Book Description

Kees Madden, a young writer steeped in film history, suddenly finds himself living in the Hollywood he always imagined existed just beyond the shadows, an alternate Hollywood of malicious ghosts and the famous phantoms of filmland's past. The city has the power to shift time and space and is capable of ironic response when confronted by Madden's overactive imagination. It is also the city's perverse pleasure to confront him with a diverse cadre of Hollywood ghosts. Although enthralled by this bizarre new world, Madden finds himself eager to escape, while the unseen forces behind Dead Hollywood have other plans. In pursuit of the city's boundaries and arcane secrets, Madden encounters three enigmatic humans: a clever, sinister man and two intriguing, beautiful women. As they lead him through a fantastic dream/maze of Hollywood past and present, Madden is severely tempted by the two ladies. Although they seem to be polar opposites, could Madden be capable of falling in love with them both? Or are they only malevolent ghosts, eager to imprison Madden in their depraved Hollywood hells? Peter Beckman grew up in the northern California town of Carmichael where, at age 11, he became an actor in local theatre and college productions. In his early twenties, he attended the California Institute of the Arts, where he studied screenwriting with legendary director Alexander Mackendrick ("The Man In The White Suit," "The Sweet Smell Of Success"). Beckman has also appeared in films as varied as "Echo Park," "C.H.U.D. II" and Orson Welles' still-unreleased masterwork, "The Other Side Of The Wind." Beckman lives in Los Angeles where, under the pseudonym Anthony Landor, he currently provides voices for many of the world's most popular videogames, including "Street Fighter IV" (Zangief) and "Dissidia: Final Fantasy" (Golbez). He can also be heard as the voice of General Wolf in the Sci-Fi Channel's hit anime series "Monster." Dead Hollywood is his first novel."