Carla’s Comments (group member since May 31, 2013)

Carla’s comments from the Ask Carla Hanna group.

"Readers welcome the conversation." Carla J. Hanna & questioning mainstream stories

Indie Author News interviews Carla J. Hanna about her successful books geared for high school and college readers interested in celebrity life and influence: Starlet's Web Starlet's Run Starlet's Light

Please find the full interview at:
Indie Author News

Starlet’s Web is the 2013 AUTHORSdb Book Cover Contest Gold Medal Winner!

Love. Lies. Acting. Uncover the life of a talented actress caught in Hollywood's web of lies.

"YA fans will absolutely want to check out this series, where they'll find a new heroine to root for." - BlueInk Review

Note: Contains sex and mild swearing but is not a steamy romance about a sleazy Hollywood starlet. The characters portrayed are typical talented teen actors, not the rare out-of-control stereotypes like Lohan or Bieber.

Joan wrote: "Congratulations!!!!"

Thank you!

Wattpad added Starlet's Web to it's featured list of favorite stories! That's out of millions of stories!

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Read the books to get an understanding of what it would be like to be a talented actress. Think about your role as a fly in pop culture's web. Think about America's worldwide public image as a sex-focused, violent culture that produces most of the world's stories in film and book publishing.

I'm not talking about being a religious conservative or a Tea Party supporter. I'm talking about our responsibility to acknowledge how our films and books are threatening traditional family values. I'm talking about wanting to protect our kids from Blurred Lines videos, violent images on TV, and porn. For example, I have Comcast cable. When I go to On-Demand to find a show for my kids to watch, the default screen airs previews of New Releases. Those previews show the images of the hot R-rated movies. I want to be able to control that. I want On-Demand to take on the responsibility to only show movie previews of children's shows so my kids don't have to see sexual and violent images.

I love being American but think our world image is awful. I'm hoping my novels will help readers think about what we believe is "fat" (a size 2 is called fat in Hollywood) and what we think is "normal" in a romance. Please help me put pressure on our story-tellers to be more responsible in their film-making and publications. Let's see the world exactly as it is, accept what we cannot change, and change the things we can.

-Carla Hanna, author of the Starlet Series. Starlet's Web (The Starlet Series, #1) is available NOW. Starlet's Run (ARC, #2) and Starlet's Light (ARC, #3) are available as ebooks. Starlet's Man (draft, #1.5) is available on Wattpad.

I didn't write a memoir for two reasons:

1. I'm a nobody

2. I don't want to hurt anybody. Celebrities work had on their brands. I don't want to destroy what they have built. I don't need to be a name-dropper. Sure it would sell more books. But I'd have to live with myself as someone who exploited her friends and their innocent kids. I don't need the money and don't care about the fame to do that to anyone.

-Carla Hanna, author of the Starlet Series. Starlet's Web (The Starlet Series, #1) is available NOW. Starlet's Run (ARC, #2) and Starlet's Light (ARC, #3) are available as ebooks. Starlet's Man (draft, #1.5) is available on Wattpad.

Join main characters Lia and Manny in their journey from teens in love to responsible adults. The Starlet Series is a snapshot of a Hollywood star’s life as she gains independence from those who control her every move. This is not a paparazzi-laden story. It is a realistic, coming-of-age fiction. The actress is a Lawrence or Steinfeld, not a Lohan. She’s an isolated actress with the responsibility of the success of multimillion dollar projects – a product of Hollywood – a young woman.

I have not read anything like my series in the young adult or new adult genre because few authors have had the unique experiences I've had. I didn't make the setting or environment up. I lived in the house I describe in the series with an incredible view of the Santa Monica canyon and ocean view. My kids played with the kids of celebrities. I saw first-hand the inherent contradiction between church values and sexy pop culture as I sat in church with celebrities and their children. Yes, those kids will question what is right and wrong as they fall in love.

-Carla Hanna, author of the Starlet Series. Starlet's Web (The Starlet Series, #1) is available NOW. Starlet's Run (ARC, #2) and Starlet's Light (ARC, #3) are available as ebooks. Starlet's Man (draft, #1.5) is available on Wattpad.

