In this episode of the Audio Signals Podcast, I engage with Jeff Sheckter, discussing his transition from tech and real estate to penning his best-selling debut novel, "The Daedalus Protocol," a thrilling blend of history, adventure, and a global crisis.
Guests: Jeff Sheckter, Author
On LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-sheckter-4413a237?
On Instagram | https://instagram.com/jeffsheckterbooks
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Hosts:
Marco Ciappelli, Co-Founder at ITSPmagazine [@ITSPmagazine] and Host of Redefining Society Podcast & Audio Signals Podcast
On ITSPmagazine | https://www.itspmagazine.com/itspmagazine-podcast-radio-hosts/marco-ciappelli
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Episode Introduction
In a new episode of the Audio Signals Podcast, I journey into the fascinating world of Jeff Sheckter's debut novel, "The Daedalus Protocol". This gripping tale unfolds as a deadly pathogen threatens global catastrophe, prompting a mysterious figure named Daedalus to assemble a skilled team for an extraordinary mission. Led by SEAL commander Gryphon Oake, the team embarks on a treacherous archaeological quest, from ancient tombs to the Vatican, in search of a legendary artifact that could prevent imminent disaster.
I explore with Jeff how he transitioned from a tech and real estate background to writing a complex thriller that blends elements of his passions, his heritage, historical puzzles, and an action-packed narrative. He shares his journey of self-discovery and creative evolution, from an initial kernel of an idea to a best-selling novel, despite having no prior experience in fiction writing.
Jeff's story is a testament to following one's passion and the power of perseverance. He recounts how he used his analytical skills honed in tech and real estate to navigate the daunting world of publishing, ultimately achieving success with his first novel. His family played a pivotal role in this journey, with his sons contributing significantly to the editing process, even helping design the book's cover using AI technology.
This episode not only spotlights an intriguing thriller but also celebrates the human spirit's capability to venture into unknown territories and succeed, reminding us that sometimes, stepping out of our comfort zone can lead to extraordinary achievements.
About the Book
A deadly pathogen has been unleashed across the globe, killing livestock and destroying crops as it spreads. A near-extinction event from worldwide famine will be certain if it’s not stopped in time.
A mysterious man known only as Daedalus, possessing advanced technology and seemingly unlimited resources, has assembled a crew of notable soldiers and scientists for a mission to stop the coming plague.
Embarking on a perilous archeological odyssey, this elite team, led by SEAL commander Gryphon Oake, delves from the depths of ancient tombs to the heart of the Catholic Church in order to unearth a long-buried treasure required to save the world. Racing against time and a crazed zealot hell-bent on annihilation, they must find the location of the fabled Fountain of Youth to thwart the coming threat.
Unlock the mysteries of this pulse-pounding thriller, as the team deciphers puzzles from the age of the pharaohs and discover the true nature of immortality. To secure our future, they must reach back and uncover the secrets from our past.
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Resources
The Daedalus Protocol: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1738936104?
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Please note that this transcript was created using AI technology and may contain inaccuracies or deviations from the original audio file. The transcript is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the original recording, as errors may exist. At this time, we provide it “as it is,” and we hope it can be helpful for our audience.
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[00:00:00] Marco Ciappelli: Hello, everybody. This is Marco Ciapelli. Welcome to another episode of AudioSignal podcast, where we recently repositioned the antennas to talk with, uh, authors, but, uh, not only, I, it's not just about authors of books or, uh, playwright. It's about any kind of story. That, uh, that we share. It could be in music, it can be in video, film, even painting.
Any artist, for me, is a story. And to be honest, everybody has a story to share. We are all made of stories. Now, in this case, actually, it is about a book and it's about, a story that, uh, when I saw it, uh, um, it reminded me of one of those Intricate, story, um, like, uh, kind of like the Da Vinci code that I found very, very complicated and is always think like, that's the kind of story I will never be able to, to write myself.
