Critics Hail John Morton's Fire The Pretty Girl, Awkward Adventures in Business as "entirely unique and engrossing" and "insightful...funny...courageously true"
AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Baby Pachyderm Publishing, LLC is proud to announce the release of John Morton's Fire The Pretty Girl, Awkward Adventures in Business. Foreword Clarion Reviews gives the book, which charts Morton's haphazard journey from pizza cook to corporate ghostwriter, Five Stars (its highest rating), calling it "entirely unique and engrossing." Kirkus Reviews gives the book high marks as well, citing its "insightful, often funny recollections" and "valuable advice."
"After twenty years of writing for other people, it feels good to put my name on something," Morton said.
Foreword Clarion called the book "so entertaining that even those who aren't drawn to reading about the business world will be engaged throughout." Morton identified several groups in particular that he thinks will find the book compelling:
Awkward Introverts
"There are a lot of us out there who want to express ourselves in some authentic way, but struggle to do so because of our natural makeup," Morton said. "Many of the stories in the book involve the tension between ambition and introversion, between wanting to stand out and wanting to be left alone."
Young Professionals
In the book, Morton recounts the aimlessness he felt in graduate school: "There were folks in the career guidance office who probably could have helped, but I didn't have answers to the questions I knew they would ask – questions like, what do you want to do, what are you interested in, who are you?" Morton said he thinks that for a lot of people finding a job is actually easier than answering those questions. Said Foreword Clarion of Fire The Pretty Girl, "Young professionals in particular, beginning blundering journeys along their unmapped career paths, will devour it."
Restaurant and Bar Employees
Morton's early years in the restaurant and bar business contribute a wealth of awkward adventures to the book. "Anyone who has waited tables, tended bar, or cooked on the line knows how stressful and crazy it can be," Morton said. "I think readers will relate to the struggles I went through in my early twenties, trying to become both a competent restaurant manager and a credible grown-up person."
Airline Enthusiasts
Much of the book is devoted to the years Morton spent writing for the top executives of American Airlines, starting in the 1990s under legendary CEO Bob Crandall, and ending with American's merger with US Airways in 2013. "My speechwriting career was a total fluke," Morton said. "I had no writing background at all, no training. It was a trial by fire, but of course my own trials were small in comparison to what the airline went through during those years."
Morton said that writing for four CEOs gave him a unique perspective on the last two decades at American, but emphasized that his is not the only perspective. "Like me, everyone's got their own point of view, their own biases and opinions. But I hope that the people fascinated by commercial aviation will find my experiences interesting, and find value in my views on the most eventful period in the history of the world's largest airline."
Public Relations and Crisis Management Professionals
"I have no particular advice to offer on crisis communication, other than don't panic and try to tell the truth," Morton said. "But, I think the sheer volume of disasters recounted in Fire The Pretty Girl – multiple labor disruptions, plane crashes, terror attacks, CEO departures, American's near bankruptcy in 2003, and actual bankruptcy in 2011, to name a few – will make it an interesting read for PR and crisis management professionals."
Business Ethicists
Fire The Pretty Girl shines a light on some of the ethical and moral quandaries inherent to business life. Is it right to fire your most attractive bartender, just to send a message to the rest of the staff? What do you do about a bouncer who responds to a racist epithet by putting the offending customer in the hospital? If you are denied a promotion you deserve, is it OK to ask the summer intern out on a date? "Whether it's filing for bankruptcy protection or fabricating quotes for a press release, the line between right and wrong in business can be hard to find," Morton said. "In presenting these quandaries, I tried be honest but merciful toward others but relatively merciless with myself." Indeed, in its review, Foreword Clarion lauds "Morton's willingness to be honest about his failures, his missteps, and the times when he felt fraudulent, expressing a deep sense of self-doubt which so many can relate to."
Comedy Fans
Kirkus Reviews praises Morton's "self-deprecating humor," while Foreword Clarion says his humility is "endearing and often quite funny." While humorous stories are scattered throughout the book, one chapter of Fire The Pretty Girl describes Morton's brief, not very successful, flirtation with standup comedy. "The fact that I was doing something so far out of my comfort zone was funnier than anything I actually said onstage," Morton said. "I think the people who have done standup, who think they could do it, or are terrified by the very idea of doing it will all relate to my experience."
Baby Pachyderm Publishing has also released a novella by Morton, entitled The Elephant on Sixth Street. Foreword Clarion called the book "fast paced and funny…a classic caper wrapped around a social commentary."
Fire the Pretty Girl and The Elephant on Sixth Street are both available on Amazon as paperbacks or ebooks.
Facebook.com/firetheprettygirl
Follow John Morton on Twitter @JMoAustinTx
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141111/157906
SOURCE Baby Pachyderm Publishing, LLC
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