I'm writing I Escaped Hollywood, Barely differently than I thought I would. I'm not polishing every chapter before moving on. I'm not stopping every few paragraphs to make the writing perfect. Instead, I'm writing the memories exactly as they come. Some chapters are messy. Some are funny. Some are painful. Some are unbelievable. They're also completely out of order. One moment I'm a teenage model in Japan during the 1980s, trying to navigate a culture and career that changed my life. The next, I'm standing on a Hollywood set wondering how I got there. I'm choosing to capture the memories while they're alive instead of interrupting them with editing. The editing can come later. Right now, I'm chasing truth. My hope is that when you read these stories, you'll feel like you're right there with me—experiencing the glamour, the culture shock, the excitement, the loneliness, the opportunities, the mistakes, and everything in between. Because this memoir isn't about celebrity. It's about survival. It's about growing up in extraordinary places while trying to figure out who I was. And above all, it's about telling the story honestly. Sometimes the most powerful stories aren't perfectly written first—they're simply written before they're forgotten. ❤️📖✨

Write a story starting with words "Don't move."

Well, because the level 3 notice told me to... I'm sharing the first scene from the first chapter of what used to be the first book of the SciFi > Horror > Mystery > Coming-of-Age series I'm working on. It's now the second book, but the one I've put the most work into (around 40k words so far). All constructive feedback welcome. *I'm using ' to reflect the character's thoughts (Skool won't copy over italicized font). Derek’s silent tears rolled over his dirt-crusted cheeks in the defiled valley, where savage moonlight glinted off flame-charred trees; monoliths of sorrow mourning their fallen brethren. A cruel breeze whipped his eyes while gazing wearily at the nearby Aspens. Their quaking clusters of golden leaves an omen of pointless hope before devastation revisits the Sierra-Nevada foothills. 'At least as a colony they have each other… but they’re just kids, like me.' Grim as it was, it’s the only place Derek found solace when he could escape the compound. He knew it was dangerous – both if discovered, and the risks of being in such a place. It’s illegal to teach one of his social stature any skills of self-sufficiency… or at least it was. 'The war is finally over, but Lilith’s Defiance is defunct now. What’s going to happen to us? Will anything get better? Maybe I’ll finally get a toy! I guess people found a way after the last two World Wars. Maybe we will, too…' The crystal pulsed in his filthy shaking hands. 'Weird… it happened again…' It was the third time a glint of light shone from the crystal. Mistaken moonlight was an easy assumption… but moonlight isn’t purple. He clutched it to his chest, twisting tears trailing to his lips again as he shook his head. 'Why can’t you be here, Dad?! Why do I have to fight so hard to get anything of yours?! This is ALL I have left since losing you to the raiders, but if mom found out I took it…' The crystal pulsed again, now with bass reverberating through him. He couldn’t ponder on it long before a bright light focused on him.