As a newly elected president prepares to deliver his inaugural speech, he doesn’t manage to utter a single word. Instead, his closest Secret Service agent fires two shots into his head. As the nation spirals from the shock and cascades into chaos, the fallout lands at the feet of Gianni Simonelli, a second-generation Italian American and Speaker of the House.
This is Vincent Orza’s Brothers, a fictional story based on a very real fear that has only escalated over the last four years. Orza himself is no stranger to politics, winning the 1990 Oklahoma gubernatorial Republican primary and falling just behind Governor Brad Henry in the Democratic primary in 2002.
Brothers is also fueled by Orza’s career in journalism, which saw him as an anchor at KOCO-TV and the president and CEO of KSBI Television in 2010. His concise, biting prose refined by his legacy in news keeps Brothers fast-paced and compelling.
“From working at Channel 5 and my op-eds for the Oklahoma Gazette, my writing style is more brief and to the point,” Orza said. “I lean toward James Patterson-style chapters that feel like television. The book borders on a screenplay.”
But Brothers isn’t just about a single reverberating event. Ultimately, the novel is deeply intimate, focusing on the federal government’s realistic response and the emotional turmoil of those we’re closest to: our family.
Rapid fire
Orza wrote the initial draft of Brothers over four years ago in just a few short weeks. In 1999, he published his first book, When I Want Your Opinion I’ll Tell It to You. The slice-of-life memoir dives deep into Orza’s upbringing, capturing the connection to his family that made him a prolific public speaker.
But nearly 20 years removed, Brothers offers a completely different experience.
“My wife has been diagnosed with cancer,” Orza said. “After she came home every day from chemotherapy, I’d write while she was sleeping. I’d even get up at 2 in the morning and write for hours because an idea suddenly came to me.”
Orza’s first swing at Brothers formed the heart of the novel, but he spent the following years polishing his work and improving upon its realism. From at least one prominent angle, however, Orza’s writing took a prophetic turn.
“I wrote all of this before Jan. 6, 2021,” Orza said. “My book turned out to be reality in a lot of ways. Did you ever think you’d see a bunch of kids marching in the U.S. screaming, ‘The Jews will not replace us’?”
Transforming stigma
Like Brothers’ protagonist, Gianni, Orza is also a second-generation Italian American. Throughout his life, his heritage led many to believe he was — even if just tangentially — connected to the mafia. (Orza admits the giant black Cadillac he once drove didn’t exactly deter this misconception.)
“I’d hear stories, and there were people who make accusations that, ‘You must have some connection to the mafia based on your background,’” Orza said. “But if they think you’re involved with it, they’ll never accept your ‘No.’ Plus, I look like the epitome of a mob guy to a lot of people.”
Though Orza has no ties to the mob, he used his knowledge of organized crime and his appreciation for family to give Brothers grounding and weight.
In the novel, after a domestic terrorist organization named VIPER claims responsibility for the president’s assassination, Gianni turns to his estranged, mafia-affiliated brother, Mario. In reality, the state and federal governments have had long-standing ties to crime families.
“When the U.S. government wanted to overthrow Castro, they went through the mafia because they had a vested interest,” Orza said. “There’s an awful lot of problems where the government used the mafia to accomplish what the government couldn’t do legitimately.”
The family
While the mafia and its history with the country covers a significant influence of Brothers, the novel’s namesake speaks to its deepest roots.
Behind the fictional president’s killing is his brother, a bitter, Proud Boys-inspired governor of Florida. This ideological and deeply personal hatred tears apart their relationship, which Orza describes as a hyperbolized version of George and Jeb Bush.
On the other hand, Gianni has to revive a relationship with a brother he previously wrote off, forcing them to rekindle a strained bond. In Orza’s eyes, it’s all spurred by one crucial factor.
“It all boils down to family,” Orza said. “Sitting around the table and laughing and telling stories. Or funerals and remembering why we cared about someone so. All of that is a part of my life. And my life is family.”
In Brothers, the president’s assassination sparks the story, but the fallout and Gianni’s ability to handle it is what animates it. In Orza’s own words, “life goes on,” and what matters is how we navigate it.
“I grew up growing to funerals, and I remember my grandpa’s vividly,” Orza said. “I remember wanting to reach out and touch his hand. I wanted to know what it was like to be dead. But after the funeral, I’d go to an Italian house and you wouldn’t know anyone died. They were all laughing. It made life acceptable. You remember the good times, of course, but you ultimately turn the page.”
Vincent Orza’s Brothers is available now through Barnes & Noble. The paperback edition is $17.99, and the hardcover is $26.99. Visit barnesandnoble.com.
This article appears in Stitt’s Top Ten.