Tag: ordo Lupus

Vampire Snakes & the Holy Grail of mythic beasts

An ex-spy wakes up in an inescapable 13th Century dungeon; no light, no food, no way out!

The Devil’s Own Dice is Book 3 in the Ordo Lupus and the Blood Moon Prophecy series, which precedes the Grail of the Secret Sun, part one of The Hole Inside the Earth – quest for the the Holy Grail.

Vampire Snakes & the Holy Grail of mythic beasts

“A ‘Fully Loaded’ Novel” – 1DreamReader on Amazon

It’s pitch black, he doesn’t know his jailer or remember his name.

Could his captors be his arch-enemies; the Biblical vampire Serpents, the Holy Grail of mythic beasts?

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What should I call the Ordo Lupus Series?

Today, something a bit different. I need to think of a new name for the Ordo Lupus Series. The third book, to be published next year, begins to focus more on a good (ie benevolent) vampire and we will see less of Ordo Lupus. However, the story does continue and I don’t see an end to it at the moment so I need a series title which includes ‘Ordo Lupus’ but also suggests the other elements; The Serpents and also the good vampire. The phrase or sentence needs to be of no more than 7 words and I would suggest it should include the word ‘blood.’ Include the word vampire if you like but bear in mind that the Ordo Lupus books are paranormal thrillers and not fantasies.

Ordo Lupus II: The Devil's Own Dice cover — Ordo Lupus II: The Devil’s Own Dice cover

Please, please give me your ideas by commenting below. The best suggestion wins a free eBook copy of any one of my books. Don’t go away without suggesting something!

What WIP are you working on now?

Here is an update of what I am doing. If you are a writer or reader, tell me; what have you been up to?

New Book Covers

I have had new covers designed for The Ice Boat and The Man Who Recreated Himself. Tell me what you think. Thanks to those who have helped me; you know who you are. New covers for Infinite Blue Heaven and the Short Stories volumes are on the way.

The lovely new cover says it all about this book. A lonely man searches for love in some of the remotest, as well some of the most urbanised, places on Earth. There is a coldness in his heart that he doesn’t seem to be able to fill. The covers for Volume 2 and the Boxed Set are of the same design.

I love this new design! The tunnel looks like a key-hole to me and that represents the idea that, in some way, James Brennan has the key to the future of man. The butterfly symbolises metamorphosis.

The Ordo Lupus and the Temple Gate – Extended Edition sale

The giveaway of this book was quite successful, with about 300 copies downloaded. What has been great is that I sold 3 copies since the sale ended! Continue reading “What WIP are you working on now?” →

Ordo Lupus: who do you think they are?

This week: Grammar and Onomatopoeia and – Ordo Lupus (The Order of the Wolf): who do you think they are?

Grammar and Onomatopoeia

Grammar
I am just doing a light re-edit of the second book in the Ordo Lupus series: The Devil’s Own Dice. I have been pleasantly surprised how good it is! I occasionally go back to old books to just bring the grammar up to date. This is because, not only do my grammar skills improve as I publish more work but also there are fashions in grammar and these gradually change! Yes, it’s true!

Of course everybody knows that the meaning of a word can change over time. This field of study is called semantics. The obvious example is ‘gay’. When I was young this simply meant ‘happy’ or ‘bright and cheerful’. Now it most usually denotes someone physically attracted to the same sex.

Another word which changes meaning with time is ‘insidious’. The meaning of this word seems to actually fluctuate during cycles of about ten years. It can sometimes mean ‘subtle’ and sometimes mean ‘subtly bad’.

In two of my books, written in the mid-noughties, the phrase ‘in-control’ comes up quite a lot. People actually used said that a lot during the 80s and 90s. Now, nobody seems to use it so I take it out wherever I see it. Continue reading “Ordo Lupus: who do you think they are?” →

Iron II: Unknown Place, Unknown Universe

I am hoping to publish Iron II: Unknown Place, Unknown Universe in March/April after an extensive rewrite. I have taken out a Chapter’s equivalent in the middle of the book, added something new to the final battle (which will tie in with Book III) and generally tidied up the dialogue, adding idioms for the three youngsters to make their individual speech-patterns more distinct. It’s the first time I have written a story with three lead characters and it’s quite a challenge making speech clear without writing ‘he said’ and ‘she said’ all over the place.

I am also thinking about the plot for Iron III – which I think will take place predominantly in space, and several other stories which I have in mind.
My review in the Science Fiction and Fantasy South Africa group didn’t materialise (yet?) but I am hoping one will appear For Ordo Lupus and the Temple Gate soon on Big Al’s Blog.
Ordo Lupus and the Temple Gate Paperback is now out as a Second Edition with the same cover as the e-book.