Find Me I'm Yours

by Hillary Carlip

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  eVOLVE TRANSMEDIA www.evolvetransmedia.com: An edgy spiritual website where Mags’s BFF in NY, Liza, works. Devoted to seekers wanting answers to the big questions, while offering guidance on how they can improve their lives and make a difference in the world.

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  TEXT YOUR WISH www.textyourwish.com: A site/mobile app where you can text something you’re wishing for, and your text automatically appears on the website. Wishes are selected from the site and fulfilled.

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  SOLE MATES SHOE REPAIR www.solematesshoerepair.com: Website for a fictional shoe repair shop that figures into the hunt.

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  DELHICATESSEN TRUCK www.delhicatessentruck.com: A site Mags references to find a clue on her hunt, featuring info, schedule, and menu items from a fictional food truck for Jewish-Indian street noshes.

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  MALIBU CAMPSITE www.malibucampsite.com: A fake glamping campsite in Malibu that leads Mags to a clue.

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  WORSHIP THE BRAND www.worshipthebrand.com: Users upload their brand-inspired art, crafts, and fan art. Features contests with substantial cash prizes, expert feedback from established curators, and tips and tools/business advice from art industry pros.

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  I (HEART) BOB BARKER www.iheartbobbarker.com: A fun ’n’ freaky site devoted to the legendary game show host and pet activist Bob Barker. Visitors can leave comments on the fan art that’s featured, and there are links to animal organizations.

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  FREAK 4 MY PET www.freak4mypet.com: One of Mags’s fave sites devoted to pet love and obsession. Users upload and share pics and videos of their pets in a variety of unusual categories. Includes contests for original pet theme song videos, and the series Dear Tabby, an annoyed cat who gives advice, voiced by Susie Essman.

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  HOLLYWOOD SIGN CLOSE UP www.hollywoodsigncloseup.com: Features a cool hand-illustrated map for sale that shows directions to get as close as possible to the Hollywood sign.

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  I SPOTTED YOUR DOG www.ispottedyourdog.com: People upload a pic, info, and address if they think they’ve spotted the dog Mags is searching for in the story. Their post automatically shows on a map.

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  PAINT-BY-NUMBER INVASIONS www.paintbynumberinvasions.com: The site for an artist who is considering Mags to be part of a group show. Features his artwork—old-school Paint by Number paintings with aliens and their spacecrafts cleverly overlaid into the scenes. Paintings are for sale on the site.

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  THE TANKED TIKI www.tankedtiki.com: A website for a fictional tiki bar Mags goes to in Hollywood. Includes tropical drink descriptions, etc.

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  GIANT THINGS www.giantthings.com: Giant landmarks throughout L.A. figure into the hunt, and Mags references this site to find a clue. Features oversized pics of giant things throughout the world, with humorous captions on each image.

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  LAUGHSERCISE www.laughsercise.com: A fictional new exercise craze Mags sees in an AS SEEN ON TV commercial. Site includes workout descriptions, testimonials, and will eventually feature the commercial.

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  THIS IS YOUR WALL www.thisisyourwall.com: A wall Mags stumbles upon in downtown L.A. where the public can add their own street art legally, with a camera running 24/7, streaming the activity on the site. There are plans to have actual walls in selected cities.

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  KNEE BOOBS www.kneeboobs.com: Mags’s best friend Coco starts this Tumblr when she spots a pic of Mags’s roommate S.H.A.R.I. with, well… knee boobs. Users can submit their own bodacious pics.

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  STRIPTEASE L.A. www.stripteasela.com: A roundup of the Los Angles burlesque scene. Includes reviews and information for venues and shows throughout Los Angeles. This site also holds a clue to the treasure hunt.

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  THE NAKED TRUTH www.the-naked-truth.biz: A site for Sylvia, a stripping psychic Mags is sent to, who has seen better days. Sylvia offers “Cunning Clairvoyance” and “Extra Sensual Perceptions.”

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  TATTWOSOME www.tattwosome.com: Specializing in matching tattoos for couples, friends, etc., visitors can upload pics of their “Tattwos.” Mags is sent to this fictional tattoo parlor during the treasure hunt for Mr. WTF.

