Three disparate and deranged tales featuring deluded narcissists, desperate wannabes, cunning fraudsters, lecherous vampires and sociopathic social climbers, in the city where dreams are sold and nightmares are conjured. FALSE ICONS AND SACRED COWS: Fr. Arthur Gerdtz is on a mission from God. His church is fighting for relevance in the modern world. Attendances are dwindling, atheism is rising, and Instagram celebrities are bigger than Jesus. This veteran priest is in danger of losing his religion – until he brings some Old Testament values into the twenty-first century. THE HONEY TRAP: Two lost souls are drawn to each other one night via Tinder. He is a successful businessman, searching for a reprieve from a life of solitude. She is a sweet-natured but damaged schoolgirl who just wants to be understood. Both long to connect with another human being. They know that meeting up is a bad idea, and they know their actions could have far-reaching consequences. What they don’t know is that the other hides a secret. THE SHARPEST KNIVES IN THE DRAWER: Cameron Knight and Eric Haas discover the realities of being a Hollywood screenwriter haven’t quite met their expectations. Their dreams of living the high life have fallen by the wayside and they find themselves hopelessly out of their depth, struggling to finish the lowbrow horror gore-fest they have been hired to write. Do they have what it takes to make it in Hollywood? How far they are willing to go to succeed in such a cut-throat industry? And when you have no limits, how do you know when you’ve gone too far?

Dayna Anderson has proven she can hack it as a private eye, but can she crack the firewall of a big-time cover-up? Dayna Anderson's transition from semi-famous actress to semi-successful private eye hasn't been a financial gold mine like she'd hoped, so a breaking news alert about Hollywood's latest 'It Girl' getting hacked barely registers on her give-a-crap list. But then Dayna learns her tech genius friend Emme tops the list of suspects. Dayna's determined to protect her friend at any cost and that means doing whatever she can to find the real hacker. When her investigation uncovers a deadly cover-up on the set of one of the year's most anticipated films, she gets a front row look at the world of big-time movies and big-time gambles, discovering exactly how far people will go to protect Hollywood's moneymakers. Praise for Hollywood Ending: Named Best of 2018by Suspense Magazine "Garrett continues to build an appealingly quirky crime-solving team."--Kirkus Reviews "Garrett, who wrote for TV'sCold Case, brings a smart insider's view of contemporary Hollywood to this lighthearted series."--Publishers Weekly "Fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series will feel right at home."--Library Journal "Day's funny and determined, the sort of woman who really WOULD make a wisecrack when faced with danger."--Donna Andrews, New York Timesbestselling author of the Meg Langslow series "Kellye Garrett's Hollywood Endingglitters with stardust. A fun, fast-paced mystery, it's definitely an A-lister."--Elaine Viets, author of the Dead-End Job mysteries "Fasten your seatbelts. A star is born!"--Nancy Martin, author of the Blackbird Sisters mysteries "An entertaining whodunit that provides readers a peek behind Hollywood's star-studded curtain."--Diane Kelly, award-winning author Praise for Hollywood Homicide: Winner of the 2018 Agatha Award for Best First Novel Winner of the 2018 Anthony Award for Best First Novel Winner of the 2018 Lefty Award for Best Debut Winner of the 2018 IPPY Gold Medal for Best First Book "[A] winning first novel and series launch...Garrett writes with humor and insight about the Hollywood scene."--Publishers Weekly(starred review) "A smart, sassy debut."--Library Journal(starred review) and Debut of the Month "Veteran TV writer Garrett uses her Cold Caseexperience to inform her debut, which sets up more than one charming character and isn't afraid to go cynical on all things LA."--Kirkus Reviews "Funny, lively characters populate this new Detective by Day series."--RT Book Reviews "Dayna Anderson is a heroine readers will fall in love with."--Kyra Davis, New York Timesbestselling author "A non-stop, fun read with humor sharp as a stiletto heel."--Ellen Byron, USA Todaybestselling author "Toss in a hit-and-run, a steep reward, and more one-liners than a Marx Brothers marathon and you've got Hollywood Homicide."--Catriona McPherson, Agatha Award-winning author "Has a heart as big as Los Angeles."--Rachel Howzell Hall, author of the LAPD Detective Elouise Norton series "Garrett has written a novel with great voice, characters, hilarious moments, and a lot of Hollywood."--BookRiot

