by John Molik
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GENRE: Thriller (conspiracy)
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BLURB:
An unambitious young man
finally finds himself, only to nearly lose everything in an apparent web of
international economic terrorism and intrigue. But, as his world begins to
unravel, has he become genuinely delusional? Or is he really on to one of the
most dangerous global conspiracies of all time? Against all odds, only love and
a true friend's faith can save both him and the world as we know it from the
abusive power of evil.
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EXCERPT:
'Reynolds? Of MI6?' shouted Marshall Rand, the Inspector
General of the US Treasury.
'Yes, agent Patel has confirmed this with that reception
desk employee at the hotel
where the memory stick was dropped,' replied Arun Marwah,
Director of the India Intelligence Bureau.
Marshall Rand squinted.
'And this employee? He can swear
that he can identify him as the man who actually dropped the flash drive?'
'That is correct, sir.'
Marshall squirmed and mumbled a few things then quickly, but
politely, ended the phone call.
Standing up, he put his hands on his hips, walked over to
the window and stared down at the mass in motion filled with cars, trucks, and
taxis, all crawling along the avenue below the banks, hedge fund hyenas, fancy
restaurants, and big office towers.
Above, he could hear the sound of a commercial airliner departing
Washington's National airport to the Northeast.
A city humming, entirely greased by cash, credit, money, moolah all
created out of thin air by a cartel running the world's private banking
operations. Those that bank on that sexy
fiat drug, that fiduciary smack attack that greases the invisible hand, are
depending on just one thing, its continual unending supply and endless
promise. Any rapid withdrawal of the
punch bowl, and the party's over. The
hooked speculators, opportunists, horders, spenders, trickle downers, everyone
in the system, look up to us, all strung out and begging for a chance for a
seat, any seat, at the global banquet. But, what happens when it's over? He began to swea
t just thinking about how all civilizations must inevitably
go through this when he suddenly noticed the deciduous trees along the park
that stood there resolute, having had lost most of their leaves. Quickly glimpsing the street lights changing
from green to yellow to red, he lost himself in his thoughts. It's a cycle, a historical cycle that not one
civilization or empire has ever been able to avoid. It starts with the warrior stage, heroism,
honor. Next comes the intellectual phase
with its laws, order,
justice, art, music, and entertainment. Society, now cocooned, is able to
flourish. Then, comes the Merchant phase
with its rapid wealth distribution, free trade, increases in standards of
living, and the development of modern conveniences. Oligarchs form to control resources, then
begin warring. Greed, selfishness, and
avarice marks the end of the stage. My
job, my sole purpose, is to protect the
Intellectual phase and to keep it running, but this noble
pursuit has been exposed by history as being inevitably futile. It's as if there is an inner knowing deep
seated in the human mind that senses what comes next. Chaos.
The final stage of outright theft, civil unrest, and collapse. All that was built up, falls. The thieves, these naked emperors, who
connived, pillaged and lied to the population are hunted
down and destroyed. A
power vacuum is formed and once again, the warriors assert themselves. The cycle begins again.
Rand shook his head, then walked back to his desk and pulled
up his secured Adobe Connect entering a password. An entry popped up: London. Private. He
clicked on it.
'Sir, I am so sorry to bother you,' started Rand, 'but
something serious has come up.'
'Yes, well what is it then?' replied the man with
disinterest. He had a voice and accent
much like John Major, the former British Prime Minister.
'I'm sure Eckhart has informed you on what the agency had
uncovered in India.'
Silence.
'Well, unfortunately, it goes deeper.” He hesitated. “Much
deeper than we ever imagined.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
John grew up in Rancho Palos Verdes, California and graduated from UC
Davis with a B.A. Degree in Economics and has worked in numerous corporate
finance and project management jobs in the consumer electronics and IT
industries. In 1990, after taking an extended backpacking trip of the South
Pacific before attending graduate school, he met his would be wife and in 1991
was married. They settled back in Irvine and South Orange County area of
California. In 2003, he and his family (now with two kids in tow) relocated to
Christchurch, New Zealand.
John's interest in writing began when he was a student at UC Davis,
having worked as a Feature Writer for the California Aggie Newspaper. Possessing
the desire to write again, and with a bucket list goal of eventually trying his
hand at thriller novels, he took the plunge, and in 2014, began writing his
first novel, The Fiduciary Delusion. John's interests also include: science,
existential philosophy, health, and both western and eastern holistic medicine.
John also plays guitar, piano, sings and writes music. In addition, John is an
admitted “gym rat” and can be regularly found lifting weights, trudging up
hills, sea kayaking, and getting out and about enjoying the beautiful wild
outdoors.
Amazon:
AmazonUK:
Goodreads:
Ask David:
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
John will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a
randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Thanks Astrid!
RispondiEliminaKind Regards,
John Molik
Hi everyone,
RispondiEliminaJust some background (if interested :)
The inspiration for my first conspiracy thriller, The Fiduciary Delusion, came from colorful stories related to me by a friend of mine. A person known to my storyteller had become mentally ill and delusional while away on holiday in Japan. Like my protagonist, Kyle Pickens, this person was also overseas teaching. His delusional episodes were believable enough, and with language and cultural barriers, he had landed himself into some serious trouble. I then painted these stories with my own brush, using India as the backdrop, and had my protagonist get caught up in a real worldwide conspiracy engineered to take down the global financial system. The protagonist’s uncle happens to be a VP of the Federal Reserve Bank, but is he also involved? Who are these strange people following him? And is the information he’s uncovered in India really what it seems to be? Will anyone believe him? Is it too late?
Fiduciary is the trust given to a faceless global banking system that tells us that a colorful piece of paper with some numerals on it has a certain value. Our entire global monetary system is therefore based ultimately on the many trusting the few, no matter how thinly veiled that “trust” may be.
Much of the research into the settings come from direct experience, except for the India sections. Most of that source material comes from tireless online research and knowledge gained through memorable, impressionable stories given to me by a roommate while at UC Davis in the 1980s. My background and interest in Economics, finance, medicine (both holistic and Western) also helped to erect the scaffolding of the novel.