Hailey and her boyfriend moved from the Midwestern United States to Hong Kong, China to be part of China's ever-expanding entertainment industry. When her boyfriend's job took him out of Hong Kong and into Mainland China, their relationship strained to persevere. A vacation on the tropical island of Bali rekindled their passion for travel and each other. Along the way they played with some exotic monkeys, visited ancient temples and got in a few laps at the pool. When people go to Bali, they usually spend their time lounging on the beaches and hopping from one restaurant and pub to the next. Hailey and her boyfriend spent most of their time with each other, exploring their relationship's limits and pushing their own personal boundaries farther than either of them ever expected. This is not your grandmother's travel guide.
Two thousand nudists and one textile young woman on a 13 deck, 75,000 ton cruise ship sailing from China to Vietnam to Thailand.On the itinerary are such activities as swimming, miniature golf, karaoke, checkers. See a Las Vegas-style musical stage show, eat in several award winning international restaurants, pamper yourself in the luxury spa, exercise in the state of the art fitness center ... all completely naked.What happens when a shy young woman who was always taught to be ashamed of her body finds herself on a cruise ship full of nudists enjoying the sun and water, and letting it all hang out?The nudists she meets on her first cruise come from a wide variety of backgrounds and travel in different social circles. They come in all ages, races, shapes and sizes. They have as many opposing political opinions as any other diverse group of people. They are as varied as any group of 2,000 can get. What they have in common is their love of being outdoors and the ability to see nudity as natural.They talk and laugh, swim and play games, all completely naked. None of them notice all the flaws she sees in her body and no one laughs at anyone for being imperfect. When everybody is nude, no one cares about perfection.They are also the friendliest people she could hope to meet.
Hailey McPherson, author of the bestseller Hailey's Bali Diary and the controversial bestseller Nudist Cruise, gives us a painfully honest and sometimes heartbreaking account of losing one family and gaining another. When Hailey left her old friends in the United States, she made new friends in Hong Kong, chief among them was Livia. The downside to making new friends was the loss of old friends. When she moved to Hong Kong, she knew that she would rarely see her friends in Minnesota. What she should have known was that they would eventually talk to each other less and less. Her American friends had their lives on one side of the world and she was building a new life on the other. What she always had during all of this was her boyfriend, Liam. He was the bridge between her old and new life. He was the only Minnesotan she saw in Hong Kong and eventually the only one with whom she ever spoke on anything close to a regular basis. Then he moved to Mainland China and she saw him far less often. They still talked all the time online and by phone, but Hailey always wondered if that would fade away as it did with her American friends. Liam and Hailey were not exactly growing apart, but the more time she spent with Livia and the closer their relationship became, the less time she spent with Liam. Eventually, they found a unique way to include everybody.
Trust is great, but contracts are legally binding. Living and working in Paris, two friends - one American and one Canadian - experience the city far more than they could have on vacation. A month in France takes them to ancient Roman temples, expansive parks, elegant cathedrals, the jungles of Africa and the streets of Montmartre. They play the parts of vestal virgins, working girls, Rodin statues, woodland fairies, staid librarians, Norse princesses, angels and devils. In between eating too much bread and cheese, experiencing great works of art in celebrated museums, and working in dark studios and sparkling lakes, they marvel at the architecture and watch the sun set over the Seine. They see almost everything on their lists. They go to the popular tourist sights on grand boulevards and explore hidden neighborhoods tucked behind winding back alleys. They venture to the outer edges of the city where most visitors never go and take a few side trips outside of Paris to places millions of people go. They eat in Michelin starred restaurants, tiny sidewalk caf s, anonymous sandwich shops, basement taverns and their own apartment kitchen. They meet a variety of locals, other foreigners working in France and people just passing through. They ride a lot of trains, a few cars, a scooter or two, and even drive a little themselves. Yet they barely scratch the surface. Personal relationships and guiding principles are sacrificed to do everything and almost nothing. Months, and even years, are not enough to dig deep into the heart of Paris. They will never know La Ville Lumi re as intimately as it knows them in such a short time.
*Disclaimer: This book is a work of fiction. Characters, incidents, alleged crimes and motivations are products of the author's imagination and used fictitiously. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Especially any living film producer and/or studio executive. Any fictional character that may or may not bear any resemblance was created before his scandals were headline news.* Sooner or later, every star comes to Hollywood to shine. Most will crash and burn quickly. Some are destroyed by powerful men who prey on the women they consider disposable. Only a select few can outlast the competition, outmaneuver the scandals and politics, and outrun the sexual predators. "For every star bright in the sky, there are a million broken dreams down here with the rest of us." Ail s Rinn was a popular child actor a lifetime ago. When she returns to Los Angeles for her big comeback, nothing seems to go according to plan. Tyler Gardiner moved to Los Angeles to make her dreams come true. She quickly learns that popularity back home means nothing to agents and casting directors in the movie capital of the world. Cheryl Rallius was born and raised in Los Angeles. Sitting on the sidelines of the entertainment industry, she watches the ing nues come and go. But she knows she wants something more. Marcus Rallius, Cheryl's father, talent agent and friend to his clients. His goal is to nurture bright, young talent and help them shine. He knows that someday he will find that one true star he can take to the top. Jay Pearlman, powerful Hollywood producer and respected member of the entertainment industry. His long resume includes work with some of the most important people in the business. If he is not given what he wants, he takes it. Fillmore Carmichael wants to be rich and famous. Mostly rich. As a reality TV star, fame came quickly. The money is taking its sweet time. Monroe Kortright moved from Middle of Nowhere, Alaska. She assumes that being young, cute and perky is enough. Hollywood assumes she is too naive to survive. Jackson Donelson's graduate degree in acting does nothing to land him the parts he knows he deserves. In an industry where people are hired on appearance first and ability second, higher education is meaningless. Queen Bitch, one of a few million struggling rock bands trying to make it in Los Angeles. They have a recording contract, they have a record, they even have a video or two. What they need is an audience. Matilda, Gage and Joslyn are artists, activists, Bohemians. Experimental and avant-garde, they work on the fringes of Hollywood, meeting fellow freethinkers as well as the driven executives who know that the business of show business is to make money.
