Lynn Isenberg Brings Life to a Dead Industry in the Comedy, The Funeral Planner

Maddy Banks has dreamed of having a successful business since she was a young girl. When other girls were reading fairy tales about princesses, Maddy was begging her parents for a subscription to the Financial Street Journal. She has brilliant ideas and a business degree to back them up, but so far entrepreneurial success has been elusive. Most recently, her old college nemesis, Derek Rogers, has beaten her latest venture to market, leaving Maddy frustrated and out of ideas.

Her professional problems are pushed aside when she gets the heart-breaking news that a good friend has suddenly died. While enduring a canned eulogy delivered by a clergyperson who never knew her friend, Maddy realizes the importance of a personalized ceremony to honor the life lost and comfort the living. Isn't there a business that fulfills this need?

Looking for a distraction from her grief, Maddy works on a business plan for Lights Out Enterprises! - a company that will create unique and unconventional pre-planned funerals that celebrate life. With the guidance of her entrepreneurial Uncle Sam, she embarks on the journey to turn her ideas into reality.

When Madison gets enough money for the start-up costs from handsome venture capitalist Victor Winston, Lights Out! takes off. Maddy starts flying all over the country to meet the demands of her growing client list. For Maddy, fulfillment has always equaled professional success, something that Lights Out! may finally provide.

Everything comes to a screeching halt when new government legislation (with the suspicious involvement of Derek Rogers) forces Maddy to pull the plug on Lights Out! Devastated by another loss, Maddy retreats to Clark Lake near her hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan to figure out what her next move will be-no Financial Street Journal, no business plans, no distractions.

For the first time in years, Maddy forces herself to deal with her personal and professional losses and figure out what she really wants out of life…and in an unexpected grassroots come-back discovers that self-worth caps net-worth any day.

Isenberg's penchant for blurring the lines between reality and fiction has paid off. The Funeral Planner launched the real life business of Lights Out Enterprises with a notable advisory board of high stakes entertainment professionals as well as a spin-off company called Fashion Therapy, all inspired by the novel. Reality may be at the root of all fiction, but in this case, fiction has clearly spawned reality.

THE FUNERAL PLANNER
Lynn Isenberg
ISBN# 0-373-89533-X
Red Dress Ink

For more information on Lynn Isenberg and Lights Out Enterprises, please visit:

http://www.lynnisenberg.com
http://www.thefuneralplannerinc.com

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