One of the joys of writing novels is the creation of characters who seem to come to life--people who, just like actual human beings, change and evolve over time and with experience. This, of course, is the classic character arc of literature. Even so, to my mind, action-adventure protagonists should stay relatively stable--James Bond, for example, is always James Bond. Still, over the course of three novels and four novellas that chronicle the exploits of OSR field officers Park Skarda and April Force, subtle changes have occurred in these characters' interactions that just weren't conceivable when I first wrote Emerald, the flagship book of the series. While Skarda is still Skarda, still haunted by the murder of his wife, and April will always be April--enigmatic, competent, and dangerous--nevertheless they have changed in subtle ways over the span of their adventures.
Therefore I've decided to update Emerald with a second edition (WIP), taking into account what I've come to learn about Skarda and April over time. I hadn't re-read the novel since I published it in 2011--at that time it received some favorable attention from agents and publishers, but I decided to self-publish, anyway--and when I recently went through it again I was pleased to find that the story held up well as did the all-important pacing (I write for entertainment purposes--plane or beach reads that make my readers happily turning pages and take them away from their daily cares for a few hours--so fast pacing is a must). I did find a couple of typos and duplicated words that I and my proofreaders missed the first time (we're just human after all, but reviewers will give you a 1-star rating for a missing period), and there were a couple of factoids that my research at the time told me were correct, but which turned out to be wrong. It's essentially the same story, but a few things have been deleted and few added. So if you've already read it, no need to buy a new copy (unless you want to!) and if you haven't, I hope you will read it and enjoy it!
It should be out soon!
As always, many thanks to all my readers and fans!
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Thursday, June 25, 2015
The new Park Skarda-April Force thriller is out!
It's been a while since I published Sapphire (bundled with Platinum), but finally Iron (bundled with Ruby) is out, available at amazon.com!
Here is the book description:
Here is the book description:
OSR field officers Park Skarda and April Force are back
again for more edge-of-your-seat action in two exciting new novellas from Brian
January!
Iron
Astrophysicist and genius inventor Dr. Lucius Nero is a man
in torment, whose sickness is compelling him to do nothing less than destroy
the entire Earth by pulling asteroids out of their orbits to wreak destruction
on the planet.
When Skarda and April witness the first wave of meteorites
strike the Washington Monument, they set off on a race against time to try to
stop Nero from carrying out his suicidal plan.
From Washington, D.C. to the rust-colored deserts of
northern Arizona, it's a non-stop thrill ride as the minutes tick down toward
the last seconds before ultimate extinction.
Iron is a novella
of approximately 20,000 words, bundled with Ruby,
a novella of approximately 32,000 words.
Ruby
When Skarda finds an ancient ruby in a medieval burial
chamber, it triggers off a maelstrom of events that pit the OSR team against an
obese sex trafficker named Zaric, whose mercenary force steals the ruby and
kidnaps Hailey Buchanan, the daughter of a United States senator.
Now it's personal, and Skarda and April will stop at nothing
to rescue Hailey and get back the precious gem. From the streets of Paris to
the Croatian coast and the rugged wilds of the Dinaric Alps the chase is on!
Ruby is a novella
of approximately 32,000 words bundled with Iron,
a novella of approximately 20,000
words.
Here is the link to the Amazon page: http://amzn.to/1IfWicP
I hope you enjoy reading the novellas! As always, many thanks for all the support of readers and fans--I do appreciate it!
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