Black Project

by Steve Mansfield-Devine

This is a story of strange craft, dark conspiracies, an out of control government and people pushed to the very edge of understanding. It's also very funny.Dick Kennedy is a reporter for a supermarket tabloid, the only journalist on the paper who takes his job seriously. He yearns for contact with otherwordly forces but is constantly defeated by mundane reality and his own scepticism.Kate MacMillan is an engineer engaged on highly classified government black projects. But she has even darker secrets of her own that are threatening to catch up with her.They both come into contact with a dark secret that both realizes their dreams and confirms their nightmares. At first, can’t believe the evidence of their own eyes. Then their cynicism starts to crumble.As the world around them descends into paranoia, and the US lurches ever closer to totalitarianism - disguised as homeland security and customer service - they each embark on a search for the truth.They are thrown into a series of encounters - by turns bizarre, sinister, wild, farcical and hilarious.These events lead Dick, Kate and a strange cast of characters - including a messianic militia leader, a fundamentalist President, and odd bands of believers in everything from angels to UFOs - to converge at the scene of a final revelation, each seeking a personal apocalypse.

488 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 26, 2011

About the author

Steve has written all his life, usually for money, often because he just can’t help himself. He has been a professional journalist for nearly three decades and his work has appeared in national dailies and magazines of a bewildering variety. He's covered a number of beats, including IT & technology, travel, business and defence.

Today, Steve's journalism focuses on information security. He is editor of the journals Network Security and Computer Fraud & Security and a Certified Ethical Hacker.

He's also a keen pilot and professional photographer. These passions came together in three non-fiction aviation photo books published by Airlife and Osprey (and Motorbooks in the US): Cherry Point , Kaneohe Bay and Photographing Aeroplanes .

His first novel, Lady Caine, was published by WebVivant Press in 2009.

His second novel, Black Project was published in 2011.

Steve blogs about writing, photography, self-publishing and anything else that is currently amusing or vexing him on the WebVivant Blog.

He is a member of the Society of Authors.