Everybody Gets Paid

Book excerpt: Nathaniel Oakland is at his wit's end. He's a Hollywood writer, nearing the end of his run in the City of Angels. He bet it all when he moved out here from the East Coast years ago. And while he always meant to go back, something kept him hanging on. He's more or less sober, has had success, has known love, and has been kicked to the curb. Now he's planning his opus and is surrounded by the ghosts of all the writers who tried to do the same over the years. A postcard to Los Angeles, this is a sketch of the completely unglamorous life of a Hollywood ghostwriter, from his his creative lows to the highs from which no one ever wants to come down. It's Hollywood, baby, where everybody gets paid, right? This is the Dryline Rhapsody.