Beverly Hills actress turned producer Arleen Grace has now thrown her hat into the publishing arena with her newly formed independent Grace Manor Press.

Grace’s intentions were originally to start slowly with the publication of her first title The Steam. Being a diehard basketball fan, she felt Steve Alper's gritty, sports-based crime novel was a natural for her new company as it dealt with a corrupt, game-fixing NBA referee who teams up with a desperate sports gambler.

“When Steve wrote this book a few years ago, the NBA scoffed at the thought one of its officials could ever be compromised,” she explained.

“Well, guess what? Life imitated art as real, rogue NBA ref Tim Donaghy got busted for betting on some of games he officiated,” Grace continued. “To complicate matters further, Donaghy just landed himself a publisher and we’re now finding ourselves in a frenetic battle of books using the phrase ‘the NBA doesn't want you to read’ with both companies using that tagline on their covers.”

Since The Steam was written long before the current scandal broke, Grace feels it is much more than prophetic. She calls it a well-crafted, emotionally gut-wrenching story that captivates from page one and never lets go.

“And as it turns out, it could have been the blueprint for Donaghy’s situation,” states Grace. “Maybe I’d better find myself another scandal before signing up my next book deal.”

The Steam is available on Amazon or at www.gracemanorpress.com.