Pre-Order "The Living Wills"

"The Living Wills" is now available for pre-order at Eckhartz Press.

Be among the first to receive a copy; it ships on December 1st.

And thanks in advance for your support!

Countdown to The Living Wills

In the days leading up to the December 1st release of "The Living Wills", we'll be giving you little hints and previews of what you will find in the pages of this exciting new novel by Eckhartz Press authors Brendan Sullivan and Rick Kaempfer.

The Living Wills will be the first novel in history that features all three of the following as major plot points...

Port-A-Potties

Videotape






and this song...

Countdown to The Living Wills

In the days leading up to the December 1st release of "The Living Wills", we'll be giving you little hints and previews of what you will find in the pages of this exciting new novel by Eckhartz Press authors Brendan Sullivan and Rick Kaempfer.

Actor William Petersen (CSI) noted in his recommendation of "The Living Wills" that it was a true Chicago novel.

Here are a few of the Chicago locations, and the chapters you'll find them...

Beverly

Chapters 9, 20, 23, 31, 35, and 52

Jefferson Park

Chapters 10, 33, and 58

Roscoe Village

Chapters 15, 27, 53





And, of course, there are many more Chicagoland locations in this authentically Chicago novel. Available very soon from Eckhartz Press.

Countdown to The Living Wills

In the days leading up to the December 1st release of "The Living Wills", we'll be giving you little hints and previews of what you will find in the pages of this exciting new novel by Eckhartz Press authors Brendan Sullivan and Rick Kaempfer.

Today we'll answer a question we've gotten quite a bit: Two authors on one novel? How in the world can that work?

Co-author Brendan Sullivan (photo) explains it in the book's author notes...

"This novel was conceived, developed and written in what we’ve come to learn is a fairly unusual way. “The Living Wills” was written through improvisation, brainstorming mind mapping and other ideation techniques, as an experiment in pure collaborative creativity. Rick and I had no pre-conceived ideas about the content of this novel, absolutely none. All we had was our own creativity, Rick’s wisdom and experience as a writer and a set of mutually agreed-upon rules, based upon my years as a professional improvisational actor and my extensive experience in applying these rules with corporate clients to improve their ideation, problem solving, team development and leadership skills.

These rules include true mutual respect, trust in yourself and your team, active listening, playfulness, being ‘in the moment,’ taking risks, supporting someone else taking a risk, accepting one another’s ideas, finding the positive and building on that, saying ‘yes…and’ first and creating a safe and healthy environment for all of this to take place.

I happen to have an awesome partner in creating this novel. Rick’s talent, experience and wisdom made this work. And there’s no replacement for that. The rules stated above are not a substitute for education, knowledge, experience and talent. But the rules tremendously increase the odds that the collaboration will be successful."

Countdown to The Living Wills

In the days leading up to the December 1st release of "The Living Wills", we'll be giving you little hints and previews of what you will find in the pages of this exciting new novel by Eckhartz Press authors Brendan Sullivan and Rick Kaempfer.


"The Living Wills" is about ripple effects...

A decision made in two seconds can change, damage, save or even end a life. Henry Stankiewicz made such a decision, and he is still dealing with the ripple effects over thirty years later. Can he and the people he affected now maneuver their way through a world of baristas and Army veterans, cartoon pirates and exploding port-a-potties, Canadian cowboys and bowling teams, office politics and young love, to find the strength to heal before it's too late?

Countdown to The Living Wills

In the days leading up to the December 1st release of "The Living Wills", we'll be giving you little hints and previews of what you will find in the pages of this exciting new novel by Eckhartz Press authors Brendan Sullivan and Rick Kaempfer.

"The Living Wills" may not set sales records, but if it's officially recognized as a new category, "The Living Wills" will set a Guinness World Record.


Are you ready to have your mind blown? OK, here goes.

"The Living Wills" mentions the name of this Canadian-born Cowboy-actor more often than any novel ever written.

Buy history. Buy "The Living Wills".

Available December 1st.

Countdown to The Living Wills

"The Living Wills" is scheduled to drop on December 1st. What is it about? Between now and the release date we'll be providing hints and excerpts.

CSI's William Petersen, who recommends the book on its back cover, was impressed by the authentic way "The Living Wills" portrays his hometown of Chicago. He writes: "It really brings the city of the broad shoulders to life, and makes me homesick."


An excerpt from Chapter 5: "Holy Smokes"...

Reed was always struck by the incongruities of Holy Name Cathedral. The inscription in the cornerstone read: “AD 1874—AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW—THOSE THAT ARE IN HEAVEN AND THOSE ON EARTH.” The inscription looked slightly worn, but not from age. Portions of those words had been riddled with bullets during the 1920s; collateral damage from the murder of gangster Hymie Weiss. A holy cathedral’s holy words forever holey.

Holy Name Cathedral also boasted a magnificent 210-foot-tall gothic spire, but the nearby high rises and skyscrapers like the John Hancock Center and the Bloomingdale’s Building now dwarfed it, seemingly laughing at the comparatively puny church, daring it to retain its dignity and majesty.

Every day between now and its release date, I'll be unveiling more elements of "The Living Wills".