Rachel Cullen

It should have been the best summer of their lives - unfortunately, life doesn’t always go according to plan. Summer in the Hamptons should be filled with cocktails by the pool, bonfires on the beach, and sunset clam bakes. Instead, Nora, Megan, and Courtney are battling dreadful blind dates, duplicitous roommates, and blackmailing ex-boyfriends. • Nora recently moved into her newly constructed dream home on Dune Road. She sold her company in a legendary eight-figure deal and now has unlimited time and money to spend however she chooses. But sadly, she’s alienated friends and family on her rise to the top and now finds herself all alone when things may be at their worst. • Megan has let a dangerous situation spiral out of control and needs a chance to clear her head and regroup. Her plans for a post-graduation trip have fallen apart, and the closest thing she has to a family is inconveniently using the summer to relocate. So, when Megan gets a last-minute offer for a guest house in Westhampton Beach, she jumps at the chance, even though her hostess is a stranger, and it’s only a temporary solution to a persistent problem. • Courtney just graduated from college and simultaneously lost the two things that defined her – collegiate basketball and her best friend turned boyfriend. She desperately needs a change of scenery to recover and mend her broken heart, which is why Courtney takes the leap when the opportunity to spend two months in the Hamptons falls in her lap, even though the classmate who invited her is barely more than an acquaintance. When a series of disastrous events transpire, Nora, Megan, and Courtney band together and find solace in their unlikely friendship. While it’s a far cry from the respite they each imagined, this improbable trio may not be too late to enjoy an unforgettable summer on Dune Road.

Remember the world before iPhones, Ubers, and streaming on Netflix? It’s 2004 in Manhattan, and real estate is the driving factor behind most relationship decisions. Only here can strangers go from roommates to friends to lovers in less time than it takes a co-op board to approve a purchase. Robin Cromwell is in desperate need of a roommate. She’s lucked into a rent-controlled classic-six on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, but her best friend is moving, and she can’t afford to live there alone. In addition, Robin is struggling romantically and professionally - her attempts at online dating have left her with nothing but amusing stories, and she’s overdue for a promotion she’s unlikely to get. Though the rest of her life may be spiraling downward, Robin will do what it takes to hold onto this once-in-a-lifetime real estate opportunity. Jessica Barlowe is counting the days until she moves in with her boyfriend in his renovated one-bedroom co-op. That is until she walks in on him with another woman, and all her plans, including where she is going to live, disappear into thin air. Jess is using her degree from RISD to work in a graphics department editing presentations all day - a far cry from her dreams of having her own photography gallery in SoHo. She refuses to give up on her New York City dreams and run back to her family in Northern California. When she meets a stranger in the hallway, it seems crazy to accept the invitation to live together, but sometimes the riskiest leaps are the most rewarding. Tory Wallace is determined to move out from under her abhorrent parents’ roof, even if that roof is covering a $50 million brownstone on the Upper East Side. The tension at home has reached a boiling point, and she’s finally ready to forgo the comforts of trust-fund-living, and she’ll pick through ads on Craigslist or learn how to cook and take the subway if that’s what it takes. Zach Sullivan is a successful technology executive living in a modernized pre-war two-bedroom on West 78th Street. While triumphant in his career, Zach has never recovered from a painful incident during his senior year of college, leaving a gaping hole in his personal life. He’d never planned on renting out his spare bedroom, but a chance encounter results in an impulsive offer that will change his life forever. An Upper West Side Story is an engaging and heartwarming story about love, friendship, and that time in life when friends are family and drinks at a dive bar in Manhattan can solve all your troubles.