"Who's Got the Money?" named in USA Book News Best Book Awards

This week USA Book News named “Who’s Got the Money?” from Oak Tree Press as an Award-Winning Finalist in 'Fiction: Chick Lit/Women's Lit' category of 2012 USA Best Book Awards

In this funny crime caper there is a scheme afoot to embezzle millions from the Federal prison system. Morgan St. James (who is the Los Angeles Writing Examiner) and Meredith Holland used first-hand knowledge to create a believable, clever, but fictional crime caper.

"Authors St. James and Holland - indisputable mavens of comic crime fiction weave an intriguing story of million dollar greed and ironic justice in an industry few of us even know exists." ~Reviews by Jackie.

Jennifer Hayes has lost her high-paying position as CFO of a cutting-edge computer software corporation, she’s been betrayed by her young lover and is down to zero in her bank account. Desperate for a job and money to keep the wolf from the door, she answers a blind ad seeking a controller and twenty sales reps nationally. The ad proclaims in bold letters: “The World’s Best Kept Secret. Make Big Bucks Selling to the Government,” and that arouses Jennifer’s curiosity. She applies for the controller position and is hired, but quickly discovers the “best kept secret” is a part of the Federal prison system that manufactures furniture in federal prison factories.

Jennifer and her sidekicks, sales reps Cameron Harsen and Kate Mills, smell a rat when commissions and bonuses haven’t been paid and are explained away with bogus excuses. They launch an amateur investigation filled with backfires, but in the process uncover a very clever massive embezzlement scheme. Greedy people have figured out how to grab millions and have remained undiscovered until the three Charlie’s Angels wannabes unwittingly open Pandora’s Box.

When St. James and Holland answered an ad similar to the one in Who’s Got the Money? twelve years ago, both agree they were surprised beyond belief at what transpired. They went to San Diego, California for the interview and a very sophisticated woman introduced herself as the CEO of a contracted private-sector marketing firm. She explained that all of the beautiful furniture in that office had been made in prisons. After years in the furniture business, neither of them had any idea anything like that existed. Most of the newly-hired reps were clueless about prison manufacturing as well.

According to St. James, who has written several award-winning books and short stories, the plot for their book could not have been developed without the experiences she and Holland had while marketing furniture projects that sometimes reached millions of dollars. There were nearly one-hundred factories on the grounds of prisons across the country and they toured a few of the actual factories which were staffed by inmates. They also saw the insides of massive military supply depots and warehouses.

Besides becoming top sales producers, each writing millions of dollars worth of business every year, St. James and Holland both kept lots of notes about some of the bizarre situations unfolding around them. Little crimes and many irregularities occurred within the San Diego headquarters of the private company they worked for. Things like learning that relatives of the CEO and later the Vice President were on the payroll for substantial salaries, but did little or no work for the company. That was just the beginning.

One day a team from the prison bureau came into the office, grabbed every computer and shut the office down. St. James and Holland had left their jobs shortly before this occurred, and the company subsequently went bankrupt amid rumors of wrongdoing. A few years later, inspired by their experiences, they developed the plot for Who’s Got the Money?

Available in paperback and Kindle editions from most online booksellers, Oak Tree Press, or order at local bookstores.

More information: http://funnycrimecapers.blogspot.com and www.morganstjames-author.com.

Morgan St. James has published over 500 articles with Examiner.com relative to writing and books. In addition to writing several other books, she is the co-author of the award winning Silver Sisters Mysteries series, written with her real sister Phyllice Bradner, and has garnered awards for many short stories as well.