The Road From Calumny

Becky Breck arrived in Hollywood at 17 with $650 in her pocket, and instantly won the lead role on a hit teen show. Now, nine years later and recognized as one of the most brilliant acting talents of her generation, Becky is poised for movie stardom - vying for the lead in a blockbuster anti-American political film based on a "true story" hailed by Hollywood and the mainstream media. But as the pressure on her builds, Becky falters, and betrays her deepest principles. Reeling from her failure and shame, she spins out of control and flees Hollywood. In an addled cross-country journey to reconcile with her damaged past, Becky stumbles into an alliance with a mysterious young man on his own mission of vindication. Mitch offers Becky a once-unimaginable opportunity: to return to Hollywood on her own terms by exposing a slanderous lie at the heart of the blockbuster movie she'd abandoned. Great personal and professional risks are involved, and success will require an extraordinary leap of faith. Becky's ultimate choices will lead to redemption, but also to heartbreak. Moving from the center of the film world to the small-town South, and back, The Road From Calumny is a story of life-changing friendships and of one fateful love. Rip Pauley worked as a script reader, development executive and screenwriter in Hollywood. His film, the political thriller The Divided, was Stephen K. Bannon's personal selection for the 2009 GI Film Festival in Washington, DC. The Road from Calumny is his first novel.