Carla J. Hanna

Hi Carla, thank you so much for accepting my request. I am honored by you allowing me to interact with you and I hope that this would remain a mutually beneficial relationship. I wish you the absolute best for this year and I hope that your life would be filled with love, laughter and amazing accomplishments. Have a fantastic day. Anton. Amanda: More Than Any Woman

Update: Thanks! All Kindle gift codes have been claimed for #newrelease #youngadult #mystery Starlet's End: A Young Adult Mystery!

For a limited time, this offer is only announced for Goodreads friends/fans on author page: Carla J. Hanna.

Thank you for reading the Starlet Series! Request one of the eight ebooks today! First come, first served. (Three claimed 05/13/2016. Three claimed 5/17/2016. All claimed 5/22/2016.)

See this ‪#‎AmazonGiveaway‬ for a chance to win: Starlet's End: A Young Adult Mystery. Releases May 1. https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/5892858... NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends the earlier of Apr 26, 2016 11:59 PM PDT, or when all prizes are claimed. See Official Rules http://amzn.to/GArules.

Starlet's Web #teenfiction reveals authentic #young-adult #Hollywood. #Mustread for anyone interested in what celebrity life is like behind the scenes. On sale now for Kindle.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A0XPODU

Starlet's Man #teenfiction reveals authentic #young-adult #Hollywood. #Mustread for anyone interested in what celebrity life is like behind the scenes. On sale now for Kindle and Nook.

Carla J. Hanna was on The Gary Sutton Show, WSBA Pennsylvania, today! http://carlahanna.com/press/gary-sutt...

I was interviewed on #YesFM today! :-) Free #iBookstore download codes remain for my new acclaimed release Starlet's Man. Request your #ebook today. Here's a link about the specifics: http://carlahanna.com/press/tommy-bri...

Review: Starlet’s Web – Carla J. Hanna

May 13, 2014 By: Orsayor Scomment http://www.bookreferees.org/2014/05/1...

Starlet's Web by Carla J. Hanna
Genres: Fiction
Format: Paperback

Love. Lies. Acting. Not just another young adult romance for new adult & college readers.

Do you think you know what it is like to be a famous teen star? Think again.

Discover the Starlet Series and uncover the life of a talented actress caught in Hollywood's web of lies. Starlet's Web reads like a superstar's memoir about a girl in love and coming-of-age in a confusing world.

Book Referees received this book for free from author/publicist in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.

starlet

REVIEW

First of all, I want to express how much I really love this series. Carla J. Hanna is a genius when it comes to writing. This story flowed seamlessly from one page to the next. I found it extremely hard to put this book down for longer than a minute or two, which led to me finishing in a few short hours. Liana’s character automatically pulls you into her world and takes you along for the ride. You are guaranteed to feel every single emotion that her character encounters good and bad.

Liana wants to be treated like normal teenager, not Marie as she is known in Hollywood. I liked Liana’s character the most because she dealt with the same problems and insecurities as most teenage girls and the fact that the story didn’t just revolve around shallow Hollywood issues. Liana’s character was down to earth; she had you invested in her life and hoping for the best until the very end.

Manuel was another character that I liked right off the bat. He was Liana’s best friend and would do anything in the world for her. He and Liana had so much chemistry, but for reasons, I couldn’t understand they always tried to deny their feelings for each other. I’m hoping they get up their nerve and just get together in the next book. (Fingers Crossed). I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that Liana’s Mom drops a horrible bombshell that will have you running for cover. I still can’t believe what I read.

Overall, this story was amazing from start to finish, when you think finally things are going one way the ceiling comes crashing down and leaves you speechless. I would recommend this book for ages 16+ because of some explicit language and sexual references that wouldn’t be appropriate for younger readers!!

I gave this book 5 stars and look forward to reading the next installment in the Starlet Series!!!!

5-stars

Billie Jo

BLUEINK REVIEW: "YA fans will absolutely want to check out this series, where they'll find a new heroine to root for in the flawed but sympathetic Liana." Great Blueink reviews to post soon! Blueink provides "serious reviews of self-published books."

http://www.amazon.com/Starlets-Run-Th...

Starlet's Web WON the 2013 AuthorsDB Book Cover Contest for #teen #books! Thank you to all who voted! http://authorsdb.com/books/2013-book-...

Hi Friends,

I have a question. First, I've been so happy with my Goodreads reviews on my novels, both positive and negative to guide readers on reading the Starlet Series. Thank you!

Now I am wondering if I should purchase an honest paid review from Kirkus? All traditionally published books have paid reviews. I want to make sure I continue to get honest reviews like the ones I have on Amazon and here but I'm so incredibly busy writing the rest of my series that I don't have the time to run giveaways and ARRs. For example, I just checked Goodreads for the first time since Saturday and saw that many of the reviews I had 'liked' didn't go through. I want you to know that positive or negative, I appreciate the time you took to read my novels.

