A Morning Affair

The author's five-year stint as a producer for ABC's Good Morning America has already prompted a guessing game in publishing and television circles concerning how closely her fictional characters are modeled after real TV morning personalities such as Kathy Lee Gifford, David Hartman et al. But readers of this fast-paced, albeit predictable, first novel need not be plugged into the gossip pages to enjoy the story of high-powered and very visible women whose glamorous jobs have a down side: the constant struggle to emanate the right balance of brains and sexuality in order to succeed according to the rules of the old boy's network. Among these women are beautiful reporter Jackie Rogers, who has a chance at the co-anchor position on the highest-rated national a.m. news show. She is involved with a dashing financier who seems to be moving toward illegally cornering the silver market. Dominique Lafarge, one of the show's favorite field reporters, knows she was hired for her sexy body; her battle against the network powers to continue working despite her blissful pregnant-but-single status involves a professional--and personal--relationship with a handsome senator who is sponsoring a utopian family support bill. While Kaplan does offer some interesting insights into the action behind the cameras, her character and plot treatments can only be characterized as breezy and lightweight. 50,000 first printing; major ad/promo. (May)