Your friend/family member/acquaintance/random dude you sort of remember Alex (that’s me by the way) is releasing his first two novels, Red Hot Steele and The Genesis Allegory, this Monday, Oct. 20. You know, those books that he’s seemingly been talking about forever, even though it’s really only been a few months and your memory’s clearly not as great as it used to be?
Right, those. With the release date almost here, you’re probably wondering—which one should I buy?
(Presumably you’re wondering this because buying two ebooks, each priced at a whopping $4.99, is just wayyyy too rich for your blood. Don’t worry. I get it. You live in a box under an overpass. Times are tight.)
Well, the obvious thing to do would be to read the blurbs for the books (visible when you go to purchase them) and figure out which one sounds more up your alley, but that would be too easy, wouldn’t it? So let me break it down.
Read Red Hot Steele, part one in my undoubtedly-soon-to-be mega bestselling Daggers & Steele franchise.
Oh… you didn’t expect that kind of blatant honesty? Well, strap in folks, because you’re in for some more.
See, here’s the thing. The Genesis Allegory is a good book. An entertaining book. A what-if book centered on an idea. A book with a gripping plot and a strong element of mystery and intrigue. But it’s also my first book—a book I’ve been working on for almost two years as I’ve learned the craft and smoothed out the roughness at my edges. And more importantly, it’s an epic fantasy book.
Maybe you love epic fantasy, and if so, I hope you’ll enjoy The Genesis Allegory. But it’s not going to appeal to everyone. If you don’t read lengthy science-fiction or fantasy novels, the pacing might not appeal to you. And there’s also the subject matter of the novel, which, as you might’ve guessed, deals with religious allegory.
Now, this is not a pro-religion or anti-religion book in any way. It’s just a made up fantasy novel that happens to have an important element of religious intrigue. Let me say that again—this is a fantasy novel that features a religion similar to (but not exactly the same as) Judeo-Christian ones here in the real world. That alone is going to throw some people for a loop. So even though I feel it’s a powerful story, I know it’s not for everyone.
On the other hand you have Red Hot Steele, my third-world urban fantasy-mystery hybrid. Hold on a moment while I locate my caps-lock key. Oh, dang, it’s broken. Oh well. Just know I’m screaming these next two sentences at you:
Red Hot Steele is awesome! You will love it!
Look, I know you’re not supposed to blatantly shill for your own work, but I’m honestly and truly geeked about this book. I had an absolute blast writing it. I laughed out loud often while typing away at my keyboard. And I think anyone, fantasy reader or not, can enjoy it.
It’s fast paced. It’s funny. It’s got action and witty dialogue and snappy one-liners. It’s got a splash of grittiness and another of sex appeal. It’s got characters you can fall in love with—assuming you like irreverent jerks with a heart of gold.
If that’s not enough of an endorsement for you, here’s a second reason to read Red Hot Steele:
This is me.
This is the kind of book I love to read, the kind I was born to write, and luckily for me, it only took me a little over a year to realize that.
In the future, expect to see more of Daggers & Steele. In fact, book two, Cold Hard Steele, should be out early next year. But also expect to see more books in the same vein as Red Hot Steele. Books with smart, funny, charismatic protagonists. Books full of mystery and adventure and humor. Books that don’t take themselves too seriously, leave you with a smile on your face, and hopefully, make you immediately want to reach for the next one.
Bottom line: I want you to read Red Hot Steele because I’m super, duper, ooper proud of it, and it’s indicative of what you’ll see from me in the future. And I think you’ll really like it.
Thanks for your support.