I'm more versus a fantasy type of style. So I think it requires a lot of research and a lot of motivation. And, uh, I'm not the one about, say, And it's going to talk about that because I do have the author here with me and his name is Jeff Schecter. I hope I pronounced that correctly and we're going to talk about How he decided to write his first book from a completely different career and what the book is all about So Jeff, welcome to the show.
[00:01:31] Jeff Sheckter: Thanks Marco. Thanks for having me. I really appreciate it
[00:01:33] Marco Ciappelli: Oh, absolutely. It's very intriguing when I saw you, uh, and presenting yourself as a guest and coming and talk about the book, I was like, this sounds like a story that I want to not only read and learn about it, but The motivation, like what's the story behind the story?
But before that, I want to know the story behind you, Jeff. So if you can give a little introduction to our audience, who you are.
[00:02:01] Jeff Sheckter: Yeah, sure. I'd love to, um, you pronounce my name, right? It's Jeff Scheckter. Yes. Um, I've spent, uh, the vast majority of my career, the last 25, 30 years. As a experiential real estate developer, um, I was the COO of the company behind Mall of America in Minneapolis, West Edmonton Mall in Canada, and the American Dream in New Jersey.
Um, for listeners that aren't aware, these are the three largest. Entertainment and retail centers in North America, they have like water parks, amusement parks, hotels, skating rinks, um, a lot of retail, uh, the best of the best and, um, aspirational and luxury retailers. So it's really like a, a mini city under one roof.
And so I've been, um, building and expanding and operating, um, those projects most of my life. Um, the, the last of those three large projects was American Dream in New Jersey, um, an amazing center, um, just located actually right across the skyline from Manhattan. And, uh, the project was underway for quite a while.
It had previous developers involved in, um, the financial crisis that happened, uh, a while back. And so we took it over and anticipated a relatively, um. Small renovation, a little bit of lipstick, but it turned into a much more far reaching endeavor and we ended up building a museum parks and water parks and really took it to, uh, to another level.
And so I spent the last couple of years prior to COVID, um, completing that, getting it open when I got there, there was. You know, outside of legal and leasing, there was like a handful of employees. When I left, there was about 1700. And so it was a matter of really getting the whole thing up and running operationally, you know, getting all the teams going, get corporate culture running, and just as we really put a bow on all that and opened, uh, with some great fanfare COVID hit and, uh, we had to obviously go to New York city was one of the first places that shut down.
So, uh, and that's obviously a, a large gathering center. Um, and so for us, it was really difficult. We were bricks and mortar retail and a pandemic and, you know, online shopping and whatever. So we had our work cut out for us. Um, when the center was closed for COVID, um, I moved my family to the Bahamas to ride out the ensuing chaos.
And, um, I found myself for the first time in a long time without a quote unquote nine to five. And, uh, I'm a voracious reader, a love of the whole storytelling piece, and I've always had in the back of my mind that, you know, I should, I could write a book, I should write a book. And for the longest time, I kept anticipating that it was going to be a business book or something on negotiation.
Um, and when it, when it was time to put pen to paper, so to speak, um, I decided that I was going to go to what I love, which is fiction. And uh, While I was staring at the ocean one day and not a lot on my calendar, uh, a reminder actually popped up from a program that I completed at Harvard business school.
I went to Harvard for, for three years, completed the OPM program there. It's owner president management. It's like, um, EMBA CEO, finishing school type of. Course over three years worldwide, um, attendance, you get to meet a lot of really interesting and great people from around the world. And in one of those, um, modules we had, uh, one of our professors bring a, uh, short term, medium term and long term goal to, um, the class and had everybody, you know, do some ideation for a while and then come up with what you thought those three things were, and then to.
Actively put it into your calendar and I remember coming up, you know, write a book was my longterm goal is a really generic input. Um, and I remember it popping up and I fast forward one year and popped up again as opposed to delay my, and I'll do that one time and fast forward one year. And, uh, it came up on like a January 2nd that write a book.
