Bathing

Christine Elise McCarthy

Book Cover

GENRE

COMEDY

    Core Theme

    MODERN DATING AND SELF-ACCEPTANCE

    TIME PERIOD

    Contemporary

    COMPARABLE TITLES

    TRAINWRECK, SHRILL, BOJACK HORSEMAN, SHAMELESS

    CHARACTER LIST

    ā€¢ RUBY FITZGERALD: 39. LEAD. SHE WAS A BIG STAR 20 YEARS AGO, BUT NOW IS STRUGGLING TO EVEN LAND COMMERCIAL BITS. SHE'S JUST COMING OFF A FIVE YEAR SEXLESS STINT, AND IT'S APPARENT, BUT SHE MANAGES TO KEEP A FUNNY OUTLOOK ON HER OWN SITUATION.

    Logline

    The life of an actress in LA isn't all glamour, money, and bedding rock stars. Sometimes it's more about humiliation, red wine hangovers, and the bad decisions they fuel. Ruby Fitzgerald has barely worked in years, not that anyone remembers her for anything but her short stint on a long-canceled but iconic TV show. But that was back when her career prospects seemed on the upswing -- longer ago than Ruby cares to admit -- and awkward sex with regrettable partners is doing nothing to take the edge off. Everything once functional in her house is going on strike, but the unemployment checks barely cover the mortgage, and a self-respecting girl needs to be able to pay her bar tab -- so repairs are on hold. One more bubble bath and a few more cocktails. A gal can always get responsible tomorrow. With everything mounting against her, a cranky and increasingly despairing Ruby will have to find out if her life's larger indignities are the result of bad luck, or a chronically bad attitude. What follows is a walking tour of the hilarious depths you can sink to if you stop exercising your best judgment.

    Target Audiences

    Age: 35-54

    Target Gender: Female leaning

    Setting

    Hollywood, Ca

    Based on a True Story

    No

    Publishing Details

    Status: Yes: self-published

    Year Published: 2014

    Starting Description

    Ruby is a struggling "has-been" actress eternally choosing the wrong men to distract her from her sense of impending doom.

    Ending Description

    Ruby finds a hopeful & proactive solution to her struggles.

    Group Specific

    Information not completed

    Hard Copy Available

    No

    ISBN

    Information not completed

    Mature Audience Themes

    Language/Profanity

    Plot - Other Elements

    Happy Ending

    Plot - Premise

    Quest

    Main Character Details

    Name: Ruby Fitzgerald

    Age: 39

    Gender: Female

    Role: Protagonist

    Key Traits: Aspiring, Badass, Outspoken, Sarcastic, Underdog, Blunt, Confident, Engaging, Insecure, Charming, Complex, Desperate, Educated, Funny, Perseverance

    Additional Character Details

    Name: Eliza

    Age: 39

    Gender: Female

    Role: Sidekick

    Key Traits: Charming, Empathetic, Funny, Insecure, Sarcastic

    Additional Character Details

    Name: Mack

    Age: 39

    Gender: Female

    Role: Sidekick

    Key Traits: Engaging, Funny, Narcissistic, Sexy, Beautiful, Confident, Crazy

    Additional Character Details

    Name: Kate

    Age: 39

    Gender: Female

    Role: Sidekick

    Key Traits: Adventurous, Beautiful, Blunt, Unapologetic, Sexy, Badass, Confident, Funny, Outspoken

    Brief

    Ruby was a B-list actress a decade or two ago, but now, pushing 40, she fills her days with red wine
    and attempts to ignore the staggering credit card bills accumulating in the face of no income. Her
    love life? Also a bust. However, Ruby is hilarious and has great friends who help her stay sane.

    What We Liked

    - Written by a former Beverly Hills 90210 guest star. In a way, autobiographical;
    - Genuinely witty, funny, and honest look at modern dating in Los Angeles;
    - Ruby is relatable and someone who audiences will generally root for;
    - It's exciting to watch her have terrible relationships, because they are terrible in hysterical,
    almost fantastical ways. It's nonstop fun.
    - Completely female-driven;
    - Episodic nature of standalone story arcs is perfect for series.

    Synopsis

    Ruby Fitzgerald, soon to be 39, used to be a well-known actress on a hot show, but itā€™s almost two
    decades later, and she hasnā€™t had a job in over a year. Sheā€™s on a five year streak of no sex, and relies
    on copious amounts of red wine to distract her from all of the mounting piles of credit card debt she
    has racked up without an income.
    A parade of men keep Ruby busy. ā€œThe Albinoā€ is in his 30s, extremely pale with silver hair - the
    epitome of coolness, but always bails on Ruby. Nick, who used to be obese and has some extra loose
    skin - not to mention a comically small penis over huge balls! Devon Evans, a surfing legend from the
    ā€˜80s, beginning to bald in his ā€˜50s, and prone to handjobs in weird, public places. Devon has a huge
    penis, but tiny balls. Girl canā€™t catch a break. Last but not least, Eddie Flagon, a seemingly nice guy -
    until Ruby realizes that his recent breakup was with a woman so young that Eddie must have started
    seeing her while the girl was still a teenager.
    Just when Ruby is resigned to never sleep with another man, she meets Daniel at a party. Daniel is
    young ā€” 28 ā€” and very handsome. This will be different, she thinks. Oh, boy, it is. Daniel soon reveals
    that heā€™s a Born Again Christian Evangelical ā€” he doesnā€™t want to have sex with Ruby because itā€™s a
    sin. However, Daniel does soon have sex with Ruby - and quickly gets branded ā€œTeen Jesusā€ by her
    group of friends. Ruby ignores red flags until theyā€™re at a party and Daniel reveals that heā€™s not only
    really religious, heā€™s really Republican. Ruby and her friends are liberal, and Daniel is a young, male Ann
    Coulter. The tryst with Daniel comes to an end at the party when he cries about how Ruby is going to
    hell and canā€™t be saved.
    Ruby is struggling to make any ends meet and gets rejected from yet another credit line application,
    when her agent calls her with some exciting news: the small film she did last year is going to
    premiere. After drinking to cope with an embarrassing premiere and after party, she gets in her car
    and races home, only to get stopped at a DUI checkpoint. She gets charged with a DUIā€”she had a .18
    BAHā€”and spends a few days in jail. She wakes up without a hangover for the first time in as long as
    she can remember, and decides to make a change to her life. She gets home, and finally decides to
    rent out her house and move home with her mother for a bit, just until she can get back on her feet.

    About The Author

    Christine Elise McCarthy is recognized primarily for her roles as bad girl Emily Valentine on Beverly Hills, 90210, as Harper Tracy on ER, and as Kyle, the gal who killed Chucky in Child's Play 2. As a writer, she has written three episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210, a pilot that was optioned by Aaron Spelling, and comical true-life essays that she performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade and Naked Angels theaters in LA.