Lies in Kennedy Hills has arrived with a side of love triangle, forbidden love, and reality tv behind the scenes drama tropes
Once again (for the sixth time) I invite everyone to check out yet another brand new book I've written!
I did it… I wrote another book. Shocking right? Well, this time it’s a novella coming in at just over 35,000 words, and it’s romance!
Lies in Kennedy Hills is the first book in the Kennedy Hills trilogy
As an all time lover of Bravo and all reality television of all kinds (Jersey Shore, Vanderpump Rules, and Real Housewives of New Jersey are my top three) I decided a behind the scenes drama was NEEDED. One of my favorite and weirdest things I love to do is to find every single blind item and factoid about the reality shows I’m watching, because they tell us it’s reality, but is it real?
Then, after realizing there’s a ton of behind the scenes drama, I realized I could write a book about that! The result is Kennedy Hills. I’m not big into romance, but I do love a good romance loaded with drama. My latest read was Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and I haven’t enjoyed a book like that in a long time.
I created this novella, and wanted to make sure it stayed a novella. While I love a good loaded 300+ pager, I also like to read shorter books faster. I wanted to make something like that for myself, but in order to fit the whole story I needed to break it up into three shorter stories. The first story is Lies in Kennedy Hills. The second will be Love in Kennedy Hills and the final book will be Loss in Kennedy Hills.
What is Kennedy Hills?
Kennedy Hills is a fictional suburb of LA in California where the richest of the rich live. The namesake of the tv show is after the location and showcases a cast of socialites.
Characters:
Charlotte Casey: An easy going, laid back field producer that often gets stuck with the boom mic. She’s trying hard to build her way up to a better position in the world of production, and landed Kennedy Hills as her first big job. She’s never been around such wealth, and while her coworkers wear designer and get botox, she prefers her plain brown bob and Gap and Old Navy clothes. That is, until one drunk night she ends up with the hottest man and lead star of Kennedy Hills, Chester Hollis in her Best Western hotel room.
Chester Hollis: Chester is tall, handsome, blond, and looks like your typical rich surfer boy, except he’s not. He’s actually a humble guy from Wisconsin that hit it big with an app startup. After that, his wealthy cousin Jeremy reached out and wanted to connect. He took him up on it and moved out to Kennedy Hills, but it was truly to just make enough money to help pay for his grandmother’s nursing home. He also happens to be dating the hottest female cast member; Olive Van Hutchins.
Olive Van Hutchins: Olive comes from a very wealthy family that owns a chain of buffets, except they aren’t regular buffets; they’re buffets for the rich and elite. She is considered gorgeous in all the superficial ways: thick, long blond hair, golden olive skin, long legs for day, but she’s the villain in the eyes of the show and Charlotte. Not only is she the richest, meanest person Charlotte has ever encountered… she’s dating Chester Hollis.
Jeremy Hollis: The rich socialite cousin of Chester on their fathers’ side and Olive’s childhood friend. While Jeremy comes from money, Chester comes from a humble background. It wasn’t until Chester came into money and success that he had an interest in building a bond with his cousin. Soon after, they got an apartment together in Kennedy Hills and he introduced him to his inner circle, where he and his friend hit it off. He’s also a jerk.
Julie Mays: Charlotte’s coworker who both loves and hates the absolute chaos created by Charlotte. The true definition of a supportive friend, but someone who respects the industry and its rigid rules, including NDAs.
Marcus Greenly: A camera guy working on the set of Kennedy Hills who slowly gets wrapped up in Charlotte’s drama, but seems to be loving it. He turns out to be a great friend that keeps secrets well.
Jason Walters: The showrunner and man responsible for Kennedy Hills’ success. His success has earned him the respect of 86 Productions, the production company for Kennedy Hills, and Verve network which airs the show. He is a creep who uses power to try to manipulate and bully his female employees and wants nothing more than the approval of the rich cast members on the show. He may be a disgusting sleaze, but he gets away with a lot due to the success and money he brings in, unfortunately.
Cleo, Clarissa & Caroline: Also known as Olive’s “minions,” they went to private school with her growing up and are the newest cast members on the show. They will do most things she says, and Cleo is actually in a blossoming relationship with Jeremy.
Fiona Frank: Olive’s actual childhood friend who isn’t really into the whole reality show thing, thinks most of it is fake, and is the only one to keep it real with her friend. She also grew up with a middle class upbringing and went to the same private school as Olive and Jeremy on a scholarship. Believe it or not, Olive was bullied and it was Fiona who always stuck up for her.
The Plot
Charlotte Casey got her start in trashy reality tv, the kind that people frown upon. After a stint on season one of Dumpster Diving for Love, she moved onto smaller projects like documentaries, but landed it big on season two of Kennedy Hills after the show saw smashing success with season one.
Charlotte likes to live in the shadows, preferably out of the lime light. She’s got an easy-to-manage brown bob and feels best in her Gap and Old Navy, while most of the crew she works with loves wearing designer they can’t afford and rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.
She’s finding her footing on set after befriending Julie, and works hard to avoid the creepiness of Jason, who seems to have a life goal of making her cry. When lead guy Chester Hollis witnesses this, he’s less than happy. Something about the simplicity of Charlotte’s life draws him to her, mostly because he was once a nobody before being thrust into television fame and too much money for one person.
After a drunken night in Charlotte’s Best Western hotel room, they end up in a bigger mess than she ever could have anticipated. She wanted him to notice her, but it was more of a fantasy she hadn’t thought would come to fruition.
This novella follows her journey as it continues to only get messier and messier, and she gets much more than she bargained for.