I'm looking out in the ocean thinking, you know what? This is my opportunity. And so I, uh, I started off on that trajectory.
[00:06:07] Marco Ciappelli: So, you didn't have prior experience in, uh, in creative writing. I mean, this was really something you had in mind and then you finally got your hands on it and you, you just went for it.
[00:06:21] Jeff Sheckter: Yeah, exactly. I have, uh, I have a tech background. I'm a tech guy, computer guy. Um, a lot of the systems and processes and things that I've put into place at our centers are all really tech focused. Um, and yeah, like really my, my. creative outlet was, you know, in the design and fabrication of what we're going to do.
And it's like the centers that we have are pretty impressive and there's a, a much more broad canvas than, uh, you would normally see at a shopping center. So I got to express my creativity through those venues. But when it came to writing or storytelling, this was, uh, This is a one off, um, to begin with, but I fell in love with it.
I love the process. I love the the end result, obviously. And, uh, yeah, something way outside of my comfort zone.
[00:07:13] Marco Ciappelli: All right. Well, that's fantastic because, uh, if you went from zero to this, which is described as a action packed thriller with, uh, I'm understanding a lot of reference in different cultures and historical period of time.
And then there is a Pathogen involved into it, so it sounds very complex, so I really, I'm curious, like, first of all, how this idea came, were you inspired by some movies that you saw, some other book that you read, or it's kind of linger a story in your head?
[00:07:50] Jeff Sheckter: All of the above, actually. Anyway, really, it gets to your intro when you're talking about, you know, storytelling and the route that people take and, you know, just storytelling generally in people's lives.
I had this kernel of an idea. Um, and really it was a, it was using elements of, I'm, I'm a Jewish guy and I'm relatively well read on, uh, on our religion and culture. And there's, there's a lot of really fascinating elements that have, um, you know, what you see at face value. And then there's like the story behind the story.
And so there's a lot of those things that I thought were really cool. Um, I'm a big believer. I love Dan Brown's writing. I think he's great. I like, um, the action guys like Jack Carr, um, and the Terminalist, which is now a movie, which is really good. Lee Child and the whole Reacher series. And so I had this.
This desire to want to write like these people that I read, uh, on a relatively, you know, regular basis. And, uh, I actually told my kids, I'm like, you know what, I think I'm going to write us, I'm going to write a book and it's going to be a bestseller. And then my second book is going to be how to write a bestseller for your first book.
And it's like, Hey, that's great. You've been drinking too much tequila on the beach. And, uh, And so I actually, because I had no clue what I was doing, I opened up what I had, I brought, I don't know, like 50 books with me when I was in the Bahamas. I wanted to follow a, uh, a format where.
It would at least have some semblance of like writing. So I cracked open the first page of, uh, James Roland's novel. Um, it's also one of my favorite authors and it was really like, you know, a paragraph of scenic description and then two lines of dialogue and then, you know, a scene setting and then something else.
And so I really had my own story, but I just said, okay, well, there's a paragraph of description. So I looked out and I described this. Ocean view that's in front of me and I'm a scuba diver. And so I talked, my, my opening scene was this whole like scuba diving scene, you know, say, write what, you know, but by the end of the chapter, it actually read like what I thought to be like a real book.
So I kept running back into the house saying, Oh my God, I actually wrote something that doesn't look terrible. And, and then chapter one turned into two, turned into 10, turned into 20. And before I left the Bahamas, um, I'm sure I guess May. May or June of 21. I had three quarters of the book already penned.
I finished most of it when I got back here and then went through a relatively intense editing process. Um, and then decided that, uh, you know, I did a lot of reading on getting, um, representation from agents and getting the, you want to go to a traditional publishing route? Do you want to go indie publishing route?
And. I'm a, like I said before, I'm a voracious reader and that, that's not always just the, um, fun stuff. And so in my own profession, you know, I'm, I. Dive deep into drawings, into the technology behind certain things. So I really get a granular understanding of how something works and then I can make like informed decisions.
