Through the Narrows

Book 2 of the Tomahawk & Saber series, Through the Narrows, is available now!

Wolf Tongue and Pyke's adventures continue as they return a familiar, but not very friendly, place, prompted by reports of Indian raiding.

Readers that enjoyed the first in the series, Language of the Bear, are bound to like this one. If LOTB was Heart of Darkness meets Lethal Weapon, Through the Narrows is Zulu meets The Searchers.

Yes, really.

Though it's set in the Province of Pennsylvania in the mid 18th century, this book functions very much like a Western. When you read it, you'll see what I mean.

Things get pretty dark in this story. Wolf Tongue's tribe continues to dwindle. Pyke's career has stalled. And both are forced to defend a less-than-deserving town.

Will we see more of Wolf Tongue and Pyke?

I hope so...

Here's the blurb for Through the Narrows:

Wolf Tongue of the Susquehannock and Lieutenant Hugh Pyke of the British Army barely survived their first mission together. Now with the French and Indian War beginning to flame around them, the frontier of the Pennsylvania Colony is restless.

When they’re called back to protect Millers Town from Indian raiders, Pyke and Wolf Tongue discover the settlement is outnumbered and there is no militia to reinforce them. Even worse, Pyke and Wolf Tongue fear the townsfolk harbor secrets just as deadly as their attackers.

As Pyke tries to build a haphazard defense with a band of farmers and children against an almost inevitable slaughter, the mysteries of the town begin to unravel. Pyke realizes his life is in danger from the very people he is duty-bound to protect—perhaps, even from the beautiful French outcast who seems to know more than she should.

With a final, crushing attack imminent, Wolf Tongue hurries to rescue a kidnapped girl who might be the only hope for the town’s survival while Pyke struggles to protect the innocent. As they carve away layers of deceit, both men must confront the terrible truths behind Millers Town to survive the dangers to their lives, their peoples, and their honor.

Through the Narrows continues the historical adventure of the Tomahawk and Saber series, filled with suspense and action that captures the deadly brutality, danger, and strength of Colonial America.

PAPERBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you who prefer to read paperbacks, I'm stoked to announce Language of the Bear is now available in print through Amazon.

Let the insanity begin...or continue at an increased rate

I've made The Unearthed free. Its my best-selling book, but far from being a best-seller ;-)

You can download it here:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

This is all part of a little experiment. I'm going to leave it up for free for a little while (don't know how long) to see if this stirs up interest in the series.

Still not sure about The Unearthed series?

Well, I'm also extending my Free Book offer. Sign up for my Mailing List and you can read any one of my books of your choosing for free.

I'm not very good at math, but that means with a few clicks you can read TWO OF MY BOOKS FOR FREE, ONE OF THEM YOUR CHOOSING.

Sounds too good to be true, right? It's not, I swear.

But get in now, because like I said I don't know how long I'm going to run this special offer.

Enter to win a FREE AUTOGRAPHED COPY of Language of the Bear!!!!!!

Nate and I are running a giveaways contest over on Goodreads right now. We will be sending out FIVE FREE AUTOGRAPHED COPIES of Language of the Bear, the first in our historical series set in Pennsylvania in the days of the French and Indian War.

This is all leading up to the release of the second book in the series, Through the Narrows. That one is with our editors now and will be out very soon (as in, this month). I haven't talked too much about Through the Narrows yet, so here's a teaser:

In the second book of the Tomahawk & Saber series, Wolf Tongue and Pyke find themselves defending a less-than-deserving small town on the Pennsylvania frontier against a vastly superior force of Mingos who are out for blood.

If you're a fan of history, adventure, and good old-fashioned character-driven action stories, then you should check these books out. They're fast, fun, violent, and at times brutal.

3 Early Reviews of LOTB

Nate and I have gotten three real good reviews so far on Language of the Bear. Each one does a nice job of giving a good feel for the characters and plot without giving anything away. Two reviewers (without prodding from us, I swear!) were gracious enough to compare the book to its spiritual predecessor, Last of the Mohicans. That's quite a compliment so I want to send a big thank you to our early reviewers so far.

