Fatal Distraction

Or How I Conquered My Addiction to Celebrities and Got a Life

Mariah Fredericks (View Bio)
Hardcover: Thomas Dunne, 2004; Paperback: St. Martin's Press/Griffin, 2005.

"Very funny and rather scary." — Isabel Wolff, bestselling author of MAKING MINTY MALONE

"Hip, witty, laugh out loud funny — for every woman (like me) who claims to read the Enquirer ironically — yeah right!" — Sue Margolis, author of APOCALIPSTICK

"Hilarious and high-spirited." — Wendy Holden, author of GOSSIP HOUND

"Anyone who has ever obsessed with one or more celebrities should find this fast read amusing. Throughout the book are numerous funny lists, factoids, and tips, such as what not to say to a celebrity when you know his/her marriage won't last." — Romantic Times

"An extremely witty, supremely cringe-worthy and highly original take on the cult of celebrity — from a desperate wannabe's point of view. Her scheming and conniving ways to get herself and her friends noticed by the public are laugh-out-loud funny but, ultimately, rather moving. While the book's wily heroine mightn't deserve fame and fortune, expect its author to be catapulted into the limelight anytime soon." — Adele Lang, author of CONFESSIONS OF A SOCIOPATHIC SOCIAL CLIMBER

"An entertaining look at America's cult of celebrity." — Publishers Weekly

"A funny and frothy yet moving novel.... What gives FATAL DISTRACTION an unexpected subtlety is the heroines bone-deep loneliness. The author captures the emotionally unmoored quality of the star-struck.... FATAL DISTRACTION is a funny, light novel. Yet underneath the one-liners, the author issues a gentle warning. A minor interest in celebs is fun. But when your 'relationship' with the stars outnumber your bonds with real people, admit you have an addiction and start chanting: 'I am powerless over Entertainment Tonight.'" — USA Today

"A fun-filled foray into a plague that is sweeping the nation. For anyone who's ever voted for an American Idol, uses the word 'Bennifer' in a sentence, and can correctly name all of Julia Roberts' ex-fiancés. Fredericks deftly captures the wannabe in us all." — Melissa de la Cruz, author of CAT'S MEOW and HOW TO BECOME FAMOUS IN TWO WEEKS OR LESS

"Can't get enough of celebrities? Try watching hours of entertainment 'news' until your head falls off and life as you know it dissolves into a fog of celebrity worship, film-at-eleven, and clips of stars walking dogs, stars without makeup, stars behaving badly — everything that really happens when the stars come out. Or twelve-step back to sanity with this...parable about unlucky losers addicted to a daily fix of vicarious fame and fortune, starring (well, kind of) a young veteran of little theater productions with a dead-end job and a lackluster love life. Eliza is not only not famous, she doesn't even know anyone famous, except for Norm the Wonder Dog, who does commercials. Eliza is almost 30: Is this all there is? Her life has no meaning. She has no money. But the happy denizens of that mythical land known as Hollywood have it all. Just reading about them, watching innumerable TV shows about them, makes her feel better, though she frets about going blind from looking at their dazzling white teeth. Danny, her handsome actor boyfriend, decamps. Dinah Sharlip, her pushy girlfriend, self-destructs. Crazed white-boy rapper Lylo Wingate runs somebody over. Or did Dinah do it? Major media attention is paid at last! But it's not enough, it's never enough. Eliza resigns herself to being a Great Bit Player and finds happiness at last. Funny moments, smooth writing." — Kirkus Reviews