BLURB:
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
Giveaway:
follow the tour and comment; the more they comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://
THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY:
$50 Amazon/BN GC - Commenter
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
Giveaway:
follow the tour and comment; the more they comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: http://
THE AUTHOR WILL BE GIVING AWAY:
$50 Amazon/BN GC - Commenter
$25 Amazon/BN GC - Host
a Rafflecopter giveaway
EXCERPTS
If Jack’s own father had provided him even a little visibility and exposure to life as he grew
up, Jack would have thrived on it. Jack came to realize that his dad just didn’t have what was
needed to be a “real” father.
"I found out where your father‘s working. I’m sure he’d like to see you.” Jack’s mother’s
comments caught him off guard. Jack was eight years old when his mom and dad separated
and divorced. The fact that his father wasn’t coming home any more affected Jack greatly. In
his home, their living room windows faced the street. For several weeks after his dad left, Jack
would stand in the window every evening looking out and waiting for his father to come home.
So, when Jack’s mother told him and his three sisters that they could go see their dad, he was
elated. Looking back, he was more affected by the divorce and not seeing his father than Jack’s
sisters. Also, for some reason, Jack thought he had done something to cause the break up. No
one ever told him that, but it was still something he struggled with. Jack needed the protection
and security of his father. He wanted him to guide him through life and introduce him to the
things his neighborhood buddies experienced. Jack hoped that his dad would teach him how to
hit a baseball, ride a bike, swim, or make a snowman in the winter.
“Can we go see him today?” Jack asked his mother.
“No, I’ll set it up with your dad and then you and your sisters will be free to go see him.”
It was a cold, snowy winter day. The snow had been falling for two days. It was the kind of
snow that would be great for having a snowball fight or making a snowman. None of that
mattered to Jack. He just wanted to go see his dad. So off they went; Jack and his sisters.
His two older sisters, twelve and thirteen, were given instructions by Jack’s mother on where
they were to go and how to get there. It must have been a fifteen- minute bus ride but it felt like
hours. As they got off the bus and walked to their Dad’s office, all Jack could think of was seeing
him and asking when he was coming back home.
“Hey, it’s great to see you kids. How did you get here? How are you doing? Did you have
lunch?” Jack’s dad seemed so happy to see them. He introduced them to all of his co-workers.
He was beaming.
“These are my three daughters and this is my son Jack,” he said. “I had to name him after me.”
Jack was so proud. He felt like the son of a President. His dad made Jack feel great.
After all the introductions, he sat down with them in a conference room and talked to them for
quite a while.
“So, how’s school? Are you getting enough to eat? What about your homework? Are you going
to bed on time every night?” Jack’s dad was so attentive to them.
Finally, their time with him was rapidly coming to an end. He had to go back to work. Jack had
been saving his question and he felt like he needed to ask it now.
“So when will we see you again? And when are you coming back home?” Jack blurted out.
Jack’s dad didn’t answer for a long time. He just looked away. Then finally he said,
“Look, I have to get back to work. Why don’t you come over to the place where I’m living and
we can sit and talk for a much longer time?” Jack thought about that for a moment and then
asked,
“Ok, but then will you tell us when you’ll be coming back home?” His dad looked away again
before he answered,
“Sure, we can talk about it then.”
He wrote down his address and phone number for them. They agreed on a time to show up at
his house on the upcoming Sunday right after church. Before they left he hugged each of them.
He waited to hug Jack last. Looking back,
understand until much later.
.jpg)
Author:
John Wendell Adams has more than twenty-five years of experience in management,
marketing, and sales. With degrees in business and management development, Mr. Adams has
led highly effective sales teams, managed an executive briefing center for senior leaders, and
won numerous awards as a leader and individual contributor. His senior leadership positions
and assignments stretch across domestic and international markets and include Aragon
Consulting Group and IBM. These experiences served as a catalyst for Betrayal, his newly
published work of fiction. The author of A Man's Story, a collection of motivational short stories
for men, John has conducted seminars and speaking engagements around the country and
is involved in various charitable organizations. He and his wife Grace have five children and
currently live in Skokie, Illinois.
marketing, and sales. With degrees in business and management development, Mr. Adams has
led highly effective sales teams, managed an executive briefing center for senior leaders, and
won numerous awards as a leader and individual contributor. His senior leadership positions
and assignments stretch across domestic and international markets and include Aragon
Consulting Group and IBM. These experiences served as a catalyst for Betrayal, his newly
published work of fiction. The author of A Man's Story, a collection of motivational short stories
for men, John has conducted seminars and speaking engagements around the country and
is involved in various charitable organizations. He and his wife Grace have five children and
currently live in Skokie, Illinois.
Links:
www.johnwendelladams.com
www.johnwendelladams.com, twitter.com/JohnW_Adams , Johnwendelladams@facebook.com
www.johnwendelladams.com, twitter.com/JohnW_Adams , Johnwendelladams@facebook.com
Author Interview:
What were you like at school?
No one has ever asked this question. I was always in trouble. My mother had to regularly come to school to
address my issues. That continued until
almost the end of freshman year. My
mother challenged me to give school a real try.
I did and a whole new world opened up for me.
Were you good at English?
When I applied myself, I was great in English, and every other
subject. What is interesting is I got
very good grades even without fully applying myself.
What are your ambitions for your writing career?
I love writing. I plan to
continue writing both fiction and non-fiction material. Also, I plan to use my writing as a platform
for speaking. The latest effort is
holding seminars on the topic of “Betrayal”.
Which writers inspire you?
There are a few writers that I enjoy and I read everything they
write. A few of my favorite authors are
John Grisham, Jim Collins, David Baldacci, Malcolm Gladwell, Randy Singer,
D.L.Buffa, John Maxwell Joseph Finder, and Rick Warren. Since I am writing fiction these days, not
all of these authors are on my current radar, but I still appreciate their
writing styles.
Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special?
Jack Alexander is a man who has issues just like the next person
but he works at being honest, integral, and fair. He is a family man who loves his wife. He tries to rise above the hurts and betrayal
that he has experienced in his life. In
spite of getting bushwhacked, he works at not retaliating.
What are you working on at the minute?
I’m writing the sequel to “Betrayal”. The working title is “Retaliate”.
What’s it about? (*if relevant)
When you get betrayed, there are typically three responses, 1) try
and rise above the injustice, heal and move on, 2) close off that part of
yourself and promise that no one will ever get that close again, or 3)
retaliate and strike back. It is the
latter that the sequel is focused on.
What genre are your books?
They are classified as general fiction or suspense.
What draws you to this genre?
It suits my makeup, my personally.
Someone once said that you should write about things you know. My books fall into the genre that best suits
me and the things I know.
When did you decide to become a writer?
I was vacationing in the Caribbean with my wife. Since I am a runner, I was just coming back
from a long run. Sweating like a pig,
under the hot sun, I heard a voice say “John, you are a writer.” I realized that there was no one around me
and there was no one in my vicinity who knew me. My wife was in our room on the 2nd
floor. So, after a few minutes passed, I
went to the front desk and asked for paper.
I went back to our room, showered, told my wife what I had heard, and
started writing that day. Someone might
read this and say, “Spooky”. But to me,
it gave me the freedom to simply start.
It took me six month to finish the first draft. I didn’t write every day. I didn’t even have specific times when I
would write. But when I did, the words
just poured out of me. I could sit down
and write pages and pages at a time.
Why do you write?
This one is simple. I
completely enjoy it. I like the idea of
fitting together the elements of a story, writing dialog, exploring how to move
the story along, building a compelling ending.
What made you decide to sit down and actually start something?
For fiction…it’s the same answer as above. I was vacationing in
the Caribbean with my wife. Since I am a
runner, I was just coming back from a long run.
Sweating like a pig, under the hot sun, I heard a voice say “John, you
are a writer.” I realized that there was
no one around me and there was no one in my vicinity who knew me. My wife was in our room on the 2nd
floor. So, after a few minutes passed, I
went to the front desk and asked for paper.
I went back to our room, showered, told my wife what I had heard, and
started writing that day. Someone might
read this and say, “Spooky”. But to me,
it gave me the freedom to simply start.
It took me six month to finish the first draft. I didn’t write every day. I didn’t even have specific times when I
would write. But when I did, the words
just poured out of me. I could sit down
and write pages and pages at a time
Do you write full-time or part-time?
I’m a full-time writer at this point. In addition, I am a public speaker. So, I use my writing as a platform for speaking.
Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
Some authors write every day.
Others only write when they get “inspired”. So, each person is different. My days are all different. My day is a combination of writing, reading,
planning, investigating, and holding business meetings. I believe that I am the
king of multi-tasking. Some days I will allocate several hours to writing,
especially when I encounters a story angle that I hadn’t previously considered.
Other days I may only devote a short time to the writing process. But my motto
is “Make sure you write something every day, however long or short.” I have a
habit of completing a draft, giving it to a community of people to read, and
not looking at my work for an extended period of time.
In the end, writing is like your DNA. Each of us has one that is unique. Some elements will be the same as
others. Some will be quite
different. It is important to recognize
your own and allow it to guide you and your writing direction.
Do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when?
Some authors write every day.
Others only write when they get “inspired”. So, each person is different. My days are all different. My day is a combination of writing, reading,
planning, investigating, and holding business meetings. I believe that I am the
king of multi-tasking. Some days I will allocate several hours to writing,
especially when I encounters a story angle that I hadn’t previously considered.
Other days I may only devote a short time to the writing process. But my motto
is “Make sure you write something every day, however long or short.” I have a
habit of completing a draft, giving it to a community of people to read, and
not looking at my work for an extended period of time.
In the end, writing is like your DNA. Each of us has one that is unique. Some elements will be the same as
others. Some will be quite different. It is important to recognize your own and
allow it to guide you and your writing direction.
Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?
No, I write based on what flows out of me at the time.
Do you write on a typewriter, computer, dictate or longhand?
Great question, I actually use a spiral notebook. It just seems to work for me. Once I have the draft complete, then I
convert it to a computer. This serves as
a review of the drasft.
Where do your ideas come from?
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.
As a result, I’ve concluded that there is no rhyme or reason as to
how ideas show up for me. I attribute
them to God and His desire to “Wow” me.
As a result, I try to stay open to what He wants to convey. I’ve also learned that I can go with an idea
or not. My sense is that God is going to
make it reality with or without me. If I
say “Yes”, I get to go along for the ride.
What is the hardest thing about writing?
The editing; syntax, spelling, and punctuation, this was the really hard part. I’d like to simply ship this off to someone who enjoys this part of the process.
What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?
The editing; syntax, spelling, and punctuation, this was the really hard part. I’d like to simply ship this off to someone who enjoys this part of the process.
The editing; syntax, spelling, and punctuation, this was the really hard part. I’d like to simply ship this off to someone who enjoys this part of the process.
What is the easiest thing about writing?
Creating the first draft
Creating the first draft
How long on average does it take you to write a book?
Betrayal took over two years. While I finished the first draft in six months, the final novel was a labor of love over a much long period of time.
Betrayal took over two years. While I finished the first draft in six months, the final novel was a labor of love over a much long period of time.
Do you ever get writer’s Block?
No, thankfully
Any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block?
No, except to just stay open to the possibility of the next
section/s
What is your favourite motivational phrase.
“Keep writing”
Comments