For years, Jon Lindstrom couldn’t walk into a bookstore without wishing his own name was on a spine somewhere on the shelves. Then one morning he sat down and started writing.
That was the beginning of what is now a second career. Tonight, the four-time Emmy-nominated actor — best known for more than three decades of playing the twin brothers Kevin Collins and Ryan Chamberlain on General Hospital — will appear at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., to discuss and sign Hollywood Payback: A Thriller, his second Los Angeles crime novel. He’ll be joined in conversation by actor and writer Michael Easton. The event begins at 7 p.m. The book doesn’t officially go on sale until Tuesday, April 14 — meaning tonight’s audience gets a four-day head start on signed copies.
Hollywood Payback, published by Crooked Lane Books, follows Jake Ferguson — once a promising Hollywood actor, now a man rebuilding his life in Los Angeles after addiction, a killing, and a stint in Folsom Prison. Just as Jake begins to believe redemption might be possible, a murder unfolds in front of him and he realizes he’s been framed. Publisher promotional materials compare the novel to the work of Michael Connelly and Harlan Coben.
Lindstrom’s first novel, Hollywood Hustle, published in February 2024, became a USA Today Bestseller and has since been optioned for film adaptation by AETH Entertainment, with Lindstrom attached as executive producer. Hollywood Payback arrives as the second installment in what is shaping up to be a series rooted in the working-class underside of the film industry — territory Lindstrom, who also appeared in True Detective and Bosch and has lived most of his adult life in Los Angeles, says he knows from the inside.
“I’m a big fan of L.A. noir,” Lindstrom said in a recent interview published by We Love Soaps. “I’ve lived most of my adult life in Los Angeles. I know the city, I know showbiz, and I know what people mean when they talk about the ‘dark underbelly’ of Hollywood.”
The choice to write novels — rather than produce another screenplay — came down to what the form allows. “Screenplays are all action — ‘show it, don’t say it.’ Novels let you go inside a character’s head. You have to find their inner thoughts, their turmoil, the things that make them relatable,” he said.
“I’m an early‑morning writer — up at 5:00 or 5:30. I don’t check email or texts. It’s peaceful. People ask if it’s lonely, but no — you’ve got all these voices in your head,” Lindstrom said.
In conversation with Lindstrom will be Michael Easton, the actor and Writers Guild of America member known for his roles as Dr. Hamilton Finn on General Hospital and John McBain on One Life to Live. Easton is also a published author — his graphic novel trilogy Soul Stealer was named Graphic Novel of the Year by Ain’t It Cool News — and has written for television and film, including a short film based on an unfinished screenplay by Jim Morrison that was acquired by The Sundance Channel.
IF YOU GO: Jon Lindstrom, in conversation with Michael Easton, discusses and signs Hollywood Payback: A Thriller at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. The event is Friday, April 10, at 7 p.m. Copies of Hollywood Payback ($29.99 hardcover) and Hollywood Hustle will be available for purchase in-store before the event begins. Vroman’s asks that attendees support independent bookselling with a book purchase. For more information call (626) 449-5320 or visit vromansbookstore.com.
The Pasadena stop is the second on a nine-city national tour. Lindstrom said of the work that drove the novel and the tour: “I got to a point where I couldn’t walk into a bookstore and keep wishing my book was on the shelf. So one day, I just sat down and started writing.
