Best Seller by Terry Tyler

About Best Seller

Three women, one dream: to become a successful author.

Eden Taylor has made it—big time. A twenty-three year old with model girl looks and a book deal with a major publisher, she's outselling the established names in her field and is fast becoming the darling of the media.

Becky Hunter has money problems. Can she earn enough from her light-hearted romance novels to counteract boyfriend Alex's extravagant spending habits, before their rocky world collapses?

Hard up factory worker Jan Chilver sees writing as an escape from her troubled, lonely life. She is offered a lifeline—but fails to read the small print...

In the competitive world of publishing, success can be merely a matter of who you know—and how ruthless you are prepared to be to get to the top.

BEST SELLER is a novella of 40k words (roughly half as long as an average length novel), a slightly dark, slightly edgy drama with a twist or three in the tale.

 

My Review of Best Seller

 

Well, wow, where do I start? I loved this book. From the very beginning to the final word, I couldn't put it down. Luckily enough it was a relatively short read at 40,000 words, although it had great depth and made me feel as if I was reading a much longer novel. This book is based upon friendship, deceit, hubris and greed. It has it all.

 

Best Seller centres around three central characters, all women, all writers. We have Becky, the librarian who is living with her boyfriend, who believes that money is for spending and not for saving. Although in his thirties, he still believes that he is living the youthful and carefree life of his twenties. Becky is a happy self-published author. She does not write for money, nor for fame, she simply lives to write, and sells a comfortable amount of books via Kindle Direct Publishing on Amazon. She is happy. Or is she?

 

Then we have Eden, who I had trouble getting to grips with a the beginning of the novel. This was a young woman who wanted the limelight and who archived her dream. But does she deserve this? Is she a better writer simply because she has a book publishing deal with a top publishing house?

 

Finally we have Jan, whom I loved. Here is a woman who has natural talent, enjoys writing but has no idea how to promote herself. Here we are remanded that writing is not just about writing, it is about the whole package. How a book looks and how you can tell people about it. Without publicity, and knowing the right people, getting your book noticed is incredibly difficult.

 

All three women go through a huge transformation, some are for the better, other decidedly not so. But it was this transformation and how the characters dealt with the prospect of fame and recognition for their writing, that truly gripped me. Would we really do anything to get that much sought after book publishing deal?  Who knows? That's the reality. I can't say much more without giving the plot away. But this book cleverly explores the book publishing industry, and the fact that sometimes who you know, is just as important as what you write.

 

This book is incredibly witty yet heartbreaking at the same time. It is the perfect weekend read. And as for the ending... well, you'll just have to read it for yourself.  

 

With thanks to the author who provided a digital review copy.

You can buy Best Seller from Amazon here.

 

 



 

 

About the author

 

 

 

 

Terry Tyler's first Amazon publication, 'You Wish', won Best Women's Fiction in the eFestival of Words 2013, while short story collection 'Nine Lives', family dramas 'Last Child' and 'The House of York', and psychological drama/thriller 'The Devil You Know' have won other small online awards or been named on book bloggers' 'Best Books of the Year' posts.

Terry is fascinated by the psychology behind relationships, and this forms the background of all her books. From the 'is my husband/friend/son a serial killer?' fears of the characters in 'The Devil You Know', to the dark and complex emotional tangles of 'The House of York', to the aspirations of several writers in 'Best Seller, it's all about the characters. And the plot twists...

Terry has a blog on which she writes around many topics (social networking, writing, nostalgia, TV and film). The link: http://www.terrytyler59.blogspot.co.uk/ . She also has a book review blog, on which you can find her own reading choices and those she reads as part of Rosie Amber's Book Review Team. She loves Twitter (TerryTyler4) and can also be found on Goodreads and Facebook.

Terry lives in the north east of England with her husband.