Pretty Ugly

Cosmetics create beauty, but when that turns ugly, it’s lethal.A thrilling, intriguing ride through the murky undercurrent of corporate and political machinations bridging the complex worlds of medicine, media and modeling, in both the United States and Ireland.What physical horrors can rogue nanoparticles, a thousandth time smaller than a human cell, create when they flood through your body contained within a simple cosmetic? Facing the terrible truth, an unlikely trio – Colm, an investigative journalist, Dr. Gray, a skin specialist and Patricia, a celebrity model - embark on a dangerous mission. If they move fast enough, they can save lives. If they don’t …‘Pretty Ugly’ is a high-end contemporary fiction, grounded in cutting-edge medical science, with a hint of magic realism, focusing on the challenges facing the trio in a race against time as they struggle to lift the veil of secrecy on a powerful cosmetics company intent on concealing the health hazards from toxic ingredients in one of its key products. Ironically, the greatest risk is contained inside an ordinary concealer - nanoparticles so tiny they infiltrate nerve and blood cells causing untold damage.'Pretty Ugly' embraces the three 'Cs' of celebrity, cosmetics and Celtic mythology and confronts two key issues of our time - the decline of traditional media such as newspapers in face of the all-reaching Internet and the lack of research on potential dangers associated with the ever-expanding and largely unregulated use of nano-technology.Can all three find peace of mind in the pursuit of justice amidst the clamor for ever-more lucrative profits and high political ambition? In such grim circumstances, perhaps an inspiring touch of Old World magic from Ireland’s ancient Celtic past is exactly what’s required. ‘Pretty Ugly’ is the first in a proposed series of novels featuring emigrant Irish journalist Colm Heaney as a sleuth-like main character unveiling intriguing truths that should matter in shaping today’s fast-changing world.“Pretty Ugly” is a fascinating tale that takes us from Kansas City to Washington, D.C. and on to Ireland – a genuine tour de force from a global journalist turned global novelist. It’s a fast-moving triumph from a writer who really knows his way around human relationships, especially those involving politicians, editors, doctors and even strangers lurking in the mysterious fogs of Éire!” (STEPHEN FARNSWORTH is a political science professor and founder of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies, University of Mary Washington. Multi-book author, Fulbright scholar and national commentator, including The Washington Post, Reuters, The Chicago Tribune and MSNBC.)"Start with a natural raconteur who is at home in Romania as Kansas City. Add a shot of old-school newspapering, a sinister dose of big medicine and the right mix of Irish humor and moral indignation, and you get a novel as bracing as a shot of Jameson."(MIKE WEATHERFORD is Arts & Entertainment Reporter and Columnist for the 'Las Vegas Review-Journal' newspaper and author of 'Cult Vegas.')"Seasoned journalist and writer John Sean Hillen has filed a story that’s as entertaining as it is timely. "Pretty Ugly" is a richly written novel that is both journalistic procedural and cautionary tale about the cosmetics industry, politics, and corporate journalism. When they collide, it can be pretty ugly."(JOHN DEDAKIS is a novelist, writing coach, former CBN White House correspondent and senior copy editor for CNN’s ‘The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.’ Adjunct journalism faculty member at University of Maryland-College Park.)