The Crossing: A World Beyond Novel

"An imaginative and moving take on friendship, love, and the movies." - Kirkus Reviews, Get It Verdict "[A] strong hook and complex tale of grief alongside the beauty of human connection." - BookLife Reviews From the author of the award-winning novel Of Dreams and Angels comes a touching exploration of the bonds that shape us, the ambitions that divide us, and the stories through which we make sense of love and loss. By the time his best friend's screenplay becomes a worldwide hit film, Ben knows the version audiences fell in love with is not the whole truth. What remains unclear is where Taylor's fiction ends and reality begins. Taylor Thorne is a struggling Los Angeles screenwriter with a habit of sabotaging jobs and rewriting his own life in the telling. Then a fleeting, inexplicable encounter at Sunset and Marmont shatters his writer's block. A woman appears in his path-vivid, unmistakable-before vanishing just as quickly. Soon after, Taylor begins writing a script that will change everything: a love story built around the woman he cannot forget, and a supposed crossing between worlds that Ben only begins to understand after Taylor is gone. At first, Ben assumes his friend has finally found creative momentum. Then Ben meets Natalie himself. Her presence makes Taylor's story harder to dismiss and stranger to comprehend, especially when Ben can find no trace of her anywhere else. Told through Ben's retrospective narration and scenes from the screenplay Taylor left behind, The Crossing is a layered, cinematic novel about friendship, grief, faith, and the stories we create about the people we love. "Bold and skillfully executed... gorgeous writing and well-executed romance. It is a tender, funny, and devastating story that will leave you believing we should love people while we can." -Readers' Favorite, 5-Star Review