 Christine Stringer is a former MGM assistant who was investigated by the FBI for piracy of a film starring The Rock. So yeah, she does find herself in little snafus from time to time. She has a BFA from the University of Victoria where she studied theatre and English. As a screenwriter and novelist, she strives to brighten people’s days, writing stories based on her film career, love life, and general mishaps. She lives in beautiful Vancouver, BC, with her husband and two young children who bring her joy every day, even though they have banned her from singing in the car. Charity Trickett Is Not So Glamorous: A Novel by Christine Stringer Bridget Jones fans are said to “fall hard” for your story. What compelled you to write a behind-the-scenes tale of Hollywood, and how much of it draws upon your own lived experiences? This book, while fun and lighthearted, is my way of taking the power back in my life after losing it. In my early twenties, I got hired to work at MGM. I thought my Hollywood dreams were coming true—until they weren’t. Through a bizarre chain of events, I found myself under FBI investigation for piracy of a huge MGM blockbuster film, starring The Rock. Quickly, I became a pariah at MGM, I was told my film career was over, and my car died - emptying my already pathetic bank account. I was devastated. Years later, with hindsight and maturity, I revisited this awful time with the intention of making it a book. By fictionalizing the worst part of my career I crafted a book filled with heart, fun, and suspense, making Charity Trickett a lovable and relatable character in the not so glamorous world of Hollywood. Hollywood in the 1990s was both glittering and unforgiving. What struck you most about the reality behind the red carpets, and how did you want to capture that tension on the page? In the 1990’s movie stars were the epitome of celebrity and our fascination for them was insatiable. This was before social media, so our images of them were limited to Entertainment Tonight and magazines. Movie stars were glamorous and out of reach. Until I worked in film I believed in Hollywood glamor. In reality, making movies is a shlep. The hours are long, the work can be tedious and tiring, and the competition in fierce. This book shows the not so glamorous work off the red carpet. Charity Trickett is both ambitious and tender-hearted—a combination that makes her feel deeply human. In what ways does she mirror your own journey, and in what ways did she take on a life of her own as a character? Charity is who I wish I was, when I worked at MGM. She’s smarter, more savvy, and more empathetic. When I was under FBI investigation for piracy, I was in my early 20s, and like most 20-year-olds, I was pretty self-involved. I only thought about how this mess impacted me. Now that I’m older, I see the stress and potential damage that I caused for the people I worked with. Because of my mistake, grown men with mortgages, and kids to put through college, could have lost their jobs and potentially their careers because of me. I never thought about any of that, but Charity does. As her life spins out of control, she empathises with people who are not supporting her through her hardship, because she recognises the significant pressure they are under. This makes her a more well-rounded and likable character than I was, when my life was spinning out of control. Your novel weaves together comedy, heartbreak, and moments of high-stakes drama—such as FBI investigations and costly mistakes. How did you balance truth, memory, and fiction in shaping this narrative? Being interrogated by the FBI was terrifying. But when I look back, I can see the absurdity. I mean, I was interrogated at a Coffee Bean in Beverly Hills—the agent even bought me a green tea! That’s where the comedy comes in. In terms of balancing truth, memory, and fiction; when you look at your past, and strip away all the dialogue, (because we can never truly remember, exactly what anyone said fifteen years ago) all we’re left with are feelings. All the feels I felt at that time, are delivered to the reader through Charity. Everything else is smoke and mirrors. At its core, your book seems to be about perseverance, the redemptive power of friendship, and the resilience required to pursue a dream. What do you hope readers carry with them after turning the final page? Time is precious time. So, when someone tells me they read my book, I truly appreciate them using their time to read my book. So, I hope I entertained them. I hope I made them laugh and forget about the problems in their complicated world for a little bit. And I hope that after the final page, they want more, because there’s another one on the way! As a young woman striving to become a screenwriter and producer in the 1990s, what barriers did you encounter, and how did those experiences shape your artistic voice? At the time I was at MGM they had never had a female executive or board member. That, in itself, defined the environment for women. MGM certainly wasn’t the only company in America who were under-representing women at that time. Throughout my film career, not limited to MGM, this male dominated environment didn’t want to hear young, fresh, female voices. While frustrating, that didn’t impact my creative voice. I knew I was being dismissed by old white guys who were out of touch. They were dinosaurs in my world. The entertainment industry has undergone seismic changes since the late ’90s. From your perspective, has it truly become more accessible for women and emerging writers, or do the same obstacles still remain—albeit in new forms? With the creation of HD, streaming TV and social media, there are more avenues to create and distribute stories outside the studio system, which gives everyone more opportunity to create. In the 90’s you had maybe twenty channels on the TV, and a handful of films in the cinema to choose from. Now, you can access hundreds of thousands of different creative content in various forms at any time from the phone in your pocket. As for