Your thoughts about Kirkus?

I just got a nice comment from a reader who likes the flow of Starlet's Web. I thought I'd share with you why I structured it that way:

An actress is a product. She goes to work, yes, but a dozen of people around her rely on her performance and her brand to make a living, too. If she's a star, then she's a businesswoman responsible for the success of the film she co-produces. So, this is her job - while she's a teen figuring out life and what's right and wrong. So, the structure of Starlet's Web is a roller coaster. There's never a pause because there is always that conflict between confident actor and insecure teen.

For example, think about Miley. She did not choose to do the VMA act alone. She has a manager and stylist, producer, the VMAs, publicists, and more, who plotted her act for the VMAs with the intention to shock and awe so that she could generate the most buzz about the product (her coming of age brand and songs). Now, I think twerking was unnecessary but they already knew that Gaga's act would be a strip-tease. Showing skin is now so yesterday that I am sure Miley's team thought of twerking. I'm sure if Miley had any hesitation, that team would have convinced her that it was only a performance - that it was not 'her self'. In meeting the objective of the performance, Miley delivered: the act was a huge success in creating buzz. I think it was negative and will certainly ruin her career. I think Hollywood needs to stop going for the gratuitous sex scene and start focusing on talent.

I share lots of insider insights in Starlet's Web so we can all be more aware of how we're being played as flies in Hollywood's web.

Genie wrote: "Thanks for accepting my friend request :)
Looking forward to reading and discovering more of your work.
Best wishes for more books in the future,
Genie"

Thanks! Wonderful to meet you, too. Enjoy the
Starlet Series! -Carla

Thanks for accepting my friend request :)
Looking forward to reading and discovering more of your work.
Best wishes for more books in the future,
Genie

Wow. Starlet's Web is just taking off on Wattpad, gaining 300,000 reads in just a few months! Thank you Wattpad and the readers for loving it. And thank you to Barnes & Noble for advertising it!

Hi Friends! Sorry for the summer silence - it's been a busy and super fun one! Since I've been out-of-touch, here's an update:

The title for book four of the Starlet Series, Starlet's Totems, was just plain creepy - it is symbolic and meaningful but 'off,' you know? Lia is Bitterroot Salish Native American but a reader is gonna think of a totem pole, not of a spiritual object. So NEW TITLE: drum roll: Starlet's End. My dad actually suggested it, and I think he's right on. Thanks Dad.

So I thought really hard about the other titles I was going to use. Here's the plan:

The Starlet Series

Novel 1. Starlet's Web - published Nov 2012
Novel 2. Starlet's Run - published Nov 2012
Novel 3. Starlet's Light - published May 2013
Novel 4. Starlet's End - draft in editing, TBR 2014
Novella 1. Starlet's Man - draft in editing, TBR 2013
Novella 2. Starlet's Six - raw manuscript, TBR 2014 before Starlet's End
Poetry. Starlet's Song - draft, TBR as a teaser for Starlet's End

I outlined 2 more - Michelle Michael's memoir and Evan/Amelie's story - but I'm not going to do them unless you guys really, really want them after these are done. -CarlaCarla J. Hanna

Thank you all for reading and reviewing my novels! I'm too busy with summer vacation to get back to you all with a personal thank you, but -positive or negative- I truly appreciate you taking the time to read and respond to the books! -Carla

I just got my second email from readers who don't like that Loved in Pieces was combined with Starlet's Web. I'm sorry. I had nothing to do with it. A librarian did it, not me. I agree that it is confusing, but it is what it is. I was not trying to increase my ratings. I know it did but I had NOTHING to do with it. Readers, feel free to send an email to GR but I'm NOT telling you to. Honestly I don't think it matters. Perhaps another librarian wants to separate them?

A GR librarian combined my retired book, Loved in Pieces, with Starlet's Web. I didn't think that was possible since they have different ISBNs. They are also very different books, so please don't get confused.

I had a book deal for the Intentions Series, with the first book as Loved In Pieces, the second as Filly to Mare, the third as Extremely Wet Water, and fourth, Clutching Totems. I said, "No" to the book deal and then published Loved in Pieces unedited that weekend to protect my copyright for the series concept. I immediately hired the awesome Freebooksy to help brand my new series, hired a flow editor, a copy editor, and a book cover designer for the new series, which includes 4 novels and 6 shorts. During the editing, we asked the Freebooksy community for feedback on the story that the publisher wanted me to use, which included cussing and sex scenes for a NA reader. The readers didn't like it and neither did we. So I went back to the manuscript I first submitted to the publisher and hired another flow editor to make it ready. At this time, the covers were ready and we published the final edition of Loved in Pieces with the pink cover, leaving my audience absolutely confused about what the heck I was doing. So I went back to my original titles (vetoed by the publisher as babyish): Starlet's Web, Starlet's Run, Starlet's Light, and Starlet's End.

