We love to read novels. To get lost in the fictional worlds the authors have created for us. But how often are we reading a book that was based on an event or series of events that took place in the author's life, without ever knowing it?
In today's spotlight, we meet Joe Lane. He wrote a fictional novel called Aftershock what was inspired by the economic collapse of 2008. Here, Joe shares his thoughts on why he used that specific event as a catalyst for his novel, and why female protagonists are featured so prominently.
The Inspiration Behind Aftershock
I am often asked why I wrote
Aftershock. What got me going was rage over what happened leading up to and the
ultimate economic collapse of 2008. There was also a lot of frustration about
how successful the perpetrators and their political enablers had been at hiding
the egregious illegal and unethical practices that made 2008 inevitable. I had
done a lot of research over the past decade about how the financial elite had
been able to so completely capture the political system and reshape it to their
exclusive benefit. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial earthquake I imagined,
since their transgressions had been so well documented, that just about
everyone would understand and demand both retribution from them and a righting
of the system to eradicate their dominance.
What I found when talking with a lot of people was that very
few, very, very few, had much of an inkling of what actually happened or who
was responsible for it. It isn’t that the data isn’t available, but rather that
it has been presented in bits and pieces. Presented by people who are not
celebrities or current or former leaders that the general public knows and
trusts. In discussion after discussion, it was clear that the moneyed and
political elite had done a masterful job of distraction and distortion.
Essentially they played a very sophisticated version of ‘hide the pea’ with the
general public. If, and only if, one had the time and the patience to wade
through often mind numbing papers, endless documentaries, and then follow-up
with authors and directors/writers could one grasp the big picture with
sufficient minutia to enable one to point to specific acts by specific
miscreants.
I wanted tell the story in a suspenseful setting, provide an
outcome that would be less depressing, and give readers certain factual data
they might not otherwise come across. Of course the names are changed, much to
my chagrin, to protect the guilty. So, while reading Aftershock and trying to
imagine if specific instances or people (not of course their real names – I’d
be in court for 150 years proving they did in fact do what I wrote down) are
for real, read a few of the books I recommend, watch the documentary Inside Job, and peruse the Internet. I
surmise you will learn enough to make you want to join
the WA Cultural Restoration Society tomorrow, if not tonight.
Another question that often pops up is why women. And why so
many? Why not a female Jason Bourne? It turns out that the two people I admire
the most are women – the love of my life, Barbara, and my daughter, Kathryn.
They are both tough as nails and the two most principled people I’ve ever
encountered. It is also true that women are much tougher, and seriously more
tenacious than men. Can you imagine men enduring 9-months of pregnancy and then
delivery – our species would have died out eons ago. And keeping a secret,
forget about it.
Another reality is that no one person ever accomplishes
great change without a team of equally dedicated and tough partners. Dr. King
had team of really talented and tough men and women to help him every step of
the way. President Lincoln had partners, and even adversaries, who helped him
get elected and then eradicate slavery from American soil. Nelson Mandela had many people working with
him from his earliest days as a freedom fighter to the completion of his term
as President of South Africa.
Veterans retuning from war today mostly tell us they still
believe that all killing is wrong, but sometimes necessary. So I needed a team
of tough, dedicated, extremely dangerous women,
who could wear tainted white hats yet still cut a heart out when all other
options had been exhausted. A team who also knew they would have to employ
sufficient slight of hand to keep all the alphabet agencies chasing shadows.
The myth of the lone tough guy tearing through the universe vanquishing all enemies
single handedly is, I think, a dangerous one. In reality, changing just about
anything of consequence takes partners, intense cooperation, and time. Keeping
people searching for, waiting for, a superman is a very clever way to keep
those very same people from organizing and realizing the power of their
numbers.
I think readers may find the women of the WA are not only
tougher and more lethal than any of the comic book heroes, but perhaps even
more unsettling than Dr. Lecter. So, keep the lights on while you read, and
keep reminding yourself it is fiction … well mostly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BIO:
Joe Lane is an international business man and filmmaker and the author
of AFTERSHOCK, a political thriller about the 2008 financial crisis and its
aftershock for many Americans. Joe splits his time between the U.S. and China
where he launched Spango, a new pizza chain in Zhao Qing. A renaissance man,
he's been as a contract consultant for new product development, a speaker, Yale
student, works with animal shelters to raise funds for abandoned pets, and he's
been a pilot for over 45 years. For more info, visit: www.joelanemedia.com
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