Spin

Baker & Taylor
Hired to help a California Republican win a seat in the U.S. Senate, a young political strategist experiences the rewards--money, sex, and power--of campaigning, only to take up his own campaign against political corruption

Blackwell North Amer
Plunging into California politics armed with nothing but a lethal tongue and a taste for power, Gulf War veteran Jim Asher lands a plum role in Republican Edward Winston's effort to buy a U.S. Senate seat. It's a bare-knuckle campaign, and Jim - a golden boy with the aura of a surfer and the instincts of a shark - proves to be a perfect fit in the press office. And with Winston's glamorously shrewd wife, Mariella, controlling $400-million-dollar purse strings, they're pulling no punches.
Learning spin control from the master - Bud Raper, the crude hired gun who catapulted both Reagan and Bush into the Oval Office - Jim quickly becomes the hottest new political consultant west of the Washington Beltway, an Armani-clad Machiavelli. He also learns that power in California brings perks: a six-figure salary and illicit liaisons with everyone from loyal party girls to roving celebrity reporters. Through it all, Jim keeps his eyes on the ultimate prize - Washington.

Baker
& Taylor
Hired to help a California Republican win a seat in the U.S. Senate, a young political strategist experiences the rewards--money, sex, and power--of campaigning, only to take up his own campaign against political corruption. A first novel.

Simon and Schuster
This fearless debut novel mixes an exhilarating cocktail of sex, money, and high-stakes Republican powerbrokers. Set against a backdrop of recent California politics, author Tom Lowe tells the tale of an up-and-coming political aide whose ambition will either launch his career...or strip the gears off the well-oiled Republican machine. Plunging into California politics armed with nothing but a lethal tongue and a taste for power, Gulf War veteran Jim Asher lands a plum role in Republican Edward Winston's effort to buy a U.S. Senate seat. It's a bare-knuckle campaign, and Jim -- a golden boy with the aura of a surfer and the instincts of a shark -- proves to be a perfect fit in the press office. And with Winston's glamorously shrewd wife, Mariella, controlling $400-million-dollar purse strings, they're pulling no punches. Learning spin control from the master -- Bud Raper, the crude hired gun who catapulted both Reagan and Bush into the Oval office -- Jim quickly becomes the hottest new political consultant west of the Washington Beltway, an Armani-clad Machiavelli. He also learns that power in California brings perks: a six-figure salary and illicit liaisons with everyone from loyal party girls to roving celebrity reporters. Through it all, Jim keeps his eyes on the ultimate prize -- Washington. But when the stakes of the game are raised, Jim comes face-to-face with an unexpected nemesis: his own conscience. With more than one shark prowling the waters, Jim is forced to risk everything -- a choice that threatens to trigger a political shakedown of epic proportions. An unforgettable chronicle of political seduction, Spin is a whip-smart look at a world of thrilling excess, raw power, and utter ruthlessness -- laying bare the American democratic process in action, and in the flesh.