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  MAGS MARCLAY ART www.magsmarclayart.com: Featuring Mags’s own street art incorporating iconic images from the treasure hunt and the story. Includes Mags’s Instagram feed of pics she takes for inspiration.

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  MESSAGE SPOTTING www.messagespotting.com: A Tumblr Mags starts where users submit photos of messages they find in the world that speak to them (i.e., through street art, random signs, etc.).

  DEEP GRATITUDE AND THANKS

  FMIY has been so blessed every step of the way from day one. I thank God, Mastermind, Higher Power, Source—whatever the name, all the same. I am so incredibly appreciative, and eternally grateful for all the creativity, inspiration, flow, and divine guidance.

  Maxine Lapiduss, my everything. I had the idea, but she helped me realize it and manifest it in ways I never dreamed of. She has the most amazing combo platter of profound creativity and talent, along with such a freakin’ smarty-pants business sense. It’s continually astounding all the endless things she can do, and she does them all brilliantly. On top of it all, she is chock-full o’ fun, humor, kindness, love, and inspires and challenges me constantly. I am in awe of her, and honored every single day to be sharing my work and my life with her.

  Our family—Mim (the best mom a girl could ever have), Bob (still watching out for me from above), and Howard (Yo, Bro) for their constant support and cheerleading. Essie (for showing us what it means to be a powerhouse of talent), Saul Doll (the dearest), Sally (the good sissy), and Francesca (a heck of a sissy-in-law).

  Sweet Potato—the REAL girl with the polka-dot tongue, oozing with fudgy love. And Tasty and Studly, our magical two sides of the coin.

  THE BACKBONE

  Trudi Roth, our work and creative partner in crime, who has sat with me daily at my desk (almost in my lap), supporting all aspects of FMIY and contributing GI-NORMOUSLY since its inception. She is such a wildly gifted writer, creator, thinker, and person, and we can’t wait for the world to discover her many talents.

  Sister-wives Barbara Green and Michelle Boyaner, whose brilliant contributions always enrich and inspire. Barbara’s extraordinary photographs add so much to FMIY, as does the genius scheming we always love to do with Michelle, and the endless talents of the dynamic duo production team!

  The Eisenstadts—Steve, Jeff, and Marvin—for making our vision possible, and for having faith in us. They’re such a beautiful family, and we’re so delighted that they are taking this nutty ride with us. And to Greggers, who got it big right from the start. There’s always room in the middle for you.

  Hope Royaltey, who kicks ass with her brilliant web scheming and building, and has been so instrumental in not just FMIY, but also Fly HC Multimedia, my web design biz for the past twelve years. We’ve been in the trenches together, and she is such a huge part of FMIY in all ways. And thanks to Susie Mosher for supporting Hope supporting us!

  Britta Lundin, part of the core coven, who has contributed above and beyond. From her keen eye, brill ideas, and mad production skillz to being our millennial go-to, she TCBs it out on a daily basis.

  Kim Thai, social media goddess, and so much more, who came along in the nick of time.

  Danielle Eskinazi—for her deep friendship forevah and her stellar casting. She found the real-life versions of Mr. WTF and S.H.A.R.I., both EXACTLY as we had envisioned. Who does that?! And to Jodie Bowman Eskinazi for making Danielle so happy!

  Laurie Liss, my agent and friend. For thinking so untraditionally in such a traditional industry. And for her persistent belief in me and my always offbeat ideas.

  Rosetta Books—Arthur Klebanoff, Peter Clark, Jay McNair, Navjot Khalsa, Michelle Weyenber
g, and Hannah Bennett for being innovators, visionaries, and the best peeps to have on the front lines with us.

  Jill Siegel and Fauzia Burke for getting it, and their commitment to making sure everyone else does, too!

  Gayle Troberman and Russ Axlerod—they’ve seen it all, and then they saw us. Thanks for the faith, support, and cheese platters, Gayle. And Russ, we’re delighted and honored to be in your quarter-full cup.

  Gaby Darbyshire for guiding, pushing, and being so damn smart and awesome.

  Katie Ford for being such a huge part of everything for so long!