The first three novels, Starlet’s Web, Starlet’s Run, and Starlet’s Light, are fictitious memoirs that Liana Marie writes while recovering in the hospital. The reader will notice a maturity of narrative voice and awareness from each book in the series. The protagonist’s narrative self-reflection grows as she becomes more self-aware. Starlet's End is the fourth novel from Lia's point of view and the last novel of the series.

1. Published, 2nd Edition: Starlet’s Web (The Starlet Series #1) – Love. Betrayal. Acting. Hollywood entangles talented teen actress in a web of lies. A fast read with plot twists.

Liana Marie Michael writes her first memoir as she deals with the consequences of being a child actor. Find out what makes Lia an Oscar-winning actress as you think about your role in shaping the films you see and the social media in which you engage.

In Starlet’s Web, Liana Marie is torn between mixed-messages, mostly impacted by Hollywood’s focus on sex and being sexy. She talks in monologues and thinks in stories as do her industry-consumed peers. What is real is in question.

2. ARC edition, e-book: Starlet’s Run (The Starlet Series #2) – In a world where an actress is a product and everyone is a critic, can young love survive? Should it? A deeper read with character development.

In Lia’s second memoir see how she and Manuel cope with hardship while they look to others to make decisions for them, trapping themselves into indecision. Find out what it takes to be a star as Lia runs lines in both her acting and personal lives. Think about how the scripts you have memorized affect you in your daily life. Do you whine about pain or do you accept it and make the most out of anything positive?

In Starlet’s Run, Liana Marie is torn between youthfulness vs. maturity, health vs. sickness. She clings to the idea of marriage and security while the adults around her urge her to grow up first. She and Manuel both discover the good and bad in themselves and each other as they begin to speak for themselves rather than “run lines,” actor-lingo for practicing lines in a movie script.

3. ARC edition, e-book: Starlet’s Light (The Starlet Series #3) – Young Hollywood actress, Liana Marie Michael, is ‘so done’ with acting. She gives up the fight until she sees the light. An emotional read.

Lia’s final memoir reveals her struggle with the exploitation inherent in being an actress and her search for friendship and acceptance. Find out how a star lives on set and see the hard work put into making epic films.

In Starlet’s Light, Lia’s situation overwhelms her. She struggles through the 5 Stages of Grief: denial/isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance and, like most of us, makes a lot of ‘human’ mistakes in doing so. But she tells the truth as she copes, opening her heart to new possibilities.

4. Work in process: Starlet’s End (The Starlet Series #4) – The Hollywood elite are pointing fingers at those responsible for anti-aging drugs. Can justice be served? An exciting man-hunt adventure with a chilling ending. TBR 2014

The fourth novel, Starlet’s End, is an active first-person narrative and concludes Lia’s journey. It explores our society’s subtle acceptance of performance-enhancement drugs or plastic surgery as a justifiable means of competition. What is our individual role in the game is in question.

Explore what it means to judge and be judged. Is justice retaliation, blame, or responsibility? How can we change Hollywood’s obsession with youth, sex, and unhealthy, skeleton bodies (both the dead ones littering all action films and the actors who shoot them)?

The following works focus on other points of view:

5. Beta read on Wattpad: Starlet’s Man (The Starlet Series, #1.5) - Interested in how Hollywood culture influences teens in Santa Monica, California? The novella, Starlet’s Man, focuses on the intentions of secondary characters: Manny, Beth, Alan, Kate & Janet.

Join over 28,000 Wattpad readers engaged in drafts of Starlet’s Man.

6. Outline: Starlet’s Spider (The Starlet Series, #2.5) - Michelle’s memoir.

7. Work in process: Starlet’s Six (The Starlet Series, #3.5) – Interested in what it is like to jet-set around the world as an anonymous heir to billions? Read about Pierre, Evan, Amelie, and Sandrine in the novella, Starlet’s Six.

-Carla Hanna, author of the Starlet Series. Starlet's Web (The Starlet Series, #1) is available NOW. Starlet's Run (ARC, #2) and Starlet's Light (ARC, #3) are available as ebooks. Starlet's Man (draft, #1.5) is available on Wattpad.

