conspiracy

March 17, 2012.

The official launch date of my newest novel, The Voynich Cypher.

An exciting book for me, as it represents a departure from my customary conspiracy thriller fare. Most of my novels are cast in the tradition of Robert Ludlum and Frederick Forsyth. But not Voynich. This is a completely different kind of thriller.

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AN EVEN NEWER BREAKING NEWS: A fun interview on process with Emerald Barnes.

NEW BREAKING NEWS! A fabulous interview with The Indie View on Voynich, writing, process & life.

BREAKING NEWS!  Great interview with bestselling award-winning author Melissa Foster on writing The Voynich Cypher, clowns, Satan and nude ice dancing.

UPDATE: . One of my favorites yet, with an awesome poet/author/friend.

NEWSFLASH: Book review of The Voynich Cypher by bestselling author Steven Konkoly. This is a must read.

NEWS: Guest blog wherein I discuss the writing of The Voynich Cypher and the big idea behind it at The Veil War blog.

BOOK REVIEW: A great book review of The Voynich Cypher by Books N Beans.

ANOTHER BOOK REVIEW: This time . Nice!

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The Voynich Cypher is an unusual kind of a book for me to pen. A pure adventure thriller in the mold of The Da Vinci Code, Foucault’s Pendulum and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Featuring the protagonist from Zero Sum, my Wall Street thriller – Dr. Steven Archer Cross.

It’s a race of a read, 100K words, and no fat or fluff. Just relentless story. And quite a story it is.

For more detail on what I was trying to accomplish or how I went about writing this one, read some of the above interviews and blogs. No point in belaboring them here. What I will say is that the end result surpassed even my most wild hopes, and is some of my best work to date. Suffice it to say I’m proud as hell of this book, and believe it will be the one that breaks it wide open.

It will be specially priced from its selling price of $5.97 for the launch, slashed to $3.33, and that pricing could end at any moment – I’m deeply discounting it so that it gets as many early readers as possible. So go buy it. Buy two, and give one to your dog or cat.

The synopsis pretty much covers what you can expect out of the book: When a sacred relic is stolen from its subterranean guarded vault, Dr. Steven Cross, amateur cryptographer, becomes embroiled in a deadly quest to decipher one of history’s most enigmatic documents – a 15th century parchment written entirely in unbreakable code; The Voynich Manuscript. Stalked by secret societies, and aided by the daughter of a murdered colleague, a trail of riddles catapults Cross from England to Italy to the Middle East, where a Byzantine web of ancient secrets leads him to a revelation so profound it will change the world order.

Here’s the cover. Let me know what you think

Buy The Voynich Cypher at Amazon.

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Thanks to one and all for your support in alerting Amazon to The Delphi Chronicle, Book 1, The Manuscript being free at Barnes and Noble. They just made it free on Amazon now. So the great experiment continues.

The Delphi Chronicle isn’t for everyone. I’ll warn you up front that it is disturbing in many ways, not the least of which is because the underlying conspiracy is so damned, well, plausible. It’s an ugly, dirty, gritty story of really horrible atrocities that actually took place, and offers explanations for a host of seemingly unconnected events that some will find jarring. I wrote it that way deliberately.

There are a few books that document the story that I used as the basis of the conspiracy – non-fiction tomes that came out in the early 1990s and were roundly ignored by the mainstream press. Just as the mainstream press today ignores the $16 trillion handed out to for-profit and foreign banks by the Fed.

My point is that the same mainstream press that credulously touted Nukes in Iraq and a terrorist under every mattress seems to ignore a lot of big stories when they’re uncomfortable for the interests of the power elite. But it’s not just the U.S. press – all the mainstream media does it in virtually every country (of course, most of the press is now owned by the same group of uber-powerful owners, but hey…). But when they did it in Russia or still do it in China, it’s because they’re evil and repressive minions of the devil. When they do it in the U.S., it’s, well, because we’re patriotic or right-thinking or support our troops/the war on drugs/crime/anyone different appearing or thinking/pick your favorite boogeyman.