women in the industry, I’m sure sexual harassment has diminished thanks to the #Metoo movement. And sure, there are more women in positions of power. But in my opinion, if women are going to be at equal footing as men in film production, the workday needs to be reduced from the typical 12-14 hour day, to an 8-9 hour workday. Long workdays are challenging to parents and while equality in the household may be improving, the reality is that women carry more childcare responsibilities. Myself, and a lot of my female friends in the film industry couldn’t continue working in film production once we had kids. With film and TV now being produced by corporations such as Apple and Amazon, companies worth trillions, it’s not too much to ask for a workday on set to be more comparable to a workday at Apple or Amazon with similar paygrades. For most crew members, that would dictate an 8 hour workday. Looking back on those formative years, what enduring lessons did Hollywood teach you about resilience, creativity, and navigating ambition? Hollywood taught me that resilience is everything. Projects fall apart, scripts don’t sell, rejection is constant. The people who lasted weren’t always the most talented—they were the ambitious ones who kept going. Creatively, the fast pace in film and TV taught me to make decisions quickly. With the distance of time, how do you view your years in Hollywood now—through the lens of nostalgia, as a cautionary tale, or perhaps as a crucible that shaped who you are today? I’m grateful for my Hollywood experience. Without it, I would never have created Charity and the cast of characters in her world. They bring me so much joy. I absolutely love spending time with them. Beyond this novel, where has your creative path led you? Can you share what excites you most about your current work, and how your voice as a writer has evolved since those early Hollywood days? Right now, I’m working on the next book in the Charity Trickett series, The Fame Game. Charity and her friends have hit success and are navigated the tricky world of stardom. I’m also adapting Not So Glamorous into a screenplay, which feels like coming full circle. My voice has solidified since those Hollywood days. I’m embracing who I am as a writer and not trying to be what I think others want. It’s exciting to see that people love the book and are eager for more, because this book is 100% me. Website: https://christinestringer.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinestringerauthor/ Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Charity-Trickett-Not-So-Glamorous/dp/1684633168
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 Shelly Snow Pordea is a dynamic figure, renowned as a speaker, publishing consultant, and author of the captivating Tracing Time trilogy. This trilogy, a compelling narrative of women navigating the complexities of life while endeavoring to protect themselves and their loved ones, has consistently ranked among the top one hundred Time Travel Romance books on Amazon Kindle, attesting to its widespread popularity. Amanda’s love of flying is such a central part of her character. What inspired you to make aviation—and the idea of being a “flight risk”—the foundation of her story? I had the chance to be in the cockpit during a short flight for the first time when I was fifteen. The pilot let me hold the control wheel for part of the flight, teaching me different terms of his occupation, and from that moment, I was hooked on the adventure. I never pursued it as a profession, but aviation has always struck me as a kind of metaphor for life itself, and I’ve long been fascinated by the women who carve out space for themselves in that world. So, a couple years ago, when a friend’s daughter completed flight school and began sharing her own photos and stories, the pieces of Amanda’s character finally aligned in my imagination. Her love of flying—and the idea of being a “flight risk”—became the perfect way to capture both the danger and the beauty of chasing your own path. Amanda transitions from pilot to flight attendant and then to undercover spy. How did you approach writing about these very different roles, and what kind of research did you do to capture them authentically? I’ve been lucky enough to travel quite a bit, and having friends who are both pilots and flight attendants gave me a solid window into that world. The spy side is trickier—I don’t have firsthand experience there—but I’m a history buff, and digging into how power and politics really operate can be a bit of an obsession for me. I may not know all the secrets, but I like to think my theories are pretty plausible! Romance plays against the backdrop of high-stakes espionage. How do you balance the tension of a spy thriller with the emotional pull of a love story without one overshadowing the other? For me, the balance comes from weaving together questions that haunt me with truths that ground me. I’ve long been fascinated by shadows of the Cold War and the lingering realities of espionage, and those threads naturally pull me into darker, high-stakes storytelling. At the same time, my own life is anchored in love—quiet moments with a devoted spouse, a meaningful family life, and the belief that tenderness can exist alongside chaos. I wanted Amanda’s journey to reflect that same coexistence: the danger is real, but so is the love. And at the end of the day, I hold to the conviction I try to live by: life is messy, but love has the power to endure and, perhaps, to conquer all. So, love, love, love. The series takes Amanda across Rome, Tokyo, and beyond. How important was it to you to weave real-world travel and culture into the novels, and do you have a personal connection to these settings? I do! It’s been so important to me. Every title and setting in the series carries personal meaning. Some are places where I experienced major life events, others are where I lived for an extended time (like Romania), and some hold a deep sentimental connection from my travels. Long before I ever dreamed up this