The Desperation of Harry by E Ryan Janz

Shocks and secrets pack this dark humored story based on actual events, as twenty-three-year-old, Monty Hill, leaves his Midwestern roots for 1977 Hollywood with dreams of becoming a major screenwriter. He settles into a near fantasy existence surrounded by swimming pools and palm trees and from which he meets his new neighbor, Harry, a mysterious yet endearing man who in hopes to assist Monty financially, inadvertently entangles him with a seemingly dangerous producer of pornographic films. While Monty weaves his way through various obstacles and relationships, at its heart, this is a tale that illustrates the enduring friendship of Monty and Harry while reinforcing Harry’s warning to Monty upon their first chance meeting – that people are not always as they seem.