iUniverse Blog

iUniverse Publishing recently contacted author, Betty Marvin, the first wife of movie star Lee Marvin, to ask if she knew why the sales of her memoir, Tales of a Hollywood Housewife, have suddenly leapt in the last month. This is a very, very enjoyable memoir packed with firsthand experiences of living and mixing with the big movie stars of the era juxtaposed with the author’s personal difficulties and subsequent triumphs; nonetheless, why the sales jump? This is what Betty replied:-

iUniverse hears from Betty Marvin

“My memoir, Tales of a Hollywood Housewife, came out about two years ago and I’m stunned, not to mention pleased, that people are still interested in my story. This was confirmed when iUniverse contacted me to ask why I thought sales have recently increased dramatically.

I have received wonderful letters from time to time over the last couple of years in response to my story with the subtitle, A Memoir by the First Mrs. Lee Marvin. These letters are mostly from women who have been inspired by my narrative. The reviews have been very good and now I even have the same agent who represents Dwayne Epstein, author of Lee Marvin: Point Blank. I think it is a good biography of Lee’s life. Yet, I could not explain to iUniverse why the sudden jump in sales, especially since I haven’t had aggressive publicity done for my book in quite some time.

Perhaps the title, which is similar to the Bravo Housewives series has brought people to my website, and these people decided to check out my story as an original Hollywood housewife, one who had been married to an Academy-Award winner and lived to write about it.

I admit that as an older woman, my knowledge of the Internet is somewhat limited, but I do know that since the memoir is self-published, it does not have a limited shelf life and this sudden surge of interest has resulted in moresales. My life has been a series of adventures, and sharing my story is turning out to be an adventure itself. I didn’t plan to work for Joan Crawford, or to marry Lee Marvin, and I certainly didn’t plan to wake up one morning years later after a ‘Hollywood life’ with nothing but a car, a typewriter, and a German shepherd to my name! But it was that experience and the challenge of recreating my life that led me to write the book, and I am just thankful that my story is still touching others.”

iUniverse says thank you to Betty Marvin

Whatever the cause for the sales spike, we at iUniverse are really pleased for Betty and we urge you to get to know more of this riveting story of a real Hollywood housewife and the rich, colorful life she has led. To learn more or better still buy the book, Tales of a Hollywood Housewife, visit Betty’s website or check it out in the iUniverse Bookstore. Also take a look at the excellent BlueInk book review here.