With me on this first episode of Writers at Work of the new year is Lauren Rothery, author of TELEVISION, her debut novel.

If you visit laurenrothery.net, you'll find links to a number of short films she wrote and directed. As for TELEVISION, it's an intriguing, cleverly told novel about Verity, a famous actor who, after appearing in a hit film he detests, announces he will hold a lottery to give away the $80 million he stands to make from the picture.

Another primary character is Helen, an insightful, often cynical woman on the periphery of the entertainment business, and who Verity wishes were his wife. Then comes Phoebe, an aspiring screenwriter who can't seem to stop fantasizing about writing in order to actually write. The novel has a lived-in feel, in which we, the readers, swim in the characters' thoughts that are often mundane, occasionally astute, and always revealing.