The Hot Author Report

Guest Post by Author Lisa A. Shiel

When you call your book The Evolution Conspiracy, one question naturally arises. Where’s the conspiracy?

Before I wrote the book I sat down and considered what I wanted to do with it. Humor is an important element in all of my writing, as is questioning mainstream dogma. In my novel The Hunt for Bigfoot I explored the problems with the accepted story of human origins within the framework of an adventure story, while in my nonfiction book Backyard Bigfoot I dove a little deeper into the topic. Those books whetted my appetite. I wanted to write a book about the problems with evolutionary theories, but only if I could find a different approach.

When I browsed bookstores, online and off, for books critiquing evolution I found two types—books promoting creationism, and books promoting intelligent design. I saw that I could make a contribution to the topic by focusing on the flaws in the evidence without relying on personal beliefs. The Evolution Conspiracy differs from other books in the way I mix secular criticism, hard science, and humor to forge a message of empowerment, that anyone can understand evolution and anyone can spot its flaws. Readers have brains, which means they can think for themselves. They don’t need me, or anyone else, telling them what to believe.

Herein lies the conspiracy. An awful lot of evolutionists prefer to decree rather than discuss. They say evolution is a fact, as incontrovertible as the existence of gravity. No doubt can exist, and scientists all agree, therefore anyone who doubts evolution’s reality is an idiot. Everyone must believe.

Conspiracies need not involve a cabal of individuals who meet in secret, exchanging coded greetings. The conspiracy among evolutionists is diffuse and widespread. Despite lacking the cohesion of a secret society, individual evolutionists (particularly the atheist variety) all work toward the same goal—silencing dissent. They use ridicule, personal attacks, and pomposity to stamp out the fires of dissent. Trouble is, for every fire they quash a dozen more ignite. A Gallup poll conducted in honor of Charles Darwin’s birthday in February of this year found that just 39% of respondents believed in evolution while 25% didn’t believe. Psychologist Tania Lombrozo discovered research shows most people who doubt evolution understand the concepts perfectly well. Ignorance is not to blame.

Yet the conspiracy continues. Browse pro-evolution websites and you will find countless complaints about the “anti-evolution movement” coupled with insults lobbed at anyone who disagrees with evolutionary theories. What can you do to fight the conspiracy? Arm yourself with facts. In The Evolution Conspiracy I expose the bare evidence for you in just 156 pages loaded with illustrations, a complete list of references, a glossary, and a thorough index. To top it off the foreword by Dr. Tyler Kokjohn, a microbiologist, offers a scientist’s insight into the realities of evolutionary theories. You get everything you need to make up your own mind. So go ahead—read, think, and decide for yourself!

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Lisa A. Shiel researches and writes about everything strange, from Bigfoot and UFOs to alternative history. She has been interviewed for big-city newspapers, national magazines, drive-time talk radio shows, and TV news. She has a master’s degree in library science. As a fiction writer, Lisa developed the Human Origins Series—which includes the novels The Hunt for Bigfoot and Lord of the Dead. Lisa’s other nonfiction books are Backyard Bigfoot: The True Story of Stick Signs, UFOs & the Sasquatch (a finalist in ForeWord Magazine’s 2006 Book of the Year Awards) and Strange Michigan. Her latest book, The Evolution Conspiracy, Vol. 1, marks the initial release in a planned three-book series. Find her online at EvolutionConspiracy.com, Twitter.com/LAShiel, or on Facebook.