Juggler, Porn Star, Monkey Wrench
My name is Mark Manilow. I’m a LA screenwriter. Here’s my recipe for a cocktail called “Romantic Hollywood Sex Comedy.”
Start with my estranged wife, who left me two years ago to become a juggler.
Pour in my ensuing emotional tailspin.
Blend with a brutal case of writer’s block.
Mix with my last-gasp writing job, a ridiculous porn flick called Broken Boner.
Add in the Broken Boner porn star, who seduces me into an ill-fated partnership.
Throw in the gun-toting producer and eccentric Montecito billionaire, who hire me to adapt the phone book into a movie.
Combine with the return of my headaches and a trip to an ancient Chinese healer, where I meet the healer’s beguiling granddaughter—my monkey wrench.
Serve with wonderment as to whether or not I’ll find a way to settle things with the juggler, break it off with the porn star, and fall in love with the monkey wrench…or if anyone will stop laughing long enough to notice.
PRAISE INDEED
“Juggler, Porn Star, Monkey Wrench is a delightfully multifaceted novel where the humor of the situation balances out the emotional difficulties faced by the main character and his family. It is a 5 star book that I hope everyone will enjoy.”
“...kept me entertained from start to finish.”
“This book, from one unlikely turn to the next, kept me laughing harder and harder all the way to an unbelievably bombastic script-reading climax. Each ridiculous element is handled with tact and dry humor: you like and root for Mark Manilow (who may or may not be related to Barry), whose suburban Jersey upbringing hadn’t quite prepared him for a Hollywood jungle including a porn star who won’t leave his house, a man with a death wish and his beloved murderous wife, a New Age neurologist with a penchant for ridiculous clothing, and, of course, a snowballing project to turn the phone book into a movie.
But underneath the bombastic humor and gut-laugh worthy situations, this is a story about a man who needs to straighten out his life if he wants it to move forward. The funny stuff augments Mark’s struggle, and the conclusion, in addition to being hilarious, is also heartwarming and moving.
A great read if you’re looking for humor with truth and heart inside it, and, honestly, a great read if you want pretty much anything else as well. Well drawn characters and beautiful sense of place. Excellent.”
“..pulled me in from the first page...fun, crazy, and sarcastic...I want more of it!”