Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? — Amanda Cockrell

Elizabeth Liza Jane Sydney, a beloved, old-school Movie Star, is used to getting what she wants. Her film career took off in the Golden Age of Hollywood and barely survived Sen. Joe McCarthy's infamous Red Scare hunt for Communists. Some of her costars and writer friends weren't so lucky. Now in her 80s, Liza Jane's a legend. But even legends eventually pass. She has a plan for that, too. Her will stipulates she must be buried in the oak grove in her backyard, local ordinances be damned. When she dies shortly after signing, a volatile assortment of industry friends, family, former lovers, rivals, charitable beneficiaries, and paparazzi descend. Some of Liza Jane's friends fight to uphold her wishes. Others try to break the will. And as her past is told in alternating chapters, her eccentric last wishes make sense. It's a timely tale of betrayals of friends by friends - including the worst one of all: by their country's own government.