I am going to pitch my novel, “Skyscrapers,” in LA in November. My publisher thinks the topic of corporate malfeasance might be of interest because of the success of “The Big Short” and others. My take on malfeasance is unique in that in “Skyscrapers” it is teamed with drug laundering.
I know more about corporate malfeasance than…..
“Annual Brotherhood Day” is celebrated at the end of my novel, “Skyscrapers.” It is a celebration of diversity. I truly believe America’s diversity is one of its greatest strengths. That is why one of my two CEO’s is a Mexican immigrant female, and why “Annual Brotherhood Day” ends the novel.
Nowadays Americans are challenged by anxiety over Islamic State’s proselytizing American youth to leave home to fight for Islam. But there is another virulent and surprisingly similar movement percolating within American…..
Walter Lippmann, commemorating the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote, “The genius of a good leader is to leave behind him a situation which common sense, without the grace of genius, can deal with successfully.” That’s a pretty optimistic definition because among other things, it assumes that common sense abounds in society.
As everyone who has elected a leader who showed promise and then turned out to be…..
A reputation is an asset built slowly over years. It is a fundamental, critical and public assessment of a person’s character. This tool enables others to know ahead of time what to expect of another person. His or her abilities and how they have been utilizedd over a period of time and in various circumstances give the public shared insight into…..
I wonder how many people, recognizing those four words, know who wrote them? It was Katharine Lee Bates, in 1893. Although some have said this song should be the American anthem – and certainly it is easier to sing than “The Star-Spangled Banner” – Francis Scott Key’s anthem commemorated a specific moment in the War of 1812, and a…..
Why are there so many guns used and so many people shot in my novel, “Skyscrapers?” Am I a gun nut? Do I favor concealed carry, keep my brass knuckles in my back pocket and my derringer in my bra?
What I do is irrelevant. Every single morning, I open “The Chicago Tribune” and “The Chicago Sun-Times” to confront multiple stories of gun violence. There’s yesterday’s shootings, which…..
There are reasons language is taught by parents, schools and higher institutions. Communication is important. Some students learn all the details of a language without becoming fluent. They may recognize the names of arcane verb constructs but if they can’t hold a conversation in the language, they have to some degree failed the course even if they aced the…..
” I take it Lisa sent you?” Vern prodded.
Father Murphy’s eyes leapt up guiltily. “Lisa? Your wife – um, ex-wife? No.”
“Is it about one of my boys?”
Father Murphy shook his head. “Difficult,” he muttered.
“Well, take you time, Father,” Vern said sarcastically. “I’ve got all day.”
Father Murphy responded to the sarcasm. “Okay, then, I’ll cut to the chase. Did you ever know…..
We are often told: we are what we are. But this is misleading. It’s genetically true up to a point. But as living creatures, we can all change. In fact, we can’t stop changing as we age, and as we experience life. We may live through a long succession of similar days and think: it is what it is, and I am what I am. But this…..
I live in Chicago, which always has been a multilingual place. The first non-native settler was a black French-speaker named Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, who established a farm at the mouth of the Chicago river in 1780. His being black was unusual, but his speaking French in the area was not: French had been spoken, along with a number of Indian languages, in the area starting with the colonizing adventures of Père Louis Joliet and Père Jacques Marquette…..
