In my novel “Skyscrapers,” one of my two CEO’s is a Mexican immigrant female. Is it realistic to have her climb from immigrant status all the way to being the head of AgriBusiness? Certainly we see many more women in the news nowadays speaking from positions of authority. They are CEO’s, news anchors, doctors, scientists, astronauts and other outstanding people who just happen to be women. Except, as we all know, being female puts a person at a definite…..
When I wrote my novel “Skyscrapers,” one of the characters was a major drug importer/dealer named Diego Diaz. I had been studying gun control and was well aware Chicago had become a major hub for drug dealers. The chief honcho in Mexico was named Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who shipped drugs from Colombia to Mexico “using submarines, speedboats and amphibious vessels to avoid law enforcement,” according to “The Chicago Tribune,” January 28, 2015. Twin brothers in Chicago were major receivers…..
I have been really intrigued by the publication of four reviews of my novel “Skyscrapers.” A writer never knows how another will perceive what is written, and friends tend to like – or say they like – a friend’s book whether that is their honest opinion or not. After all, what are friends for, if not to support each other’s efforts?
Reviewers, however, must accurately describe a novel for a potential reader. Since “Skyscrapers” has a rather unusual and…..
This review from Sheri Bebee for Reader Views 9/14:
“Skyscrapers” by Jill Wilson Brennan is a suspense drama around two CEO’s… a cunningly woven sequence of events takes the story to untold twists… Will these powerful CEO’s survive and prosper in spite of all their challenges? Wow. Quite the agenda going on in this story… there was definitely a lot of action and suspense, and the story had some very unique twists and turns. “Skyscrapers” by Jill Wilson Brennan kept…..
This is the dilemma Vern Webb Sr. faces in the opening scene in my novel “Skyscrapers.” His second wife Pamela reports that Vern’s namesake son has been found unconscious on somebody’s lawn, and Vern explodes. Vern Jr. is actually following habitual teen behavior regarding alcohol: binge drinking, which is five drinks or more at one time per week, or heavy drinking, which would be binge drinking multiple times each week. This is of course extremely dangerous behavior even if the…..
Independence Day a.k.a. Violence Day
In Chicago, eighty-two people were killed celebrating the Fourth of July, our beloved “Independence Day” which seems to be mis-named. It might as well be called “Violence Day” in Chicago. Of the eighty-two shot, sixteen were killed. So far this year, 1, 219 people have been killed in Chicago. Some point out that this is considerably less than last year’s tally…..
In a nation of immigrants, intense argument about the legitimacy of immigration may seem illogical or self-serving. But the question has been given new urgency because of a change in immigration itself. Un-attended children are crossing our southern border with Mexico in record numbers. As of right now (July 7, 2014) 52,000 children were caught since October. All Mexicans were sent home. All others are being held for…..
Hearing the phrase “power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely,” people tend to nod, sagely, in agreement. Everyone knows the quote. Very few know the source of the quote: is it Cicero? Shakespeare? Machiavelli? No. It was Lord Acton, writing a letter,in 1887.
Is the statement actually true? “Corrupt” as an adjective means “utterly broken.” It was first used by Aristotle and later Cicero, who added the ideas of bribery and abandonment of good habits to…..
This is a common dilemma when it comes to smartphone photos. In a second, the decision is made, the moment is past, and the decision has had its result. All very fine, when we are talking about phones.
When I wrote my Master’s thesis, “From Reform to Terrorism: Student Radicalism in the 1960’s,” I knew nothing about guns. I had never held one or fired one. I knew many names such as “Winchester Repeating Rifle” or “Tommy gun,” or…..
In corporate America, there are as many leadership styles as leaders. In my novel “Skyscrapers” I contrasted two CEO’s, both flawed. They shared a number of positive traits: alpha personality, a drive to succeed, an ability to manage a large and complex industry, enough charisma to motivate subordinates, and an ethos which so far had worked for them. At the beginning…..