Hollywood Game Plan wonÆt just teach you how to get a foot in the Hollywood door-it will teach you how to bust that door down. Receive insiderÆs advice from a former senior-level Hollywood executive whoÆs worked for CBS and Steven SpielbergÆs Amblin Entertainment and has hired, mentored, and inspired hundreds of entertainment professionals. Book jacket.

One rule. One winner. One hundred million dollars. A group of random strangers are invited to take part in a mysterious lottery with an intriguing premise. Twenty-seven accept the offer. But what begins as an unusual social experiment quickly descends into something much more sinister. The contestants receive more than they bargained for, and the dark side of human nature reveals itself. As the lottery spirals into a life-and-death struggle for survival, Alice Kato is left searching for answers. How far are ordinary people willing to go to win this extraordinary amount of money? Is there anyone she can trust? Is there any way out? And just who exactly is pulling all the strings? Everyone has their price. Most just don't know what it is yet.

Since its publication in 1957 Atlas Shrugged, the philosophical and artistic climax of Ayn Rand's novels, has never been out of print and has received enormous critical attention becoming one of the most influential books ever published, impacting on a variety of disciplines including philosophy, literature, economics, business, and political science among others. More than a great novel, Atlas Shrugged is an abstract conceptual, and symbolic work that expounds a radical philosophy, presenting a view of man and man's relationship to existence and manifesting the essentials of an entire philosophical system - metaphysics, epistemology, politics and ethics. Celebrating the fiftieth year of Atlas Shrugged's publication, this companion is an exploration of this monumental work of literature. Contributions have been specially commissioned from a diversity of eminent scholars who admire and have been influenced by the book, the included essays analyzing the novel's integrating elements of theme, plot and characterization from many perspectives and from various levels of meaning.

The lives and careers of Warner Brothers' screen legends Joan Blondell, Nancy Coleman, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Glenda Farrell, Kay Francis, Ruby Keeler, Andrea King, Priscilla Lane, Joan Leslie, Ida Lupino, Eleanor Parker, Ann Sheridan, Alexis Smith, and Jane Wyman are the topic of this book. Some achieved great success in film and other areas of show business, but others failed to get the breaks or became victims of the studio system's sometimes unpleasant brand of politics. The personal and professional obstacles that each actress encountered are here set out in detail, often with comments from the actresses who granted interviews with the author and from those people who knew them best on and off the movie set. A filmography is included for each of the fifteen.

How science consultants make movie science plausible, in films ranging from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Finding Nemo. Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, released in 1968, is perhaps the most scientifically accurate film ever produced. The film presented such a plausible, realistic vision of space flight that many moon hoax proponents believe that Kubrick staged the 1969 moon landing using the same studios and techniques. Kubrick's scientific verisimilitude in 2001 came courtesy of his science consultants--including two former NASA scientists--and the more than sixty-five companies, research organizations, and government agencies that offered technical advice. Although most filmmakers don't consult experts as extensively as Kubrick did, films ranging from A Beautiful Mind and Contact to Finding Nemo and The Hulk have achieved some degree of scientific credibility because of science consultants. In Lab Coats in Hollywood, David Kirby examines the interaction of science and cinema: how science consultants make movie science plausible, how filmmakers negotiate scientific accuracy within production constraints, and how movies affect popular perceptions of science. Drawing on interviews and archival material, Kirby examines such science consulting tasks as fact checking and shaping visual iconography. Kirby finds that cinema can influence science as well: Depictions of science in popular films can promote research agendas, stimulate technological development, and even stir citizens into political action.