Sorry this is confusing. I thank everyone involved for making the Starlet Series ROCK! I'm proud of the series and glad it talks about 'risky' topics: God, social media influence, Hollywood influence, pain, plastic surgery expectations and steroid use for teen actors and athletes, moral contradictions, and race. It truly takes a team to publish a novel.

I'm in negotiations -again- for film options for the Starlet Series!

Check out my interview with the brave Ariella, a teen who endured brain surgery and then some... https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

An apology to my Canadian readers who were all gifted paperback books. A reader just emailed me photos of her printed version where there is an empty page before some of the subchapter breaks. I am so sorry that somehow the Kindle file (which requires the subchapter breaks) was printed instead of the pdf file. The subchapters are supposed to flow with the text, with a one line break between the text. On pages where the subchapter heading would be at the end of the page, "KEEP WITH NEXT" should have put it at the top of the next page. The US paperback version has it right. I couldn't check the British version. Now the Canadian version is right, but I'm baffled why the file was printed incorrectly in Canada.

It gave me the opportunity to also fix the justification. The manuscripts have been full justified for over two years and I did not even notice when the proofs showed left-sided paragraphs. This was an error in transferring the manuscript to the Kindle format and then to the paperback format. It never bothered me, but I thank Canadian reader, Alexandra, for catching it.

Our trip to Ireland was wonderful! The kids were perfect traveling buddies. We had great weather in Killarney and Limerick. I met with Pleasures author and had a great time. Thanks Eileen!

I'm off to Ireland and won't be checking GR! Have a great week. -Carla

My new GR friend, 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:

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. And 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.' (Oh, 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!

Sandra wrote: "Thanks for friending me! :)"

Of course. Thanks for being my friend. ;-)

"Hi Carla,
I finally finished the first book. It is very well written. I enjoyed it. I am looking forward to reading the second one. My trip to Turkey will be a good opportunity! And a big personal connection. My little cousin had a Pitiutary gland tumor. It was big when they realized it when her periods stopped. They could not remove it but shrunk it with Chemo. She is 27 now but she still looks 14 She had some side effects of the drugs and the tumor like she can not really focus and behaves immature. But we are glad she survived. We do not know if she will ever be normal. So I was also impressed how much you knew about this condition and how much you included in the book. I am not sure if everybody can apprehend or appreciate it.

Good Job!" -A Turkish Reader

Blogger, The Mad Reviewer, talks quality in her post "An Apology to Self-Published Writers". http://carrieslager.wordpress.com/201...

Of the hundreds of books she has read and reviewed, she praises MINE. Thanks!

Her honest post is a must read for all book readers. I excerpted my little mention below but read her full, insightful post. (She is an independent, honest reviewer who has no relationship to me.)

"I read some amazing self-published books.

Before I wrote my piece I had very few good experiences with self-publishing in general. From reading books with tons of mistakes to watching self-published authors explode at reviewers who gave them bad reviews, you could say I had only seen the ugly side of self-publishing. That’s why I didn’t exactly support, but didn’t exactly dismiss the possibility of self-publishing having a good side. I just didn’t have the experience necessary to see the good side.

In the past year I’ve started reading a lot more self-published books and I found some great ones. Prophecy of the Most Beautiful by Diantha Jones, There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack and Starlet’s Web by Carla J. Hanna, just to name a few. Part of what helped me come to this stage of acceptance was reading awesome, well proofread and well-written books like these."

Thanks for friending me! :)

Rebecca wrote: "Carla wrote: "I'm not sure why Amazon put Starlet's Light paperback at only $8.46. I listed it at $11.99. I've never seen the other books go below $9 USD. Grab it now. That's cheap. http://www.amaz..."

I called Amazon actually, wondering if we get a royalty with it being that cheap. We do, but that's just above cost for 300 pages. Amazon can price it at whatever price they want.

Carla wrote: "I'm not sure why Amazon put Starlet's Light paperback at only $8.46. I listed it at $11.99. I've never seen the other books go below $9 USD. Grab it now. That's cheap. http://www.amazon.com/Starlet..."

They discounted mine too without telling me! Weird.

I'm not sure why Amazon put Starlet's Light paperback at only $8.46. I listed it at $11.99. I've never seen the other books go below $9 USD. Grab it now. That's cheap. http://www.amazon.com/Starlets-Light-...

Thank you to everyone who entered the Starlet's Light giveaway! Amazon will ship your books soon. I sent you each a confirmation code. Congrats!

