April 17, 2003

Do Federal Budget Extras Hide Nasty Surprises?

"Maybe so," is the unnerving answer in an upcoming novel from the publishers of The Rise of The Phoenix

Sidney, NY -- Not so long ago, federal lawmakers made headlines by tacking all sorts of extras onto an auxiliary spending bill to provide funding for the war against Iraq. Projects receiving this kind of back door funding included another airline industry bailout, a communications system in Louisiana, agricultural research in Iowa, and a dam repair project in Vermont.

According to published news reports, disputes over the excess appropriations even grew heated during negotiations between the House and the Senate. But how do you suppose those lawmakers would have reacted to a request to provide federal funds for a research project in theoretical physics that was designed to open the gates of Hell?

"Getting legislative backing for such a project wouldn't have a chance in Hell," says author Justin Gustainis, tongue in cheek. "Unless those proposing it lied about the project's nature and purpose - in which case it might have a chance. Maybe if it were described as a kind of inter-dimensional 'Star Wars' program?"

In The Hades Project, Gustainis tells the story of federal agent Michael Pacilio, assigned to solve the mystery of how and why ten scientists were savagely murdered in the midst of a government research project in a quiet laboratory in Fairfax, Virginia. His job isn't made any easier by budget constraints, bureaucratic in-fighting and departmental jurisdictional disputes, but none of those things can hold a candle to the Being he finds himself up against.

"If you can look straight into hell without blinking, you're going to love The Hades Project," writes Martha C. Lawrence, author of the Edgar award-nominated Elizabeth Chase psychic detective series. "Writing with skill and daring, Justin Gustainis gives readers an adrenaline-pumping showdown between Good and Evil."

The Hades Project is the second fiction release from independent publisher Wahmpreneur Books under its fiction imprint, Brighid's Fire Books.

Phillip Tomasso III, author of Adverse Impact and Johnny Blade, calls The Hades Project "tightly crafted, explosive and entertaining."

"You'll read it fast, but it may haunt your dreams forever. One of the best horror novels I have read this year," Tomasso enthused.

The Hades Project (ISBN 0-9713278-6-6), by Justin Gustainis, is scheduled for trade paperback release in September 2003.

[Back]