and a naughty but sweet smile blanketed his face. Adriana felt her inside get soft and mushy; she felt a flash of heat and excitement. This was new territory for her. Whoever he was, she knew she would never forget him.
The butch assistant interrupted her thoughts with a disapproving tone. “What are you doing in here?!”
Adriana was startled.
“You're not supposed to be in here. This is a closed shoot! Get out!”
Adriana slipped the picture into her pocket, then left.
Praise for the Book
"This is a read like no other. Welcome to the world of Soap Operas both literally and figuratively." ~ C. Martin
"Gillian Felix has written a nice serial to begin the series off with. It is like a soap opera similar to a cross between Melrose Place and 90210 with a more relevant twist to today like Pretty Little Liars." ~ Mel Loves Books
"This book was amazing! If I had a star rating on my blog, I would give it five stars! The characters, the situations the plot, all something that would actually happen in life!" ~ Jovon Tucker, Book2Buzz
"I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I thought the author wrote well and it was easy to follow."~ Pages of Comfort
"I see a huge following for this new series! I know I'm going to watch for more!" ~ Dii, Amazon Top 1000 Reviewer
About the Author
Gillian Felix has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. She enjoys creating characters that could be your next-door neighbor, but would you want them as your neighbor is another story. Originally from the island republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Miss Felix moved to the United States in 1998. Since then she has been involved in the entertainment industry for over ten years. Her experience ranges from script supervisor to production manager on many independent features. She is trained in the Meisner and Stanislavski technique of acting, which she credits as an asset to her character development and writing.
Miss Felix is also an entrepreneur and advocate for children's and women's rights.
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