In a Town Called Paradox

Nominated as BOOK OF THE MONTH by Discovering Diamonds, a leading independent book-review site. "In A Town Called Paradox is one of those rare, glittering reads that traps the reader immediately and doesn't let go until the end. Thank you for an emotional, gripping and utterly rewarding read."

Selected as an INDIE BOOK WE LOVE by LoveReading, a top book-recommendation website. "This book will grab your attention from page one. I hope you read it and thoroughly enjoy it, as I did."

I WASN'T LOOKING for Marilyn Monroe when I bumped into her, even though I knew she was in town filming River of No Return... So begins In A Town Called Paradox, a novel set in Utah when the Big Five Hollywood studios arrive to shoot their blockbuster movies.

After her mother's sudden death, teenage Corin Dunbar is banished to live with her aunt Jessie, an obsessively religious spinster who runs a failing cattle ranch near a dusty speck of a town called Paradox in southeast Utah.

It's the mid-1950s, and Corin hates her new life until Hollywood arrives, lured by the fiery red-rock scenery that forms the perfect backdrop to the blockbuster Westerns the studios plan to shoot. Overnight, Paradox blossoms into a playground for glamorous stars like Marilyn Monroe, Rock Hudson and Paul Newman. 

Seduced by the glitz, Corin finds work with the studios but after a brush with the casting couch channels her growing ambition into saving the ranch—the jewel of the Dunbar family for three generations.

When she falls for Ark Stevenson – a charismatic stranger who's drawn to Paradox by his love of the movies that are filmed there – her future seems bright. But a tragic accident she believes is her fault wrecks her dreams and forces her to make an agonizing decision that will change her life forever. In this, she is helped by an unlikely ally, Yiska Begay - a Native American war hero who is now on the run from prison.

Told through the eyes of a middle-aged Corin, still haunted by that watershed moment, In A Town Called Paradox is a coming of age love story with strong characters that (readers say) make the novel both "emotional and compelling" as well as "engrossing and entertaining."

Early reviews of In A Town Called Paradox

•"A beautifully written novel... full of fantastic characters."
•"The story will make you laugh, cry and cheer."
•"It grabbed me and didn't let go."
•"This is so well done I cannot recommend it too much. An excellent read."
•"An emotional and compelling book."