Publisher's Marketplace Review
sually, launching a first novel proves particularly difficult for the publishers PR Department. Such will not be the case with Jennifer Valoppi's terrific first work of fiction, The Cure. Jennifer is media savvy, friendly with a huge litany of media folk, with a face and personality that the camera loves. A wonderful combination.
Best of all, she can write.
The Cure is a compulsively page turning novel of the (possibly) Final Days. What if there was a possible cure for cancer? Through technology. A tiny nanochip that is injected into the blood stream, travels throughout the body and removes the cancerous cells while rejuvenating the good ones.
Who wouldn't worship the mysterious, charismatic man who has created that chip, flocking to him to be cured? And who does he first pick to cure [so the world will immediately know of his abilities] .... the dying mother of a popular TV personality, who tries, at first, to convince her mother he is charlatan ... until he seemingly cures the mom. Now the grown daughter can not only save her mother, she can skyrocket in the ratings.
But, and it is a big but. The doctor is in truth, the Anti Christ and the battle is joined. There are those who can read the obscure signs and symbols -- two bright teenagers, an Israeli philosopher, a humble priest -- and these spiritual heroes challenge the Devil's vision and try to save the world in what might be the Last Days.
The Cure, in which nano tech and quantum physics meet ancient Judeo Christian Prophecies, has a number of levels, and I think it's remarkably smart and complex considering that it is delivered in such a fast pace and deceptively simple style. So it stimulates thought -- not unlike The DaVinci Code -- about issues that matter in religion, even while it's keeping you glued to the page.
And surely the time is right. In the last month CNN and MSNBC did two hour specials on the long hidden Gnostic Gospels, focusing on the Book of Judas. US News & World Report did a cover story on it. Major media have all recently done specials on religion and the concept of the end times recently as well. Public interest on these issues is at a razor's edge.
Rights available: | All Rights Available |
Rights already sold: | About The Author Jennifer Valoppi, Ph.D. (Hon) Television Journalist Women of Tomorrow President & Founder Jennifer Valoppi is a multi-Emmy Award winning journalist who has been recognized four times on the floor of the United States Congress and is a 2006 recipient of Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s Points of Light Award, the highest honor in the state. Her reputation as an influential community leader as made her not only an expert in media relations but a sought after public speaker and consultant, with a personal network that runs the gamut from the Dalai Lama to the late Frank Sinatra. She is currently working on a novel. As a veteran news anchor in Miami, New York and Los Angeles, Jennifer has covered almost every major news event of the past 25 years and has hosted numerous network, nationally syndicated and cable programs as well as consulting on and appearing in films. As Founder and President of the Women of Tomorrow Mentor & Scholarship Program, from 1997 to present, Jennifer directs the mentoring of thousands of at-risk young women in South Florida public high schools and has helped provide them with over one million dollars worth of college scholarships, in the only program of its kind in the country. Through Jennifer's leadership, the program has received national recognition and has been the focus of study by the Harvard Business School Community Partners Program. Jennifer was recently named as a South Florida Business Journal’s Heavy Hitter in Non-Profit. From 1994 to 2005, Jennifer was a lead anchor at NBC 6 WTVJ in Miami, managing coverage of multiple hurricanes, the infamous 2000 Presidential Election, the Elian Gonzalez Controversy, the Versace Murder, Olympics and California's Northridge earthquake (Jennifer's first day on the air at WTVJ), reporting live from the devastated areas. Concerned about declining standards of ethics, she also took a leading role in driving the station's commitment to fair, accurate and balanced journalism. She has consulted on film projects, including Up Close & Personal (1996), with Michele Pfeiffer and Robert Redford, in which she also had a small part and her strong, working knowledge of the legal system as made covering court cases one of her specialties. As a news anchor at New York’s superstation WWOR-TV for 7 years, she led the station’s coverage of the Gulf War and the Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion, along with numerous news programs and specials. Jennifer created, hosted and produced two of WWOR’s most successful entertainment specials – “Money, Power and Influence, I and II," nominated for "Best New Syndicated Program," and won two New York Emmy Awards for "Best On-Air Talent" and "Best Entertainment Special." She conducted hundreds of celebrity interviews for the NBC network show "One on One" with John Tesh, hosted NBC Sports Specials, ABC's "New York Street Stories," numerous shows for CNBC, including "Real Personal," and the nationally syndicated "The Kennedy Assassinations," along with Robert Conrad. Her shows, the "Flavors of Italy" and the "Wines of Italy," remain in international syndication and were some of the longest running and most successful shows on the Travel Channel. In addition, she hosted WWOR-TV's "News Nine In-Depth," guest-hosted "Nine Broadcast Plaza" with Matt Lauer, made appearances on "Everyday with Joan Lunden" and "The Dr. Ruth Show" and was a celebrity panelist on the remake of "To Tell the Truth." From 1981 to 1984, Jennifer was an anchor and investigative reporter for NBC affiliate WPTV in West Palm Beach, where she won the United Press International's Award for "Best Investigative Work," for the series "A Shot In The Dark," in which she helped free a man facing the electric chair. Her work led to new training and procedural changes in the Palm Beach County Sheriff Department's SWAT Team. Jennifer began her career as a weathercaster and science editor for WEYI, the CBS affiliate in |
Other information: | From the author: As a veteran television journalist I have spent my career investigating and analyzing events of the day – intrigued by the way they impact our lives in ways we are often largely unaware. I've recently taken time off from television to write a novel about what might happen if current events were interpreted in the most sinister of ways. My book is called “The Cure” – an “end of days” thriller that bridges the gap between science and religion – where ancient Judeo-Christian prophecies intersect with modern quantum physics and string theory, as the characters move through Manhattan – a world filled with signs and symbols, all warnings hidden in plain sight that must be deciphered and interpreted. The novel operates on two levels. Everything is rational and within the reach of modern science – a woman dying of cancer has a nanochip injected into her spinal fluid. She's cured. The mysterious doctor from China, who is not licensed to practice in this country, becomes a cult hero – thanks to the woman's daughter, a TV talk show host – and everybody wants the nanochip, which also has rejuvenating qualities. On the other hand, throughout the novel other characters are receiving strange messages that seem supernatural – or are they? The people who believe in God must learn the science to fulfill their spiritual destinies and the people who believe in science must learn about religion to understand the looming dangers. “The Cure” poses the question – if man is on an eternal quest for immortality, when he finds it, does the search for God become irrelevant?” The backdrop is a world no more chaotic than the one we live in, with looming terrorist threats and hopes for peace in the Middle East. Biblical quotes are used throughout the book as evidence of the novel's premise with some alternative interpretations. |
| Contact: | Robert G. (Bob) Diforio D4EO Literary Agency This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it phone: 203-544-7180 fax: 203-544-7160 7 Indian Valley Road, Weston, CT 06883 |
Original review can be seen in full here.
