Hustle and Flow

Our annual Los Angeles visit has a new purpose the last few years. 2024 brought fresh opportunity in the form of Book Three: The Surge winning runner up in the Los Angeles Book Festival. With the awards ceremony scheduled at the Roosevelt Hotel Academy Room, I wasn’t about to miss this event.

The Roosevelt Hotel is not only special to the series, but it’s also special to me. During my Hollywood High School days, the Roosevelt Hotel ballroom hosted our school dances. I’ve reveled in the most wonderful evenings at that incredible historic hotel. Walking through the lobby again, with my family, was magic. The awards ceremony was held in the Academy Room, a gorgeous space that used to be the home of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. The historic setting only added to the marvelous evening.

While the book awards were a highlight, we had a lot more to look forward to on our trip home to Los Angeles. The HHC photographer, Tino Duvick of Broken Chain Photography, flew out. We hit so many hot spots, determined to get “Day In the Life Of” photographs of our models who portray Melanie Slate, Jayla Bethel, and Victoria Garcia.

Seeing the models at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Snow White's Cafe, the high school stomping grounds, Rainbow Bar, and so many other crucial locations to our series was incredible.

Here are some of the photographs:

Models: Maddie Dawn Cordero and Lillian Cordero
Photographer: Tino Duvick