series, I knew I wanted to capture the way travel shapes us—how landscapes and cultures leave their imprint. When Amanda’s story began to take shape in my mind, it became clear this was how I could finally bring those journeys to life. Beyond the action and intrigue, what do you hope readers will take away about Amanda as a person and her journey of self-discovery? Amanda is a complex, intelligent, and strong woman, but she’s also forgotten how to embrace her softer, nurturing side. I think many women can relate to that—we’re often expected to carry more than we should, and strength becomes a survival skill. For Amanda, that strength sometimes turns into a mask, a way of covering insecurities she hasn’t fully faced. As the mask slips away, I hope readers recognize the beauty in her vulnerability and see reflections of their own journeys in this deeply flawed and profoundly human woman. Each book in the series peels back another layer of Amanda’s life. Without giving spoilers, what can readers expect as her “one secret” threatens to be exposed? The heart of Amanda’s secret is revealed early in the series, but the deeper truth—the reasons it has shaped her so profoundly—unfolds across all four books. What readers will discover is that the very secret Amanda fears will undo her may ultimately be the source of her greatest strength. At its core, her journey reflects a truth I believe deeply: no matter how dark, truth has the power to set us free. You’ve lined up four releases in one year—a rare and exciting pace! What challenges and joys come with writing and releasing such a fast-moving series? I truly love my readers, and pieces of this story have been living in my writing folders for years. When the idea struck me to shape it into a series, I knew I wanted to bring it to life quickly—and readers do love a series they can binge! The greatest joy has been delivering the story in a way that lets people stay immersed without long waits between books. The challenge, of course, has been keeping pace with pressing deadlines while balancing everything else in life. Thankfully, my editor was fully on board, and together we hit the ground running. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been incredibly rewarding. That said, I doubt I’ll ever attempt such a whirlwind release schedule again! Website: https://www.shellysnowpordea.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shellysnowpordea/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shellysnowpordea LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelly-snow-pordea-427b22158/ Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Night-We-Met-Flight-Romance-ebook/dp/B0DYF6XS1W/  Jean Price is an empowering voice in the literary world, dedicated to helping individuals heal and reclaim their personal narratives. Through her latest work, If These Walls Could Speak, she offers a raw and inspiring journey from silence to strength, encouraging readers to confront and overcome their past traumas. With a compassionate approach, Price provides real strategies to process the past without becoming trapped by it, reminding readers that healing doesn't have a deadline and that every step forward, no matter how small, is progress. Her mission is to empower, advocate, and elevate the voices of women everywhere, striving to create a world where every woman has the opportunity to achieve her full potential, free from discrimination, inequality, and violence. Price's work resonates with those seeking courage and inspiration to rewrite their own stories and embrace the possibilities of a brighter future.Your book opens with the vivid metaphor of trauma being like shoving everything into a closet until it bursts open. How did that metaphor come to you, and what does it reveal about your personal healing journey? The metaphor came to me as I was trying to describe the overwhelming and often invisible nature of unprocessed trauma. For a long time, I felt like I was functioning on the outside, going to work, maintaining relationships, but internally, I was stuffing painful memories, emotions, and experiences into a mental closet, hoping they would stay hidden. Trauma trauma doesn’t work that way. Eventually, the door will burst open. You emphasize that “healing doesn’t have a deadline” and that it’s okay to start over. How can someone who feels stuck or “too late” begin to take their very first step toward healing? I truly believe that healing doesn’t follow a schedule, and it does not come with a deadline. It’s never too late for someone to get through trauma. Feeling stuck is part of the process, and it doesn’t mean you’ve failed it means you’re human. I would tell someone to give yourself grace and begin where you are right now. Healing is not always loud; sometimes it's in the quiet moments. The book encourages readers to “release the weight of past mistakes and failures.” What practical strategies do you share for letting go of self-blame and finding self-compassion? Let’s be honest here, letting go of self-blame and embracing self-compassion is hard but attainable and also transformative. In the book, I share several practical strategies that helped me and that I hope can help others, too. First, I encourage readers to separate who they are from what they’ve been through. So many of us internalize our mistakes or traumas as reflections of our worth, but the truth is, our experiences don’t define us. Second, I introduce the idea of talking to yourself like you would a friend. We often say the harshest things to ourselves instead of criticism; say something positive. It's uncomfortable in the beginning, but it's necessary. Another practical tool is writing a letter to yourself. I am able to express those feelings that sometimes are hard to share, like guilt, regret, or. Lastly, I talk about the importance of therapy, support groups, or a trusted community. Healing doesn’t happen in isolation. Sometimes we need someone else to remind us of our humanity when we forget. Releasing the weight of past mistakes isn’t about pretending