Roger Ballou's only source of pride is that he lives in Manhattan on the small income he makes as a writer. He can't remember the last time he had ambition, a cause, or a girlfriend. He's hot-tempered, cantankerous, suspicious - and as one acquaintance puts it, "He looks like he's got Girl Scouts in his freezer." When business dries up, Ballou takes a teaching position at Van Devander College, in the little upstate town of Wildenkill. Almost immediately, his contentious personality throws him into the thick of the college community's rivalries, romances, and clashes of values. He also finds a cause: defending Willie Wilden, the iconic but politically incorrect college mascot. "Willie Wilden lampoons the political, academic, and literary worlds all at the same time. It's a zany, stylish panorama of American values and foibles." -Jim Lesczynski, author of The Walton Street Tycoons "If Dobrian were a painter, he'd be Goya. His characters are comical, bizarre, grotesque - yet you will love to be in their company, walking in their shoes, seeing through their eyes, and hearing their voices rattle inside you." -Lynn Biederman, author of Teenage Waistland "Dobrian fills a void in today's literary scene. His style is clever but easy to read, and he's unafraid of contrarian positions." -Roger Humes, director, The Other Voices International Project "Roger Ballou is what you'd get if you mated Miss Jean Brodie with Ignatius J. Reilly." -Casper Melick, author of Pétain at Yeu: a Novel.
About the Author: Joseph Dobrian has been writing for his living for more than 30 years. He's best known as a business journalist. He writes about real estate, finance, management, and other topics, for clients such as Dow Jones, J.D. Power and Associates, PricewaterhouseCoopers, American Express, American Airlines, Prudential, Ernst & Young, the Institute of Real Estate Management, and many others. He has helped several noted businesspeople to write their personal memoirs. He also writes poetry, plays, and essays, and is a noted historian of boxing. Mr. Dobrian lived most of his adult life in New York City, where he ran for Mayor in 2009. He now lives in Iowa City, Iowa. When he's not writing, researching, or looking for new clients, he's attending classical music concerts and recitals, political meetings, or Iowa Hawkeyes football games. Willie Wilden is his first novel. For more information, go to www.josephdobrian.com