Jennifer Oko - Gloss

“Jennifer Oko’s Gloss is a very funny novel set in the parallel universe of morning television. Filled with details and gossip about what really goes on behind the cozy, coffee-tabled sets of the national morning shows and the people who host them, this story of a young producer caught in a web of journalistic ethics and political intrigue is both about and written by an insider who has lived to tell the tale.”

—Laura Zigman, author of Animal Husbandry and Piece of Work

“After finishing Gloss by Jennifer Oko, I felt as if I had finished a dish made up of fresh, seasonal ingredients that filled me up without slowing me down.”

—Christian Science Monitor, Reader’s Pick

“Comical, fast paced and full of insider gossip, Gloss is an entertaining read written by a TV news veteran who’s now a producer for CBS’s The Early Show. For anyone who has ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of news reporting, this book will fill you in and keep you entertained.”

—Kristin Harmel, author of The Blonde Theory

“Jennifer Oko’s novel Gloss [is] a peek behind the scenes of morning television…. Even though it is a serious story, the novel is a light and easy read, with humor present on every page.”

—The Oklahoman

“Jennifer Oko is flying off the hook with energy, wit, and style!”

—Moderngirlstyle.com

“This is one book you have to keep checking to make sure you are reading fiction. The story is engrossing…fast paced, riveting and one you just can’t put down, with an insight to morning news programs that gives you a whole new way to look at them while having your morning coffee and muffin.”

—Affaire de Coeur [five stars]

“A damn good book.”

—Modern Women’s Fiction

“Oko’s biting humor, à la Murphy Brown, makes this book very difficult to put down.”

—The Book and Cranny

“Often laugh-out-loud funny, but sometimes downright scary, this bigger-than-life romp will probably give more than one early morning news show staffer pause. Some of the characterizations—and complications—may be a little over the top, but readers will probably be too amused to take much notice.”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

“You won’t be able to put [it] down. Filled with tons of fun details gathered, no doubt, by the author’s own experiences in morning television. You’ll have a blast reading Gloss, and not just for the guessing game of ‘who’s really who’ in the large cast of characters that inhabit Annabelle’s world. A deliciously dishy and irresistible tale!”

—Brenda Janowitz, author of Scot on the Rocks

“A humorous send-up of the TV industry and today’s pop culture where fame is an end in itself. Ms. Oko’s eye is sharp and her pen as sharp, as she bares the quirks and flaws in an industry she knows from the inside. Gloss is an entertaining, delightfully irreverent, and enlightening work.”

—Romance Reviews Today

www.mirabooks.co.uk

For Michael, who makes everything possible.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PART ONE

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

PART TWO

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

PART THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

EPILOGUE

Gloss would not exist if it weren’t for the support and encouragement of some very special people. So, to my agent, first reader and my personal Queen of Swords Stephanie Kip Rostan, thank you again and again. Selina McLemore’s enthusiasm for the printed page is contagious and I am lucky that not only did she fall in love with Gloss but she was able to help me whip it into a more readable shape than I could have done alone. I am grateful that Selina was able to usher the book into Linda McFall’s able hands and that Linda has been able to guide me through the rest of this adventure. Thank you to everyone at MIRA and Harlequin Books.

Every writer should have a support group like I had with Roomful of Writers: Elaine Heinzman, Kevin Ricche, Martha Heil, Peter Reppert, James Riordon, Contessa Riggs and (briefly) Eric Roston. A special shout-out to Jennifer Ouellette and Erica Perl. On the face of it, it would seem that the authors of books such as The Physics of the Buffyverse and Ninety-Three in My Family might not necessarily be the best readers for a book like Gloss, but in fact a little Einstein mixed with some excellent children’s literature was precisely the medicine the book needed. John Elderkin, wherever you are, thank you for the title. Thank you to Elizabeth Shreve for your endless publishing wisdom, and, along with her, to Emily Lenzner for the jubilations.

Thank you to my friends and colleagues at CBS News.

Writers usually work in solitude, but this writer wouldn’t be able to get anything done if it weren’t for friends like Tula Karras, Jenny Trewartha, Jan Trasen, Julie Ziegler, Jennifer Howze, Sasha Gottlieb and Liza Vasilkova.

This book was sold shortly after the birth of my son, Jasper, and published shortly before the birth of my daughter, Laila, and it took an amazing amount of help from my family to assure that I had the time, space and energy to be a producer, a writer and a good mother all at the same time. Annette Oko, Ben Oko and Helen Dimos—thank you for the love you have showered on Jasper, Laila and their mom. Thank you to my brother Daniel Cohen and his wife, Stephanie Cohen, who have been tremendous cheerleaders throughout my writing career (and my life!). And to my parents, Sue and Arnold Cohen, it sounds trite but I really have no words to thank you enough. My husband, Michael Oko, continues to amaze me with his patience, his kindness, his enthusiasm and his belief in me. And it is Jasper and Laila who have helped me see all the blessings and joy.

Thank you.

gloss (glôs) n.

1 A surface sheen, often referring to cosmetics used to enhance the lips.

2 A superficially or deceptively attractive appearance.

3 A smooth-coated, slick media format.

The obscure we eventually see.

The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer.

—Edward R. Murrow

gloss (glôs)

n.

1 A surface sheen, often referring to cosmetics used to enhance the lips.

2 A superficially or deceptively attractive appearance.

3 A smooth-coated, slick media format.

The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer.

—Edward R. Murrow

I DIGRESS.

When I was little, the adults laughed and said I had a vivid imagination. It was a good thing. But by the end of my elementary years it was a source of heated conversations in parent-teacher meetings, and then, by high school, it became a source of parent-psychologist conversations, leading to parent-neurologist conversations, leading to a career as a television news producer, and ultimately, to where I am now. Which is to say, my tendency to take off on flights of fancy, and my general inability to focus ironically brought me to a place of fancy-less focus: the Federal Detention Center in Alexandria, Virginia. My lawyer grins Cheshirelike and insists we will win. No fear, he says, this will end soon, you will write a book, a movie deal will be in place and, years from now, you will look out over the veranda of your Hollywood Hills home, sipping chardonnay and laughing at this little adventure. Wake me up after the second coming, I tell him, when I’m in a good mood. Most days I tell him to shut up and give me whatever paper it is that I need to sign.