Hallelujah City,New

Review 'More than in many more prominently published mainstream novels,... LaMarr's bevy of quirky sidekick characters feel solid and real...a fast and funny read.' Boulder Daily Camera, August 17, 2007'...a hectic, fullbodied account of a troubled young lady enmeshed in a bizarre religious cult... stocked with enough tension to hook readers until the chaotic, fiery climax.' Publishers Weekly, August 27, 2007 Product Description The last thing Scott Chambers expected to find on his doorstep in Aurora, Colorado, was his twentyoneyearold daughter Mary. Recently exiled from a religious cult in Minnesota, Mary is carrying the child of the cult's leader and selfproclaimed messiah, Daniel Hawker. With the Dawn of the New Millennium scheduled for midnight, Mary claims she has been sent to convert her skeptical father. Yet, when the next day's headline in the Denver Post reads 'Just Another Judgment Day,' relegating the Doomsday story to page four, Mary blames her weaknesses for the world that did not end. She announces she will return to Minnesota to accept full responsibility for Daniel Hawker's failed prophecy and prove that her beloved Teacher is not a fraud. Chambers, suspicious of his daughter's condition and none too pleased with the socalled messiah, insists on accompanying her. Meanwhile, author Adrian C. Hummel has been battling creditors, his agent, and his editor for two years. Living in motelsqualor on the outskirts of Trapper's Point, Minnesota, he seeks an inside track to Daniel Hawker. He is certain an exclusive interview is all he needs to launch him into notoriety, granting him the fortune that has eluded him. Mary Chambers might be his last chance to gain access to the mastermind of Hallelujah City, the cult's headquarters.These stories converge in a complex and tender tale of family dysfunction and redemption that explores what happens the day after the world was predicted to end. From Publishers Weekly LaMarr (October Revolution) has created a hectic, fullbodied account of a troubled young lady enmeshed in a bizarre religious cult. After three years, Mary Chambers, 21, leaves the cult's complex, Hallelujah City located near Trappers Point, Minn. She arrives in Aurora, Colo., to save her father, Scott, on the eve of the New Millennium and the world's end, according the Mary's charismatic religious guru, Daniel Hawker, who views himself as Jesus Christ's brother. (Before his cult days, Daniel was a talented studio musician and a disgraced Disneyland magician.) To complicate matters, Mary carries Daniel's 'New Chosen One' child. Meantime, wouldbe author Adrian C. Hummel investigates Daniel and believes Mary to be his ticket inside, where he'll find the material he needs to pen a blockbuster expos. But Adrian's not the only one with an eye on Hallelujah City; various government agencies (DEA, ATF, FBI) troll the fringes, ready to pounce. After Doomsday fizzles, Mary returns to Hallelujah City, accompanied by her enraged, skeptical father. LaMarr borrows from other highprofile cult disasters, and though some of the material may be too familiar to readers, the plot is stocked with enough tension to hook readers until the chaotic, fiery climax. Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From the Inside Flap A secretive religious cult, a daughter expecting the cult leader's child, and an ambitious reporter all converge in this tale of what happens the day after the world is predicted to end. From the Back Cover A secretive religious cult, a daughter expecting the cult leader's child, and an ambitious reporter all converge in this tale of what happens the day after the world is predicted to end. About the Author Tom LaMarr once hopped a freight train from Omaha to Los Angeles. He then got married, discovered cats, settled in Colorado, became a dad, and started planning more sensible vacations. Halle