Jean Candlish Kelchner

Backstage at the White House Jean Candlish Kelchner

Once upon a time, First Lady Stacey Lea Forbes and her four best friends uncover a plot to keep women out of power especially out of politics They set out to set things right. What unfolds is a momentous battle of the sexes played out in the most powerful arena in the world. The troubled peace that follows culminates almost thirty years later when the daughter of one of their own is sworn in as the First Woman President of the United States. Backstage at the White House is a bigger than life novel with a cast of characters whose passions and powers teeter back and forth between the real and surreal. Stacey Leanne Culberson Forbes, the Perfect First Lady, climbs a tree to think; has visions that her friends take seriously, and forms a secret organization called Women On Watch. Goodman Palmer Forbes, the nation's popular president, feeds his mother's ashes to his fish, plays war games on big electronic boards in the War Room, and obeys commandments he believes are from his mother returned from the grave. John Marion Cardinal Bishop is said to be so powerful that being elevated to Pope would be a comedown, but he has his EVE. Judge Earle Salvation Walker, TV Evangelist, is one of the most powerful churchmen in the world, and his church, The Church Eternal, a modern day phenomenon, but he has a 'good little wife' at home named Carolyn. And the First Lady's friends who risk all with her Sarah Winthrop, the only woman senator; Sue Ann Fairmont and Bev Abelson, wives of Senators; and Ellie, Stacey Lea's Girl Friday with whom she shares Karma. Their worlds collide Backstage at the White House. . . . Randal looked out the window at the busy street alive with anticipation of the day's historic event. Yesterday's snowstorm had disappeared and the sun was shining, a good omen. Yes, but the sun was bright on the snow, and she knew she would squint. She smiled, thinking that a man would never have thought of that. Our minds do work differently, but then, that had been the major thrust of the campaign that difference. They'd had their chance, eons of it, and the country, like the world, was one big mess. Now, it was their time; it was time for a woman to clean house. She didn't mind the analogy; she was a woman and that's what women do. Randal's thoughts again drifted to the glistening outdoors. People want to see you; they have a right to see you, Aunt Stace had advised no sunglasses and no floppy brims. She loved sunglasses! They were such good places to hide, especially from those intrusive cameras that always hounded her. She'd have worn them to her father s funeral, no matter what Aunt Stace might have said, but there had been no sun to excuse them; it had rained that day. She sighed, regretting that her father was not here to see this day. He had known the likely outcome for he'd died only two days before elections, his heart no longer heeding his will. Still, it seemed unfair that he had not seen the dream realized. A tear slid down her cheek, and Eli . . Oh, Eli, she whispered softly, I hope you know how much I miss you, that I'd chuck it all for just one more night with you! Well, that was dramatic! She exclaimed to herself, wondering where such a declaration had popped from as she got herself back on course. Yes, Eli would always be a regret; there wasn t a day that she didn t think of him, but she knew she wouldn t change a thing. It's simply an irrefutable fact that one can t have it all, and she had made her choice a long time ago. She couldn't imagine herself a professor s wife on some vine-covered campus. No, she liked where she was and she'd worked hard to get here. Still, it had all started after one of those nights that was now only memory. . . .