This chapter from my new novel, Early Warning, was written well before the Times Square bomber made his abortive attempt to bring fiction to life. Remember: everything in it is not only possible but, on some level, probable.

Times Square -

Jake Sinclair’s face was forty feet high on the Jumbotron above Times Square, smiling at some private joke only he was privy to.  Since he pretty much owned the media in the U.S.,, that was not an outrageous supposition.  Underneath his picture, the Zipper was proclaiming to the world: “WITH BLAST AT TYLER, SINCLAIR HOLDINGS SELLS MANHATTAN HEADQUARTERS TO GERMAN MEDIA CONSORTIUM.  CORP. HQ TO RE-LOCATE TO LOS ANGELES.”

Those who looked up at the Jumbotron at that moment would have seen Sinclair, speaking now, praising Tyler’s rival in the upcoming election.  “The Tyler Administration,” he was saying, “has forfeited all claims to credibility.  The attacks last year on the homeland — the first since September 11th — proved that this administration is not to be trusted with our national security.  Despite his gross and flagrant violation of civil liberties, President Tyler has not kept us safe and, in my opinion, it’s time for a change.  That’s why every patriotic American should send a message to Tyler and his part at the polls this November.  Not just ‘throw the bums out,’ but hell yes, throw the bums out.” He smiled the oleaginous smile that had made him a favorite of most of the media, for Jake Sinclair had long ago learned the first and most important lesson of Hollywood, which had since translated to journalism: if you can fake sincerity, you’ve got it made. (more…)

- Summer, 1987:  In a stunning and unprecedented move, President Walter Mondale has stepped in and saved the Broadway musical “42nd Street” from eviction at the Majestic Theatre.  The theatre’s owners had earlier announced that they were using a standard clause in the production’s booking agreement and had given an eviction notice to the show due to low ticket sales.  Subsequently, the theatre owners have also announced that in January of next year, the Majestic will be the new home to British import “The Phantom of the Opera.”

But, in an effort to “save American jobs” and keep an American musical from having to make way for an imported show, President Mondale has deemed “42nd Street” “too big to fail”: “This show has been running since 1980 and has been providing jobs for hundreds of working families in New York.  My administration is determined to keep this production running and to keep these long-suffering, union workers on the job,” the President said. (more…)