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Show The Salt Lake Tribune E5 ARTS ‘Father’s Day’ Could Be’ A Best-Selling Gift For Literary Batchelor constitutional thriller’ that in. volves a President of the United States who voluntarily steps aside fromhis duties to deal with a se- By Niche It may the nove best-sel vere case of clinical depressio paradox of aretrash Invoking provisions of the Amendment to the Constitution ™ y eir authe Pity the poor- novelist who toils for years in obscurity. has the great good fortuneto a sym. pathetic editor willing to take a chance on the labor of love that will emer then watches help. lessly as the opus becomes a su ces destime anddies unceremoni- ously on the remainder tables for lack of sales John Calvin Batchelor. 46, a native of Lower Merion Pa who has lived in New York C ity for the past 20years (2 d part ofthat time in a spare bohemian flat on the upper West Side without electricity, telephone or gas) knows the drill well The hours arelong. the pay is abominable, the work is labori- ous, and nobody ever says thank you,” he said with atrace of lingering frustration. A 1970 graduate of Princeton University with a master’s degree in divinity from Union Theological Seminary, Batchelor is a disci- plined writer. He published six that deal withpresidential cy, disability and inability dore G. Jay temporarily turns over thereins ofoffice to Thomas Edison Garland. the vice presi- dent Batchelor’s premise for Fa ther’s Day (Henry Holt ) develops from a frighteningly plausible kind of “what if.’ What happens. he wonders, if the vice president doesn’t want to give the Oval Office back whenthepresident announces that he has recovered from his disability, and is able to resume his responsibil The 25th Amendment was rat- ified in 1967, at the height of Cold War hysteria, and it is seriously flawed.” Batchelor said Paragraph three and paragraph four of the 25th Amendment havenever been invoked. so et calls th Th nobody knows what would hap- pen if the vicepresident, as acting president. says the president is not competent to resume office Once he decided that he would John Calvin Batchelor: | defy anyone to guess the ending, because | didn’t know it myself until | got there. | got into this book trying to find the end ofthe story.” modify his technique. My jobas fiction writeris to the mediumof serious discourse It is not secondthinking journalism, it is now, now, now, now AmericanFalls, Gordon Liddy Is take these elements and turn now. There’s no underlying theme of the Russian Moon Landing. Attentive readers will be for- givenif they fail to recognizeall 2003), Batchelor knew hehad to of nobility here, you keep going or youjust fall away. So we have single-sentence paragraphs, short disappointed by the breakneck paceheestablishes. In the open- book, The Birth of the People’s ing scene, a crack combat unit stages a deadly assault at a remote Arkansas airport. Onlyafter notice in The New York Times Book Review in 1983, andsales. the carefully executed raid is termed a success and when a for himat least. were a relatively decent 7.500 copies. ‘I was writing books and they were being published, which is a mock president lies “dead” in Air big enough dealin its own right, so I guess that meansthat I was a successful author,” Batchelor said. “But by then I had a wife and two young children, and the time had come to make some money.” Last summer, Batchelorstarted work on a book he describes as a Tabloids have become them into a drama. I’ve made it of these titles, though the second Republic of Antarctica, was blessed nonetheless with a cover our news. bigger thanlife to make surethat everybodygets the point Thriller aficionados will not be Force One does the readerrealize that this has been a dress rehearsal for nothing less than a 21st-cen- turycivil war “That's meant to be the best hook you've ever read,” Batchelor admitted. “What I decided to do was write a book using the voeabularyof crisis. How do you do that? You start with single sentence paragraphs, the waywe get ing. because I didn’t know it my self until I got there. I got into this book trying to find the end of the story Only time will tell whether or not John Calvin Batchelor joins TomClancy, Danielle Steel, John Grisham, Anne Rice. Stephen g to Hope men surround ground. The checking for at battlesS of traditional Westerr erature That's because the grass. the 26 contem They were fa’ porary women who write from ex ers worried abou perience in this volume are di verseas their backgrounds. They stretch the West from South Da kota to Hawaii and fromAlaska to a California concentration camp. In addition, it is this books to know who we are and howour printing of 100,000 copies, and Hollywood did come calling with James Hepworth believein a mul- If this suggests contempt for an optionthat put a fast $250,000 commercialfiction, it is not far off the mark. “I've looked at the best-seller lists, and these books are like sludge,” Batchelor said matter-of-factly. “The wrong way to read them is closely. So I ask myself, ‘Howis it possible that in his bank account, with much moreto come if a film goes into production I did not write this book to be they sell? What is it that makes want, fine: my goal right nowis to themso comfortable?’ ” Theresolution of Father’s Day is virtually unpredictable, a quality Batchelor credits to his own serendipity ‘I defy anyone to guess the end- non-serious,’ Batchelor insisted Editors sa Jordan and ticultural West, and those maybe fighting words for sometraditionalists. But the writers’ diversity (they are white, black, Latina American Indian, Asian-Ameri- can and Hawaiian, as well as rural, urban and suburban) is only one of the arrowsin their quiver eries. Call mea ‘sell-out’ if you Their frankness ind honesty about theirlives extend from sex- be the No. 1 sell-out in the United States.” uality to religiosity, from the fear Nicholas A. Basbanesis aliter arycritic and columnist based in Massachusetts impulse to cruelty in others andin themselves quick disappearancewithhis girlfriend, a lingerie model named floated here, as well as a profound sense of place and time Joyce, FBI agents have convinced With perhaps one exception — Linda Hasselstrom’s “Why One of deathto the shock of impend- ing life, and explore the Western Passion andpoetryareat least as important as point of view in these pieces. andthere is an intel- lectual vigor to most of the ideas ByClarence Petersen CHICAGO TRIBUNE Mortal Sin; by Paul Levine; Avon; $5.50 The tale begins in the bedroom of Jake Lassiter, former secondstring Miami Dolphins linebacker who nowpractices law in Miami Beach. With him is an old flame, a former Dolphins Doll (cheerleader) whose latest of many namesis Gina, whi-h fits nicely with the latest of her married names, Florio. She is 30 and ditzy, and her visit is occasioned bythe death in a winecellar of an environmentalist, for which her latest husband Nick, a slimy, mob-connected developer, is the defendant in a wrongful death suit. “I live by my own rules,” says Lassiter, who will defend him. Right oO BEST SELLERS THEASSOCIATED PRESS Hereare the best-selling books as they appear in next week's issue of Publishers Weekly icover fiction 1. The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield (Warner). 2, Politically Correct Bedtime Stories, James Finn Garner (Macmillan). ilies apart through divorce. Kit suspects the woman is exaggeratThe Family Stalker; by Jon Katz; Bantam; $5.50 As if introducing a new genre the publisher calls this “a subur- ing but, because he thinks marriage is sacred, hestarts an inquiry into the activities of Andrea ban detective mystery.” and so it is. Detective Christopher “Kit ” Lucea, who Marianne believes is chasing her husband. He soon determines that Andrea hasruined Deleeuw’s detective agency is on the secondfloor of the American other marriages. Then, after a shocking act ofvi- his boss, Jumbo Jimmy Capotorto, aka JimmyCap, Harry is about to turn state’s evidence. That prompts Jimmyto enlist Tommy “the Zip’ Bitonti, a Sicilian hit man, to put out Hari lights. Raylan Givens, a cowpol U‘S. marshalin a Stetson, gets as signed to keep Harry alive. Wantno part of any ofthis, Ha: ry takesoff for theItalian Riviera. © Sinful Desserts ¢ GourmetCoffees Menustarts at $5.95. sonal thanpolitical and how to become an seer Schaefer not ¢ tells us ers have nontraditional stories to between photos tell, but notice that independence. courage and persistence — old- stimulate our vis: case her argument is more per- These contemporary storytell- howthey broached the distance sports bookie for the Miami crime syndicate, from which he has been skimming enough to finance a That's theplot, suchasit is. The real fun is in Leonard’s dead-on between them n “Transitions.” dialogue and characterizations. was Katz's first) is an affluent suburbanite named Marianne Dow, who suspects her familyis 3, Kiss the Girls, James Patterson (Little. Brown) 4, Self-Defense, Jonathan Kellerman (Bantam) 5. Eyes of a Child, RichardNorth Patterson (Pat terson Knopf) 6. The Bridges of Madison County,Robert James Waller (Warner) . Debt of Honor, Tom Clancy (Putnam: 8. Acceptable Risk, Robin Cook (Putnam) 9, Mutant Message Down Under, Marlo Morgan (HarperCollins) 10. Felicia’s Journey,William Trevor (Viking) 11.The Lottery Winner, Mary Higgins Clark (Si mon & Schuster) 22, Wings, Danelle Stel (Delacorte) thing Lasts Forever, SidneySheldon (Wil: Leonard; Just as Harry Arnois about to liam Morrow 4. Dark Rivers of the Heart, Dean Koontz (Knopf 15. Insomnia, Stephen King(Viking Hardcover nonfiction 1. In the Kitchen With Rosie, Rosie Daley Joyce arrives. And Zip, together 2. Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Ve- nus, John Gray (HarperCollins) 3, The Hot Zone, Richard Preston (Random House) 4, Tuminata, Marianne Williamson (Random House) 5, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, John Paul II (Knopf) Folsom Fat yk 5 Op-Center, Tom( san k (Berk t and jum} text tc On a page that contr Louis with Utah’s tive that helped create the classic Mormon novel, The Chinchilla Farm, is reunited with her estranged Mormon Dance (Knopo) our eyes Judith Freeman, who left her Mormon faith to gainthe perspec- Jimmy Cap’s employ. 6. The BookofVirtues, Willian) Bennett (Simon & Schuster 7, The Warren Buffett Way, {i Wiley) 8. Couplehood,Pati! Reiser Bant 9, The Seven Spiritual LawsofSuccess, Deepak he makes compares the swooping ares ¢ death bed in A show- to ‘see. activ ho: fashioned Westernvirtues — still have a part to play with Nicky Testa, another goon in Begin,’ man-made Gateway Arch ir nature-mad r quote paint champ’s observa father onhis future, artists wil other words, once just we all “How Does the see with better perception. both wondering Janet Camp- bell Hale flees a violent husband 8Puslvaced by the Light, Se Bad 7Lovers,Judith Krants (Bantam 8. Prince Charming, Julie Garwood (Pocket Books 9, Natural Causes, Mi 10, Dangerous Fortune, K Trade pape 1. The Shipping News, ! puls (S & S Touchstone 2. Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield alth Con Mark Hansen, eds fective People, Stephen S= Ee learn t ar andtruth will truly be in the ey« of the beholder Paul Swensc z writer in Salt Lake City 4. The Celestine Prophecy: Experiential Guide James Redfield. Carol Ad: 1 5. What to Expect the Toddler Years, \ Workman 6. The World Almanacand Bookof Facts 1995 Robert Famighetti (World 7, eee with America, No 5 Books 8. Carerthe Sou, Thomas Moore 9. How We Die Sherw 10. Soul Mates, Thomas nial Rainbow Crafts 3216 South State ees @ Soe Paint Brushes ; 40% Off _ | TEEFFETARTANELTA ROOMat the TOP {very Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8p.m. Entertainment ® House Specialties * Brioche Benedict ¢ Crab Cakes * Vegetarian Alternatives turns downis shaping up Elmore y NDAY BRUNCH WITH A VIEW! writes, “is to show you howto ir crease your level of awarenes and even in Hasselstrom’s retire from his life's work as a Pronto; by Dell: $5.99. literacy h — noneof these e novel (Death by Station Wagon Qo last long, of course. Raylan shows upto vindicate himself after the embarrassment of Harry's giving him the slip (besides, he likes Harry and wants to protect him) “visual tol” pears and Marianne becomes the Deleeuw’s life as a Sam Spade with family values becomes exceedingly complicated. Great fun But. as he notes in his fascinat ing book, nothing to do withvisual acuity da, ona self-consciouspolitical agen- olence, the homewrecker disap- Harry’s newlife as a memberof Salt Lake photographer Jot Schaefer. who has a fine eve children, playfulness and the v sual patterns of ordinary life, no wants to pass on that acuity t kids, parents and teachers Peaceful WomanCarries a Pis: Wayshopping mall in tiny Ro- the Italian landedgentrydoes not Sight Unseen The Art of Active Seeir By John Schaefer, Gi The purpose of Sight Unseen chambeau, N.J., where, as narrator, he begins by speculating on “the sacred adolescentrites rounding baseball caps.’ he’s not musing on moresin suburbia or cracking cases, heis in his Volvo, driving his two kids to after-school activities. Deleeuw’s client in this second police chief's prime suspect, and sign of hope lives literally take shape I wroteit as a change of pace, the waya pitcher mixes up his deliv- were people of ea or in biography) is when we begin sually, about how we get our news on CNN, the wrap, 20 minutes and they give you the world.” his publisher did order a first mourners friend back tc canny King and Sidney Sheldon as a regular on thebest-seller lists. But takes, move the camera here and were subtext that when webegin to describe our lives and examine thoseof others (whether in fiction here andhere. 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