Minding The Mind

A thriller filled with political intrigue, fascinating characters, and deeper philosophical truths, Seneca Speaks is an epic story about Washington, DC, power players—and the ways their lives become inexorably linked within a web of influence, money, and greed.

In the great tradition of Tolstoy, Hardy, and Rand, author C. Wade Spencer paints a panoramic portrait of the men and women who grapple with questions of purpose, identity, and ethics against a backdrop of congressional might and economic opportunity.

Meet Ethan, a once-successful newspaperman who finds himself falling for someone with connections that could undo him, and David Samuel, president of the Citizens’ Mandamus Council, who struggles to preserve his place in light of the quickly changing societal landscape.

Senator Hubert Riley wants to challenge David and his watchdog organization in order to protect his own interests—and maintain a network of manipulation that stretches across the city. Luckily, anchorwoman Abigail Sanders takes her responsibility to investigate the powerbrokers seriously…even at great personal cost to herself.

Riveting, sweeping, and powerful, Seneca Speaks is sure to change the way you view the hallowed halls of our nation’s Capitol.

A newspaperman finds new direction working for a watchdog group and is drawn to a ruthless lobbyist in this debut novel of corrupt Capitol politics.

Ethan Scott built a Kansas City, Missouri, newspaper, yet recently endured the “injustice” of its sale. During a visit to New York City with his girlfriend, Elizabeth, he spots a respectable-looking man spray-painting a red V on a building; before scurrying away, the man says, “Wide is the path!” Elizabeth heads back home, and Ethan travels on to Washington, D.C., to meet up with military buddies. On his flight, he meets Anne Preston, a beautiful oil industry lobbyist, with whom he soon has a sexual affair. He later discovers that the New York City vandal was David Samuel, the president of Citizens’ Mandamus Council, an organization dedicated to exposing political corruption. Scott joins CMC and rises quickly through its ranks, thanks in part to his idealistic (and successfully money-raising) speeches, broadcast by attractive network anchor Abigail Sanders. The novel proceeds to detail the Beltway nexus of money, greed, and corruption, in which Anne has no problem playing a part. By novel’s end, Ethan watches Anne leave in a taxi, seeing “the cab as a hearse carrying the harbinger of death. It was not love but an attraction he was still unprepared to put a name on.” Spencer has written an intricate novel with a surfeit of secondary characters (including two oil honchos, various U.S. congressmen, Abigail’s colleagues, and others) as well as conspiracy elements, such as a manipulated alternative-energy bill, international banking malfeasance, and oil industry collusion. Ethan and Anne’s dark romance serves as an anchor of sorts for the novel and has some entertaining appeal, given its nods to Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead and film-noir-like attraction and antagonism. Overall, however, readers will find it challenging to follow the many threads of this complex conspiracy-web narrative. Hopefully, Spencer will further unravel and simplify the story in future installments of this planned series.

An intense but overpacked drama of D.C. power machinations.

Kirkus Reviews

When the path widens, what will you do? That's the question posed by author C. Wade Spencer as he takes readers through the all too familiar reality of political corruption, and explores both sides of the coin from lobbyists to journalists. Seneca Speaks Part 1 pulls you into its exciting grasp from the first page and straps you in to a roller coaster of political power and turmoil. The seamless transition from character to character holds your hands hostage, as you turn from page to page, waiting with anticipation to see who else will get pulled into the corruption of politics.(or who is brave enough to stand up for what they believe in)

C. Wade Spencer has struck literary gold. I can't wait to see which characters prosper, and who falters in navigating the minefield of power that often consumes those in Washington D.C. I eagerly await Part 2!

Ben,

5.0 out of 5 stars

Dear Mr. Spencer,

I wanted to personally write you to let you know that I really enjoyed your novel "Seneca Speaks Part I". Having worked for the country's 2nd largest propane company for 11 years, I saw firsthand how greed and stockholders share prices influence questionable business decisions geared towards padding the bottom line, at the expense of their employees and customers. Being an Internal Auditor, I sat in on numerous meetings, and saw several transactions that can be described as nothing more than wining and dining those in a position of pass energy bills and tax breaks for alternative fuels—Get more people to sue propane; raise the price as demand goes up; sell more shares; have a good fiscal year. Your novel hit on my many points that I grew to loathe, and still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, regarding how Fortune 1000 companies lobby to make themselves richer, and pay off those that can assist them.

The character development of Ethan was engrossing. I’m interested in how his relationship with Anne, and Abigail, continues to flow with his increasing responsibility as part of the CMC. I catch on early to Sandra’s attraction to Abigail, and I liked how a chapter was dedicated to unraveling Sandra’s person feelings. The narrative hook early on, where Ethan spots a man painting a “V” on a wall, really sucked me in to wondering what it meant. Seeing later how it was David was a pleasant surprise and did an extraordinary job of providing a backstory and mutual respect for David and Ethan.

In closing, I was very grateful that my brother sent me your novel. He said you’ve been working on Part II, I can ensure you that I will be buying it and all sequels as well. I’ve recommended Part I already to various friends around Kansas City as it’s entertaining to read locations that we’re familiar with and to further support and encourage local authors. Keep on writing and I’ll keep reading!

Wide is the path,

Nicholas Hallauer