they didn’t happen, it’s about choosing not to punish yourself forever. You write that we are the authors of our own next chapter. How did embracing this mindset change your own life, and how do you guide others to claim that power? Realizing that I was the author of my own next chapter was a turning point in my healing journey. For a long time, I felt like life was just happening to me, like I was stuck in a story someone else wrote, shaped by pain, trauma, and patterns I didn’t choose. When I guide others, I remind them that authorship doesn’t mean control over every detail; it means ownership. You get to choose what you carry forward, what you leave behind, and what kind of story you want to tell from here on out. There are days when moving forward feels impossible, as you acknowledge in the book. What advice do you offer for those tough days when progress feels invisible or too slow? Tough days are real, and they’re heavy. I wrote about them because I’ve lived them, and I know how lonely they can feel. Sometimes progress is so quiet, so internal, that it feels like nothing is changing at all. But I want to remind readers: just because progress isn’t visible doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Some days, progress might look like getting out of bed. Other days, it might just be navigating through your emotions and not shutting down. One strategy I share is putting words around you to remind you of who you are, to set a stage for what to aim towards. Healing doesn’t have a finish line; it’s a life-long process of returning to yourself over and over again. The fact that you’re still here, still trying, still holding on, that is victory. Resilience and courage are recurring themes in your message. Can you share a pivotal moment in your life when you realized just how resilient you truly were? Absolutely. Resilience isn’t something I always recognized in myself, especially during the darkest seasons of my life. But one pivotal moment stands out. There was a time when everything felt like it had fallen apart emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I was carrying the weight of unresolved trauma, self-doubt, and a deep sense of brokenness. I remember being in my car, feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, convinced that I had nothing left to give. At that moment, there was no applause, no immediate transformation, but I finally saw that my resilience wasn’t about being strong in the traditional sense; it was about continuing. It was about refusing to give up on myself, even when I didn’t fully believe I deserved healing. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamjeanprice/
Purchase the book here: https://www.amazon.com/If-These-Walls-Could-Speak/dp/1938205855  Paula Price is a mother, wife, daughter, fixer of things, recovering perfectionist, voiceover actress, and certified happiness coach. She received a BA in Communications:Radio/TV and a Business Minor from Xavier University and has done everything from running a corporate video studio to producing her own films. Each day in sunny Los Angeles brings about new blessings and challenges but Paula has learned to take everything in stride with a sense of humor and fiery drive. Her goal is to help others find and use their own light to live in their true purpose.Your book’s title makes a bold statement: The Choice Is Yours. What was the moment in your life when you first realized happiness was a choice? That is a really great question. I feel like I realized happiness was a choice early on during Covid and how it changed the world. Since then, many things like world events have, I feel, sped up making people fill themselves with anxiety and fear. These are all choices because the reality is our life is short, so on the daily, we have the choice to decide if we’re going to let other emotions take over or we are going to ground ourselves and choose happiness. We get so caught up in the drama of things that if we sit back, take a breath and choose to move on we can invite things that make us happy back into our lives. We may not be able to control our circumstances, but we can control the way we deal with our circumstances. In The Quest for Happiness, you share practices like journaling, writing thank-you notes, and spending time in nature. Which of these has been most transformative for you? The practices I share like journaling writing thank you notes and spending time in nature are all elements to the bigger picture. I wouldn’t say that just one of those things has shaped my personal happiness journey. I feel like each one of them is an important step in finding out what makes you happy and serves others to help with your gratitude journey. You describe yourself as a “recovering perfectionist.” How has letting go of perfection played a role in your own happiness journey? When you are a perfectionist you can stress yourself out and get caught up in the mundane. I am still finding myself gravitating towards wanting to check things off a list, and wanting to do things perfectly, but I am more cognizant of making time to enjoy myself and letting go of having to be perfect or right all the time. It’s the moments of messiness that can sometimes bring about the most happiness. Many people struggle to find happiness during challenging circumstances. What advice do you give to someone who feels stuck in a difficult season? When someone is dealing with a difficult season, you absolutely need to allow yourself time to feel the emotions you are feeling. Feelings of anger, resentment, fear, trauma… Whatever it is that is bringing about this difficult season. These emotions absolutely need to be felt first before they can be let go. The key is to give yourself moments of joy within the storm. So if you’re finding yourself in a difficult situation while you are dealing with that situation, choose gratitude by looking around you and taking the time to be grateful. You can also sit in nature, phone a friend, do an activity of something that you enjoy… Definitely make time for these