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Join Amy Spalding and Celia Laskey in conversation about Amy's latest book IN HER SPOTLIGHT!For fans of Casey McQuiston, Alexis Hall, and Meryl Wilsner, an actually hilarious, sweetly sexy, gloriously relatable, second chance, sapphic rom-com from the acclaimed author of For Her Consideration, starring a franchise Hollywood actress aims to prove her chops in a theatrical production directed by her ex whose heart she broke a decade earlier.
Hollywood actor Tess Gardner is not the kind of famous she set out to be. She's ready to show she’s more than Princess Platinum of the Vindicators series, a pretty face with CGI superpowers that literally sparkle. Tess wants to prove herself as an actor and that means theatre—the true calling of her thespian heart. But just when Tess lands a part working with an acclaimed stage director, a brewing scandal forces him out. His replacement? None other than hip, buzzy director Rebecca Frisch. The same Rebecca Frisch whose heart a firmly closeted Tess broke over a decade ago during summer stock . . .
As Tess wrestles with her lingering guilt and attraction to Rebecca, she also finds herself struggling to rein in her superstar status backstage. When things unexpectedly reignite with Rebecca, Tess bristles even more against the walls of her A-list life. Since the industry’s made it clear that girl-next-door superheroes can’t also be gay, coming out isn’t realistic for Tess. And ultimately, Rebecca will head back to New York and likely seek out a less complicated relationship anyway.
Will the curtain close on her chance for happiness or will Tess finally take a leading role in her own life?
Amy Spalding is a Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award-winning author of authentic, funny, and diverse novels representing the LGBTQ+ community, including For Her Consideration, At Her Service, We Used to Be Friends, and The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles), which was named a best book of 2018 by NPR, The Boston Globe, Kirkus Reviews, and more. She has a B.A. in Advertising & Marketing Communications from Webster University and an M.A. in Media Studies from The New School. She also studied longform improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Raised in St. Louis, she now lives in Los Angeles and can be found online at TheAmySpalding.com.
Celia Laskey is the author of Cover Story (available March 25, 2025), So Happy for You, and Under the Rainbow, a finalist for the 2020 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Her other work has appeared in Catapult, Guernica, The Minnesota Review, and elsewhere. She has an MFA from the University of New Mexico and currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog Whiskey.
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