"I'm using the power of the pen to get the government to back off, and to educate everyone," explains Mike Daugherty, the author of The Devil Inside the Beltway, a first-person account of his ongoing battle against the federal government that Daugherty is self-publishing, with a 2,800-copy initial print run in both paper and hardcover and simultaneous release in electronic formats.
The Devil Inside the Beltway is the story of how Daugherty's company, a cancer detection facility in Atlanta, was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission after its medical records were hacked by a private security company, that had done so as part of a research project backed with federal funds. Even though the subject matter is especially of concern for an industry that's committed to preserving its customers' privacy regarding their book purchases, Devil Inside the Beltway is entertaining as well as educational, Daugherty says. He notes that he met mystery and suspense authors at writers' conferences and picked up tips from them on how best to engage his readers and make the book as riveting as any suspense thriller.
Daugherty is also sweetening the pot for BEA attendees with giveaways: "anti-government pills" (cinnamon Red Hots candies) for booth visitors (2534), who can also enter a daily drawing for a free Kindle. Power Readers can enter a drawing on Saturday, with 50 receiving a finished copy of the book. And Daugherty intends to send a paperback copy of The Devil Inside the Beltway to members of Congress's Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Even though he's scheduled to speak at the Midtown Author Stage, Daugherty prefers that people just read his book, which he insists is political but not partisan. "I hate talking about it: it sounds so surreal, so over-the-top," he says.