moments of joy so that eventually you can get back on track Each chapter in your book ends with a poem. Why did you decide to include poetry, and how do you think it deepens the reader’s experience? I have always gravitated towards poetry, and it’s something that has allowed me to express my feelings since childhood. I felt like by summarizing the chapter in a poem, it would give even more clarity to what I spoke about in the chapter and also showed my own creativity (since I speak about creativity creating happiness) As a certified happiness coach, what is the most common misconception people have about what it takes to be happy? I think there are many people that don’t even realize they are not choosing happiness on a daily basis. I think most people get caught up in the day-to-day and “I have to’s” instead of the “I get to’s” and they just choose to be miserable rather than realizing that they’re even choosing that. For example, saying I get to go to work every day instead of saying, I have to go to work every day is just a simple switch of mindset. We have to take a look at our life and be responsible for our happiness, but that means that we have to really want it because a lot of times when people aren’t happy it’s because victimhood or their trauma is serving them more than they think happiness would. Your background spans corporate video, film production, and voiceover acting. How have these creative outlets influenced your perspective on happiness? Being in the creative fields for so long has really led me to realize how much happiness creativity can bring into someone’s life. Even if you enjoy knitting, or gardening or interior design, doing these things, even for yourself not even for a business allows your soul to shine. I think it’s really important for people to embrace their inner creativity to create joy. It’s hard for me to not see creativity as an outlet for happiness because I’ve been doing some sort of performance or entertainment since I was a very young child. Gratitude is a recurring theme in your book. How can someone turn gratitude into a daily habit without it feeling forced or repetitive? Have you noticed that when you’re angry or in a bad mood that everything around you just keeps getting worse? By switching your mindset to one of gratitude you are taking the heaviness off of yourself and allowing yourself to focus on something bigger than just yourself. I always tell people think of three things at the end of the day that you were grateful for… Sometimes when you’re in a really dark place, you may only be able to say things like a roof over your head or food to eat, but realizing that some people actually don’t have those things can create a more grateful heart. When you have the mindset of gratitude, and you share it with others, you open up the energy to be more positive and positivity will follow you. (so instead of that anger making everything worse. You’re being grateful making everything lighter.) You’ve said happiness isn’t dependent on location. How do you help clients create joy no matter where they live? Happiness is such a personal thing. It shouldn’t really matter where you live because you can choose it in any situation or place. If you are not living in a place you enjoy, find a space nearby that you can go to to spend some quiet time each day. In other words, find your sanctuary, no matter where you are, so that you can take time to listen to yourself and allow yourself a moment of healing time. Perhaps you live in a space that’s too noisy or your roommates don’t get along with you etc., it can be trying and that’s why you need to find a place that can be your happy place. Beyond your book, what’s next for you in your mission to help others find and use their own light—and can you tell us about the puppies you’re helping to get adopted? Ahhh the puppies… Yes, my dog had seven puppies. We decided to keep two and find homes for five of them. It was definitely a growth experience for myself and my family. I think the hardest thing to do was actually give them up because you feel like you’re letting them down, but they definitely taught me Patience, and that when you love someone sometimes the best thing you can do is set them free. (lessons I was definitely not expecting to learn on this journey.) Besides The Quest for Happiness, I have a children’s book called Happiness is for Everyone that is coming out November 13. (On all digital platforms or your favorite bookstore) My hope is to work with adults and children in finding their own paths to happiness. Also, in the not too distant future, I will be having Retreats that will encompass all of my course, which is also available on my website, called Your Quest for Happiness (a recorded workshop that offers a deeper dive than my book into working on yourself and your happiness journey) plus the retreat will also have all kinds of healing modalities, like, tapping, sound bowls, etc and will have lots of fun activities like crafts and sports… Basically it will be a three day camp happy. (giving you all the tools you’ll need to create a daily happiness practice, and life.) Website: https://anchorheartbooks.com/the-quest-for-happiness
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulasworld1/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anchorheart_books/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/actorpaulaprice/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-price-0a30489 Purchase the book here: https://books2read.com/the-quest |
AuthorJane Ubell-Meyer founded Bedside Reading in 2017. Prior to that she was a TV and Film producer. She has spent the last five years promoting, marketing and talking to authors and others who are experts in the field. Archives
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Bedside Reading, LLC , 700 Canal Street, Stamford CT 06902
For more information contact: [email protected] 917 848 3353
Media
Privacy Policy
Terms & Refund Policy
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Bedside Reading® is a Registered Trademark
