"Somewhere in Hollywood" (Book news!)
...where getting lost is the new found.
Hello hello, dear readers!
It’s been a while since my first novel Slanted and Disenchanted was released and I now come to you on this third day of the new year bearing book news. Before I get into it, I wanted to thank you all who read the debut and offered encouragement in kind messages and reviews. It means a lot as this is a little-engine-that-could kind of operation where every bit of help is truly appreciated. So, again, merci!
And now….I am pleased to announce Somewhere in Hollywood, the sequel to Slanted and Disenchanted, drops February 7th and is now available on pre-order on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Waterstone’s.
The cover was designed by artist Rita Lightguard of Ritalux Art whose vision truly captured the story. Her credits include Barbie, My Little Pony, as well as a universe of fantastical characters that made her a perfect fit for my characters who tend to live in their own worlds.
And speaking of other worlds…
Welcome to the bouncy castle of Los Angeles in 2004. At the dawn of social media, Carla and Pete embark on a quest for meaning in a city where dreams often fade into the smog. They came for indie rock stardom, only to find themselves sidelined by life's realities and their own emotional limitations. Carla experiences the true meaning of monotony as a TV extra, while Pete, wrestling with societal views on bisexuality, answers phones. Despite their mutual affection, Carla feels rejected, while Pete, secretly grappling with his identity, shies away from intimacy.
Their world, filled with vinyl records, a spirited cat named Joni, and an eccentric Hollywood landlady, offers fleeting moments of deep connection. But the arrival of a charismatic stranger disrupts their fragile status quo, forcing them to confront faded ambitions and the true nature of their relationship.
With the pop culture eye of Bret Easton Ellis and lyrical longing of Just Kids by Patti Smith, Somewhere in Hollywood explores the tight-rope walk of personal growth and relationship dynamics, capturing the soul of a generation in search of itself and the relentless pursuit of something more.
I had written the entire series out before realizing I wanted to make an entire book about their time in L.A. in the early-aughts. I don’t look back with nostalgia or longing for another time, but more observational of what it meant to be coming of age in the era of Myspace, Mark the Cobrasnake and the newly minted reality TV culture.
It has been four years of drafts and many rewrites, shaping the story to where it is now filled with all the juicy pop culture tidbits as well as the self-doubts and inner dialogue that is coming-of-age. I hope you enjoy the journey I send “my kids” on in this second installment of the series.
And with that, I release a deep breath and wish you a happy new year!
LCM
Oh and for more frequent updates outside of book news in the shape of personal stories, please check out my vinyl diaries newsletter here on Substack where I share the stories behind the songs from my teenage years in New York City record stores to stumbling through adulthood in Hollywood and eventually Paris (not there yet).