  Prudence Fenton for always thinking differently, and hooking us up with like-minded peeps. She’s so special to us, as of course is Allee Willis, another way-out thinker and creator who thankfully lives nearby. =)

  Ruby Lerner, Meg Miles, Jenny Gill, Alyson Pou, and everyone at Creative Capital. They’re an amazing group. In addition to doing all they do to help support artists, they rock as people, too.

  Jakki and Tom Leonardini for their early scheming and belief. They’re highly eVOLVED, and are banking a lot of good karma!

  Kerry Wilson for her amazing programming talents.

  THE TEAM

  Our incomparable core posse: writers Thomas Whittingham, Elizabeth Lanier, Mo Welch, Henry Thaler, Lauren Robertson, Madeline Walter, Monika Smith, and Lucy Orich; Project Manager Extraordinaire Rachel Koller; Social Media Team Lyndsay Rae Cannon, Ernie Velasquez, Alyssa Wills Ray, Kate Mickere, and Sarah Alexander; WTB Team including Dorothy Hoover and Sarah Patten; Graphic Designer Katherine Kennedy, Administrators, HR, Research and more Thomas Day, Romy Ricart, and Rebecca Norris.

  Our top-notch lawyers, Louis Scotti and Amy Divino.

  Rob Healy, the one and only Mr. WTF. He is intelligent, kind, and gorgeous inside, too. We think everyone who experiences FMIY will fall in love with him as much as we have.

  All the interns who have worked with us. We so appreciate your talents, contributions, and energy. The list continues to grow, so rather than include names here and potentially leave anyone out, see the full list at www.findmeimyours.com/internthanks.

  Editors Joan Hilty and Amy Friedman, and proofreader Sara Brady for their keen minds, eagle eyes, and beyond helpful feedback.

  Mim Eichler for her genius input, always when it matters.

  Ben Kander and Ali Rudolph for their unbridled enthusiasm.

  Bari Weiss for her thoughtful contributions and general mazeling it out, and her adorable husband, Jay Kass (see credits—arm model).

  Holiday Reinhorn (yo, Dubs!) for being my creative kindred spirit and always doing such good in the world.

  The ladies at Cumberland—Catherine Steffen, Nicole Lackford, Monica Oliva, Kate Schneider, Sarah Pimentel, and Mary Carpenito.

  Jimi Vaughn and Paul Ghusar for helping us get our footing at the start.

  Deni Marcus and David Arntzen for making sure our ducks are in a row.

  Our Napa Valley peeps Oscar and Denise Renteria, and Gregory Pitts and Kelly Schaeffer for jumping on board early on.

  Abe Smith for advice and support.

  Dannielle Owens-Reid and Kristin Russo for their freshy-fresh ideas.

  Makeup artists extraordinaire Hilda Levierge, Veronica Lane, and Jenna Keller for making everyone look so damn pretty.

  Elaine Giftos-Wright for blessings and flow.

  DeHART’s Media Services, for being awesome printers.

  OUR PEEPS AND SUPPORTERS

  The Smith-Roth family—Andy, Jordy, Sophie, Marcia, Steve, and Ginger Peaches

  Mimi Friedman and Owen Meyer Strauss

  Tania Katan and Angela Ellsworth

  Jane Anderson and Tess Ayers

  Jen Spyra

  Dee Sweet Slade

  Gretta Monahan and Ricky Paull Goldin

  Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman

  John Edwards

  Cathryn Michon and Bruce Cameron

  Jonathan Stein

  Gregor Turk

  Mitzi McCall and Charlie Brill

  Susie Essman

  Lee Kernis

  And lastly, Runyon Canyon for inspiration and guidance, miracles and message spottings. I wrote the entire book while “wriking” in Runyon, and it’s a magical place.

  CREDITS

  PHOTO CREDITS

  All photographs were taken or created by Hillary Carlip and © by Hillary Carlip except for the following:

  Boy with deviled ham, boy drinking dirty chai, boy with one-eared dog, Jason, S.H.A.R.I., Mr. La Salsa, boot in front of tent, Donut King, Randy’s Donuts, Dale’s Donuts, Bellflower Bagels, Kindle’s Donuts, Giant Chair, locks close-up

  By Barbara Green

  www.barbaragreenphotography.com

  Giant tikis, large-headed couple

  By Alan Pavlik

  www.justabovesunset.photoshelter.com

  My Darling Baby Sloth

  By Carol Schaffer

  Creative Commons https://​creativecommons.org/​licenses/​by/​2.0

  (With added caption by Hillary Carlip)

  Bob Baker Marionettes (both shots)

  By Metroduo/LA by Metro

  http://metroduo.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/bob-baker-marionette-theater/

  © Copyright All rights reserved. No reproduction without permission.

