AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT
MICHAEL BEAULIEU
Michael Beaulieu
Facebook TwitterMichael Beaulieu has been an entertainment journalist for over 20 years. His credits including such magazines and websites as LiveWire and Lollipop, both of which he was a contributing editor and columnist for, as well as AOL’s pre-internet music magazine Rocknet and Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse. He started off by publishing a hair metal zine called ANT, The Only Cool Magazine That Bites in the mid ‘90s, shortly after grunge had killed the hair metal scene. It was called Ant because two of his favorite bands contain those three letters, Warrant and Anthrax. The zine was praised by many people throughout the heavy metal community including Geri Miller of Metal Edge and Anne Leighton of Hit Parader. Michael’s interview skills were praised many times by filmmaker Kevin Smith, which is why he had Michael conduct a series of interviews with actors, producers, etc, who’ve worked on his films. Today Michael is the publisher and editor of the popular pop culture site Love is Pop. (www.loveispop.com). Originally a music only site, Michael recently began interviewing some of his favorite authors, including Jay Asher, Francesca Lia Block, Adriana Mather and Madeline Freeman. As for what type of music is featured on Love is Pop, anything goes. Michael has interviewed everything from pop princesses to death metal gods to many artists whose music is in foreign languages. Some of his recent music interviews include Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Coeur de Pirate, Lou Doillon, Nikki Yanofsky and Ben Johnston of Biffy Clyro. He recently did an interview with Chris McLelland of Nominee during which the two discussed something they have in common – bipolar disorder. From 2003 - 2006 Michael resided in Los Angeles, California, which is where he wrote his debut novel Reckoning Daze. Reckoning Daze tells the story of Lindsay-Harmon Foster, an actress who recently lost a series she loved and is now working on a pilot for a series that might prove to be the role of a lifetime if she can get the network to sign her for the full season. While Lindsay is doing the pilot, she starves herself, saying, “An actress is always a starving artist.” (Just one of her many self-destructive mantras.) She also struggles with cutting and drug abuse. Meanwhile, the rising music star she thought was her soulmate committed suicide and she blames herself, which is one of many things fueling her self-destructive ways. Family secrets and the death of a dear friend weigh heavily on her as well. It’s on the set for the new show that Lindsay meets handsome actor Marc, who she may or may not be able to have a relationship with, depending on whether or not she can let herself find love again. Michael wrote Reckoning Daze while he was struggling with anorexia and living in Los Angeles himself, wanting to write a character he could relate to. In spite of the fact that Lindsay is a downhill racer, the book isn’t depressing, the way Lindsay sees the world often being laugh out loud funny. If you like Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk, you’ll love her often satirical take on Los Angeles. Mostly though, Reckoning Daze is a suspenseful page turner, the sort you stay up all night reading.
Reckoning Daze
by Michael Beaulieu
“An actress is always a starving artist,” so says Lindsay Harmon-Foster, a talented but struggling Los Angeles actress in Michael Beaulieu’s gripping debut novel Reckoning Daze. Lindsay, 19, a former star of a critically acclaimed but canceled series, is now doing a pilot that might prove to be the role of a lifetime, but her anorexia and other habits could kill her before she’s cast for the full series. Although she has long been self-destructive, she’s never been more so than now, making her a threat to herself and others. Aside from losing the show she loved, she thought she had found her soulmate in a rising music star named Jesse, but he committed suicide and she blames herself. Will she land the new series and allow herself to find love again with an actor named Marc or will addictions – and suppressed family secrets – make her die hard? While Lindsay’s demons are portrayed with unflinching honesty, the way she views Los Angeles and the business is often comical. If you like Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk, you’ll find Reckoning Daze’s blend of high drama and satire to be a perfect mix of laughs and suspense. Get it today and find out whether or not Lindsay’s dreams come true. “An actress is always a starving artist,” so says Lindsay Harmon-Foster, a talented but struggling Los Angeles actress in Michael Beaulieu’s gripping debut novel Reckoning Daze. Lindsay, 19, a former star of a critically acclaimed but canceled series, is now doing a pilot that might prove to be the role of a lifetime, but her anorexia and other habits could kill her before she’s cast for the full series. Although she has long been self-destructive, she’s never been more so than now, making her a threat to herself and others. Aside from losing the show she loved, she thought she had found her soulmate in a rising music star named Jesse, but he committed suicide and she blames herself. Will she land the new series and allow herself to find love again with an actor named Marc or will addictions – and suppressed family secrets – make her die hard? While Lindsay’s demons are portrayed with unflinching honesty, the way she views Los Angeles and the business is often comical. If you like Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk, you’ll find Reckoning Daze’s blend of high drama and satire to be a perfect mix of laughs and suspense. Get it today and find out whether or not Lindsay’s dreams come true.
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