Expanding on the story told in the Academy Award-winning film, this long-awaited work of fiction tracks the four principal characters--Rick Dalton, Cliff Booth, Sharon Tate and Charles Manson--both before and after the events of the film.

In this first book of a new series, Michaels introduces The Godmothers, four unforgettable women who are about to get a whole new lease on life. When the gossip newspaper where her daughter works is in danger of closing down because of the owner's gambling debts, Teresa "Toots" Loudenberry calls on three trusted friends to help her pull some strings to keep her daughter employed among Hollywood's elite.

On the morning after the 2003 Academy Awards, Max--an Oscar-winning writer/director whose fame has waned--and his lover, Elena, are in bed, still groggy from last night's red-carpet festivities. They are talking about movies, talking about love, talking about the just-begun war in Iraq. But a house full of guests demands attention. They share their stories of Hollywood past and present; they watch films in Max's luxe screening room; they gossip by...

Hazie Coogan, who for decades has tended to the outsized needs of veteran actress Katherine "Miss Kathie" Kenton, discovers that bounder Webster Carlton Westward III has written a celebrity tell-all memoir foretelling Miss Kathie's death in a forthcoming Lillian Hellman-penned musical extravaganza. As the body count mounts, Hazie must execute a plan to save Katherine Kenton for her fans--and for posterity.

Believing she is realizing her dreams when her sitcom is bought, television writer Ruth Saunders finds her happiness threatened by demanding actors and executives as well as an unrequited crush on her boss and her septuagenarian grandmother's upcoming wedding.

Stacey's acting career is on the rise, she can feel it. After leaving Cleveland for the glamour of Hollywood, she knows she's on the path to becoming a star. The big screen is calling her. Well, it could be. With her mother buzzing her cellphone every twenty minutes, it's really easy to lose a casting callback among all the smothering. Helen is a good mother, but she just can't resist checking up on her baby at all hours. After all, Hollywood is...

Violet Parry is living the quintessential life of luxury in the Hollywood Hills with David, her rock-and-roll manager husband, and her darling toddler, Dot. She has the perfect life--except that she's deeply unhappy. David expects the world of Violet but gives little of himself in return. When she meets Teddy, a roguish small-time bass player, Violet comes alive, and soon she's risking everything for the chance to find herself again. Also in the picture...

Molly Bit doesn't believe she's destined for success--she knows it. This certainly helps her get through the countless auditions featuring actors who look and dress just like she does; helps her swallow the indignity of less talented actors landing roles; even helps her endure the industry's aggressive over-sexualizing of young women. When Molly is offered a lead role in a major film, she knows, too, that to seize this opportunity she must sacrifice...

"1950s Hollywood: Every actress wants to be Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary woman whose story has inspired artists since ancient times. So when the film's mercurial director casts an unknown Mexican ingenue in the lead role, Vera Larios quickly becomes the talk of the town. She's also the object of envy of Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes...