Guest Author - Colette
Citra Wilson's latest novel Colors Insulting to Nature rams into our insane quest for fame and fortune like a Mack truck. The novel starts with pre-pubescent Liza Normal giving an audition that not just bad, but grotesquely inappropriate as well. Following her memorable audition we are introduced to her mother, Peppy Normal who is twice as pathetic and unfortunate as her daughter. From her mother Peppy, Liza learns that “the key to Making It Big as a pop star is to simply want it badly enough and Believe in Yourself (and to follow the B-movie template for becoming one of life's golden winners).”
Unfortunately, most of Liza’s life lessons come from pop culture. The few life lessons that she does get from her mother are over drinking and choosing the wrong mate. Peppy's own life quickly falls apart when she leaves her dentist husband who has a thing for the office help after which she falls in love with a transvestite that she meets during her lounge act who eventually leaves her to enter the world as a female impersonator. As a result Peppy falls into a deep depression unable to even shake out her wig she shuts cuts herself off from her children leaving them in the care of her mother. Finally, Peppy is cured of her depression after going to the movies to see Fame starring Irene Carra.
Peppy then decides that the key to happiness lies in fame and fortune. She convinces her mother to sell her house and takes what little money she has to open the Normal Family Theater. The casts of colorful characters continue with Liza's brother, the unlikely entourage of the Normal Family Theater and a host of other characters. However, the theater is anything but Normal. Unable to afford a real staff, Peppy hires a handful of has beens and wannabees. As part of their after hours entertainment the crew get drunk and give Liza acting lessons. Poor Liza is completely unaware of the lack of professionalism surrounding her foreshadowing that she is a train wreck waiting to happen.
Wilson has crafted a story that is as pathetic as it is hilarious as she reveals how our society is fed the idea that we can attain Fame and Fortune just by wanting it badly enough, talent be damned. Untalented to say the least, Liza quest for stardom takes her through a series of misadventures that would destroy any normal person all the while ignoring her true talent.
I could tell you more but trust me you will be much happier if you read the book it is more than worth the effort.
Cintra Wilson spent several years in San Francisco both performing and writing for the stage. Citra ventured into journalistic writing and eventually began writing screenplays and for television. Ms. Wilson currently resides in NYC.
