Former V.I. Executive Calls First Novel “Relatable”

A former V.I. communications executive says he used his imagination to take on the issue of workplace bullying and misplaced aspirations by writing a horror story.

For Kevin Hughes — formerly of Choice Communications and Broadband V.I. — the book “Corporate Climbing” is a first foray into a literary genre that few authors of color delve into. Although it appears that elements of folktales, fantasy and horror have appeared in works by some well-known writers like Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison. In an interview with The Source, Hughes said he decided to use a horror theme to introduce the main character — a Caribbean immigrant making his way in the American corporate world using unconventional ways to deal with an abusive boss and to get ahead.

When he is not scaring up tales of an ambitious guy dabbling in the dark arts, Hughes is the administrator of the District of Columbia’s State Broadband & Digital Equity Office. The book was released by Premium Book Publishers in November 2023. The author said he wrote his novel during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021. ”It was during COVID actually, when we’re all on lockdown. And that really gave me the opportunity to kind of sort of really allow myself the creative time and vision that I think is necessary to produce a good book,” he said.