And so I kept that methodology when I wrote and. Really wrote, decided to read everything there was to be read on publishing, indie publishing, traditional publishing, agents, you know, the whole thing from going from Kindle and Amazon and audiobooks to get what I think is a pretty good understanding of the landscape for a new author.
I'm really glad I did that after I wrote my book because after seeing it, I think it's such a daunting Um, task that I'm not sure I would ever wrote if I knew how hard it was going to be after writing the book was the easiest part of this whole process. Um, and so, yeah, so I launched it in, in, um, August on August 8th and, uh, my first run sold out.
My second run sold out. And, um, a few weeks ago, it actually hit the bestseller lists on, um, my techno thriller genre for Amazon and on Kindle. Um, I was number 11 on Kindle and number 55 in print on Amazon. So my, my, uh, prediction for right, getting a bestseller, while it's not New York times, number one yet, uh, It's got a lot of love and people seem to really, um, enjoy the story.
[00:12:09] Marco Ciappelli: Wow. That's, that's definitely a good way to start it. I guess then you went to your kids and you said, I told you.
[00:12:17] Jeff Sheckter: Yeah. And then I wrote them into helping edit. So I have five boys and my two oldest, um, got the. ungrateful task, but I've found, I've thanked them profusely in the books.
[00:12:27] Marco Ciappelli: Were they giving you good feedback?
[00:12:29] Jeff Sheckter: Oh yeah. Amazing. Amazing. My, my oldest, um, is actually, he's just finishing his LSATs, going to law school. Um, had, he didn't like my first cover that I worked on ad nauseum for months and he was playing around with AI and Dali too, and came up with a really cool inspiration.
My original cover is a little more complex. It had like an element of a, I'm sure you may not see it, but the. The existing cover, the one that I published is a blue book. It's got a faint circuit board, sort of watermark in the background and a, um, uh, a Greek warrior's helmet on the front and profile. And it's just,
[00:13:04] Marco Ciappelli: I also see a DNA helix,
DNA helix.
[00:13:08] Jeff Sheckter: That's right. There's a little, there's a little bit of tidbits. The other one was like a cave looking at a Greek temple with like a shadowy figure in the background. So it was like, and it was orange. So vastly different book. And he was playing around with Dali too. And he's like, you know, dad, this is like a lot more.
Like impactful just has this like particular image. So we tweaked it just a little bit because, you know, as things come out of Dali, they're not very polished. And, um, and that ended up becoming after like, you know, eight hours, it turned into the cover that I kept versus the three months of, Design and, you know, money spent getting the first one going, I'm happy with the way this turned out.
And then both of them ended up reading the book, I don't know, probably five times right now and editing and going over the proofs. So they were, they were integral in getting, um, the book to where it is today. Although as an author, I always say all mistakes and, and errors are solely my own. So, um,
[00:13:58] Marco Ciappelli: well,
you know, those are, those are part of the story, right?
I mean, I, let's go back to your inspiration and I have read. You know, Dan Brown, I fell in love with him, but I also recognize how many of this book that I'm fascinated by, you know, puzzle solving and, and intricate plots. I always say, my brain doesn't work like that. I consider myself a very creative person from a fantasy perspective.
My background is advertising and marketing. I can be an art director like you were probably doing with your art. We do other business, but to, I want to go over the blueprint that you need to have when you write a book like this, because, I mean, you have to connect a lot of dots and, correct me if I'm wrong, if you're so such a natural that everything really came, but do you ever have to walk back on the story and be like, I need to, Hmm.
Yeah, I need to rewrite something because it doesn't connect anymore.
[00:15:03] Jeff Sheckter: So it's the book reads very much like a Dan Brown. If I could be so as bold as saying, but it reads like a damn brown book and it's that it's a puzzle driven thriller. It takes place all over the world. Um, You know, you're from the Vatican, Jerusalem, New York, like it's, it travels the globe.
