Tuesday, April 30, 2013

The Beginning is the End - Second Coming

  THE END... It was the end of everything.  You could feel it like an expectant audience anticipating, even relishing, the final scene of a bad play that ran too long. Only the curtain needed to fall, and it would drop soon. 
 This play had run long, long and ridiculous and filled with tragedy.  The world was on its last legs and everyone knew it.  Some had given up entirely, given up hope and love and life. Some plotted while others plodded, only going through the motions of living.  The impending doom led certain individuals to commit heinous and unspeakable acts, losing what remained of civility and compassion.  A few, a precious few, still hoped and prayed and did what they could to preserve their humanity.
 But even for them the end was coming, closer and closer and closer.

Second Coming on Kindle

Friday, April 26, 2013

Post-apocalypse world of Second Coming

Second Coming is my latest novel, and is now available on Kindle. Second Coming is a story set in the not-too-distant future where mankind teeters on the edge of its existence as the world is ravaged with ecological disaster.
  
Just why have I left the mystery/detective genre and chosen a post-apocalyptic story for my latest project? Some have said the writer does not choose his subjects, but rather the subject chooses the writer.

Second Coming is a story that occurred to me and would not leave me until the project was finished. I will be the first to admit I am not a devotee of the post-apocalyptic genre, but I do like them when they are done well.

According to the Holy Bible, the Second Coming is to herald Jesus Christ’s return to earth, and with Him will come the divine judgement through war, famine and earthquakes.
The Old World has passed away.      
In the New World three strangers – a scientist turned drunk, a young prostitute, and a professional killer-- are inexorably drawn together by an angel.  Their new God-given vocation is to find and protect a baby –  who may very well be the second child of God –  who is delivered into the world to save mankind and Earth. In order to carry out their mission the three strangers must overcome evil forces at work who would destroy them in order to kill the child.
    Second Coming is the story of redemption and atonement of three people acting on instinct and faith risking their lives to save a child from the clutches of an evil empire in a world gone mad. Second Coming is our world, yet somewhat alien with strange customs and filled with bizarre creatures.   

Second Coming on Kindle 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Covers by Greg Maxwell

For most of my Kindle books I chose Greg Maxwell to design my covers. Greg is a graduate of the University of Windsor, he is a graphic artist, an animator, a film-maker, and a long-time friend of our family.

I have to say Greg’s last work for my latest novel Second Coming has to be my favourite. Second Coming is a post-apocalyptic story and I think Greg’s cover design captures the essence of the book. It is haunting and mysterious. I think the style is subtle and minimalistic. The three dark figures are small but stand out with backlighting casting shadows on the foreground of a cracked desert.


This is the cover Greg designed for my medieval Templar mystery, The Templar and the True Cross. I was originally picturing something with cool graphics of armour, but Greg had other ideas. The title is the artwork, using a sword for the T in Templar and a wooden cross for the T in True. The rest of the cover looks old, like an ancient leather cover cracked, discoloured and worn. There are a number of Templar books with nice graphics of swords and armour, but I think Greg’s simple design is its strength and stands out for its uniqueness.


The next two covers Greg designed for my Sherlock Holmes novels. They are designed to be a matching set, but different in their own right. Both books have a Canadian connection which is shown in the artwork.

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Greg Maxwell  for all the great work he had done for me. Not only did he design these covers, Greg also designed three Youtube videos to help promote my novels.


http://theuglyvision.com/

Monday, April 22, 2013

Earth Day - Second Coming

In keeping with Earth Day, my ecological disaster/post-apocalyptic novel Second Coming has just been published on Kindle.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CGOWV8C


Sunday, April 21, 2013

Second Coming - The Apocalypse

I am very happy and excited with the release of my latest book on Kindle!
Second Coming marks my first departure from mystery/ detective stories into the post- apocalypse genre.

Second Coming is the story of redemption and atonement of three people acting on instinct and faith risking their lives to save a child from the clutches of an evil empire in a world gone mad.  Second Coming is our world, yet somewhat alien with strange customs and filled with bizarre creatures.

Second Coming is edited by Aimee Parent, and has another great cover designed by Windsor graphic artist and film-maker Greg Maxwell.   

Check back for further postings about Second Coming by Stephen Gaspar