Fair, Balanced... and Dead
by
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Prologue... At first, all he could sense were unfamiliar female voices. It was like he was trying to come out of a deep sleep but wasn’t yet ready to wake up. He tried to open his eyelids but failed. He couldn’t make out the words being spoken but within seconds he recognized that unmistakable, antiseptic smell. Of course, he realized. I’m in a hospital. “He looks different,” one voice said. “I can’t wait to tell my mom that we saw a real celebrity,” another said. Jack Summerland was slowly coming out of a drug-induced slumber. He gingerly moved his head and saw the early morning sun force its way through a crack in the window shade, casting a slight shadow in the room. Jack’s head pounded and whenever he moved, he was aware of bruises and aches throughout his body. “Good morning, Mr. Summerland. Do you know where you are?” Jack tried to talk but his throat was terribly dry and nothing came out. “You’re at the UC Davis Medical Center,” a pretty 30-ish nurse said as she pushed a straw into his mouth. “You were brought in late yesterday afternoon after a car crash at the Capitol building. Nothing’s broken. You’re going to be back to normal in a couple of days.” The nurse smiled. “You know, you’re the second TV guy we’ve had in here in the past month. That weather guy, what’s his name? Oh, yeah, Bernard something, he was in here for some tests a couple of weeks ago.” The nurse realized she was talking too much, so she quickly took the straw out of his mouth and placed the cup of water on a table next to his bed. She waited for her patient to say something. Instead, Jack closed is eyes, exhaled and leaned back on his pillow. Slowly, it came back to him. The meeting. The gunshots. The chase. The screeching tires. The crash. He sat up with a start. “I’ve got to get out of here,” he croaked. “I’m on deadline.”
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About the Book
The powerful chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democrat Bernie Edelstein of California, dies suddenly of a heart attack, leaving the Democrats with a razor-slim one-vote Senate margin. The state’s Republican Governor, Colin Frank, now must appoint a successor.
The leading candidate is Republican Assembly Speaker Johnny Callahan, a former college football hero with movie star good looks, political connections and White House ambitions.
Led by a prominent Hollywood producer, Callahan has influential supporters who are determined to see him in the Senate, but why is someone risking his life and resorting to lies and trickery to try to block the appointment?
Unwittingly, Sacramento television reporter Jack Summerland stumbles onto the story and soon finds himself in the middle of deadly game of political intrigue that takes him from the halls of power at the State Capitol to the back streets of Sacramento and academia in Berkeley.
In this thrilling page-turner, Summerland hurdles obstacles every step of the way as he struggles to expose the political scandal of the century – with the nation’s political future hanging in the balance.
About the Author
Steve Swatt is a Sacramento-based political and media consultant. Previously, he spent 25 years in journalism. For 22 years, Steve served as political reporter for KCRA, Sacramento’s NBC affiliate. He also contributed to NBC Nightly News, the NBC Today Show and various PBS political and public affairs programs. Before joining KCRA, Steve was a reporter for the San Francisco Examiner and United Press International. While a broadcaster, Steve covered every major ballot proposition, presidential and gubernatorial campaign and ten presidential nominating conventions, as well as issues in the California Legislature and the administrations numerous governors, including Ronald Reagan, Jerry Brown, George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson. For many years, Steve held the distinction of being California's only full-time television reporter covering the State Capitol. His work won him the Northern California Emmy Award, the National Health Journalism Award, California State Bar Award, and several awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. The Sacramento Bee once referred to his election commentary as "the best on local television." Steve has taught Political Communications Cal State University, Sacramento and has served on boards or in advisory capacities for numerous political and journalism organizations. Steve received a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley.