Waifs of the Wasteland

At the height of Prohibition in 1925 Hollywood, Joe Holder, an ex-con just released from prison, seeks to reclaim a lost love. But there is a hitch - in the years since he has been locked up, she has become a movie star. Amid the glitter and grit of silent filmmaking, Joe soon finds he has two rivals for Rose Allen's affection - an actor named Yancey Dix and Hollywood itself. Yet, Joe cannot give up this woman who is tattooed in his heart. He must win her back, thus beginning his conversion from a roughneck to "a gent what can star in his own flickers." Told by Pooch, a pickpocket and Joe's sidekick, WAIFS takes the reader back to the first golden age of tinseltown. It is a hectic world filled not only with movie folk but also with bootleggers and socialist-labor leaders, sassy flappers and newshounds. In their midst appears a genuine tough guy who reaches for a star - and nearly captures her.About the Author: California born and bred, Wayne Beauvais in his younger and more hectic years was an actor who fell in love with the movies, particularly those made in Hollywood's heyday. Turning to education-a regular paycheck has its advantages-he taught A.P. English and film studies for more than thirty years. But, still fascinated with the early days of movie making, upon retirement he finally wrote WAIFS OF THE WASTELAND, the first of a series of novels which explores the "flickers" and the people who made them. He is married and lives in Vista, near San Diego. His daughter is also a writer.