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 About Blindsided Although Joe Jesso is a fictional character, he is the personification of an all too real problem. In Florida and elsewhere, unscrupulous individuals are preying upon the elderly. Phony home improvement contractors, fake investment counselors, and—worst of all—gold-digging companions victimize our senior citizens. I chose this as a story element for a couple of reasons: I wanted to draw attention to a potentially devastating crime that often goes unreported, unpunished, and unpublicized. I also wanted something more ‘real to life’ than a stolen nuclear submarine or a media czar bent on world domination. I coupled this very real problem with a ‘real’ person: Matt Seattle. Matt isn’t James Bond. He isn’t Dirk Pitt. Or even Brad Pitt. Matt leads a relatively normal life—he runs a small brokerage business, has a dog, likes to play golf. He’s a good-hearted guy who tries to do the right thing. Unfortunately for Matt, doing the right thing puts him in direct conflict with bad people who don’t mind hurting him to get their way. As Mike Tyson once observed, “Everyone has a plan until they get hit.” Blindsided is about how Matt—our normal guy—handles getting hit. On one level, it’s is a story about how Matt fights to get himself out of harm’s way. On another, perhaps more important level, it’s about how adversity forces him to come to grips with his past and allows him to find happiness again. I hope you enjoy it. |
