About BC

Silent Hero - Alphabet Affair: Available Click The Books for Status of Others

About BILL Corbin, author

Personal

Small town Indiana roots. Married to Janet and blessed. Three children, four grandchildren. BS at Kettering University, MBA at Harvard Business School. Distinction Plus on 200 page graduate thesis. Woo Hoo, but relevant to writing skill. I considered going to college to study literature and journalism. In hindsight, the choices I made and the widely varied and turbulent path I stumbled along were far better preparation for authoritative novel writing.

Early Career

In the clutches of giant corporate America, originally at General Motors. Learned how the game is played, and became a fast-riising young executive--Assistant to the divisional VP Marketing at age 26; relevant to Players and Pawns. Hated big company politics and culture. Became an entrepeneur. Lost my proverbial butt and all residual excess pride in first venture -- an experience that deepened my understanding of life, emotions and impact on "characters" from kids to grandparents.

The Career Veer Toward the Written Word

My first successful businesss was Unified Neighbors, a consumer protection concept that included a monthly magazine. (Idea morphed into Nasdaq-Listed ANGI). Consumer protection work inspired Accidental Soldiers, Later projects included four magazine startups and authoring eight non-fiction books, including The Edge Resume and Job Search Strategy, a niche best seller agented in New York, eventually sold to Jist Works, now a division of McMillan..

Inspiration for Novel Phase

Love of writing, family tradition of storytelling, a hugely inspirational high school teacher, and belief that my experience in consumer protection had the seed of a unique novel. (Accidental Soldiers, consumer protection group duels with the mob.) First draft of first novel was CRAP. Agent said, "go to school" you don't understand the fundaments of fiction. (I didn't know what she meant when she said my characters were "flat" and my character arcs were chaotic.)

Fruits of the Novel Phase

After 18 months of intense study including tutoring from literature professors at Butler University and Indiana University, I polished Silent Hero and wrote Alphabet Affair. I was agented in California and shopped in New York. Reader reviews were strong. In all, four titles were published and sold. Momentum was good, I was delighted at the possibility of a career focused in my true passion.

The Magic Carpet Crashes

It's a long story -- literally -- but changes in my core business's technology, marketplace and personnel demanded intense and continuing focus on my part; and the crisis never stopped until well into the 2020s. The novel writing phase was shelved and I assumed it would never returned to a front-burner priority.