Salvation Army

Caleb certainly wasn’t having any fun being Caleb. Neglected by his father, picked on by the schoolyard bully and not altogether clear about his burgeoning sexuality, this kid needed an escape. Then one day he found it: Marilyn Monroe’s lips. The art and philosophy of Andy Warhol transported Caleb to a place where misfits rule and maintaining distance could be a function of creative expression.

So begins Lance Reynald’s touching and darkly humorous novel Pop Salvation (out June 23). Caleb, as Warhol, explores the underground camp of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and cultivates his crew of “Superstars.” There’s Sonia, his blunt Edie, who always falls for the pretty (gay) boys; Brit, a transvestite Marilyn who hungers for the spotlight; and Aaron, his Gerard and unspoken true love, with whom he shares some of his most intimate moments separated by a lens.

Just as the real Factory’s shine began to wear off as time wore on, Caleb’s circle slowly unravels as drugs and differences enter the scene. With life as Andy not all it’s cracked up to be, Caleb is faced with finding a new dream. And as in any good coming-of-age tale, perhaps this time it will be his own.


Pop Salvation will be available June 23 from Harper Perennial.