In a Dark Place

When 19-year-old news reporter Melvin Braun first fell in love with his gorgeous image on a TV studio monitor, he was already skilled at manipulating people to serve his needs. Motherless Mel became an instant broadcasting star with no experience or reporting talent. Gifted with looks, intelligence, and assertiveness, the news anchorman in just a few years would be known by insiders as the Jekyll and Hyde of the industry—brilliant and charming on-air, selfish and nasty off-air. Women, especially, were his to bully, to molest at times, and to gratify his ego and sex drive.

He had been a beautiful child of the 1950s, living mostly alone. He lacked any adult guidance to know how to appreciate the rewards and compassion of a healthy romance. Recently exposed high-profile news reporters and network anchors provide a familiar theme in the story of In a Dark Place, as Braun stagnates and ages, while our society advances in civil and social steps toward the 21st century. Yet his dark star shines brightly until he is accused of an "unforgivable" act.

He surfaces as a media professor at a university where his fading libido is rescued by a fake student. She is a stunningly beautiful pornography actress from Culver City in Hollywood researching the disgraced broadcaster for her next film project. Underage Eva Barbeau takes full, lusty advantage of the lonely, aging, six-time Emmy Award-winning Melvin Braun. –SMB