I have two promos going on. Check them out:

ARR YA/NA Fanatics, hosted by Samantha. Thanks Sammy!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Starlet Light Paperback giveaway. Enter to win:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

I am so excited to announce that fan, Florie Jo, just won a paperback of Starlet's Web in my "just for fans" giveaway. Next up is a copy of Starlet's Run!

I normally would not respond to a negative review posted on Amazon, but in this case, I must do so to appreciate the hard work of the professional editors involved with the Starlet Series. I enlisted the paid services of Amazon proofreaders, Goodreads beta readers, one professional flow reader and one professional copy editor. I am grateful for the services both Goodreads and Amazon offer and would recommend the communities to any independent writer. I had 7 beta readers from Goodreads on Starlet's Light who provided awesome suggestions and improved each draft. I adore you all!

I suggest to Avid Reader to join the Amazon network of paid copywriters if she can do better. Again, I am proud of the beautiful story that took a team to produce. Thanks to all involved.

Not a problem :D

Thank you everyone for entering my giveaway with The Mad Reviewer! What a great response! You all win!

A porn star who lives in Santa Monica is named Carla Hanna. It's not me. I used to live in Santa Monica and now live in Colorado. I don't do porn. Ironic, indeed.

Joan wrote: "Carla, Happy Birthday!!!! Thank you for the book. I will still be looking for the opportunity to win the three book set to take on my travels when electricity is an issue :)"

Hi Joan! Thank you for the fan and for getting the books. Yes, the three book set will be beautiful on a shelf! The cover is the color of glacial ice! I'm so excited to release it! -Carla

Carla, Happy Birthday!!!! Thank you for the book. I will still be looking for the opportunity to win the three book set to take on my travels when electricity is an issue :)

Thanks for finding me on here! :)

Hi Friends,

My meeting with the film producer, director, and actress/investor who wants to play Michelle was AWFUL! I signed an NDA, but was completely cussed out when I didn't sign over my film option rights. I was fine standing my ground since I know the Hollywood culture but it is such an intimidating setting nevertheless.

"No worries," as they say in Santa Monica. -Carla

Hi Friends,

Thanks for your feedback. It helped more than you can imagine. I'm confident.

I'll be in California this next week and will tell you how the meeting with the film producer goes when I log on next week. Cheers, Carla

Lucinda wrote: "Dear Carla.
Thank you so much for the lovely friendship request here on Goodreads. I am a keen reader of the Young Adult genre and so do hope to have the chance of reading your work, which is of mu..."

Wonderful! Thank you!

Hi Friends!

I'm honored to be selected to offer the prize for the April scavenger hunt! The theme is prom. Teen actress Liana Marie leaves a wrap party early so she can go to her senior prom!

I'll be giving away ebooks of Starlet's Web and Starlet's Run!

Enter the fun scavenger hunt:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Dear Carla.
Thank you so much for the lovely friendship request here on Goodreads. I am a keen reader of the Young Adult genre and so do hope to have the chance of reading your work, which is of much interest to me! If you ever would like someone to read and review your work, then i would be more than happy to.
Kind Regards
Lucinda x

Thank you for participating in the Starlet Series book giveaway! The winners are: Sundeep of Canada and Melissa of the US! They were randomly selected by GR, per the giveaway policy. So don't be disappointed. Keep trying. -Carla

Please help me get Hollywood participants to stop participating in their own exploitation! I'm so sad that now Selena Gomez and V. Hudgens made a sex movie. This year, Harry Potter did a 4-some. Lohan a 4-some. Now Hudgens a 3-some. Last year, 3-somes were the "it" sex scenes. Coming soon: Shades erotic sex with a 21-year-old. I do not care what people say - it affects us. I don't don't want to read it. I don't want to see it. But more importantly, I worry about how it will affect my sweet kids. I have a great marriage of mutual respect. I want that for them. What will the expectations for their intimacy be like in 10 years if teens today think they should all be doing it?

I know. I lived in Santa Monica. I was friends with insiders. I know that it is all about profits. Sex sells. The train-wreck values of a few directors, writers, and producers control all of our entertainment. The few publishers control what we read. I don't want to be them - on their 3rd marriage, etc. They wanted to be ME - happy and in love with the guy I married.

How can we give teens the secrets to a lifetime of committed relationships when publishers and Hollywood are force-feeding us sexual messages instead? I tried to do this in the Starlet series, but now in the talks to option it for film, I have a knowing hesitation - it will become a sex-fest after the investors get scared about taking a risk by not "doing it."

My friend's dad died. Please pray that she will remember the good, forgive the bad, and let go of what she wished she had done or said. He knew his girl loved him.

Starlet's Run talks about the 5 Stages of Grief - but they don't follow a linear pattern. Darn it! God helps.