Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Betrayal by John Wendell Adams Interview, Excerpt and Giveaway


Betrayal

by John Wendell Adams

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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



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.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~



AUTHOR Bio and Links:

John Wendell Adams is 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.

Interview:

Where are you from?
Chicago, Illinois

Tell us your latest news?
We just completed our latest “Betrayal” Book Launch Party.  It was well attended.  There were over 200 people there.  Antoine Mckay, an actor and comedian was the emcee.  We had a tremendous time and sold tons of books

When and why did you begin writing?
Fortunate…that is the word I would use about my writing.  Some might struggle with balancing writing and life, I don’t.  I believe it is because of how it all came to be.  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.


When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I have spent years working in Corporate America.  As a result, I’ve done lots of business writing.  In fact, my first book “A Man’s Story” was non-fiction and fit the type of writing I had already been doing.  So, my business background helped me to realize that I was a writer.

What inspired you to write your first book?
When I first determined that I was a writer, I just started writing.  I had a basic idea the story that I wanted to write, that made the task easier.  Looking back, there were some things that helped me. 1) I received words that basically said, “John, you are a writer”.  It came from my Father who I highly regard.  From the moment I received those words, I started writing.  I purposed in my heart to move forward.  Maybe you need some confirmation to set you on your writing journey.  2) Shortly after I started writing the novel, I decided to write the ending.  Once I had the ending written, the task of writing was somehow easier.  I had a direction regarding where I wanted the book to go.  The more that I wrote, the more the end came into view. 3) Try to stick with something that you know.  I find that if I write about things that I’m passionate about and I have some knowledge on the subject, my writing will be more fruitful, the result will be original, and others will experience the uniqueness of my efforts.  People have a way of seeing and experiencing passion.  You will probably have a number of edits and rewrites but the passion will remain. So, keep writing!!! 

What would you like my readers to know?

How was I named

My mother was pregnant with me.  During her seventh or eighth month she was riding on a CTA public bus in Chicago.  As she was getting off, the bus driver closed the doors too quickly and my mother was thrown to the ground.  The ambulance and police came to the scene and she was taken to the hospital.
A reporter for the Chicago Daily News, a weekly paper that is now defunct, came to the hospital to interview my mother.  He later wrote an article about what had happened.  That article caused the bus company to give my mother a substantial sum of money and the also arranged to move my family to a terrific home.  The name of this reporter was Wendell Smith.  My mother decided that my middle name would be Wendell.  Later, he became the first man of color to announce sports on television in Chicago.  Bryan Gumbel talks about the fact that when he grew up watching television, Wendell Smith inspired him to go into sports journalism. 


The back story associated with my name is an interesting.  My father’s name is John Henry Adams.  He grew up in the south and whenever his mother was upset with him, she’d call him, “John Henry.”  So, when I was born, the nurse came in and asked what my name would be for the birth certificate.  My father told her that they named me John Wendell Adams.  The nurse then asked my dad what his name was and he answered, John Wendell Adams.  So, my birth certificate reads father, John Wendell Adams and son, John Wendell Adams Jr. As a result, legally, I’m a junior but technically, I’m not.  Go figure!

www.johnwendelladams.com,


twitter.com/JohnW_Adams , Johnwendelladams@facebook.com

The more that you enter the giveaway on other stops the better your chance to win.
$50 Amazon/BN GC - Commenter $25 Amazon/BN GC


: a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 comments:

  1. Love the interview, so excited to raed this book! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The author is having difficulties leaving a comment.. he asked us to post this:

    Aleksandra, thanks for your comments. Send me a note at john@johnwendelladams.com and I'll make special arrangements to get you a copy of the book

    We are having so much fun with the release of Betrayal. I would love to share the process. Send me any of your comments.
    Thanks so much for having me today.

    John Wendell Adams

    ReplyDelete
  3. I liked the interview, it was interesting.

    ReplyDelete