Um, the, the only thing that I really had to rewrite was, uh, it, the, as I said, I was writing this in the Bahamas during, during the pandemic. And for the first, let's say maybe 10 chapters, there were elements of the COVID pandemic. And so like, I remember just one particular thing like this. Some guy was driving up the West side high highway of New York.
I used to live in New York. So I have like the layout of New York when they're talking about this. And I used to be stuck in that traffic all the time, driving across the GW bridge to go to Jersey. And, uh, and so I said, you know, the traffic was light on the West side highway due to the pandemic and everybody being at home and little things like that, that weren't like integral to the story, but it very much dated.
The story and gave it reference to a point in time. And I do have date and time markers at the start of all my chapters, but they don't have a year. So it's just present day. And then there's a chronology that you can follow so that you're not, um, I shouldn't say lost in the story, but you have a better frame of reference for when these, when certain events are happening.
And so I did have to go back and reroute that. And so it wasn't, you know, light traffic due to covid. It was light traffic due to the drizzle and the grayness of the day and things like that. So there was. That was probably my only significant rewrite. Um, as far as the story goes, I knew from the beginning how I wanted the story to end, and I knew that there were certain elements that I wanted to, um, express and sort of build upon.
And so I had those laid down as.
So for those I turned to what a rabbit hole that was, but turning to like conspiracy theories that would give like an air of legitimacy to certain of the, um, of the, of the elements and of the story. Right. And so without giving too much of the story away, the, the general plot is that there is a, uh, I'm gonna call my mad man, but He's an eco terrorist that is hell bent on wanting to destroy the world, um, because he is unhappy with what mankind has been doing to the planet from, uh, an environmental perspective.
And I think it's also really, and you find yourself at times, like, when you read the book, hopefully, like, nodding along to some of the diatribes that this guy is going through because, you know, nobody wants to see our planet destroyed. His methodology to the solution is obviously, um, Destroying all of humanity is not a feasible solution.
And so I think it's really important to have antagonists that you can relate to. Um, in some ways. So they don't just seem like just these really terrible people and there's nothing in common, there's no redeeming value to them because I don't think that you can create that connection in the story if you can't relate to somebody.
But if you can at least see their, their paradigm and then, you know, obviously disagree with their response, but you have to have some sort of empathy for them. I think it really ties, um. the reader into the, into the story more. And so he's created a, what seems to be an indestructible pathogen that is poisoning, um, the grains and staple crops of the world.
And, uh, And our heroes of the day, um, are trying to stop them. And so there's a race through and that's, that's the gist of the book that they want to stop this calamity because this pathogen would take hold in relatively quick fashion, would create massive starvation. Um, the animals that are eating the crops are also dying.
So you have no. You know, plant life that's, that's edible. You'd have no, um, livestock that would be edible and to be able to satisfy the demand of, you know, 7 billion people, the world would trade inside out in relatively quick order. And so they're trying to stop that. Um, the, the elements are, are you find out that this pathogen is really something that has been around for a long time and to stop it, they need to recover particular artifacts throughout history.
Um, and they're like, I mean, these are the ones that people know, but it's like the Holy Grail. Um, There are certain artifacts they dig up at the resting places of like Adam and Eve and you do a tour through like the Vatican and the secret chambers of like what the Pope has, um, racing all the way out. So it's, it's got a lot of really cool elements.
And then when you find those particular artifacts, each one is sort of a puzzle in and of themselves that leads to the next puzzle and the next location they have to find until ultimately. Um, they can find this, um, hidden secret or this hidden source, um, that they could use as a antidote to what's coming.
I'm trying not to give as much away because I want people to know.
