Back in June 2024, I released the first book in a new trilogy set against what many (including myself) would argue was the greatest year that golden-age Hollywood experienced: 1939. (You can read a list of movies that came out that year on this post.)

Selznick’s Girl Friday told the story of how Polly Maddox left her sheltered life on Santa Catalina Island off the Los Angeles coast and landed smack dab in the middle of a Hollywood maelstrom: the Selznick International studios as it was girding its collective loins in preparation for filming the unfilmable Gone with the Wind.

Book two follows the irrepressible Amelia Hartman, Polly’s dearest friend, whose flame-red hair matches her burning desire for a life beyond serving malts at Schwab’s Pharmacy.

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SELZNICK’S SPOTLIGHT

A Novel of 1939 Hollywood

by Martin Turnbull

Book 2 in the Hollywood’s Greatest Year trilogy

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In the summer of 1939, Amelia Hartley is slinging hash and dishing sass at Schwab’s Pharmacy, but a girl can’t live on soda fountain shtick forever. When she learns of the planned revival of a long-forgotten film gem, Amelia seizes her chance for stardom—if she can convince the right people to believe in her.

At Selznick International, opportunity comes knocking when she’s offered the role of stand-in for a fast-rising redhead. But as Amelia works to make her mark, she uncovers an unexpected web of corruption stretching from Sunset Boulevard to Palm Springs. At its center stands a woman Hollywood cast aside—one whose secrets could upend Tinseltown.

As Gone with the Wind nears completion, Amelia must navigate studio politics while piecing together a mystery that threatens to ruin everything Selznick has built. In a town where facades mask hidden truths, Amelia’s about to learn what it takes to succeed in pictures.

From the author of the Garden of Allah novels comes a tale of ambition, love, and betrayal set against Hollywood’s greatest year. This captivating adventure will transport you to a time when movies were larger than life, and dreams were made and shattered under the glare of the spotlight.

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