Pleasant Gehman, author of Escape From Houdini Mountain And Other Stories (Manic D Press), is a true Renaissance woman. For the past two decades, she has amassed a body of work which includes writing, painting, spoken word performances, acting and dance. Her articles on rock 'n' roll, American pop culture, sex, the arts and human interest have appeared in Los Angeles Magazine, LA Weekly, The Los Angeles Reader, Spin, Genre, as well as many others, including online publications. Her poetry, essays and short stories have been widely anthologized in a number of literary journals and collections. The Village Voice called her writing "... startling; full of passion", USA Today described it as "A wildly fascinating walk on the wild side!" while Ray Gun raved: "…tough and tender, with a trademark air of seen-it-all innocence that makes it glow".

Her first collection of prose and poetry, Senorita Sin, was published in 1994 on the San Diego-based Incommunicado Press. This was followed up in 1997 by the critically acclaimed Princess Of Hollywood, also on Incommunicado. In 1999, she compiled and edited The Underground Guide To Los Angeles (Manic D Press) , which spent nine weeks on The Los Angeles Times Best Sellers List.

In addition to the literary aspect of her work, Gehman has fronted three bands, done movie scoring work, exhibited her paintings , released a spoken word CD (Ruined, 1994 on New Alliance) as well as appeared in a number of movies, television sitcoms and videos, acting and/or belly dancing, which she does professionally.

Escape From Houdini Mountain is a collection of seamlessly crafted , outrageous short stories, alternately hilarious and sad, compassionate, bizarre, and full of a devil-may-care lust for life. From trysts on the French Riviera to lofts on Manhattan's Lower East Side to Hollywood's seamy underbelly, the stories are populated by rockstars and wannabe's, acid-dropping clowns, aging punk rockers, desperate women and transvestites-turned- evangelists. Escape from Houdini Mountain paints a picture of a subculture most people don't know about, and could barely imagine in their wildest dreams.

Pleasant lives and works in Hollywood, California.

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