(Cleveland, Ohio, January 26, 2008) 1,000 copies of LETHAL AMBITION (Capstone Fiction, July 2007), the latest Cleveland-based legal thriller by Ohio author Michael Swiger, are slated to be given away at the largest, most prestigious legal technology trade show in the United States Feb. 5-7 at the Hilton Hotel in New York City. A buyer for two subsidiaries of Seagate (EVault and MetaLINCS) purchased the books to be given to everyone attending the event. Last year Seagate distributed copies of Grisham’s latest novel. Representatives from every major law firm in the United States attend this show.

Since debuting last July Swiger’s book has done well, jockeying with Grisham over the last three months on Amazon.com’s bestseller list in both the Legal and Political thriller categories. “It’s surreal to see my book on the same charts with writers like John Grisham and Tom Clancy,” Swiger said, “especially when you consider where I got my start.” Unlike Grisham who was a practicing lawyer when he wrote A TIME TO KILL, Swiger began writing in 1997 while an inmate in the Ohio Department of Corrections, serving a 21-50 year sentence for Involuntary Manslaughter. He caught his first major literary break when his manuscript placed second in the Malice Domestic Contest, a national writing contest sponsored by St. Martin’s Press. His impressive showing led him to sign with the Helen Rees Literary Agency, where Swiger joined other literary luminaries such as Alan Dershowitz.

During his incarceration Swiger earned three college degrees, published two novels under the pen-name Michael Andrew, amassed 23,000 Community Service Hours, and attended seminary. Released in 2006 Swiger now serves on the pastoral staff at the Gospel House Church in Walton Hills, where he works primarily in prison ministry. “I am blessed to be able to reach back and help the men I left behind.”

Politics. Power. Murder. If you want something bad enough, would you kill for it? Before Barak Obama stormed onto the national stage, Marcus Blanchard, an African American politician within the pages of LETHAL AMBITION, sought to bring change to the political establishment, and found himself charged with murder. It's up the quirky, arthritic law professor, Edward Mead, who hasn't been in a courtroom in years, to defend his friend and client...while the State of Ohio seeks the death penalty.

LETHAL AMBITION (ISBN: 978-1-60290-132-2) Trade Paperback, $15.95.

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