Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Dallas Public Library | LARGE PRINT - SMITH | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Smith, D. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | LP ROMANCE Smith, D. | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
The acclaimed author of "Sweet Hush" continues her bestselling tradition with her latest comic, heartbreaking novel about a Gerogia woman whose world changes forever when Hollywood comes knocking on her door.
Author Notes
Contemporary romance novelist Deborah Smith is a former newspaper editor. She writes under her own name as well as under the pseudonyms Jackie Leigh and Jacqueline Lennox. She has written around forty novels indcluding A Place to Call Home and When Venus Fell, which both received awards from Romantic Times magazine. She also won a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times magazine.
She is a founding partner of BelleBooks, which is a small southern press known for feel good southern fiction including the Mossy Creek Hometown series and the Sweet Tea story collections.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Smith's beguiling brand of Southern contemporary romance (Sweet Hush, etc.) takes a satirical turn in her ninth novel. When Schwarzeneggeresque action star Stone Senterra arrives in Dahlonega, Ga., the only thing standing in the way of his making a film about real-life local hero Harper Vance is Vance's ex-beauty queen widow armed with a truckload of gravel, a potted orchid named "Dancer" and a will of steel. Charming Grace stops at nothing to ensure that her husband's memory does not become fodder for yet another bad movie. Having defied her wealthy father to befriend and then marry the backwoods bad boy turned GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigation) agent, she is more than ready to face down Hollywood. What she isn't prepared for are the feelings aroused by Senterra's troubleshooting bodyguard, Cajun-born ex-con Boone Noleene, like Vance a gallant-hearted tough guy and like Senterra abandoned by his father at an early age. The novel alternates points of view: first we hear from the rebel belle, then from the brash bodyguard. The battling duo are backed up by a larger-than-life cast of secondary characters, including Senterra's baby sister co-star, Diamond, voted sexiest movie babe by Gun and Knife magazine, and Senterra's son the computer geek, who falls for Grace's black niece from Detroit. Smith blends Southern charm and Hollywood brass, kicking up the satire with Stone's script notes, full of clich?s, paranoia and celluloid-deep emotion. Her unflagging energy, forgiving spirit and mischievous imagination compel the reader to delight with her in the frailty of heroes on-screen and off, proving that Smith is one romance novelist who just keeps getting better. (Feb.) Forecast: Smith's spirited blend of humor and romance should bump her up another notch on bestseller lists. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Grace Bagshaw Vance will do whatever it takes to stop Stone Senterra. One of Hollywood's most popular action/adventure stars, Senterra wants to direct a film based on the life of Grace's late husband, Harp, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent who was killed stopping the Turn-Key Bomber. Grace, however, is certain Senterra's brand of mindless, testosterone-drenched movies will disgrace Harp's memory. Armed with a shotgun and a load of gravel, Grace concocts a plan to put a halt to the production only to find herself up against Boone Noleene, Senterra's intensely loyal bodyguard. While they first seem to be on opposite sides, both Grace and Boone soon find they have quite a bit in common, something that worries Grace since the more she finds herself getting to know Boone, the more it seems she is letting go of her beloved Harp. Writing with an easy charm and sassy wit, Smith deftly fashions a splendid story of love and honor. Blessed with an abundance of delightfully eccentric characters and a plot that gracefully moves between past and present, this is a romance to treasure. --John Charles Copyright 2004 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Smith continues the format of her previous works (Sweet Hush, On Bear Mountain): a small town in Georgia, the daughter of an established old-line family whose first love ended tragically, a conflict that brings with it a new love interest. Stallone-esque actor and director Stone Santerra is determined to make a larger-than-life movie about Harp Vance, a backwoods boy who grew up to be a heroic Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent, gunned down on a case. Stone brings his film crew to Grace Bagshaw Vance's yard. Stone's entourage includes his tough-as-nails sister, an actress, and his bodyguard, a Cajun ex-con. All the men's voices are read by William Dufris, and all the women's parts are performed by Moira Driscoll. Adjusting to hearing two voices takes a couple of tracks, but it does help keep the roles straight. However, neither actor handles the Southern accents (especially Cajun) very well. Purchase where demand warrants.-Nann Blaine Hilyard, Zion-Benton P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.