Man Of The Year

"Hilarious and poignant" — People Magazine For one 1970’s family, the center may not hold, but it certainly does fold. In 1978 Jimmy Carter mediates the Camp David Accords, Fleetwood Mac tops charts with Rumours, Starsky fights crime with Hutch, and twelve-year-old Lou Cove is uprooted from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to Salem, Massachusetts– a backwater town of witches, Puritans, and sea-captain wannabes. After his eighth move in a dozen years, Lou figures he should just resign himself to a teenage purgatory of tedious paper routes, school bullies, and unrequited lust for every girl he likes. Then one October morning an old friend of Lou’s father, free-wheeling (and free-loving) Howie Gordon arrives at the Cove doorstep from California with his beautiful wife Carly. Howie is everything Lou wants to be: handsome as a movie star, built like a god and in possession of an unstoppable confidence. Then, over Thanksgiving dinner, Howie drops a bombshell. Holding up an issue of Playgirl Magazine, he flips to the center and there he is, Mr. November in all his natural glory. Howie has his eye on becoming the next Burt Reynolds, and a wild idea for how to do it: win Playgirl’s Man of the Year. And he knows just who should manage his campaign. As Lou and Howie canvas Salem for every vote in town – little old ladies at bridge club, the local town witch, construction workers on break and everyone in between – Lou is forced to juggle the perils of adolescence with the pursuit of Hollywood stardom. Man of the Year is the improbable true story of Lou’s thirteenth year, one very unusual campaign, and the unexpected guest who changes everything.

Advertising executive Samantha James is looking for a ballplayer who can turn the city's losing team into a winning package. From the moment she sees pitcher Jarrett Corliss in that steamy locker room, she knows she's found her star candidate. She also knows she needs to steer clear of the arrogant player outside the boardroom. Jarrett agrees to be Samantha's poster boy on one condition— that she goes out with him. Even though the team's owner has forbidden fraternization because of recent scandals that almost brought down the ball club, Jarrett isn't about to strike out. He needs the team to win this season to save his career, but he also needs Sam…and this is the one time where he hopes his pitch lands a home run.

A sinister, sophisticated debut thriller by “a remarkable new voice to watch” (J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author), Man of the Year has been lauded by Shelf Awareness as “an impressive slow burn that builds suspense and cracks the whip at the end…redolent with menace and ego.” Dr. Robert Hart, Sag Harbor’s just-named Man of the Year, is the envy of his friends and neighbors. His medical practice is thriving. He has a beautiful old house and a beautiful new wife and a beautiful boat docked in the village marina. Even his wayward son, Jonah, is back on track, doing well at school and finally worthy of his father’s attentions. So when Jonah’s troubled college roommate needs a place to stay for the summer, Hart and his wife generously offer him their guesthouse. A win-win: Jonah will have someone to hang with, and his father can bask in the warm glow of his own generosity. But when Robert suspects his new houseguest of getting a little too close to his wife, the good doctor’s veneer begins to crack, and all the little lies he tells start to mount. Before long, Robert is embroiled in a desperate downward spiral, threatening to destroy anyone who stands in his way. It’s only the women in his life—his devoted office manager, his friends and neighbors, his wife—who can reveal the truth…if he’s willing to look. Biting and timely, Man of the Year races along at an electric pace, building to a wicked twist you won’t see coming.

When Jennifer Bradley is assigned to write a story about the CEO of the Year she’s disgusted. Brock Martineau is a womanizing jerk who hardly deserves such an award. Worse, her editor Tonya made her a tempting bet—to keep her hands off Brock at all costs and in return, receive an all-expense paid vacation. Jennifer knows this will be the easiest prize she’s ever won, that is until she comes face to face with the man who could melt the coldest heart. Can Jennifer control herself and win the prize or will she fall prey to Brock’s charms?

"Man Of The Year is romantic comedy at its best--and no one serves it up any better than Ms. Plumley!"--Patricia White, Under The Covers Book Reviews Wanted: Fiancée Only one woman wants to see the Southwest's most eligible bachelor married: his wedding-obsessed mother. Fed up with the endless parade of potential fiancées, Brodie Richardson realizes there's a foolproof way to half his Mom's matchmaking. Sure, a make-believe engagement is pretty drastic—and his would-be bride is hardly his type. But Brodie soon suspects that there's more to Paige Mulvaney than meets the eye.... When she answers an ad to interview at SupraTech, brainy Paige assumes it's for a job. The next thing she knows, she's temporarily betrothed to the sought-after CEO! The easy part: feigning starry-eyed passion for sexy Brodie Richardson whenever they're in public. The hard part? Pretending she isn't crazy about him in private.... "A darling romantic comedy that will surely delight you... Lisa Plumley certainly can think up some wacky, funny, sexy stories that have lots of zing!"--Suzanne "Who'd Love A Month-Long Engagement To A Hunk Just Like Brodie" Coleburn, The Belles and Beaux of Romance "An exquisite and touchingly tender love story, Man Of The Year will have you hooked from the first page!"--Romance Communications "The courtship of this pair is beautiful and funny...a really fun story!"--WCRG on AOL Reviewer Board "A magnificent tale laced with humor and passion. The depth of the characters adds another layer to this story that will earn it a place in home libraries everywhere!"--Rendezvous

A Los Angeles Times columnist recounts her eighteen-month undercover stint as a man, a time during which she underwent considerable personal risks as she worked a sales job, joined a bowling league, frequented sex clubs, dated, and encountered firsthand the rigid codes and rituals of masculinity. 80,000 first printing.