Benedict Canyon

By: Laura Van Wormer

Narrated by: Jean Reed Bahle

Against a backdrop of the glittering, cut-throat television industry and the sophisticated New York publishing world, two women's lives are transformed and a friendship is forged.

When Lydia Southland, the glamorous star of a hit television series, balks at finishing her tell-all memoirs, Kate Weston, executive editor of a New York publishing house, soon finds herself on a plane to L.A. Fearful of revealing her life to public scrutiny, Lydia wants to cancel the project, and is none too thrilled when Kate shows up on her Benedict Canyon doorstep. But the two women develop a strong friendship and, as they work together on the book, they're forced to acknowledge parts of their lives they've long denied.

As Kate becomes part of Lydia's large extended family, she learns to come to terms with her painful past. And Lydia finds that only by confronting her life and loves - past and present - can she ever hope to find true happiness.

©2008 Laura Van Wormer (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Wise about the TV and book publishing fields, funny and sexy by turns, with an extremely elastic sense of the human heart." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Lovely fairy tale

Having worked in a publishing house for several years, I enjoyed reading about the bond that develops between our heroine, Kate, and her author, famous Hollywood star Lydia. There are sadly realistic scenarios that arise when non-book people are placed in positions of power in esteemed traditional publishing houses, and there’s lots of romance. In the end everyone lives happily ever after, in ways and situations they couldn’t have imagined at the beginning of the book. I really enjoyed this book.