A Q&A With Marc Freden, Author of 'Not Too Cocksure'

Producer, entertainment journalist and on-camera personality Marc Freden has promised to reveal the ‘dark side of the bright lights’ with a explosive series of sexually charged scandalous novels revealing Hollywood’s unspoken truths. The first, Not Too Cocksure, introduces the recurring character of Mica Daly—an ambitious entertainment journalist who becomes the topic of his own story when his involvement with the meteoric rising star, Chad Martin, goes from the murmurs of gossip to the stuff of Hollywood lore.

Who is Mica Daly?
Mica Daly is an aggressive, ambitious entertainment reporter and a keen observer of the world around him. But unlike many reporters in today’s media world, he is not fishing for the lowest common denominator, trying to ruin lives or find the scandal. He still believes there can be entertainment in entertainment reportage. As you see in Not Too Cocksure his moral high ground gets him in trouble as he becomes a fall guy. But as you see as the books evolve, you can only push him so far and soon his experience become his education. 


How much of the book is based in fact? It is all based in fact. The truth is far more entertaining than the fiction. The fiction stems from placing these amalgam characters in certain circumstances which link the fact based plot line together. That is certainly the case in Not Too Cocksure.
 
Are you concerned that you will be biting the hand that feeds you? No! I am more concerned that the reader is sated. I have no problem pulling back the curtain on Hollywood and the world of celebrity and entertainment and telling what I know. My anecdotes have been the subjects of years of cocktail chatter, I am excited about sharing them with a broader audience.
 
More and more actors are coming out of the closet. Is the threat of outing still relevant? Coming out in Hollywood is still a ‘dollars and sense’ situation for many actors. Will the studios back you in the same way? Will there be roles available for you? Are you relegated to character roles versus leading roles? But, moreover, coming out is a personal decision and should not be thrust upon you. What Mica faces is a moral dilemma as much as a career crossroads. This is also a story about how low the media will sink to get the story and at what cost. As such this story is relevant on many levels. 

What can we expect from Mica as the books progress? I think Mica can’t help but become a product of his environment. The entertainment industry doesn’t change because you have a moralistic ideology. In order to succeed, he is going to have to find a way to exist in a system that is unfair, favors cronyism, rewards mediocrity and protects the scandalous. And he will. The question is: will his success reveal a darker, more ambitious, Mica? Let’s face it, in order to be a player, you have to play the game.