Maria Semple's Los Angeles

Maps or guides to mentioned locales seem to be a more popular marketing wrinkle for books set in Los Angeles. At least those from Hachette: remember the dining guide to restaurants from Michael Connelly's The Brass Verdict? So here's the map for Maria Semple's new novel This One is Mine, which the PR material summarizes like this:

Violet Parry is living the quintessential life of luxury in the Hollywood Hills with David, her rock-and-roll manager husband, and her darling toddler, Dot. She has the perfect life--except that she's deeply unhappy. David expects the world of Violet but gives little of himself in return. When she meets Teddy, a roguish small-time bass player, Violet comes alive, and soon she's risking everything for the chance to find herself again. Also in the picture are David's hilariously high-strung sister, Sally, on the prowl for a successful husband, and Jeremy, the ESPN sportscaster savant who falls into her trap. For all their recklessness, Violet and Sally will discover that David and Jeremy have a few surprises of their own.

Semple lived in L.A. during her Hollywood phase, writing for "Beverly Hills 90210," "Ellen," "Saturday Night Live," "Mad About You" and "Arrested Development," among other TV shows. She now lives in Seattle but will be reading at Book Soup on Wednesday.

More book news: Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges sold "The End of News," said to be "examining the decline of the newspaper industry; its impact on American journalism and the very real consequences to democracy," to Knopf.