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WORK TITLE: Fame by Misadventure
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WEBSITE: https://www.willsterling.me/
CITY: Los Angeles
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COUNTRY: United States
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PERSONAL
Male.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Actor, producer, and writer. Former podcast producer and director of production.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
[open new]Amidst efforts to make his way as an actor in Los Angeles, Will Sterling wrote and published his Hollywood-centered debut novel, Fame by Misadventure. He spent a portion of his early career in production for a major podcast outlet, often editing interviews with celebrities. Sterling proudly identifies as queer. Partly inspired by the Me Too movement, his first novel delves into lesser-known implications and realities for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Fame by Misadventure is a mystery thematically concerned with the underpinnings, and undersides, of celebrity culture in the age of reality television. Having shared elements of her personal life ranging from bad relationships to alcohol and drug addiction over fifteen years as the star of Molly’s Messy Life, Molly Mandrie meets an early death in a hanging on Mulholland Drive. Authorities presume suicide, but Molly left no note, and her longtime friend and executive producer Guy Maker suspiciously skips her funeral. Successful actor Hector Espinoza, an admirer of Mollie’s, takes it upon himself to investigate, crossing paths with a selection of the present and future reality stars who graced Molly’s show over the years. With practically everyone willing to slight others in seeking their own fame, Hector—who is not without something to hide—hopes to hit on whatever dark secrets lay behind Mollie’s death.
A Kirkus Reviews writer praised Fame by Misadventure as a “skillfully written … intriguing whodunit” that proves “fast-paced but sensitively told.” The reviewer affirmed that Sterling “richly describes” the characters’ motives and emotions “with a strong sense of compassion,” as he “thoroughly roots his story in a dysfunctional Hollywood culture that he seems to know well.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2024, review of Fame by Misadventure.
ONLINE
Will Sterling website, https://www.willsterling.me (July 24, 2024).
Will Sterling is a queer writer and actor living in Los Angeles. As a former producer and director of production for a major podcast network, he has spent his career as a fly on the wall to conversations from celebrities of all walks of life. Having had to leave a lot of confessions, rumors, humor, and hurt on the cutting room floor, he brings these emotional stories to life by shining light on the pain that often hides behind the makeup.
Sterling, Will FAME BY MISADVENTURE Subplot (Fiction Fiction) $20.73 3, 5 ISBN: 9781637557372
Sterling presents a Hollywood mystery that focuses on the human costs of celebrity culture.
Critics and fans alike are unsurprised when the body of former child star Molly Mandrie is found hanging from a tree on L.A.'s Mulholland Drive. For 15 years, her chaotic existence has been on public display on her reality TV show, Molly's Messy Life. She suffered through bad relationships and relapses of drug and alcohol addiction on the show, which featured a revolving cast of co-stars, many of whom would move on to headline their own reality shows. But to movie star Hector Espinoza, who was Molly's devoted admirer, something about her suicide just doesn't add up. He asks his old friend and current manager, Murphy Beck, to help him look into unanswered questions surrounding her death. For instance, why didn't Molly leave a suicide note? And why didn't Guy Maker, who was Molly's longtime friend and her show's executive producer, attend her funeral? Hector, who has a dark secret of his own, throws himself into solving the mystery: "He needed leads. He needed to talk to the people she knew best, who might have known Guy even better." As he untangles the threads of Molly's life, however, he finds that the world of reality TV is full of terrible secrets; everyone seems to seek fame and wealth at other people's expense. In this skillfully written novel, the author (an L.A.-based writer and actor) thoroughly roots his story in a dysfunctional Hollywood culture that he seems to know well. Sterling richly describes the emotions and motivations of the major characters--mostly young men and women who live their lives constantly in front of cameras--with a strong sense of compassion. His story is clearly inspired by how the #MeToo movement rocked Hollywood starting in 2017, but it powerfully focuses on the lesser-known exploitation of actors from the LGBTQ+ community.
A fast-paced but sensitively told story set in the world of reality TV with an intriguing whodunit at its center.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Sterling, Will: FAME BY MISADVENTURE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A795673842/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=129ff883. Accessed 26 June 2024.