BROOKINGS, Ore., July 7, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Michael Hollister takes readers back to the heyday of Hollywood, when love, patriotism and spirituality made the stars burn bright in his new novel, Holywood (now available through AuthorHouse).
Hollister examines love, patriotism, moviemaking and the influence of popular culture on religion during World War II through the interwoven stories of two star-crossed people: an innocent farm girl, Sarah McCloud, and gas attendant turned director Ryan Eisley. Sarah is a churchgoing Oregonian in love with her shy neighbor, Burke Hanson. When his family loses their farm in the Depression, Sarah follows Burke to Los Angeles. She gets pregnant, and they marry. The impending war stresses their relationship, which eventually ends in their separation and Burke's enlistment in the Marines. The divorce is hard enough without her son rebelling from daycare. Reluctantly, she sends him to live with her parents in Oregon while she works in a defense plant to make ends meet.
Ryan is a self-made man. A former dance band singer from Ohio, he rises from gas station attendant to various studio positions and ultimately director at 20th Century Fox. An ulcer keeps him out of the war, and he marries Fay Kincaid, a short-contract actress who sleeps her way into roles. After her tragic death, he is set adrift, sending his daughter to live with foster parents while advancing his career and drinking too much. His guilt about not joining the military service, however, drives him to make a documentary on women in defense plants, where he finally meets Sarah. Through their situations and guilt, they become a driving force of inspiration and patriotism as they seek atonement for their pasts.
Holywood is a story of love, inspiration and patriotism as morality and success collide under the bright lights of the heyday of Hollywood.
Hollister was born in Los Angeles, served in the Army, graduated from the University of Oregon and taught fiction writing at Stanford University, where he earned a doctorate. His father worked in the movie industry and, as a boy, his neighbors included Clark Gable, John Huston and Andy Devine. He has worked as a sketch artist, intelligence agent and professor of American literature. He has published a number of articles and stories in a number of magazines. Holywood is his first novel and the first in a trilogy. He is currently working on the sequel, Follywood.
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