Everyone that reads my fiction knows I favor quirky, imperfect heroes battling monumental odds. And the odds don’t get any more insurmountable than the antagonists in Delphi.

Lest anyone jump all over me for being politically polarized, or anti-American (whatever that means) let me just say that the essence of a good conspiracy is that it is highly plausible, scary, and realistic. The Delphi Chronicle‘s conspiracy is that, in spades. It posits a world where nothing is sacred, nor safe, and some will find that way too close to home for comfort. I’d say look in the mirror before getting pissy with me. Take a hard look at recent events, and ask yourself if the reason you don’t like the underlying conspiracy is because I’m a bad man, or because it sounds way too plausible for your comfort zone.

Get it while it’s free. It is the first book in a trilogy – a serial trilogy, meaning that the story is spread over three installments. I have bundled books 2 and 3 at a special price so you don’t have to pay through the nose for the two books separately. I hope you enjoy my little story, and please, no black helicopters need circle. Because we all know it is fiction. As in a harmless invention. I even say so in the beginning. Any resemblance to people living or dead is purely coincidental. So get over it already. And as always, to my critics, you can suck it. Respectfully, of course. If you don’t like my books, go write your own, titled “Why Russell Should Die Horribly Of Ebola.” Stop whining about mine. It just encourages me.

For all the rest of you, let me know what you think. I hope you like it.

I’m hard at work editing my next one, The Voynich Cypher – a sort of Cussler meets Dan Brown adventure/conspiracy novel that’s a departure for me; as well as about 35% through the sequel to King of Swords – Revenge of the Assassin. So March and April will see a couple more from me. In the meantime, check out Delphi. At free, it’s pretty easy. Oh, and pick up the prequel to King of Swords, which is also free for a limited time – Night of the Assassin.

To get Delphi FREE, click here. To get Night FREE, click here.

And thanks for the continued support. You rock. You know who you are, and you know I know you do. Wink.

Now go get some free swag, already.

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Night of the Assassin just went free on Amazon.

Thank you to everyone for your support in getting Night of the Assassin free. This represents the next phase in my marketing plan – to give away the prequel to King of Swords, in an effort to broaden my readership and gain exposure.

Night is one of my favorite books, for a host of reasons, not the least of which that it is the prequel to what is arguably my best work, and absolutely one of my all time favorites. I don’t know why these two books turned out the way they did, but for whatever reason, I’m thankful.

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MORE ACCOLADES: Fatal Exchange was the favorite book of 2011 for Kate Farrel at The Kindle Book Review.

INTERVIEW: I was i by @WritingTips101. Worth a look, & please Stumbleupon it at the bottom using the little green button.

BIG NEWS: International bestselling pet bio An Angel With Fur is free on Amazon for a few days. If you want a whole other side of me, pick that up. Guaranteed it will move you.

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So why give away what is one of my favorite books? Isn’t my craft something worth being paid for?

Absolutely. My conviction is that once readers get their hands on Night, they’ll know two things. First, that it is a different kind of read, and one that’s a good representation of my unique writing style. And second, that they’ll want to read King of Swords next. I’m so convinced I’m willing to skip the part where I get paid for Night, at least for a limited time, so that readers can see what I’m talking about – so I can back my mouth without risk to them. I would say that they’ll know where they fall in their opinion of the book within the first 10 pages. That fast.

People are either going to love Night, or hate it. That simple. Doubt that there will be many “I don’t know, it was okay” reviews. It’s a polarizing book, that chronicles the making of a monster – the super assassin El Rey, from King of Swords.

Pick up a copy, and see if I’m full of it or not. And enjoy, with my compliments, for as long as it lasts. You can get Night of the Assassin here. And if you like it, or any of my books, please take the time to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads.

If you like this blog, hit the Stumbleupon button down at the bottom (the little green guy) and share it. Gracias.

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And for those who keep asking who my cover artist is, shoot me an e-mail at [email protected] and I’ll get you the contact info. Good, fast and cheap.

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