Every teen interested in drama should read Starlet's Web and Starlet's Run. If the teen doesn't think in scripts, she won't be able to reach that level of ease in front of the camera. Also, without "compartmentalizing" a young star will crash and burn under social pressure and criticism. Stoic dissociation needs to be learned. Are teen stars unique? Absolutely.

Kristen Stewart's mom was a script supervisor. Helen Hunt's dad was a drama professor. Gwen Paltrow's mom was an actress. Angelina Jolie's dad was an actor. So on, so on, and so on. The teen actresses I knew did NOT talk normally or think about life as I do. That quality is part of what makes them successful.

From all the successful people I met in my life, they ALL have Laina Marie's outlook on 'intentions' and forgiveness. None dwell on the past. Telling: Arnold Schwarzenegger's response to his divorce was "I screwed up, I'm sorry, I move on. I'm an optimist that we'll get over it."

Think about it. Actors are criticized daily/hourly and starve themselves for 'beauty' (which I do NOT find pretty) for the opportunity to work. If you want to be an actor, start thinking and talking is scripts and stories. Run lines. Compartmentalize.

Could you be an actor? Why would you want to? If that's what you want, please change the status quo. Fight back. Say "No", eat and keep your clothes on.
Carla J. Hanna

Thumbs up. We're moving forward - I didn't sign an exclusive. At first I thought it was over since I didn't, but it's going forward anyway. There's no deal just escalation.

Carla wrote: "a studio is interested in buying the options for the Starlet Series. Each time I have to sign an NDA so I'm telling you BEFORE I s..."

I chose not to fly out to L.A. on Thursday to discuss the series. I did that in March and -although it was a great experience- the meeting took 10 minutes. It is Sunday now and I HAVE NOT HEARD A THING. I'm on pins and needles. I shouldn't be. Who cares if the series becomes a film?

I've been down this path twice before this year. Here we go again: a studio is interested in buying the options for the Starlet Series. Each time I have to sign an NDA so I'm telling you BEFORE I sign anything. Here's the scoop: I'm talking to a 'corporate' assistant. She called. She heard about the series from a director-friend who read Starlet's Web and Starlet's Run. She read Starlet's Light. The two of them put a pitch together for her boss and he's interested. She called and asked for my plans on the rest of the series. I sent the outlines for Starlet's End and the 6 shorts. She sent an email wanting to go forward and, yes, an NDA for me to sign....

Tiffany wrote: "HELLO CARLA. WHAT DO YOU LOVE THE MOST ABOUT LIVING IN SANTA MONICA?"

I just posted some photos in the photo section, including one showing Lia's view. I'm posting another right now.

One of my best buddy's daughter just sent in her tape for X-factor. NO!!!! (Please don't be a singer.) She even read Starlet's Web. But at least she'll know what she's getting into at 15. She is so very, very talented.

Hi Tiffany,

I loved the weather and the view of the Pacific from my living room. Santa Monica only had three seasons: wet for about 2 months, dry for the rest, and foggy in the May and June mornings until the sun burned it off by afternoon. One of my best memories was walking down 3rd Street after dinner on Christmas Eve with the kids. The street was decorated for the holidays. The kids were in light jackets watching street performers and dancing along with the singers. I loved how warm it was in the winter. Santa Monica is such a fun place to live.

Another example of Liana Marie's world:

Angelina Jolie had a serious boyfriend for two years from the age of 14. Her mother allowed them to live together in her home, of which Jolie later said, "I was either going to be reckless on the streets with my boyfriend or he was going to be with me in my bedroom with my mom in the next room. She made the choice, and because of it, I continued to go to school every morning and explored my first relationship in a safe way."[95] She has compared the relationship to a marriage in its emotional intensity, and said that the breakup compelled her to dedicate herself to her acting career at the age of 16.[96]

