City of the Violet Crown

Austin’s entrepreneurial spirit, unique creative vibe and superior quality of life transformed the sleepy, college town of two-hundred thousand into a metropolis of almost two-million, attracting out-of-state real estate investors and developers, including the largest mall developer in America.  Emily, a born and raised Austinite, accepts a last minute invitation to a testosterone-charged event at The Four Seasons, where she agrees to go on a blind date with a powerful developer, who has the ability to invest millions into the anemic Austin economy. Emily’s not aware she’s being played like a one-string guitar by an orchestra of commercial real estate brokers and developers who will do whatever it takes - including robbery and bribery - to partner with the out-of-state developer. The vulnerable and naive Emily, abandoned by her real estate colleagues and yet-to-be divorced developer boyfriend, must come to terms with the loss of her father and her city, before she loses everything. THEMES: Deep in the heart of twenty-first century Texas, the high stakes business of commercial real estate is still a man’s world. City of the Violet Crown reflects what’s happening in cities and to taxpayers across America. Cities must increase taxes to pay for corporate tax incentives, resulting in middle-class Americans who can no longer able to afford to live in the city.