Rustbelt Stories

2003. A small-town DVD hustle that got too big, too fast. What started in a basement with a burner and a stack of blanks turned into something nobody was prepared for. Once it goes sideways, there's no clean way out.

How far would you go to protect the jobs of those who depend on you? A young manager in the Rust Belt thought he knew. A Pittsburgh-based manufacturing goliath is teetering at the verge of collapse: The board is a tinderbox, the CEO weak, and four thousand jobs are to be offshored to India. Amidst the chaos, the shadow ruler Collin Bentbar schemes to topple the CEO. But when the young power-crazed, yet principled Paul Cromwell joins the ailing colossus, an unlikely antagonist emerges. Only then does the real flood of boardroom intrigues, conspiracies, and business scandals wash over the company. Whether it is the devious operations director, the majority shareholder of tsarist arrogance, or the labor unions - for their personal gain they will even go to society's darkest corners. Personal hatred drives the directors farther than any career ambition ever could. And the young Cromwell himself hallucinates into reality a war against his nemesis in the board. Might it spiral out of control and plunge Cromwell into moral amnesia? CALL TO POWER is a fast-paced commercial thriller with plot-twists and strong characters. Dive into a riveting story about managerial responsibility in a world terrified by the job-eating maw of technology and Asia's rise to the globe's factory.

The Steel Mill is a poem that highlights the misery of old rust belt towns after their steel mill closes down, or lays off the majority of its employees. The living conditions are heartbreaking for some, even those who still work. With nothing else to do, and a depressing lifestyle, many splurge their splendor on booze and drugs, making their lives even worse.