During filming of Hackers (1995), Jolie had a romance with British actor Jonny Lee Miller, her first lover since the relationship in her early teens.[16] They were not in touch for many months after production ended, but eventually reconnected and married soon after on March 28, 1996. She attended her wedding in black rubber pants and a white T-shirt, upon which she had written the groom's name in her blood.[97] Jolie and Miller separated in September 1997 and divorced on February 3, 1999. They remained on good terms, and Jolie later explained, "It comes down to timing. I think he's the greatest husband a girl could ask for. I'll always love him, we were simply too young."[98]

Jolie had a brief relationship with model-actress Jenny Shimizu on the set of Foxfire (1996). She later said, "I would probably have married Jenny if I hadn't married my husband. I fell in love with her the first second I saw her."[99] Shimizu claimed in 2005 that her relationship with Jolie had lasted many years and continued even while Jolie was romantically involved with other people.[100] In 2003, asked if she was bisexual, Jolie responded, "Of course. If I fell in love with a woman tomorrow, would I feel that it's okay to want to kiss and touch her? If I fell in love with her? Absolutely! Yes!"[101]

After a two-month courtship, Jolie married actor Billy Bob Thornton on May 5, 2000, in Las Vegas. They met on the set of Pushing Tin (1999), but did not pursue a relationship at that time as Thornton was engaged to actress Laura Dern.[102] As a result of their frequent public declarations of passion and gestures of love—most famously wearing one another's blood in vials around their necks—their marriage became a favorite topic of the entertainment media.[103] Jolie and Thornton announced the adoption of a son from Cambodia in March 2002, but abruptly separated three months later. Their divorce was finalized on May 27, 2003. Asked about the sudden dissolution of their marriage, Jolie stated, "It took me by surprise, too, because overnight, we totally changed. I think one day we had just nothing in common. And it's scary but... I think it can happen when you get involved and you don't know yourself yet."[104]

In early 2005, Jolie was involved in a well-publicized Hollywood scandal when she was accused of being the reason for the divorce of actors Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. She and Pitt were alleged to have started an affair during filming of Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005). She denied this on several occasions, but later admitted that they "fell in love" on the set.[105] She explained in 2005, "To be intimate with a married man, when my own father cheated on my mother, is not something I could forgive. I could not look at myself in the morning if I did that. I wouldn't be attracted to a man who would cheat on his wife."[101] Jolie and Pitt did not publicly comment on the nature of their relationship until January 2006, when Jolie confirmed to People that she was pregnant with Pitt's child.[106] Pitt and Jolie announced their engagement in April 2012, after seven years together.[107] The couple—dubbed "Brangelina" by the entertainment media—are the subject of worldwide media coverage.[108]

Here's an article showing how teen stars are desperate for commitment. We'll use Spears - but could have used Reese Witherspoon or Nicole Kidman, among many others, just as easily. Spears wanted to marry Timberlake when she was 18 and talked in an interview how she wanted kids with him as soon as they were hitched. No one would let the two marry and the relationship blew up. She then had some awful boyfriends. Spears was first married at 23 to her childhood friend, then married to Federline a few months later and immediately got pregnant, saying that she wanted to have kids more than anything.

Excerpt: In January 2004, Spears married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The marriage was annulled 55 hours later, stating that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions".[70] In March 2004, she embarked on The Onyx Hotel Tour in support of In the Zone.[71] In June 2004, Spears fell and injured her left knee during the music video shoot for "Outrageous". Spears underwent arthroscopic surgery. She was forced to remain six weeks with a thigh brace, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation, which caused The Onyx Hotel Tour to be canceled.[72] During 2004, Spears became involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna.[73]

In July 2004, Spears became engaged to American dancer Kevin Federline, whom she had met three months before. The romance received intense attention from the media, since Federline had recently broken up with actress Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child at the time.[20] The stages of their relationship were chronicled in Spears's first reality show Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. They held a wedding ceremony on September 18, 2004, but were not legally married until three weeks later on October 6 due to a delay finalizing the couple's prenuptial agreement.[74] Shortly after, she released her first fragrance with Elizabeth Arden, Curious, which broke the company's first-week gross for a perfume.[20] In October 2004, Spears took a career break to start a family.

