Blog Tour / Guest Post: Shot Through the Heart by Matt Cain

'Need a companion for your beach holiday? Look no further than this fun, glitzy tale.' - Heat

Today I'm excited to be part of the blog tour for Shot Through the Heart by Matt Cain, a perfect read for the summer. I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book via NetGalley and I really enjoyed it! Read on for a plot synopsis and a guest post by the author on his favourite romantic comedies!

Publication Date: 24th April 2014
Shot Through the Heart is Matt Cain's debut novel, a Hollywood tale of romance, heartbreak and the lengths some will go to maintain that unblemished movie star image...

Synopsis
The Silver Screen had never shone as bright . . .
Mia Sinclair is the first lady of love, a beautiful goddess known for her romantic roles on the silver screen.
But in reality life does not imitate art and love is not as easily found in the real world as it is in the movies.
Leo Henderson is the Brit living in L.A, enjoying the lifestyle and photographing the stars when they least expect it. He knows that being a paparazzi has its pitfalls, but he’s living the Hollywood dream and enjoying every minute of it.
Billy Spencer, the handsome screen idol of the moment, is sexy, tanned and hiding a secret that could easily end his career as a leading man.
When Mia meets Leo, the sparks fly. But is dating a paparazzi the biggest mistake of her life? And as Mia and Billy look to star in the biggest movie of their careers, will their smouldering on screen relationship destroy a chance of happiness before it begins?

'A deliciously sexy romp that blows open the scandalous secrets of Hollywood.' - Daily Express
'Insider cynicism meets a delight in glamour...' - 5 Books to know for 2014, Elle

About the Author
Matt Cain became Channel 4 News' first ever Culture Editor in 2010. Since then he’s reported on everything from the Man Booker Prize and the Mercury Music Prize to the opening of the Spice Girls
musical and the death of Whitney Houston.
Matt has over twelve years’ experience working in arts television.

As Producer/Director of The South Bank Show, his credits include films on Ian McKellen, Sam Taylor-Wood, Will Young and Carol Ann Duffy. He’s also written for The Times, presented the series What Makes a Masterpiece? for More4, and contributes a monthly column to Attitude magazine. He's judged the South Bank Show Awards, the Stonewall Awards and will be on the panel for next year's Costa Book Awards. Born in Bolton and educated at state schools, Matt went to Cambridge University before moving to London.

Guest Post by Matt Cain: My Favourite Rom-coms
One of the best things about writing a novel set in Hollywood and having a leading lady who stars in romantic comedies was that I got to watch my favourite rom-coms all over again. So here they are – some of the films that inspired Shot Through the Heart!

Titanic
I don’t care if cultural snobs are sniffy about this film because it was such a crowd-pleaser – I love it. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio are both amazing and the chemistry between them is the kind of thing all of us dream about finding in real life. Which is why it’s so tragic when their two characters are torn apart. I’m a sucker for a good weepie and every time I watch it, the second the Celine Dion song starts I’m wailing like a Spanish widow right through till the end of the film.

Desperately Seeking Susan
I was such a huge Madonna fan when I was growing up and I always loved this film. It’s set in a 1980’s New York that’s sexy, gritty and cool and I love the screwball-comedy inspired plot of mistaken identities. I was so in awe of Madonna in this film when I was young, I just wanted to go to that nightclub with her and dance to Into the Groove! But it’s Rosanna Arquette’s character who experiences the romance and has a happy ending with the right man. But what I lost most is that the film ends with the two female characters, who’ve been set against each other, coming together to save the day.

True Romance
Like so many of us, I may be a romantic but I’ve made lots of mistakes in life and what I love about this film is that it tells us none of that matters. Its message is that we can all find romance in the unlikeliest of places and in the unlikeliest of scenarios. So Patricia Arquette’s character is a prostitute hired to have sex with the geek played by Christian Slater as a birthday present. But the two of them fall in love and then there’s this whole dark, violent plot that kicks in when they have to run away across the country to escape the Mob. But what’s so brilliant is that even though loads of horrible things happen to them the romance still shines through. More than any other film this one gives me hope that one day I’ll find my own romantic hero!

The Bodyguard
I did watch this film again when I was writing Shot Through the Heart but it was actually more helpful when I was getting ready to write my second book, Nothing but Trouble, which is out next year and set in the pop industry. I’ve always found the music business fascinating and I love the contrast in this film between the on-stage glamour experienced by Whitney Houston’s character and the backstage drama she’s going through. Obviously the soundtrack’s sensational but I also love the fact that this was one of the first inter-racial love stories to be a mainstream success at the cinema, even though this element of the story is never commented on. But I’m sure this made a difference to certain people’s attitudes when the film was released in 1992.

Sex and the City
It would be no exaggeration to say the TV series of Sex and the City changed my life and is one of the things that has most influenced me as a writer. When it was first shown on Channel 4 I was living with two girlfriends from university in a rented flat in London and every Wednesday night we’d stay in to watch the double bill. We’d get so excited when the Bailey’s ads started and then the HBO logo came up and the music kicked in. I just think the characters are so brilliant, the storylines are short and snappy and the series really captured the reality of life for so many single women at the time. I know some people were critical of the film version when it came out at the cinema but me and my girlfriends were so happy to see the four characters back on screen together after so long we’d probably have loved it whatever it was like!

Moulin Rouge
Of all the films I’ve talked about here this one is probably my favourite. It’s so romantic it makes my heart flutter just thinking about it. When it was released at the cinema I remember thinking I’d never seen anything like it before – it was such a new thing to have all that fast cutting and mad camerawork and Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman singing modern love songs even though the film’s set in 1900. And I was feeling particularly romantic and gushy the first time I saw it because I was going out with a really fit Romanian guy. Unfortunately he didn’t last very long but the film did. I still watch it all the time now and obviously as Ewan McGregor’s character’s a writer it has a new resonance for me these days!

Got to say that I totally agree with Matt on Moulin Rouge, it's one of my all time favourite films!

For more information on the book please contact Lucie Cuthbertson-Twiggs on 020 7014 6095 or lucie.cuthbertsontwiggs@macmillan.com