Emperor First

by William Altmann

Over the last eighty years, the office of the President of the United States has become more and more powerful, overshadowing both Congress and the Judiciary. It's debatable whether the Founders foresaw this. The Congress is tied up in internecine warfare and accomplishes almost nothing. The courts are stuffed with judges of dubious qualification and little objectivity. With the War Powers Act, and Executive Orders flying about left and right, it makes one wonder where the nation has staked a fence around a President's power.

As powerful as a President can become, there comes a day when he trembles a bit at the prospect of re-election. What to do when one's power is threatened? When one's hubris begins to evaporate in the heat of the day, what to do?

Whatever it takes.

Fortunately, the power of the press is undiminished. In fact, it has grown in both height and depth, and lost its timidity in the last eighty years. With the Internet and smart phones, facts fly around at the speed of light.

Who watches over the powerful? What secrets do they discover? Which ones do they guard to protect the state, and which ones do they divulge to protect the people? Watching, waiting, writing -- all are difficult tasks. Tenacity, tact and talent -- all are required. Who will do it?

Someone, we hope.

180 pages, Unknown Binding

Published May 24, 2020

About the author

Hello, my name is Bill. I write under my full name, William Altmann. So far, I have 17 books completed and all up on Amazon and most on Apple. Most are available as large print paperbacks because that's what my mother can read. My son (kudos to him) has done all my cover designs.

I've had a forty-plus-year career as an electrical engineer, working for companies large and small, established and not out of the womb. It's been fun (at times), interesting (at times), and paid the bills (all the time, so far). It's also provided me with international travel (I will not brag on my country count...), which I love. Put me on a train going anywhere, and I'm happy.

I've semi-retired and moved to Austin, Texas from California. I enjoy bike riding (road, not trail), hiking (trail, not road), reading, collecting books and slide rules.

I had dreamed of writing a book for more than 20 years. I started a couple, and they're still in the "incomplete manuscript" stage. Then, in Spring of 2020, with not enough to do except stare at the keyboard and curse viruses (bio, not techno), I said to myself, "Why not now?" I cranked out a four-book series beginning with Emperor First and continuing through 3 more novels, about a few Presidents, one-after-the-other, with more or less success in their endeavors. In parallel, I wrote seven (so far) shorter 'novellas' as "cozy friction", The Mary Jane Gang, each set in a senior citizens' residence complex. This one was prompted by phone calls with my mother... Guess which character she is! Then, in the fall last year, my son and I dared each other to write a sci-fi novel each. I finished mine: In On a Comet. When my wife got tired of me rolling my eyes at the evening news in January, I wrote a satirical fiction novel: about a leader trying to escape justice. It has four alternate endings, all in one volume: Escape Pod. And, turning a news story into a short novel, I wrote The Blossomfield Affair, and set it near my home town.

Since 2022, I've added five novels in a sci-fi saga. They tell of an interstellar mission where things go wrong, not outside the spacecraft, not inside the spacecraft, but inside the head of one astronaut. See: Merimnae: Outbound, Merimnae: Inbound , Merimnae: Unbound , Merimnae: Rebound , and Merimnae: Homebound .

I've uploaded a set of short stories to my page on https://vocal.media/authors/william-a....

I have lots more ideas. And I'm having lots of fun.

Reviews

[Michael Grizer (He-Him) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked a short quick read for my first book of the year. Interesting and timely little story of political intrigue. I like the author's brusque choppy writing style. It's engaging. I did feel like I was being beaten over the head with the trump analogy (the President's son-in-law is Gerald Kostner...) too often. That part could have been much more subtle and I would have still gotten the point. But, otherwise enjoyable. Happy New Year 2023!

[William Altmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel tracks very close to the edge of current events, capturing both the tensions surrounding virus and the personalities involved. The tension between political will and journalistic resistance is well-played.