She is 31 now. Here's her latest headline:

Britney Spears and Fiance Jason Trawick End Engagement By ABC News
Jan 11, 2013 9:16pm

Britney Spears and her fiancé, Jason Trawick, will not be getting married and, instead, will be going “their separate ways.”

“Jason and I have decided to call off our engagement. I’ll always adore him and we will remain great friends,” Spears said in a statement sent by her representative to ABC News.

The singer got engaged to her former agent in December 2011.

“As this chapter ends for us a new one begins,” Trawick said in the statement. “I love and cherish her and her boys and we will be close forever.”

The couple started dating in 2009.

Trawick told “Access Hollywood” in December 2011 that he got down on one knee to pop the question and Spears’ sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, witnessed the proposal.

But Spears’ representative, Jeff Raymond, said they’ve now decided to be just friends.

“Britney Spears and Jason Trawick have mutually agreed to end their one-year engagement,” Raymond said. “As two mature adults, they came to the difficult decision to go their separate ways while continuing to remain friends.”

The news of the break-up came after Spears announced earlier today that she would not be returning as a judge on the TV show, “The X Factor.”

“I’ve made the very difficult decision not to return for another season,” Spears said in a prepared statement.

The reason: She wants to start making new music.

PHOTOS: Best of Britney Spears

Spears has been married twice.

Her first marriage – which ended in an annulment – was to a friend, Jason Alexander. Her second marriage was to Kevin Federline. That relationship ended in divorce in 2006.

On Friday, Trawick also resigned as co-conservator for the pop star, The Associated Press reported.

In April 2012, Trawick was named a co-conservator by a Los Angeles judge, according to People magazine.

Along with Spears’ dad, Jamie Spears, Trawick had a say in the pop star’s personal affairs but not in her financial affairs. Spears’ dad continues to manage the latter.

A lawyer for Spears’ father said the request was made by the singer. Jamie Spears has been his daughter’s conservator since her emotional breakdown in February 2008.

ABC News’ Sheila Marikar contributed to this report.

Teen stars who grew up in the industry don't talk like 'normal teens' whatsoever. The dialogue in Starlet's Web is 99% authentic. What I removed is the cussing. Real Hollywood actors would cuss in every sentence of the dramatic monologues that they share with each other.

When I first heard it, I felt like the teen was disconnected from reality until I realized that she was so used to scripts that how she spoke was real to her. I didn't want to sugar-coat the dialogue into something unreal because teens all over the world aspire to be actors but have NO idea what that would be like. It would mean coming into a culture in which the teen is an adult who runs lines with each other, gets screamed at in every cuss word imaginable - with the f-bomb and sh** used as frequently as articles, and "compartmentalizes" herself.

The dialogue in Starlet's Web gets under your skin? It should (then imagine it with F***ing in every sentence). Want to be an actress? Why?

Goodreader Blueturtles has asked me some good questions about living in Santa Monica. Feel free to ask me whatever - but it's all in the series, too. I thought I'd share in case you're curious:

Blueturtles: You lived in Liana Marie's house?

Carla: Yes. I was a mom of 2 toddlers when we lived in Santa Monica. We moved there because my husband is a dot com expert from eBay and a Santa Monica company headed by a former Disney executive hired him as his company's VP, Marketing. The kids in our neighborhood and preschool were kids of celebrities: Violet Affleck, the Sheen kids, Marcia Cross's twins, Julia Roberts, just to name a few. My kids played with their kids. Nannies were usually with the kids and drivers/bodyguards picked them up from school but the parents WANTED to be part of their kid's lives, too. So they would be around sometimes, usually with the nanny in attendance. Some of the moms were clueless - Kate Beckensale said, "There, there, kiss, kiss" and looked for her nanny to rescue her when her kid fell off a play structure... "What?!" (Well, I've been clueless, too) - but most were awesome.

Blueturtles: Do stars come and go just like that?

Carla: Yes, stars come and go, just like you and me - without bodyguards or drivers. I sat next to dozens and dozens just in the coffee shops. Several times, I shared the community table with stars - it's just 'normal.'

