The Pareto Spread

According to a calculation known as The Pareto Spread, 80% of America's problems are caused by less than 20% of the people. What if a secret organization of super patriots, The New Democratic Right, could stop the most extreme of these from doing more damage to our culture? What if the NDR could create a new and improved America? And just how far are they willing to go to do it? Murder, corruption and egregious misuse of power, The Pareto Spread takes action-thriller to a new level. The Pareto Spread is no ordinary thriller. Richard Folsom picks apart contemporary American culture with a keen probing eye that makes you question everything you thought you knew about what constitutes good moral fiber. Engrossingly told, with characters so alive they seem to leap off the page, this is a nail-biter that will keep you guessing right up to the triumphant last page. Robert Faircloth, a patriotic citizen, tired of watching America in decline, is drawn into an organization dedicated to returning the nation to its traditional values and beliefs, only to discover that people are being murdered to achieve that goal. He runs into an old friend, Jake Eastwood, a former CIA operative now working for the New Democratic Right. When Robert learns the NDR is trying to eradicate the extremism it believes is threatening America, he agrees to become a spokesman for the organization. His first task is to explain to the nation the significance of the Pareto Spread. Robert is committed to his work, until he learns of the increasing grisly body count and that thousands more have been targeted for death. Running for his life, and hoping to expose the truth behind the NDR, he flees to Cuba. He discovers that his daughter is being held by the NDR and will only be released after he completes his assignment. Meanwhile, celebrities, politicians, government officials and industry moguls are being tried and convicted in absentia, and then executed by horrible means.
Email the Author: theparetospread@earthlink.net

Richard Folsom was born in Fayetteville, NC, where his father served in the military with the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg. He graduated from Fayetteville Senior High School in 1967 and attended East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, graduating with a BA degree in History in 1971. He served for two years in the Army, and afterwards, returned to East Carolina where he completed an MA Ed in Instructional Design in 1974. In 1975, Richard accepted a position as Audio Visual Coordinator at Fayetteville Technical Institute in Fayetteville, NC, and in 1980, he moved on to a personnel/training position with Carolina Power & Light Company in Raleigh, NC. In 1986, he and his wife bought a small restaurant in Greenville, NC. Then in 1991, Richard accepted a position at Pitt County Memorial Hospital as a Management trainer. After ten years, he left the hospital to pursue writing full-time. When not writing, he prefers to be on his boat on the Pamlico River, or traveling to unique destinations to study first hand the locals he may want to include in future writing projects. He and his wife recently traveled through Alaska during the winter months, and cruised the coast during the summer. They have traveled across China, spent a week on a riverboat cruising the upper Amazon in Eastern Peru, and climbed Wayna Picchu, the mysterious 9,000’ mountain featured in the amazing photographs of the Inca ruins at Macchu Picchu. Richard and his wife, Jan, live on Blount’s Creek along the Pamlico River in Eastern NC. His wife continues to manage their restaurant in Greenville while he writes full time and assists her in the business. For queries and comments, contact the author at: theparetospread@earthlink.net