***

I've made a habit in the past on my solo projects of offering free copies in exchange for honest reviews, a practice that has served both readers and myself well. People are more willing to try out a new author when the book is free, and the subsequent reviews help prospective readers make informed buying decisions.

So now I'd like to extend that offer on Language of the Bear.

If you'd like a free copy in exchange for writing an honest review of the book on Amazon, shoot me an email at ronaniswriting@gmail.com.

This is a limited time offer, however. First ten to email get a free copy. You really have nothing to lose: if historical fiction and old-school adventure are your thing, then this book is right up your alley. It will cost you nothing but a couple minutes of your time once you're finished the book to write up a review.

Language of the Bear Available Now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's here, folks.

This book is the start of the series Nate and I have planned out set around the time of the French & Indian War. It features not one, but TWO main characters who are brought together by circumstance to undertake a secret, dangerous mission on the frontier of Colonial Pennsylvania.

Fair warning, this book is not for the faint of heart. Murder, betrayal, scalping, hanging, and a blood-soaked finale caps it all off. This is James Fenimore Cooper on steroids.

Check out the free sample over on Amazon, and if you like the book, please leave us a review.

Can I get a "Hell, Yeah!"?

Language of the Bear will be available on Friday, May 8th! And here's the cover art which looks effing great.

All my books are labors of love, and this one is no exception. It's filled with action, danger, suspense, thrills, romance, and some "oh crap" reversals of fortune.

But what makes this book really special to me is I got to write it with one of my best friends, fellow author Nate Green. Collaborating on a story was such an enlightening process--with Nate's feedback I was able to see a few of my many artistic blind spots--and the end product is a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. I could not have written this good a book without Nate.

Look for it May 8th on Amazon. We're hard at work on the sequel, Through the Narrows, and will have that out soon as well.

2015 Production Schedule

They say it's good to have goals. So here are mine. I hope to release these books in 2015:

Solo Projects:

• OtherWorld
• MG Fantasy (have an idea but no title)
• The Skim (noir)
• The Dream Machine (Unearthed #6)
• The Missing (Unearthed #7)
• The 8th Man (new sci-fi, mystery series)

Tomahawk & Saber series with Nate Green:

• Language of the Bear
• Through the Narrows
• #3

Looking this over, I realize this production schedule is totally unrealistic. But I'd rather try to do too much instead of not enough. Better to always be pushing.

It's going to be an interesting 2015...

Want to See Chapter 2 of Language of the Bear Before We Release It?

You can by signing up for my Newsletter before Thursday.

What's that you say? You also want to read Chapter 1 before the book is out?

Then go sign up for my buddy Nate Green's Newsletter. As fast as you can!

Wary about signing up for two different Newsletters? Don't be. We're not spamming asshats who email any time a random thought enters our minds. We email sparingly, only when it's important, like to impart information about new releases or special deals.

Still wary? That's okay. You can just buy the book when it comes out ;-)

Why did we do it this way?

Language of the Bear is told from two points of view. And I don't mean hero and villain. I mean two heroes. That's right. You get two protagonists for the price of one. The story alternates, chapter-by-chapter, from their points of view. In Chapter 1 we're introduced to Wolf Tongue, a brash Susquehannock warrior with a wicked sense of humor, and not-so-small chip on his shoulder out to prove himself. In Chapter 2, Lieutenant Hugh Pyke, a redcoat still new to the Pennsylvania Colony, takes the stage. In the short span of these intro chapters there are: double-crosses, blood challenges, a duel, a possible murder, romantic entanglements, backroom machinations...and other general awesomeness.

If that sounds like your bag, get in on the action early by signing up for our Newsletters. You won't be disappointed.

Two New Releases in One Month?!

I write a lot. Much of what I write is not fit for public consumption, but over time the "crap percentage" has slowly decreased.

I enjoy writing a lot. Many so-called "writers" spend their time justifying why they couldn't get any words down in a day, in a week, in a month. Life got in the way. Family got in the way. Work got in the way.

Truth is, everything will get in the way. If you let it.

So I try not to let it. I produce a lot of words and sometimes they're crap and sometimes they're good. But I put the time in. Nothing is more important than A-I-C.

Ass in chair.

So that's why I get to say this: in April, I will release not one, but TWO new titles.

