Awarded First Place in the 2024 Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBA) in the Category of Humor & Satire "Burkland packs immense humor and irony into his prose..." The BookLife Prize "A fun, pithy sendup of one of the best-known origin stories." -Kirkus Reviews "...a sharp, shrewd, witty, and occasionally wacky alternate-universe Bible..." - Greg Thompson, writer-producer "This book merits book-club discussion and argument." -Glenn R. Miller, author On a warm Galilean night, Mary and Joseph get to know each other (in the biblical sense) in a secluded garden in Nazareth. Nine months later, Mary's pious mother, seeing that her young, unwed daughter is pregnant, enlists the help of a pompous high priest to characterize the pregnancy as divine, of God's seed. When Mary refuses to go along with her mother's scheme, she and Joseph enter a battle with her parents over every aspect of the birth and the fate of their baby. As word of a miraculous virgin birth spreads through Bethlehem, factions form, and allegiances shift among unscrupulous shepherds, dubious Wise Men, an elderly innkeeper, an earnest but malodorous peasant and an aging cat with a penchant for prophecy-all trying to answer the crucial question: Is the baby named Jesus truly the Son of God or merely a mortal born of earthly parents? "A fun, pithy sendup of one of the best-known origin stories." -Kirkus Reviews "Bill Burkland has written a sharp, shrewd, witty, and occasionally wacky alternate-universe Bible-though who's to say whether his version might be closer to the truth?" -Greg Thompson, writer-producer, Bob's Burgers "I swear to God, if Bible class had been as fun as Bill Burkland's The Misconceived Conception of a Baby Named Jesus , I would still be enrolled. Fun, funny, and wise, Misconceived Conception is the Gospel as written by Matthew, Mark, Abbott and Costello. To say I loved Burkland's humor, wit, and cleverness within this book would serve as an understatement. In Burkland's brilliant hands, cats talk and think, shepherds are high, wise men stoop low, and Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus are lovingly human characters. This book merits book- club discussion and argument. Don't forget the wineskins." -Glenn R. Miller, author of Doorman Wanted "Take one part of The Chosen and two parts of The Life of Brian and you end up with a whimsical look at the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Bill Burkland's novel is a wild satirical look at the events narrated by the Gospel written by Luke. From overbearing parents to clueless wise men to confused shepherds, The Misconceived Conception of a Baby Named Jesus is a funny and creative retelling of the birth story of Jesus." -Rick Spees, author of Capitol Gains "History depends on the quality of research and perspective of the historian. In The Misconceived Conception of a Baby Named Jesus , author Bill Burkland's version of 'the Greatest Story Ever Told' will blow your mind and might even raise a chuckle or two. It's satire that could earn you a ticket to down under, and I don't mean Australia. Take care. If you read it, you just might burst into flames." -John J. Jessop, author of Pleasuria: Take as Directed, Murder by Road Trip, The Realtor's Curse, A Fishy Tale, The Guardian Angel Series Long ago, Bill Burkland spent his misguided youth attending Mass at Our Lady of Fatima on Sunday mornings and catechism class on Monday afternoons. In both cases, he pretended to listen earnestly while his undisciplined mind wandered to thoughts of girls, football, horse racing, and vices that are too numerous to list here but have been fully disclosed in several epic-length confessional visits. Unfortunately, these and other bad habits have followed Bill into adulthood resulting in the writing of The Misconceived Conception of a Baby Named Jesus. Despite these shortcomings, Bill has somehow managed to stay married to his high-school sweetheart, Shawn, for over 40 years, and they have somehow managed to raise three wonderful kids, each with equally wonderful partners.Prior to writing the Misconceived Conception, Bill spent 18 years as a Senior Manager and Director at Amazon.com with assignments in the US, Luxembourg and the UK. He held leadership roles in Amazon's Retail, Kindle, B2B and Alexa organizations.