[00:20:02] Marco Ciappelli: Yeah, no, I mean,
I think you just said enough. I wasn't going to stop you. I was like, don't, don't give it up all the way. Um, that sounds fantastic. And when you describe these. The location, um, I mean, the object, some of them are, in the mythology realm in a way we, we don't know exactly what they look like or, or if they're there, but when you describe the, the room of the body cans or, or other places, did you do a really heavy research to stick as much as possible to reality or did you kind of rewrite?
[00:20:35] Jeff Sheckter: Yeah, so that's a really good point. I tried to do a little bit as much as possible. That's realistic. So I was actually with my family, um, while I was writing that particular chapter, um, had everybody in Rome, we were doing a little tour through Europe. So we went to, to Paris and Rome and, um, went to the Vatican.
And so there was, there was as much. As much ink as I could spill that would keep everything as realistic as possible. And then obviously when it came to the Pope's hidden vault where all the big, big secrets are, they didn't invite me. That wasn't part of the tour. So it's great to riff on it. And I described it in really great detail, but utilizing whatever elements that I saw and the design features that were in the Vatican.
You could extrapolate as to if the Pope did have a private vault, what do you think it would look like? And so there's like a golden cross and laid into the floor and it's really beautiful room. And it's got like this majestic sort of holy, um, aura to it, et cetera. So, you know, no, nobody can tell me that's not what it looks like because I don't think anybody reading my book has been invited by the Pope to check out the Vatican's inner most secrets or what they have in there.
And so I leaned a lot on, um, some conspiracy theories of, you know, what does the Vatican really have? In, um, in their possession. And then, you know, there's a little bit of a, of a scientific flare, um, when they get to, because there's nanotechnology that's involved and AI that's involved, um, that play again, really integral parts to the story.
And so it's funny, when I wrote the AI piece of it, it almost read like Jarvis from Ironman a little bit too conversationally. And like, how could you really have a conversation with a computer in that simple, like, in a. In a language format and still haven't understand what you mean. And then, you know, fast forward to when the book is published, CHAT GPT is out.
And that, that whole bridge of, you know, could AI really be that effective and simple to use is now not something that I would have to really spend a lot of time pushing the narrative to, well, you know, this is what's coming because it actually showed up on people's doorsteps. So
[00:22:40] Marco Ciappelli: I know it's amazing how six months ago looks so different or even two years ago.
Yeah, exactly. When you're talking about DALI 2 and I'm like, well, if you had DALI 3, you probably would have done it faster or mid journey already. Yeah, that's pretty cool. You know, I want to, I want to pick your brain on something that I like to bring up with a lot of, you know, with other guests, which is this.
So, You're writing this style, you're writing something that many people would look at it and be like, this is a taunting feat that I can't do, it's a journey I can't take, because maybe I feel more comfortable in a more descriptive, you know, maybe more dialogue based, maybe a different style. So I would like your perspective as an avid reader and a new author.
How much it plays, again, your background? And, and how you grow up your culture into then turn you into a particular kind of style of writing, right? I mean, I, I don't, my point is I don't believe that anyone can write everything because we're all kind of different and I will love your perspective. You, you've been traveling, you have, a specific culture and an experience in work.
So what's your take on that or, and how somebody decide.
[00:24:08] Jeff Sheckter: Um, I think I was influenced from a writing perspective. I think I was influenced more by the people that I read. Then I was by the product of my environment. Um, I enjoy the way that certain books can, can, um, elucidate on a story. And, you know, sometimes it's detail ad nauseum, but you realize that. I'm not for a purpose, not just for world building and certain facts and figures will come out where before you thought they may be a bit extraneous.
So I, I, I, my personal, I like the. My book's like 475 pages. It's a little bit longer than a typical, um, story, but I, and there may be as a little bit in there that I could have taken out to, to make it a little bit less, but there isn't a hundred pages in there that I could shred without. Really impacting the story.
So I really liked the longer format. I think that, you know, if you want to dig into a book, it seems sometimes a little, if you really love it, unsatisfying, if you get through too quickly, you know, rushing through like a, like a five star meal, it want you to savor every morsel and the visual and everything versus just like getting to the end of it and getting dessert and getting the bill and getting out.
