Today's special guest is John
Wendell Adams, the author of “Betrayal”, an exciting novel that exposes some
the moral failings in the business world. Set in Chicago, Betrayal is a
suspenseful and intriguing page-turner for anyone who has ever been betrayed or
bushwhacked in the workplace, a love relationship, or in a family. Earlier
published works by John include the series, A Man's Story, a collection of
motivational short stories for men.
With more than 25 years of experience in management,
marketing, and sales, having degrees in business and management development,
Mr. Adams has held a number of senior leadership positions and assignments,
including Aragon Consulting Group and IBM, which stretched across domestic and
international markets. These experiences served as a catalyst for his newly
published work of fiction.
John
has conducted several seminars and speaking engagements around the country. In
addition, he is involved in various charitable organizations. He and his wife,
Grace, have five children and currently live in Skokie, Illinois.
The
inspiration behind the plot for BETRAYAL
By John Wendell Adams
The
business world and the information Technology community are the places where I
spent the majority of my working life.
It is said that a writer should write about things they know. So, I started by thinking of what would be
intriguing about this environment. While
the characters are fiction, the plot and storyline were very plausible. As I did research, detailed the characters, and
structured the plot, I became inspired to tell this story. So, here are some of the component parts.
- Character creation:
Writing
non-fiction has a number of challenges, you have to make sure your information
sources are accurate, if you make stuff up, you won’t be credible, often the
material could become boring, suffering from too many fact, figures, and data
points, the characters already exist so you can only use your imagination so
much.
When
writing fiction you get the opportunity to “make stuff up”. I like the fact that my imagination can run
wild. I have the freedom to allow the
plot, the dialog, and the characters to run off in the direction they
desire. My job is to try and “hold the
reigns”.
Character
creation is a fun part for me. Once I
decide on the main protagonist and antagonist, I start to think about all of
the others that will lift up or tear down the story line as the plot
evolves. I strive to make the characters
believable. I ask myself, “Why will
anyone like or hate them”? “What will they be remembered for?” “How will they
advance the plot?” “Why should I care about them?” In addition, I work to make sure they aren’t
one-dimensional characters. Here are a
few additional questions I ask, “Ok, why are they in the book?” “What about
them will make the story more interesting?” “If they are introduced, will they
have an important impact on the plot? “Will they be memorable?” If I don’t feel strongly about their
contribution, then I likely won’t use them.
Webster
says… An idea is something that you imagine or picture in your mind. When I think on that definition, I agree with
it. I have had numerous ideas that I’ve
imagined or have been pictures in my mind.
There are several ways that ideas arrive at my mental doorstep. Here are a few of them.
·
One
way is for me to be in discussion. I’ve
been in meetings or simply having a conversation with another person. In the midst of the discussion, I’ll have an
idea that seems to pop up from out of the air.
But I generally attribute it to the “Lively Art of Conversation”. It is my opinion that my mind goes into
action when prompted by discussion. If I
had been simply sitting gazing off into space, I’m not certain that the same
idea would have come to the forefront of my brain. I find that I am mentally simulated during
conversation and ideas arrive.
·
Another
way is when ideas are revealed to me when I’m asleep. It has happened enough times that I regard it
as a “place where ideas are born”.
Previously, I tried to analyze the process in order to determine the
genesis of it all. I had reasoned that
an idea likely came because of something that happened before I fell asleep,
watching TV, reading a book, or reviewing work papers. But I have decided that ideas totally
unrelated to my pre-sleep activities came to me during my sleep state. Actually, I love this process because I am
energized by the thoughts and the ideas that I received. It’s as if they are sitting and waiting for
me to open my eyes and begin a new day.
It’s like hearing the sound of birds chirping to herald in the morning
and the prospect of tremendous things to come.
·
One
more is when I have gotten a vision of something while I have been attending a
totally unrelated event. This one might
seem a bit strange but for me it is very real.
