MEET MY MUSE: Justine Lewis

 

Meet my Muse with Justine Lewis

My muse is curious. In the inquisitive sense. She’s curious in the strange and unusual sense too, but that’s a whole other story. She is enquiring. She is nosey. She likes to ask ‘What would happen if…?’, ‘How would it feel to…?’ and ‘What would make someone…?’

I write escapist romance and love following celebrities. I worry about their kids. You know, the ones that get the insane names. And when I read articles about celebrities’ children (as, let’s face it, I regularly do) I can’t help wonder what will become of them. How does it feel to grow up with super famous parents? Would you feel like you were in their shadow? Would you want to embrace their world, like Dakota Johnson, daughter of Melanie Griffiths and Don Johnson? Dakota has absolutely thrown herself into show business by starring in the most talked about movie of the year. Or would you shun it completely? What would it be like to be one of Angelina Jolie’s kids? Maybe a lot of fun. They have five siblings and get to travel all over the world. What would it be like to be Suri Cruise? Maybe not as much fun. Even with all those pretty clothes. But really, I don’t know how it would be. So I just have to make things up.

Many years ago I was watching the Wizard of Oz with my mother. As Judy Garland was singing Somewhere over the Rainbow, Mum said, “I wonder what Liza Minnelli thinks when she watches this?” And I started wondering too. This question stuck with me (as have many things my mother has said. Thanks Mum).

That’s where Persephone Greenwood aka Poppy came from, the heroine in my new release, Acting the Part. Her mother is a beautiful actress with depression and substance abuse problems, but Poppy loves her unconditionally and will do anything to help her overcome her addiction. Even if that means entering her father’s show business world, the world of movie making, actors and celebrities. A world she blames for her mother’s problems. A world she has avoided all of her life.

The hero, Max Madden, is Poppy’s worst nightmare. He’s directing the movie for Poppy’s estranged father. Film-making is his life and his passion. It provides him with an escape from his unhappy life. Max, didn’t have perfect parents either; and this is quietly torturing him. But unlike Poppy, Max hasn’t quite figured out how to deal with this yet. And it’s up to Poppy to help him…

 

Acting The Part

Poppy Greenwood needs money fast. Her estranged father, one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, has promised to help – on the condition that she work on the set of his next movie. Although Poppy despises the world of show business, she has little choice but to agree.

Hot-shot director Max Madden has an Oscar in his sights. He needs this film to be a success but an overblown budget and a difficult cast are ruining his plans. Not only that, but the Executive Producer’s daughter has arrived to spy on him. To keep a close eye on Poppy, he insists she work directly for him.

But as they work together on location in southern France, the temperature begins to rise. Max knows the boss’s daughter is definitely off limits – and Poppy does not want a relationship with anyone in the industry. Yet against their better judgment, an intense chemistry begins to build . . .

 

About the Author

Justine grew up in Canberra, Australia and after travelling overseas and living in Europe for a time, she settled back in Canberra with her husband and young family. She has spent her professional life writing legal advice – which some may say is similar to creative writing – but the lack of sexy heroes and happy endings led her to try writing romance. She has placed in the finals of Romance Writers of Australia writing contests, winning the Emerald Short Award in 2014.
She loves Earl Grey tea, talking about which of Jane Austen’s novels is her favourite, and searching for the perfect frock. She will read anything, but loves romance most of all.

 

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