So I like that. It's a little bit longer in length. I like that there's, um, the, the puzzle driven thriller. the genre where you're not really just following, you know, numbers one, two, three, four, five, and everything just works out the way they should, that there's these things that would unfold to take you off on some random tangent, but finding a way to bring that back in the story so that it's all really one cohesive story, as opposed to these fragments of.
Of little stories is the hard part. Um, I'd like to say that I was like really good at it, but to be honest, this, the, the way that this came to me was almost, I mean, I want to sound like spooky, fluky, like it was prophecy, but it was almost like a, I hate saying it cause it's not, but a prophetic vision where I would have this idea and I would just, I would somehow visualize it as if I was watching a movie or a show and then sort of pause it and then I'd write.
In as much detail to capture what I saw. And then just move on to the next chapter and the next chapter and like, what's the next, you know, I'm almost fast forwarding the movie and then going back and transcribing what I saw. And that was, that was really, um, how I wrote it. It was, and it was bizarre because I didn't have any real fishbone done.
I didn't, or, or a map of how I wanted the book to go. I didn't have this many chapters and this was gonna happen, which really you should do. . I just started writing. I wrote the whole thing, chronology started chapter one, went to the very, very end, and then did it a little bit of an edit. Didn't really move any chapters around or things like that.
So I think I'm a, maybe a little bit unique from, from what I've read. I don't know that that's a great, um, method to use, but for me it was effective and I'm halfway plus or minus through the second novel, writing it in a similar fashion, although I'm trying to be a bit more proactive on the layout. I'm going to be talking a little bit more about that in a minute, um, but for me, it's really the, the power of storytelling, which is why I was really interested in your podcast, because, um, you know, the Jewish religion, we have the, you know, we have our Torah and it's really replete with, with stories upon stories.
And then those stories are elucidated by other stories and. To me, it's really, it's really interesting because I think the stories themselves have, you know, they've almost, they almost take on a life of themselves. They, they outlive their authors, they outlive, um, their, you know, their genre or their, um, publication date, even if you call it.
And they sort of just add to that tapestry of storytelling that's been passed on from generation to generation. And while my book is, you know, not anything that people are going to, you know, want to model their lives around or anything like that. I think it utilized, it just shows that. You're using elements of stories and people, you know, biblical people in this particular instance that were, you know, thousands of years ago.
And there's still, you still can find some relevance to put them into like a spy novel or an action packed, you know, puzzle driven thriller today. And they still have the same relevance, you know, and it's not like the people aren't still here and. You know, if they're people and not an object, then there's no real physical representation of that, but the story lives on, right?
The story has its own power and being able to reuse and, um, integrate stories that were never really connected. Previously, whether it's because of a chasm of time or geography or even just genre. Um, I think it's really cool that you can bring in like Adam and Eve and the Holy Grail and nanobots and AI, and you read the story and not any of them feel, um.
They all feel appropriate in the story and you couldn't ever read the story without having it. And so to me, that's just like, I don't, I love the fact that I got to add my two cents to that whole thing and to show people, you know, to some extent as a bit of a role model. I hope for my kids that, you know, I was at a very successful career as a real estate guy.
I'm the chairman of a biotech company right now. And. You know, short of reading, right? Books are, are relaxation, but that's, it's not anything that I would have ever envisioned that I would be able to do or write anything of, of any quality that somebody would be interested in. And like I said before, I was going to, I think I'm a, uh, A pretty proficient businessman and entrepreneur.
And I was always thinking that I'd be able to share lessons and tips and tricks that I had learned through my career with others because I had, um, I had confidence that I knew what I was talking about, and I think there were things that I could share with others that they could use in their life that would help them in their business or, and, you know, negotiations with their husbands, wives, spouses, you know, kids, whatever.
