By Cintra Wilson
Fourth Estate
Hardcover and Paperback Editions

Myth, Icon, Star, Hollywood—America… Cintra Wilson, in her stunning debut novel, Colors Insulting to Nature, takes the reader on a tour through the underground reality of striving to “become a celebrity” in America. In the style of a burlesque Janet Fitch or Wally Lamb, Wilson introduces the protagonist, Liza Normal, as a scantily clad thirteen year-old auditioning her heart out for a T.V. commercial. Liza doesn’t get the spot, but captures the reader’s heart with her spunky determination. Liza’s mother, Peppy Normal, stage-mother extraordinaire, decides to open a theater in a dilapidated firehouse to finance her daughter’s and son’s (Ned) education at the New York High School for Performing Arts, after being moved by a viewing of "Fame." Liza’s dreams are not realized, and the roof falls in, literally and figuratively, on her dreams of pre-pubescent romance and stardom.

Colors Insulting to Nature Excerpt As Chantal and Roland held hands and advanced downstage for their curtain call, the applause explosively quadrupled in volume. The whistles and whoooo!s shot like poisoned blow darts through Liza, making her wonder: Why can’t I stand here in a prom dress, covered with blood, and burn this place down with my mind? Her throat filled with the Drano-sensation of repressed sobbing. © Cintra Wilson Published with permission

She is forced to attend the local public high school and things only go downhill from there. Liza, after a traumatic loss of her virginity and her hair, eventually moves in with her best friend, Lorna, whose mother is a midwife/drug dealer.

She sports a mohawk, a safety pin through her nose and an untouchable attitude. Inside though, the reader can still see little Liza Normal, underdressed wannabe child star, struggling to surface.

Liza travels through each level of the Hollywood underground, coming back occasionally to speak with agoraphobic Ned and perpetually antagonistic Peppy. She develops romances and a drug addiction, and like any Hollywood wannabe or superstar, does her time in rehab. She comes out renewed in her search for stardom and eventually finds that a side venture that she loathes will be her way “in.”

Bookworm's Briefing
Cintra Wilson peppers the novel with editorials, making an entertaining novel into an adventure in Hollywood and a hilarious tongue-in-cheek take on the endless quest to be “discovered.” She points out in subtle and not-so-subtle ways the tendency of Americans to look for instant gratification and how we love and leave our shooting stars.

Liza’s recollections and reflections are all based in movies, whether real movies or the “movie of her life,” clearly showing Wilson’s intent of portraying America’s great obsession. The novel is jam-packed with entertaining dialogue and memorable characters.