{"product_id":"barefoot-in-the-city-of-broken-dreams-9781514382417","title":"Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"There was no way moving to Los Angeles was going to make me give up\u003c\/em\u003e my \u003cem\u003esoul. After all, I'd already seen all the movies about Hollywood. I knew how things worked.\"\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwenty-four year-old Russel Middebrook and his boyfriend have moved to Los Angeles so Russel can try to make it as a screenwriter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlmost right away, in a forgotten old house off of Sunset Boulevard, Russel meets Isaac Brander, a once-famous film producer who is convinced he can turn Russel's screenplay into a movie.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRussel knows that success can't possibly come this easy. After all, most of Russel's Los Angeles friends are so desperate to make it that it's downright scary. His ex-boyfriend, Otto, is trying everything to become an actor, and Daniel, the sexy neighbor, doesn't even need a casting couch to get naked.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo what's the catch with Mr. Brander? Could it be that movies about Hollywood don't tell the whole truth? But what does that mean for Russel's soul?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBarefoot in the City of Broken Dreams\u003c\/em\u003e, a companion book to Brent Hartinger's \u003cem\u003eThe Thing I Didn't Know I Didn't Know\u003c\/em\u003e, is a fast-paced, funny story about the price of fame in Hollywood: the hilarious lengths people will go to achieve it, and the touching secret to survival when things don't work out exactly as planned.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdvance Praise for \u003cem\u003eBarefoot in the City of Broken Dreams\u003c\/em\u003e: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A sharp, canny, highly engaging tour through a Hollywood of cunning characters and colorful intrigues, guided by the clever voice of Russel Middlebrook as an eager young screenwriter trying to bust in. I was charmed by every sly, sexy page.\" - Barry Sandler, screenwriter of \u003cem\u003eMaking Love\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCrimes of Passion\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"With his trademark wit, warmth, and economy, Brent Hartinger brilliantly captures what it's like to move to L.A. and try and make it in Hollywood: the highs and the lows, the friends and the phonies, the fun and the frustration. And by the way, is it too late for me to be Russel Middlebrook when I grow up?\" - Dennis Hensley, co-screenwriter of \u003cem\u003eTestosterone\u003c\/em\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eMisadventures in the (213)\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBRENT HARTINGER is an author, teacher, playwright, and screenwriter. \u003cem\u003eGeography Club\u003c\/em\u003e, the book in which Russel Middlebrook first appears (as a teenager), is also a successful stage play and a feature film co-starring Scott Bakula.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1990, Brent helped found one of the world's first gay teen support groups, in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. In 2005, he co-founded the entertainment website AfterElton.com, which was sold to MTV\/Viacom in 2006. He now lives in Seattle with his husband, Michael Jensen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Createspace Independent Publishing Platform","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50854022873362,"sku":"9781514382417","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_531e90c3-bd87-4724-898d-c4b3c9eaa8b4.jpg?v=1737457827","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/barefoot-in-the-city-of-broken-dreams-9781514382417","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}