Kirkus Reviews calls Fools Poll “a feisty election potboiler . . . this rousing political page-turner won’t fail to entertain—maybe even inspire.” Yes, here’s an election you can get excited about.
Hector Lawrence has had enough—of his self-righteous sister Lola, and of the two parties that have made a total mess of American politics. So this 49-year-old pedigreed underdog from Nashville, who’s never had a date, never had a job, and who has a ...
Kirkus Reviews calls Fools Poll “a feisty election potboiler . . . this rousing political page-turner won’t fail to entertain—maybe even inspire.” Yes, here’s an election you can get excited about.
Hector Lawrence has had enough—of his self-righteous sister Lola, and of the two parties that have made a total mess of American politics. So this 49-year-old pedigreed underdog from Nashville, who’s never had a date, never had a job, and who has a hard time buttoning his own shirt due to polio, runs for Congress as an independent in an election that electrifies the city and the nation. But first, Hector has to overthrow Lola, who has house-kept and hoodwinked him for decades. Hector’s campaign is his way of trying to make something of his so-far wasted life.
At first, the Republicans and Democrats ignore this amateur nobody and his team of losers. But Hector’s tenacious, charismatic style and guerrilla campaign soon ignite hope in a jaded electorate frustrated with the current politics of dysfunction.
Kirkus Reviews writes: “Hector’s politics are all over the map. . . Luckily, partisan orthodoxy doesn’t matter; all of Nashville resonates with his earnest, ebullient campaigning, his pox-on-both-houses populism, his refreshing outsider-hood as a disabled nobody and his promise to consult a (nonbinding) Internet referendum before every legislative vote. Drawn into Hector’s orbit are a motley assortment of supporters and hangers-on, including a morally tarnished clergyman eager to get his mitts on Lola’s money and a good-hearted African-American pot dealer who has information on Brumby’s [the incumbent’s] darkest secret. Wall’s tale has the feel of a Frank Capra movie with Southern gothic shades, starring an eccentric hero whose head gets wised up but whose good heart never flags as he battles both the sinister powers that be and his batty, bloodcurdling sister. Surrounding Hector is a diverse, sharply drawn cast of characters, from doting matrons and 30-something lonely hearts to skeevy perverts and gum-snapping teens, all brought vividly to life by the author’s well-crafted, empathetic prose. Despite its cynicism toward party establishment, Wall’s fable is positively giddy and engrossing in its portrayal of old-fashioned electioneering.”
Fighting apathy, a fossilized incumbent, a Tea Party darling, a blackmail scheme, a shocking betrayal, a high-level party operative, and the ever-dangerous Lola, Hector leads his inspired rebels down to the wire battling for every vote. Fools Poll is a feel-good story about the meek and right taking on the strong and wrong.
Wall’s tale has the feel of a Frank Capra movie with Southern gothic shades, starring an eccentric hero whose head gets wised up but whose good heart never flags as he battles both the sinister powers that be and his batty, bloodcurdling sister. . . a diverse, sharply drawn cast of characters . . . all brought vividly to life by the author’s well-crafted, empathetic prose. . .this rousing political page-turner won’t fail to entertain—maybe even inspire.
Richard Wall has been a freelance writer and television producer for more than 15 years. Prior to that, he worked as a magazine editor, public relations flack, journalist, welfare counselor, bartender, cook, book salesman, construction laborer, and newspaper boy back in the day when you had to ride your bike before dawn and pitch papers onto the roofs of subscribers. Currently, he is pitching his second novel Drive Nice to literary agents, and is writing his third novel Blue Green.
Frustrated with politics for decades, Richard hasn’t voted for a Republican or Democrat for national office in over 30 years, though he has voted in every election. He enjoys surfing (which is difficult to do since he recently moved to Colorado), bicycling, hiking, swimming, listening to history lectures, working on his website www.bestletterstotheeditors.com, reading, and explaining that you are not throwing your vote away when you vote for a third-party or independent candidate, no matter what every political pundit in the world says. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee. Visit www.richardwallauthor.com, for more about Fools Poll.
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Overview
Hector Lawrence has had enough—of his self-righteous sister Lola, and of the two parties that have made a total mess of American politics. So this 49-year-old pedigreed underdog from Nashville, who’s never had a date, never had a job, and who has a ...