One example…recently, I was at a leadership retreat and all of the
attendees were watching and listening to a video. All of a sudden, I got a vision of an
idea. It turned out that the vision was
totally unrelated to the video or the retreat. That idea led to a significant
series of life-changing events.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Betrayal. It’s an ugly word, and virtually everyone has
experienced it in one form or another. The question is, what do you do about
it? Seek revenge? Recover and go on? Or allow rage and despair to destroy
everything you’ve ever worked for?
In his riveting debut novel, author and longtime businessman John
Wendell Adams details the story of a man caught in an ugly web. Jack Alexander
has landed a great job as a divisional director of sales in a Chicago-based IT
company. Hired to turn around a regional disaster, he is rewarded with
additional responsibilities. The problem: his vitriolic new boss, a co-worker's
unwanted advances, and their secret conspiracy.
Fired from his job, forced to confront both his present and his
past, Jack goes through an emotional tailspin before he is able to reconcile
what has happened to him. Eventually, he’s hired as a vice president with a
much larger firm. When his new company decides to acquire his old one, Jack comes
face to face with the two people responsible for his earlier demise. Meanwhile,
he uncovers some illegal activities that could put the acquisition at risk.
Is this the time for revenge, to right the wrongs that have been
done to him? What should he do? Is it possible to act effectively and also with
integrity when confronted with those who compromised his marriage, his career,
and his sense of self-worth?
Adams comments, “I have worked in the corporate world all my adult
life and have witnessed or personally experienced the highlights and moral
failings that come with it. To put it simply, if you’ve ever experienced
betrayal in the workplace, in love, or in a family, this book is for you.”
“Betrayal
is simply a stunning, must-read work that will transform hearts that are open
to receive the life lesson within its pages.” ~ Reader Review
AN EXCERPT
Jack couldn’t wait until church was
over on Sunday. It was a train and a bus ride for Jack and his sisters. His
mother was comfortable with letting the four of them go alone since his oldest
sister was very responsible. They talked as they went but Jack was consumed
with his thoughts about spending the day with his dad. Janice, his big sister
told them,
“Mama said that we have to stay together. So
hold hands and make sure we don’t get separated.” As they walked the two blocks from the bus to
the address Jack’s dad gave them, he almost couldn’t contain himself.
“Are we almost there?” He asked his sister.
“We’ll be there in a few minutes. Just stay
together,” she reminded them.
When they got to the address his father gave
them it turned out to be a parking lot.
Janice looked at the addresses on both sides of the parking lot to
determine if maybe he’d written down the wrong number. They then walked to a
corner store; found a pay phone, and Janice called the phone number they had.
She tried it three times. Each time the recording was the same…
“I’m sorry, the number you’ve dialed has been
disconnected. Please check the number and try your call again.” She then called
their mother, explained the situation, and asked her what to do. Their mother’s
answer was clear,
“Just get back on the bus and the train and
come home.”
When Janice told her siblings that they were going back home Jack
started talking and crying at the same time.
“Wait, why are we leaving? We haven’t seen
Daddy yet. Maybe he’s out looking for us. If we leave, he won’t find us. We
can’t leave.” But Janice was direct.
“Mama said we need to go back home. So, let’s
get going.” Jack couldn’t stop crying.
He couldn’t believe that he wouldn’t see his dad. It was as if all hope was
gone. Jack was sad all the way back home. He never saw his dad again until he
was grown, married, and had two children.
It was clear that Jack’s dad didn’t really
care about his son or helping Jack through life. Jack developed a hard inner
shell, trusting no one, not wanting to be hurt like that ever again. And while
he didn’t trust Art completely, he did appreciate Art’s care and concern for
him from a business perspective.
SPECIAL LINKS
Johnwendelladams@facebook.com
The author will be giving away $50 Amazon/BN GC to one lucky Commenter. Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/10/full-service-tour-betrayal-by-john.html
