The iCongressman (33 page)

As always, my sincerest thanks go to the readers who
have become invested in the journey of Michael Bennit.
The iCandidate
was years in the making, and I am proud to continue
Michael Bennit’s journey in
The
iCongressman
.

Now, a few personal shout outs.
Michele,
thank you for your considerable support and patience throughout the process of writing
this novel.
As with the last book, I simply could not have done it
without your love and encouragement. I also would like to thank my parents,
Ronald and Nancy, and my sister, Kristina, for everything they have done to
help introduce Michael Bennit to the world. I appreciate all you’ve done!

Special thanks go to the people who have been instrumental
in making this book a reality. Caroline, my editor, her husband Gary, and
BubbleCow
did another amazing job helping me overcome some
early shortcomings. Diane for the copyediting job on this book and for the
revised edition of
The
iCandidate
. Through your diligence we
avoided many of the errors that plagued the first edition of my first book.
Last, but certainly not least,
Veselin
Milacic
did an amazing job with the cover design, far
surpassing the lofty expectations for what I wanted it to look like.

Sequels are much harder to write
than the first book of a series. Capturing the same magic is rarely done, and I
have agonized over some of the directions this book went. Let me start with
undoubtedly one of the most controversial parts of this book.

It was very difficult making the decision to not include
Kylie in a first person narrative. She is a beloved character, and I love her
as well. Unfortunately, the only way she fit into this one was to add a fifth
first person account, and I didn’t want to do that.

Kylie was a huge part of Michael’s success in
The
iCandidate
, but didn’t play as active a
role in this part of the journey. Sometimes life just works that way. To
include her would not have done the justice she deserves, so she was omitted
from the first person perspective. Rest assured
,
Kylie
will be back with a vengeance in the third book of the series.

The other controversial part will be the cliffhanger. I know
many will think of it as a ploy to read the third book, but honestly, it was
just the natural place to stop. The events of the last chapter were planned out
even as I was writing the first book. As I told my copyeditor, to continue past
that point would have prompted me to rename this
iWar
& Peace
. I beg your forgiveness if you have to wait for the
third book to come out to learn what happens that fateful day.

As much as I wanted to keep the entire staff together, it
would have been too unbelievable if they all had skipped college. Even bringing
them together for the campaign begged some indulgence from the reader. I tried
to offset that by making their contributions unequal, which would be expected
in real life.

Before I get angry e-mails questioning why college kids
would go through this again, remember they became close through the first
election, and I imply they were all best of friends after the second and up to
their graduation from high school. They have a shared experience few could
identify with, and that bond is a strong one.

Michael Bennit is Michael Bennit. He’s a fish out of water
in Washington, and he knows it. He is also driven, has a deep love for his
country, and wants to make a difference. It’s hard enough to do that in the
capital when you are surrounded by friends and allies, so it’s no surprise he
struggles without any.

Chelsea is facing struggles of her own. No doubt many people
with question why she was ever made chief of staff. The simple explanation is
that Michael believes in her, and as a teacher, just considers this an
extension of the learning experience in
The
iCandidate.
The same applies to Vince and Vanessa. Chelsea made the decision to leave, but
who knows what will happen after the events of the last chapter.

Francisco Reyes sprung from a combination of my sophomore
year roommate at Marist and a close colleague that I worked with several years
ago. Much of the self-effacing humor is derived from that former coworker. He
is a great family man, loving husband, and fantastic father, and it was fun
bringing some of his personality out in this character. Cisco is an interesting
guy, and this book should be considered only as an introduction to him. He will
play a prominent role in the next two volumes.

Likewise, Terry
Nugyen
is based
loosely on a soldier I have the honor to serve with and have engaged in
numerous debates with on a myriad of issues.
Nugyen
is an enigma wrapped around a mystery, and not everything is as it seems with
him. We will be seeing a lot more of him to come as well.

Marilyn Viano, Johnston Albright, Jack Reed, Harvey Stepanik
and Gary Condrey, like most characters, are completely made up but resemble some
of the politicians I have met throughout my life.

In life, we all run into sold acquaintances. The characters
that made an appearance – Chalice, Robinson Howell, Charlene and others are a
link to Michael’s past, but will also play a role in his future to come.

Michael’s old fiancée Jessica Slater is keeping her
distance, but don’t be surprised if she shows up unexpectedly in the third
book. Madison, Roger, and the former Congressman Winston Beaumont are currently
doing hard time. However, like Jessica, there may be a point where they cross
paths with Michael and Kylie again.

Mikael Carlson is a screenwriter and
acclaimed author of
The
iCandidate.
This is his second novel.

A nineteen year veteran and current non-commissioned officer
in the Rhode Island Army National Guard, he deployed twice in support of
military operations during the Global War on Terror. Mikael has served in the
field artillery, infantry, and in support of special operations units during
his career on active duty at Fort Bragg and in the Army National Guard.

A proud U.S. Army Paratrooper, he conducted over 50 airborne
operations following the completion of jump school at Fort
Benning
in 1998. Since then, he has trained with the militaries of countless foreign
nations.

Academically, Mikael has earned a Master of Arts in American
History, and graduated with a B.S. in International Business from Marist
College in 1996.

He was raised in New Milford, Connecticut and currently
lives in nearby Danbury.

.

Life will never be the same …

The
iSpeaker

–Third Book in the Michael Bennit Series–

Coming
Fall
2014

.

Discover
other works and learn about future projects by Mikael Carlson at:
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