Meili Cady author of Smoke

This is no Johnny Depp story. This is a true story about a girl that moves from Washington state to Hollywood. She discovers there's money to be made. Smuggling drugs. Suddenly her acting career takes a swift turn. From the iHeart Radio Studio I'm Unplugged and Totally Uncut with actress Meili Cady SMOKE: How a Small-Town Girl Accidentally Wound Up Smuggling 7,000 Pounds of Marijuana with the Pot Princess of Beverly Hills (Dey Street Trade Paperback; On Sale March 24th, 2015) is the vividly written, true story told by Meili Cady, an LA newcomer who found herself trapped in a drug trafficking ring. Meili, who served a short time in prison and a year of home confinement following her arrest that made national headlines in 2010, has kept the intimate details of her entire experience under wraps...until now. It all started five years earlier, when Meili Cady left rural Bremerton, Washington to pursue an acting career in Hollywood. She was nineteen years old and alone in a city where it was as difficult to make genuine friends as it was to get consistent work as an actress. Once she was settled, Meili was introduced to the “Korean Paris Hilton,” and an alleged heiress to the Samsung and Sony fortunes, Lisette Lee. Lee claimed to be a model, and Korean pop star amongst other fabrications that helped pad her personal résumé. Her $1.2 million dollar apartment in West Hollywood, fleet of luxury cars, and innate ability to lie made her stories even more believable. The two girls could not have been more opposite, but their bond was immediate and intense. Meili was enchanted by her friend’s extravagant lifestyle and Lee told Meili she was the breath of fresh air she’d been searching for amid the usual Beverly Hills phonies. Meili began to struggle financially while trying to make it as an actress, pulling some auditions as the months went on. When Lisette offered her a job as her personal assistant, Meili knew she was in dire straits when she immediately said yes without even questioning what she’d be “assisting” with. At first, Meili welcomed the luxurious gifts, private plane rides, and finally being a part of something solid in Los Angeles. Her peers recognized a newfound confidence that heightened as the money rolled in. In trying to find acceptance, Meili turned a blind eye during the most telling time of her life. Once she discovered the real truth behind Lisette's mysterious new business façade, it was too late to step away safely. As Meili became more reserved, and questioned the motives of Lee and the group–appropriately dubbed Team LL–her relationship with Lisette became manipulative and abusive. Meili had entered a criminal world of dangerous secrets, drugs, and money, and her only confidant was now the person she feared most. She knew it was only a matter of time before the operation took a turn for the worst. SMOKE: How a Small-Town Girl Accidentally Wound Up Smuggling 7,000 Pounds of Marijuana with the Pot Princess of Beverly Hills (Dey Street Trade Paperback; 3/24/15; ISBN: 9780062281906; $15.99) is the oh-so-outrageous-you-couldn’t-make-it-up story of an unlikely duo of drug smugglers—as told by the ring leader’s closest friend, and partner in crime. Cady takes readers through the slippery slope that became her downfall, and showcases how these things can happen—even when it was never intentional. This is not just a page turning real-life con story, but an electrifying, firsthand chronicle of how a small-town girl fell down the rabbit hole of vice and corruption. ABOUT MEILI CADY A native of Bremerton, Washington, Meili Cady starred as the lead actress in the Showtime comedy film Chick Magnet, and has appeared on Californication and other television shows. After a brief stint in a federal prison camp for her involvement in the internationally known marijuana conspiracy detailed in this book, Meili began the blog “House Arrest Girl” while she served a year of home confinement. She has since found her passion for writing, and has used it as a tool to reflect, and move on from her mistakes. She currently lives in Los Angeles, and is beginning to return to her acting. Visit her at meilicady.com, @MEILI_CADY and https://www.facebook.com/smokethebook