Just Money

By Les Broad

England in the early 1990s – a prosperous land where unscrupulous financial cowboys could become rich by ignoring rules. One group of those cowboys hit on a really bright idea when they realised that by professing devout Christianity they could set themselves up as investment managers to a large number of trusting, financially naïve and wealthy people.
The frauds they committed were breathtaking in their rage and audacity, but they became too greedy. Their lucrative empire collapsed.
The authorities needed to sort out the terrible mess left behind, but didn't do it well. Into this mass of fraud and incompetence stepped an innocent accountant: his efforts made a real difference to hundreds of people who between them had lost millions.
The story is a fictionalised account of events that were all to real: the author was that accountant and suffered through the most stressful period of his life in trying to put it all right. There are threads of the story that just fade away with ho apparent conclusion – it's unsatisfying, but that's just the way it happened.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Les Broad
• Release date: Sep 15, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465704870

Les Broad

That picture isn't me. It's my much-loved Border Collie bitch, who I lost to a spinal tumour in April 2011. She deserves this memorial.I was born a very, very long time ago, very close to my mother in England. Now I live in Wales, which isn't England but is part of the UK. I've written all sorts of stuff, but mostly science fiction. It's sort of believable sci-fi - maybe it can't happen today, but might tomorrow, you know? The sci-fi novels are all on the theme of 'first contact' and the first one is being given away free. You'll have to pay for the others. Sorry.I've got other novels, short stories and things that are supposed to be funny too but whether they are is your decision, right?Some of the books are based on real incidents - I know they are, because they happened to me. There are five in total, I've released two, two are being tidied up and the last one won't be finished for a while yet. If you read one, remember it all happened to me and that I don't mind being laughed at. I'm used to it.A while back I released a free book, 'Top Of The Shop'. (If you're a writer you might want to read it. I'll say no more.) I've since released another one, 'Tea, Drums And Speed'. So now the first sci-fi novel is free, 'Top Of The Shop' is free, and there's a free volume of short stories. I must be mad, giving this stuff away. Mind you, it hasn't stopped me giving away a book of political thoughts. If you're from Wales, or British, or even interested in Welsh politics, it might be worth reading.There's also a free book about some films that appeal to me. You might find it interesting but I thought it would be a bit cheeky to want money for it. Have it on me.There's one little thing I don't understand. Of everything I've put on this site, I think the stories in 'Swift Shifts' are the funniest, yet it's the title that's looked at least often. Why is that, do you think?After a gap of several months I've now added a new three-story volume of funny stories. To balance this, there's a thoroughly miserrable one on its way!A word or two about my pricing strategy might be worthwhile. A lot of people on this site (and I apologise if I've got this wrong) quote prices that are just a bit cheaper than you'd see in a bookstore. I don't do that. Ebooks don't have production or distribution costs, so why should you, the book buyer, have to pay even a tiny share of something that doesn't exist? Isn't it better to spend, say, $3 on three little books than on just one? I want you to enjoy what I've written, and at a realistic cost to you that I can live with. Simple, isn't it?I'll add to this from time to time - there's no point saying everything at once, is there? You'd have no need to come back, would you?

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