Paul Michael Francis takes us on a journey through LA

Debut novelist Paul Michael Francis' book The Silver Bridge takes us through the heady highs and lows of LA life, with rock stars, Hollywood starlettes, all the hangers-on, vices and sun you can muster. We asked him to take us on a photo journey through the places the book evokes.

Like us, you might find yourself California Dreaming...

Sunset on Sunset Boulevard - Los Angeles, USA

This is where The Silver Bridge began a decade ago near Hollywood, California. A writer who saw a lack of kindness and love in the world, I knew I had something to communicate that might bring these to the surface. Don't get me wrong... I was no saint, having fun, kicking ass and taking names - until it all became redundant, shallow. Along came this vision (not a moment too soon) that eventually revealed itself to be the final chapter of my novel. I obsessively developed, wrote and never let the story go because it never let me go. I created a fictional world that kept me alive and sane. A book can save your life. The Silver Bridge saved mine.

Hollywood n Highland - Hollywood, USA

As a photojournalist, this is as close as I could get to the Oscars without being arrested. From The Silver Bridge…

Claire looked regal on stage in her long, black, velvet gown. The vestments of ovation and of lamentation were ironically one and the same on this night. Were those tears of joy at her towering achievement or was that the weeping of insurmountable loss? It all made for a splendid show regardless.

What to say? The applause died down and Claire was faced with an uncomfortable silence. The whole world was waiting for her. She'd practised this moment countless times since she was five years old. Now that it was time to speak to the world as Claire Davis and not some character out of one of her films, she was at an utter loss. There was only one thing on her bereaved mind lately and so she naturally decided to speak about that…

A Dream Within A Dream - Filerimos, Greece

Pavlos led Claire up a pathway to a final rise that led to a clearing at the summit. Suddenly before her was an enormous white concrete cross that soared two hundred feet into the air…

Suddenly, recognition hit and she knew exactly where she was. Of course she'd been here before and oh how many times. Whenever life was too harsh, whenever her mother's berating was too much for her to handle, when- ever she was too high or too scared, whenever she needed love but couldn't find any - she came to this place. But her warm, sun-drenched island had existed in her mind only - a self-created escape mechanism that kept her from going over the edge on many occasions and, more importantly, given her hope that somewhere, someday, her life would be what she wanted it to be.

Anthony Quinn Bay - Rodos, Greece

He led her down a rocky pathway that descended to a cove entirely surrounded by high escarpments. On the far side of the cove, people were jumping into the sea from an outcrop. Pavlos explained to Claire that the name of the beach was Anthony Quinn. The legendary actor had fallen in love with the place and the Oscar-winning classic The Guns of Navarone had been filmed there.

Pavlos grabbed her hand and started off with a run. She had no choice but to go along with him now. Hand-in-hand the couple flew off the ledge, Claire's long golden brown hair flowing towards the heavens, her free arm floating horizontally like an angel's wing. They plunged into the sea, shattering the idyllic tranquillity of the crystal blue water.

The Old Town - Rodos, Greece

From The Silver Bridge…

Around a corner and hard on the brakes was a donkey stuck on stubborn in the middle of the road. An old woman with a basket full of tomatoes on one arm offered a shoulder-shrugging apology for her animal's intransigence. Another corner revealed the illuminated grandeur of the fourteenth-century Citadel, the crowning jewel of Old Town's architecture glowing in the starry summer night.

The best days of my childhood were spent behind the walls of this legendary medieval fortress, playing, promenading and daydreaming of being a marathoner, a published author, a theatre and television actor... I learned the power of the imagination to create reality. Through various seasons of my adult life, I have been each of these.  This is by far the greatest manifestation, my published author season.

Paul Michael Francis is the author of The Silver Bridge (Quartet Books)