Um, but the fact that. You know, and it was a very auspicious time and I had the opportunity to do it, but I think it's really important that people don't, and like yourself, I've read your bio and a lot of people on your show that we're relatively set in our professional lives and we're comfortable and we're good at it.
And then to do a 180 and, you know, go off on some other tangent where it's, it's way outside of somebody's comfort zone. And it's not at all what they, you know, had in their, in their life's plan. I think if you find any modicum of success with it, it's a really incredibly rewarding experience in somebody's life.
Like I've always tell people, this is a, it's sort of a bucket list item to write a book. It wasn't a bucket list item for me, but it sort of is now. And that I. Not that I wrote a book, but I, I went through the process of writing a book and editing and publishing and learned an entire, um, field that is so diverse from what I was comfortable with before.
I think it's just the example to set for your kids that if, you know, if you don't like where you are, or even if you do like where you are, but you want to explore something different that. It's never too late. And, um, you have to try and, you know, sometimes you're going to fail, but in my case, I was successful with it.
And, uh, and that could be found in every aspect of life. And so it's, it's good to be brave. It's good to know that there's a old adage. If you're comfortable, you're not growing. And that's right. And so I decided to grow and, uh, it worked out.
[00:31:57] Marco Ciappelli: Well, I think you made it. Perfect close to, to the episode, which made my life much easier, but at the same time, I do want to add one thing, which is, you know, you, you packed a lot in this, uh, last, uh, piece of the conversation and, and I'm looking at the book, the cover and, and, Every time you were saying something like, Oh, you know, I, I'm in, um, I've done this in my past.
I love technology. I'm involved in a, in a biotech right now. And I'm like, it's, it's all there. Right. I mean, I, I'm thinking the story you described, the cover of the book, and I'm like, ultimately you write something because it contain all the adventures that you had in the past, all the things that you have experienced, all your past lives, whatever you, you know, you want to call it.
And, and you, you kind of put it there. So I think it's a great example of don't do something because you know, or you think is going to sell, but do something that you love And do something that you're passionate about. And if you're lucky, then it's going to be, it's going to be a commercial success too.
But what I'm saying is start from your passion. And, and I think this is a typical great example of, of that.
[00:33:19] Jeff Sheckter: Yeah. And I think people's lives are a lot more interesting. Um, and the experiences that they live are a lot more. Um, I think there's a lot more that people can share if they're just repackaged in a certain way.
So like, there's nothing in the book that's really my life story at all. And it's all very much, um, arm's length fiction. Um, again, I've tried to keep everything within the realm of possibility. It doesn't, it doesn't stretch into science fiction, fantasy or anything. Everything is a very plausible, unlikely, but a plausible outcome.
But a lot of those elements I took from my boring old life that. You know, as long as you can put a kernel of truth into something, then it gives you some, um, something to like sort of build upon. It's a, it's a solid foundation. And then once you build on that, you can add a couple, you know, throw in a conspiracy theory or two and a little bit of speculation and this boring old element becomes something really rich and, you know, and thought provoking. And I think everybody
has that.
[00:34:14] Marco Ciappelli: We got back to the beginning. We all have story to tell. That's right. Everybody's got a story to
tell. Yeah. And I want to finish with that. So, Jeff, thank you so much. I really enjoyed this conversation.
Make me think. I hope it's going to make. A lot of people think and good luck with the book. I will put all the notes to get in touch with you to visit your website and I hope people are going to read the book, give it a chance sit down and take their time to go through all those pages.
But it sounds like it's a, it's a great adventure. So it's the Data Loss Protocol by Jeff Scheckter and Jeff. Thank you so much for spending some time with me and having this conversation. I
[00:34:54] Jeff Sheckter: appreciate it. Thanks for having me on.
[00:34:56] Marco Ciappelli: All right. For everybody, check the notes and subscribe. If you like these stories, there'll be many more coming up soon on Audio Signal Podcast on ITSP Magazine.
Take care, everybody.