โThere was no way moving to Los Angeles was going to make me give up my soul. After all, Iโd already seen all the movies about Hollywood. I knew how things worked.โ
Twenty-four year-old Russel Middebrook and his boyfriend have moved to Los Angeles so Russel can try to make it as a screenwriter.
Almost 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 Russelโs screenplay into a movie.
Russel knows that success canโt possibly come this easy. After all, most of Russelโs Los Angeles friends are so desperate to make it that itโs downright scary. His ex-boyfriend, Otto, is trying everything to become an actor, and Daniel, the sexy neighbor, doesnโt even need a casting couch to get naked.
So whatโs the catch with Mr. Brander? Could it be that movies about Hollywood donโt tell the whole truth? But what does that mean for Russelโs soul?
Barefoot in the City of Broken Dreams, a companion book to Brent Hartingerโs The Thing I Didnโt Know I Didnโt Know, 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 donโt work out exactly as planned.
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