Slow Dance on the Fault Line

From the seedy sun-drenched bungalows to Polo Lounge booths to opulent mansions along winding canyon drives, Donald Rawley shines a merciless light on a city perched precariously on the rim of the desert and edge of reality. In these fourteen finely crafted gems of impassioned lyricism, the author rakes his pen across the glistening veneer of Los Angeles' elusive fantasy and hard-boiled glamour to expose the unvarnished, unsavory truth underneath. Whether focusing on a comedian's homicidal greed, a second-rate screenwriter pondering his lot sitting naked in a Bentley, or a valium-addicted beauty seeking gratification amid a tawdry carnival sideshow, Donald Rawley relentlessly excavates LA's sun-bleached graveyard of broken hopes, shattered dreams and sordid memories.

Donald Rawley was a contributing editor at Buzz magazine and German GEO. A recent Pushcart Prize winner for fiction, Rawley published his work in The New Yorker, Harper's, Story, American Short Fiction, Genre, and Press, among others. His published works include a novel, The Night Bird Cantata; a short story collection, Slow Dance on the Fault Line; and a collection of essays, Letters from Hollywood. He died in 1998.