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As Hurricane Walter, the worst hurricane ever recorded (at least so far),reshapes the overdeveloped East Central Florida coast, swallows condos upwhole, and ushers in a world-wide disaster-filled era spurred byglobal warming, Mia Gionfreddo Fine crouches in the crumbling newsroom ofthe (let's face it) crummy newspaper she works for, listening to thepublisher sing Broadway show tunes.Set in the near future (maybe tomorrow), NEW COASTAL TIMES is a seriocomic romp through a not-so-brave new world where religious fanatics wait for Jesus in the Okefenokee Swamp, martial law rules in the still existing cities, the government sets up free-love communes for displaced youth, and a group of intrepid travelers—including former so-so reporter Mia, her adorable dedicated doctor husband, his avuncular tenor mentor, a good-hearted baritone pimp, and the show-tune-singing publisher (an aging soprano) make their way from Florida to New York in the New Coastal TImes Performing Arts Center van. Because, when you get right down to it, there really is no place like home.