  DIY doggy fashion show dog, “Ruff-dolph Valentino”

  By Sander Smith

  www.landonthesheltie.com

  Tanked Tiki

  By Tony Dilembo

  www.thetropicale.com

  Fanning Peacock

  By Toasty Ken

  Creative Commons https://​creativecommons.org/​licenses/​by/​3.0

  (Removed people in photo)

  Yellow clock in clock collage

  By Eva Smith-Furgason

  www.etsy.com/shop/LookatthisHoney

  Before and after logos

  Find Me I’m Yours is not affiliated with or endorsed by Winchell’s, Super 8 Motel, Juicy Fruit, Comfort Inn, or KFC.

  Chicken Soup for the Soul cover images

  © Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC

  MODELS AND ACTORS

  Rob Healy (Mr. WTF)

  Alisha Olson (S.H.A.R.I.)

  Mitzi McCall (Sylvia)

  Susie Essman (Dear Tabby on www.freak4mypet.com)

  Sweet Potato (Lilabelle)

  Sasha Fisher (Alissa Greene in video on www.creativematchmaking.com)

  Jamie Hoggson (Theodore Helmsley on www.creativematchmaking.com)

  Wes Haney (Jerome Pitsky on www.creativematchmaking.com)

  Misha Fisher (Tuba boy)

  Austin Herring (Love Wins boy)

  Paul Ghusar (Boy with one-eared dog)

  Tasty (One-eared dog)

  Jay Kass (Arm model)

  Many thanks to the amazing, wildly talented artists and designers I had the great fortune to work with creating art and logos for many of the sites in FMIY:

  ARTWORK CREDITS

  Mags’s collages, including “And Eat it Too,” the DIY collage book cover, and all the work on www.collageaweek.com By Beth Hoeckel http://bethhoeckel.com/

  Mark’s photography work, including “Sven Barth and His 1985 GMC Suburban, Elysian Valley, Los Angeles, January, 2013,” and five more photographs on www.madelynevansgallery.com By Ryan Schude www.ryanschude.com

  Paint By Numbers Invasion painting, and all the work on www.paintbynumberinvasions.com By Al Harp

  Hollywood Sign Illustrated Map on www.hollywoodsigncloseup.com By Kali Meadows www.biteyourthumb.com

  Destiny T-Shirt Styled by Hilary Shepard (image design by Hillary Carlip)

  LOGO DESIGNERS

  Casey Castille

  Sonia Lorenz

  Philippe Tilikete

  Doug P’Gosh

  Tim Praetzel

  Kinara Mahya

  Cristina Colissimo

  Nebojsa Matkovic

  Alana McCarthy

  Faraz Qayyum

  Christopher King

  Special thanks
to:

  Amy Inouye for saving, and loving, Chicken Boy

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  HILLARY CARLIP is an award-winning, best-selling author of four acclaimed books (A La Cart: The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers, Queen of the Oddballs: And Other True Stories From a Life Unaccording to Plan, Zine Scene, and Girl Power: Young Women Speak Out). The New York Times declared, “Ms. Carlip’s curriculum vitae reads like a CliffsNotes version of American popular culture,” and the Chicago Tribune called Hillary “Gloriously idiosyncratic.” As a visual artist, her work has been shown in museums and galleries throughout the country. A web pioneer, Hillary has been creating content, websites, and news in the digital space since 1999.

  FIND ME I’M YOURS was created, written, and designed by Hillary, and co-created, directed, and produced by her partner in crime, Golden Globe–winning and Emmy-nominated TV comedy writer/producer/director Maxine Lapiduss. Their company, Storyverse Studios, creates a revolutionary entertainment experience by expanding a core property (book, TV show, or film) into a fully interactive universe on multiple platforms.

  Visit Hillary online at www.HillaryCarlip.com.