Vertical Hold: A Bicentennial Novel

The author of "I Woke Up Back In High School" is back with another humorous, warmhearted tale of boomers in their boom days, this time set in 1976.

It's the week leading up to America's Bicentennial and there's big trouble in the small city newsroom of Channel Four. Cara Farrar, the only female reporter, is more interested in her nightclub act than getting to the story on time. Marvin Mankiewicz, a former network reporter sliding down the broadcasting food chain, won't give up his yarmulke when filming his stand-ups. Jerry Durham, the news photographer, hides in the film processing room whenever the TV station "big boss" goes on a tirade about low ratings.

To make matters worse, the entire news department's been ordered to work on a live broadcast of the first ever The Reverend Dr. Prathon Fulmer Make Prayer Not Protest Fourth of July Bicentennial Pray-In for Jesus. Things start out well enough until a sudden thunderstorm, a crowded baptismal pool, and a drunken snake handler turn the pious into the panicky.

Charming, absurd, and laugh-out-loud funny, "Vertical Hold: A Bicentennial Novel," captures America's 200th birthday through an entertaining red, white, and blue lens.