Now in all fairness, the second book out this month was a collaboration with my fellow author, Nate Green. So I only did half the work on that. But still, I'm counting this as two books in one month.

***

Language of the Bear, our historical novel, is the best story I've ever been part of. I think it's the strongest in terms of character, dizzying with its reversal of fortune every few minutes plot, and broad in scope. It's an adventure story, it's a BIG story, where both main characters (that's right, there are TWO heroes) leave the comfort of their usual surroundings and journey out into the often harsh world and grow. There's plenty of action and turns and witty hero banter and it all culminates with one kick-ass finale. I can't wait to hit PUBLISH on this one.

The New Book Is On Goodreads

Language of the Bear

I am super-freaking-excited. The latest book, the best book I've been a part of (so far), is up on Goodreads and out next month.

We're still working with our kick-ass designer on the cover, and we'll have a reveal of that soon. But for now, if you're interested in the book please add it to your TBR on Goodreads. It'll help us build interest leading up to the e-release next month on Amazon.

***

Nate Green is a good friend and a gifted writer. We've both been chasing this crazy dream of writing fiction for a living for awhile. A few years back, we were in his truck, talking about stories and writing and how exciting and difficult and frustrating and interesting the process was and somewhere in that conversation we got the crazy idea to write a book together.

That book eventually became Language of the Bear.

A collaboration really appealed to me. I looked forward to doing something that for years had been a solitary, banging-your-head-against-the-wall pursuit. Working with Nate on a story he was totally invested in also gave me a great sounding board for ideas, character arcs, and story-telling. I hope I've been as helpful to him as he's been to me.

We settled on a historical novel, a good old-fashioned adventure that reminded us of the books we'd read growing up, with one notable qualification. We agreed early on we weren't going to whitewash history and we weren't going to give the characters modern sensibilities. The world would be as it was: increasingly short, often nasty, and sometimes brutish.

We shopped Language of the Bear to agents and editors and got this close several times, which was both encouraging and frustrating. But nobody bit. We passed it around to friends and family and they told us it was great, but of course you have to take the opinions of loved ones with a healthy dose of skepticism. The book, as much as we liked it, seemed doomed to live out its life on our computers.

***

Meanwhile I'd made the decision to indie publish my solo projects, and in particular my paranormal thrillers. Readers slowly but surely found The Unearthed series and once I started to see (very modest) success with it, Nate and I discussed the possibility of indie pubbing Language of the Bear as well. Eventually we decided it was a good idea. As I've said with my own books, the best judge of the work is the reader and this way readers will let us know if it's any good. ;-)

***

Nate and I had such a great time writing the book together, we decided to make it into a series and start another series as well. More to come on those books, but we're hard at work on them.

Random, Made-Up Q&A

Here are some questions I've totally made up but figure you've asked yourself ever since I put out The Unearthed and how I would answer them:

Q: Why do you use photos for all your covers?
A: Two reasons. It's cool. Also, I'm a huge movie fan and like to think my books are cinematic. I realize how ridiculous that sounds now that I've typed it.

Q: You do realize The Unearthed is written upside-down on the cover?
A: I was really drunk when I approved the cover. Now my cover artist won't right-side-up the title unless I pay him more money. He's holding me financially hostage. Just kidding. My cover artist is a great guy, very gifted with the visual arts and a talented musician. Some day (another post) I'll introduce him.

Q: Why did you make Tim McCloskey such a #*&%?
A: Believe it or not, I meant for Tim to be the main protagonist of The Unearthed when I wrote it a few years back. And he kind of is. But Eddie ultimately made for the more interesting character so....(I'm respecting the worst-kept secret here)

Q: How do you come up with your ideas?
A: Pull them out of the ether. (joking) The same way you probably get your ideas about how to do your job better, or what kind of house/car you'd like, or what shirt to buy, or how to fix that damned leak in the bathroom. Don't let any writers bullshit you and tell you their process is magic and special. For The Accused and the Damned, I literally stumbled across a news article about an accused wife-beating asshole who said a ghost had hit his wife. (unfortunately, I'm not joking here)

Q: Will Eddie ever have a final confrontation with Eamon Moriarty?
A: (SPOILER ALERT) Eddie has a confrontation with Eamon in The Hysteria. Whether it's the final one or not, I won't answer.

