SOAP OPERA WRITER TURNS TO NOVELS: AMC Alum Writes About The Cloning of Jesus

With the changing landscape of daytime dramas, Wisner Washam, long time head writer of ALL MY CHILDREN, has turned to novels. He has published a controversial novel, "The Cloning," based on the premise that ancient DNA can be used to clone the original donor. In this case, fragmentary DNA is discovered on the famous Shroud of Turin by a young American scientist who believes that he may be replicating Jesus of Nazareth.

He is given access to the sacred relic by a new forward-thinking Pope, a twenty-first century product who has recently been elected to the Throne of Peter. The young scientist has no interest in the spiritual aspects of his assignment, but he must find a suitable womb in which to gestate the baby, and the choice of a female becomes a hotly contested international battle. The winner happens to be a pretty, young, rebellious Hispanic girl, daughter of a banana republic dictator, who has as little interest in religion as the scientist himself.

This unholy pair finds themselves in the Vatican, dealing not only with the new Pope but also with factions in the church hierarchy who violently disagree with the idea of the cloning. Needless to say, all hell breaks loose… and perhaps the Holy Spirit as well.

Washam, a native of Cornelius, NC, graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with BA in Dramatic Art. He worked on GUIDING LIGHT and on development projects for Fox as well as French and German television. He has won three Emmy Awards for his work in daytime. Previously he was production stage manager for five Broadway shows, including Neil Simon's "Star-Spangled Girl," "Prisoner of Second Avenue," and "Plaza Suite." During the latter, he met his wife, actress Judith Barcroft. With her encouragement, he made a career change into the field of daytime TV, fortunately at the right hand of daytime's doyenne, Agnes Nixon, where he stayed for nearly twenty years.

Originally written as a screenplay, “The Cloning” won a Writers’ Guild of America competition and was awarded a public reading at Lincoln Center in NYC. Washam’s second novel, “Edie’s Story,” is the tale a young Southern girl reaching her maturity in the sexually liberating 1960s. Both books are on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle versions.

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