Book Details:
MIT OUT SOUND by Rick Lenz
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 378 pages
Genre: Hollywood Tie-in Literary Fiction
Publisher: Chromodroid Press
Release date: February 2025
Content Rating: PG-13 +M. My book is rated PG-13 + M for swear words, one non-explicit sex scene, adultery and references to abuse and one on page murder.
Book Description:
”It’s time to make a mess,” said Emily.
Would-be movie producer Emily Bennett didn’t believe the legend of a lost movie, starring James Dean and John Wayne. But when she meets two uncannily talented celebrity impersonators-Jimmy Riley and Tom “Duke” Manfredo, and stumbles upon the elusive film editor who stole the master negative of Showdown, it dispels her doubts, fills her with a courage she didn’t know she had, and she sets out to complete the movie.
But as Emily and her stars prepare for day one of shooting, they find themselves entangled in a complex love triangle with Oedipal undertones, mirroring their own past lives and off-screen dynamics. As doubts about their ruthless director, Solange Borugian, surface, Jimmy’s and Duke’s friendship is turned upside down, while Emily and her brother Ben, struggle with their own unresolved issues and are forced to confront their dying father.
On location in Arizona, amidst Apache holy grounds and the magic of day-for-night shooting, the lines between past and present blur and the flawed characters’ backstories intertwine into a tumultuous finale that exposes their hidden animosities, demons, and loves.
MY REVIEW
When I was a little girl, I’d sit on the floor in the living room, my against the chair my father sat in, the only light illuminating the room coming from the television. The only sound, the actor’s voices. No talking during a western movie. That was when my love for western movies began. And John Wayne. The Duke, loomed larger than life. His baritone drawl. His smile that looks like he knows something you don’t. And his trademark walk. I remembered thinking, I’m gonna marry that man. LOL
Mit Out Sound. Whispers of an unfinished movie starring John Wayne and James Dean. Emily, a woman who can’t seem to let it go. Determined to track down the supposed film and finish it. But how?
Emily meets two impersonators, dead ringers for a young James Dean and John Wayne. She gets her hands on the film. She begins to make the movie. From day one, nothing goes smoothly. Will the film get finished? Should it?
This book checked so many boxes for me. An intriguing mystery. A flawed protagonist. It’s character driven. And has such an original story line. As I read the book, I easily pictured it playing on the big screen. Such fun.
5 STARS
When Rick Lenz retired as a stage and film actor (playing opposite Ingrid Bergman, John
Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Walter Matthau, Peter Sellers, etc.), his passion for drama refused to retire with him. Although he was an actor most of his life, he is also a seasoned writer.
His plays have been produced Off-Broadway, on PBS television, and in regional theatres across the country. Rick’s memoir North of Hollywood was called “masterful” by Writer’s
Digest. His first novel, The Alexandrite was named “one of the best books of the year” by Kirkus Reviews. Bret Easton Ellis called it “almost impossible to put down.” Booklife calls A Town Called Why, “An absorbing tale of mystery and revenge… nuanced … powerful.” Rick’s books have won several awards, including, Readers Views (first place), the Chanticleer Somerset Grand Prize for Literary, Contemporary and Mainstream Fiction, an IPPY Award, and a Foreword Book of the Year. Most recently, his time-travel love story Hello, Rest of My Life was a 2022 Silver Nautilus Book Award winner (fiction), and Eric Hoffer Award finalist (fiction).
He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Linda and an ever-shifting array of animals.
connect with the author: website ~ x/twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ goodreads ~ bookbub
MIT OUT SOUND by Rick Lenz Book Tour Giveaway
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