Frey to try hand at fiction. Again?

James Frey is writing a new book, and this time he’s calling it fiction.

The author of the notorious “A Million Little Pieces,” the addiction memoir he acknowledged largely fabricating, will have a novel released in summer 2008 by HarperCollins, “Bright Shiny Morning,” described as a “kaleidoscopic” portrait of modern Los Angeles.

A HarperCollins publicist said there would be no comment from Frey, 38, whose career was seemingly finished a year ago after allegations emerged that he had embellished, or entirely invented, substantial portions of “A Million Little Pieces.”

Oprah Winfrey, who had picked the memoir for her book club, later angrily turned against the author, chewing him out on her television program. Frey’s agent dropped him, as did Penguin Group USA, which had negotiated a seven-figure contract with him. Doubleday, the publisher of “A Million Little Pieces,” ended up offering refunds to customers who felt they had been duped.