Q: Will Eddie ever get married?
A: Every cynic is a romantic at heart. Eddie is no different and I'll leave it at that.

Q: Did you model Eddie after yourself?
A: Eddie is not little old, boring me. He's probably the best and worst of me, all at the same time. How's that for an answer?

Q: When will Eddie finally see Stan and Moira?!?! And will they ever work together again?
A: Nice use of the double-interrobang there. Eddie does visit Stan and Moira in one of these books. But you'll have to buy/borrow them to figure out which one. (boohaha)And I'm just now toying with the idea of writing an "in-between-quel" starring Stan and Moira. I think they would make for a great "Nick and Nora Charles" of the paranormal world. (Kudos if you got that reference.)

Q: So...is Eddie a real person?
A: Maybe...No...Yes...Sometimes. He definitely is, in my mind at least.

Q: Did you really grow up in New Jersey? And my apologies if you did.
A: HEY! No need to apologize, you arsehole! New Jersey is a great state. Just ask all those annoying Pennsylvanians and New Yorkers who crowd our beaches every summer. Huh? What's up now?

Q: Do you really still live in New Jersey?
A: Enough with the Jersey cracks.

Q: Because your PO Box has a Jenkintown, PA address.
A: I'm glad you (hypothetically) noticed. By law I'm required to list a physical address to potential newsletter subscribers. I purchased a PO Box because I didn't want the world to know what my actual address was. I'm sure you understand. If you want to send me something please Think Green and email me instead. Thanks!

Q: Hey! I've got an idea for an Eddie book--
A: Let me stop you right there. I'm sure it's a great idea. I'm sure it's probably as good or better an idea than I can come up with. But please don't send me ideas for stories, or your story, or your friend's idea for a story, or your friend's story. For legal reasons I can't read them. I don't want to have to hire Denard.

Q: Do you ever collaborate with other authors?
A: I do! And I'm very lucky to work with the one and only Nathanael Green. One day Nate will realize he's a much better writer than me and that he doesn't need my help. Until then, I will ride his coattails to fortune and glory! (boohaha)

Q: So I just checked your Amazon Author Page and don't see any collaborations included in your bibliography...so have you actually written something with Nate?
A: Two things. And...wait for it...wait for it...

(still waiting for it)

A: (cont'd) Our historical novel, Language of the Bear, will be available in April, 2015 on Amazon! Here's the skinny: A young, British officer and a brash Susquehannock warrior are forced to undertake a secret mission to assassinate a rogue English lord who is stirring up trouble in the wilds of Pennsylvania in the year or so before the French and Indian War.

Q: What's the story like?
A: If it were a drink recipe:

• one part Heart of Darkness
• one part Last of the Mohicans
• one part Lethal Weapon
• one part Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• ALL BADASS

Q: ...Really?
A: Would I lie in response to a hypothetical question you didn't actually ask me?

Q: Is it part of a series?
A: Yes. We're calling it the Saber and Tomahawk Series.

Q: You said you wrote two things with Nate. What about the other story?
A: Currently being shopped to agents and editors. Can't talk details. (See what I did there?)

Q: That's pretty cool...but, seriously...New Jersey?
A: Next question.

Q: How many books long will The Unearthed series be?
A: I'm thinking 8 or 9. But if they continue to sell and I get more ideas and I can figure out a way to keep Eddie interesting, I'll just keep going.

Q: In the back of your books, you reference all these other books in different genres you're working on. When will they be out?
A: I wish I knew. I have a publishing schedule worked out but it is constantly changing. Readers keep asking me for more Eddie books, so for now it makes sense to focus my efforts there. If I didn't also have a full-time (non-writing) job, I'd pump out books even more quickly.

Q: When will your books be available as hardbacks/paperbacks/audio?
A: Some day in the hopefully not-too-distant future.

Q: Which author(s) do you admire?
A: The hard-working, no-nonsense ones who produce quality stuff over a long period of time. The ones dedicated to their craft. Guys like Chandler, MacDonald, Parker, and Cornwell.