Product Description
When the Filter Fades
Author: Janine Jellars
Format: Trade Paperback
There’s a hierarchy to fame – from the Real Celebs who sell their skills as actors and singers, to the Professionally Pretty (the garnish to any occasion), the Hashtag Hustlers, who range from influencers to the social media savvy, to the Hopeless Hangers-On. Everyone has their place in the ecosystem, and knowing your place in that hierarchy is half the fame game won. For three young women in Joburg, the new age of internet celebrity presents them with obstacles, opportunities, opulence and a chance at fame, fortune and fierce fashion.
LIN Through sheer ambition and force of will, Lin has rebranded her entire existence. She’s shrugged off her past to fully embrace a new identity: Linfluencer, the high-end influencer whose Outfits Of The Day are obsessively followed by every budding fashionista with a blossoming social media addiction. LEBO Then there’s Lebo, who has only ever known a life of fame – real fame – as the former child prodigy behind TV phenomenon Sedi Star.
Everyone grew up watching her every move, but now, as she’s grown up, the work, roles and offers have evaporated. But her penchant for scandal, controversy and social media squabbles have kept her in the headlines. MBALI And finally there’s South Africa’s reigning Queen of Gossip: Mbali. The entertainment site she runs with an iron fist is known for breaking the hottest news – and the odd celebrity career.
With the Hashtag Hustle threatening her media empire, how will she continue to keep her readers enthralled? As Lin, Lebo and Mbali jostle to take their places in the fame hierarchy, their ambitions, aspirations and agendas collide. Their wins and woes not only affect one another, but can mean that they either individually rise or collectively crumble.
Will Lin’s past threaten her future? Will Lebo’s (self-)sabotage prevent her return to the top? Will Mbali’s reign as the Queen of Gossip continue – or reach a dead end? The choices they make can balance or break their entire ecosystem.
About the Author
JANINE JELLARS is an author, editor, marketer, and entrepreneur. An 80s baby, and the ultimate millennial ‘slashie’, she’s seen it all, done it all, and written all about it. Janine grew up in Hanover Park, Cape Town, where she spent her childhood devouring the contents of the Hanover Park Public Library and dreaming of being a writer or a spy. Her childhood dreams became a reality when she chose the socially accepted route to practising spy-craft: journalism. Now, she uses the skills she’s honed over her decades-long media career to build strategies for leading corporations. When she isn’t crafting content for corporates and mentoring and leading teams, she still finds time to interview local and global icons, such as Bonang Matheba, Taraji P Henson and Rihanna. Janine holds a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from GIBS and lives in – and loves – Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband and enviable shoe collection. When the Filter Fades is Janine’s first work of fiction.
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