Kirk Gollwitzer has launched his debut novel “Illegitimate Advantage” and presents a shocking theory regarding personal privacy.
Gollwitzer, a Tryon, North Carolina resident and past business owner, drastically changed his career targets from computer technology to documentary filmmaker, photojournalist and author.
Once known for operating one of the most highly successful software development companies in South Carolina, Gollwitzer made a switch from general business development to the film industry.
Since 2009, Gollwitzer has been a contributing writer/photographer a Google News Affiliate and a host of national magazines.
Gollwitzer is one of three founders of the PCFI, a non-profit organization that offers support to those in the motion picture and television industries with limited resources. Gollwitzer co-founded the Tryon International Film Festival and actively promotes independent films from around the world.
Gollwitzer began writing “Illegitimate Advantage” in November of 2012 while taking a hiatus at a condo on Folly Beach, S.C.
“The framework for this novel came to me over a three week period. It was quite amazing and I doubt that it will ever happen again. Through the help of my family, friends and the assistance from Bonnie Braendlin, my story consultant, the project finally came to a completion point,” said Gollwitzer.
“Illegitimate Advantage” is a work of fiction under the genre: mystery, suspense and techno-thriller. Gollwitzer, a fan of authors like Michael Crichton (The Andromeda Strain) and Stieg Larsson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), likes to go beyond simple plot development and dig deeper into the subject matter; thereby explaining how a story points might actually happen.
The story follows the lives of twin sisters who are moved from Iran to Paris during the height of the Iranian revolution and placed in the care of a powerful government official. The sisters discover the dark side of their safe house, after they are traumatized and separated for more than three decades. The story exploits the possibility of an ever building security hole within the communication industry. A flaw so large that even the largest wireless communications service providers will never admit.
The novel presents a theory that closely parallels Alvin Toffler’s “Future Shock” concepts suggesting an ever building level of digital impotence. Gollwitzer, however, pushes the envelope further into the subject matter while proposing a scenario where everyone (both good and bad) is vulnerable.
Settings include: France, United Kingdom, Iran and Mexico
