"I have sacrificed everything in my life that I consider precious in order to advance the political career of my husband."

-Pat Nixon (1912 - 1993)

With so-called "two-for-one candidacies" fielded by both major parties for next year's presidential election, the role of the candidate's spouse has taken on more significance than ever. In his new novel, The Weaver Conspiracy, inspired by the real-life presidential candidate-couples that we read about every day, fiction takes over where (one hopes) reality leaves off, as author Ken Blaisdell explores how far one woman will go to make sure that her husband ends up in the White House.

Blaisdell's protagonist in Weaver, Claire Bradley, an agent with the US Secret Service, is a strong, intelligent woman who has greatness thrust upon her when her heroic actions are broadcast on live TV during an attempt on the President's life. Humbly maintaining that she was just doing her job, the calculating First Lady nonetheless manipulates Bradley into the "poster girl" position of media spokesperson for the investigative task force, so that her status as hero du jour will help to pull in votes for her husband. But Bradley is far more independent and strong-willed than the First Lady, or anyone else, has bargained for. She holds to her tenet that "the truth must never be compromised," and digs through a tangled web of false leads, misinformation, and outright lies, to get to a truth that even Bradley is reluctant to believe when the web finally unravels.

As in all of his writing, Blaisdell has taken his cue from the real world and has created an intricately-woven tale of relevance and realism that has already garnered recognition with a nomination for the 2008 Colorado Independent Publishers Association Evvy Award for best mystery. One reviewer praised Weaver's authenticity by commenting, "I find myself expecting to hear updates about the book's characters and events on the evening news."

In reference to the title of the book, The Weaver Conspiracy, Blaisdell says that he took his inspiration from one of his grandmother's favorite sayings. He explains, "Most people are familiar with the old adage, 'Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.' Weaver is about people with many years of practice weaving tangled webs of deceit!"