For example, I sat next to Ralph Fiennes the weekend after I saw Harry Potter and just could NOT figure out who he was - it nagged me so much. We even talked! I just figured he was a nice guy but he had that "you clueless woman" look. Yep. Same with the first time I chatted with Helen Hunt - did not recognize her whatsoever.

I did yoga in the same classes. We had our kids in the same mommy-and-me classes. In my book, I have a scene from when Liana Marie figured out that People magazine's photos were planted/paid by the brand's publicist. I witnessed it in person once and described in Starlet's Web exactly as I saw it. Sometimes, the stars would have their 'people' clear out the Starbucks or Cafe Luxe. One time, I had walked to Cafe Luxe with the kids in the stroller and Speilberg's guys had the manager kick us out. I was also kicked out of Starbucks and City Bakery because my kids were loud during script reviews directors and talent would have but that was rare - probably 10 times out of 2.5 years. The City Bakery scene in Starlet's Run was exactly what happened when I was kicked out for good. But no biggie because a La Pain and a Starbucks were right next door - probably saved me money!

Blueturtles: How could you get kicked out like that?!?! That seems a little rude.

Carla: It really is rude. But it is part of the entitlement. I saw that the a-list actors were nicer than the tv actors and musicians. In Starlet's Run, Manny works as a bus boy at an a-list restaurant hang out and concludes that the performers who understand and have some control over their lives are cool and the wanna-be's are jerks. That's what I saw. Now, Speilberg isn't a wanna-be but his assistants were ultimate butt-kissers and beyond rude.

One time, I sat next to Tim Burton: no bodyguard or driver. No ego. Just a regular person, like me.

Blueturtles: Wow!!! Did u get a chance to talk to him?!?! He's one of my favorite directors.

Carla: No. Spielberg's minions swarmed around him. But I'm sure they were all there for a business coffee. When directors are there with family they are approachable but I never felt the need to swoon over any of the many directors I saw and I don't see Tim Burton movies so I didn't go ga-ga over him when he sat next to me at RFD. When you live in SM you see industry people all the time.

Blueturtles: Yeah but still that's kind of cool to see them. Do you know anything about British actors, directors, and singers? To me they beat Hollywood. America is wonderful but you have to admit our entertainment stinks.

Carla: Agreed. I address that in Book 3 - when you have Americans filming in Britain, changing the Camelot story and blowing up the castle.

Thank you, Blueturtles, for your thoughtful questions!

Goodreads reviewer, Ariella, has a muscle disease and has endured a difficult brain surgery. She loved the Starlet Series and related to teen actress, Liana Marie, as the character deals with betrayal, cancer, congestive heart failure, and grief while life continues on its Hollywood path.

I’ve invited the brave Ariella to talk about her journey.

Carla: I’m so glad you loved the Starlet Series so far. I hoped to inspire readers who are hit with tragedy to learn to accept the situation, change what they can, and stay positive and forward-looking. You’ve had brain surgery, starting when you were just a tween, and have a brain pacemaker to stimulate your neurological impulses. How did you cope with the fear of the operation?

Ariella: Michael J. Fox had the same surgery as I did. It's called DBS. The operation is scary. I have to stay awake the whole time but can’t move a muscle. I’ve had to return to the hospital 5 times because my pacemaker is battery operated.

The batteries are on the high frequency so it drained the batteries. I originally got it in April 24, 2006 part 1 and part 2 was May 4. The first one drained 3 years later on April 28, 2009 and I have 2 batteries that drained the year after, in 2009. Now I have the rechargables, and I charge my system everyday.

It wasn't easy and I don't complain but you can see my scars on my chest. I am brave but I don't let this define my life.

Carla: You are remarkable and brave. You are right to not let your condition define you. How do you see yourself instead?

Ariella: I see myself as a normal teenager. I might not be able to walk good but I do everything like anyone my age does.

Carla: What advice would you give to a teen faced with hardship?

Ariella: Be happy no matter what. Have your family and friends be with you. Don't let anyone hurt your feelings. Everything will be okay; you just have to believe.

Carla: Well said. Thank you so much, Ariella.

Goodreaders, feel free to ask Carla or Ariella any relevant questions you may have. Please share your thoughts or experiences here, too.