Here’s your chance to grab The Mongol’s Coffin, first in my Bone Guard Adventures, and forty more thriller novels for free! Click on the image above, or click here to find a searchable list of all the titles.
I’m excited to be in the company of so many great thriller authors, and I hope you find your next favorite read! If you’re curious to check out some work by my CrossBones co-author, Douglas Pratt, he’s got a free read in there as well!
ha ha ha! E. C. Ambrose, COZY?? In honor of April Fool’s Day, I thought I’d shift my mindset and reimagine my newsletter, Tomb Reader, as it might be if wrote something a little nicer…maybe the kind of books my mother always pictured me writing. Cozy authors often incorporate join-the-fun elements like recipes and craft projects related to the themes of the books. So, the cozy version of The Mongol’s Coffin (first in my Bone Guard series) might look something like this…
Hi, Everyone!
Welcome to my little adventure nook. Today we’ll be exploring Mongolian culture, so you can really get a “taste” of what the Bone Guard team might experience while they’re out racing the Chinese army to locate the legendary lost tomb of Genghis Khan. Oh, hey, and did I mention that the book is free right now? Yes, indeed! This would be a great time to grab it for yourself, and share it with a friend.
So, get your marmot and camel, and follow along! Thanks so much for reading,
E. C.
Recipe: Mongolian-style Marmot
Ingredients:
1 Marmot, cleaned, but not skinned
Start a nice, warming fire. Place a few appropriately sized stones in it to warm up.
When you’ve got it down to a good bed of coals, remove a couple of the warm stones. Don’t touch them with your bare hands, please, the ambulance in Mongolia is hours away!
Place the hot stone(s) inside of the marmot.
Shift the hot coals. In the fire pit, dig a hole large enough to contain the marmot.
Replace the coals on top. Wait until the hair falls off–that’s how you’ll know it’s roasted to crispy perfection!
Oh, dear… that recipe doesn’t sound entirely like something one could bake at home. Besides, marmots are awfully cute, aren’t they? I mean, they were likely responsible for the Black Death spreading from this region to much of Asia and Europe, but still!
You know what, maybe I should’ve let Nigel Rowe handle this newsletter! Sadly, he’s not available. Nigel’s still recovering from his recent adventures in Bloody Baja.
Mongolian Culture Craft: Make Your Own Ger!
The Mongolian Ger, similar to the Turkish Yurt (the term commonly applied to these structures) is a felted wool tent with a collapsible lattice structure inside to support the walls. A pair of highly decorated long poles hold the spoked round smoke opening at the top of the traditional version. When a new couple get married, the ger they’ll live in often incorporates a section of “mother felt” taken from the ger of the woman’s family.
To make your ger, you’ll need the fleeces of about sixty to a hundred and ninety sheep, depending on the size of the sheep and the ger you’re trying to make. The wool should be clean and free of twigs, grass, etc. Lay it out to pattern about 50% larger than the finished ger wall and roof panels need to be to account for shrinkage. You’ll make thin layers of wool first in one direction, then the other until you’ve reached the desired thickness.
Wet down the whole thing and rub it all over to set the fibers, then roll it up in a tarp and tow it behind your camel to the next grazing site. (A motorcycle will do, in a pinch!) By the time you arrive, the rough, uneven ground should have agitated the wet wool enough to felt it into a thick, warm layer to insulate your home for the winter! If you’d like complete instructions, here’s one resource!
Don’t have a camel? You can make this charming paper version, courtesy of the University of Indiana, which hosts the Mongolia Society, for the study of Mongolian culture, past and present.
In our next issue, we’ll cover how to make a tourniquet!
Silya finally has everything she always wanted. She’s the Hencha Queen, head of the Temple, and is working to master her newfound talents. So why does the world pick now to fall apart?
Her once-nemesis Raven is off riding dragons, and their mutual friend (and her ex) Aik is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, a new threat menaces the Heartland from the East, and if she can’t convince a reluctant Gullton city council to prepare for the worst, she may lose everyone and everything she’s ever cared about.
As she uses her magic-like abilities, wit and sheer determination to try to save the city, she’s joined by Raven and his new friends. Will their help tip the scales? And will they finally find out what happened to Aik as a dark storm threatens to sweep them all away?
Forget messy. Things just got apocalyptic.
A sharp crack filled the wine cellar. Kerrick swung the heavy mallet back and then assailed the flopwood boards that blocked the tunnel entrance again. The ancient wood splintered under the blow, sending shards clattering across the stone-paved floor.
It felt good to work out his frustrations. Still, the stubborn wood held out against his assault.
He rested the mallet on the black-tiled stone floor, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. Even after a hundred years, the barrier was strong. He’d tried to pry the boards out of the solid stone, but they’d been fastened in too tightly. Brute force it is.
“You’re doing great!” Cor’Lea’s voice was artificially bright, and she was as tall as he was, maybe a little taller, peering over his shoulder at the sealed tunnel entrance.
Silya had tasked her with bringing him down here to check out these hidden caverns under the Temple, in preparation for the coming war. Important, sure, but also clearly an excuse to get him out from underfoot while she prepared for her official Raising.
He grunted. “Thanks. These boards are hard as iron.” And hard as Silya’s will.
One day things would be different between them, once this crisis was over. I just have to be patient.
Coral laughed. “I’m sure a big, strong man like you can break through them easily.” She squeezed his bicep appreciatively.
He shrugged her off. He wasn’t sure if the gawky initiate was flirting with him or just trying to encourage him to get on with it, but either way, he wasn’t interested. “Stand back.” He hefted the hammer again, and she scurried out of his way.
He suppressed a smile, swinging the mallet around for another heavy blow.
Craack.
This time the board buckled inward visibly. Another few hits should do it.
He pulled back the heavy iron hammer again and hit the same spot with blow after blow. Craack. Craack. Craack.
The mallet broke through and a board fell away into splinters, clattering across the stone floor. One down, three more to go. “Why did they seal this cavern up?”
Cor’Lea gestured at the natural chamber. “There was a winery here before the Temple. Sister Dor said they used to use it for extra wine storage.” She looked around the natural chamber, which was now filled with wooden shelving holding a variety of bottled food stores. “When Jas ordered the Temple to be constructed, they kept this wide cavern and blocked off the rest of the tunnels.”
“Just in case the gully rats got in?” That thief Raven had apparently made his home in one of the underground tunnels. Who knew who else—or what else—lived down there?
Cor’Lea snorted. “Maybe.”
Are tunnels all connected, somehow? That was one of Silya’s most urgent projects, to map out the network of caverns beneath the city. Another reason she sent me down here—to get me out from under her robes.
A few more whacks at the next board served to both break it and let out his frustrations at the situation preventing him from doing his sworn job and keeping them apart. And at what she said was coming.
Craack. Craack. Craack.
The board snapped in half, and he judged that he’d cleared enough space to step through into the blocked-off tunnel. “Hand me that lantern?
Cor’Lea complied, taking the opportunity to brush his hand.
He rolled his eyes. I should be flattered. But his heart was already taken.
It was times like these he wished his brother Enrick were still alive. He’d know what to do. He’d been absurdly confident about everything, even though he’d been younger than Kerrick.
Kerrick wasn’t great with women.
He took the lantern and stepped over the bottom board, holding it in front of him. The bright light temporarily blinded him as he sought to get his bearings.
“What do you see?” Cor’Lea peered through the hole behind him.
His sight adjusted, and the tunnel’s walls came into focus.
He whistled. Stacked along the side of the tunnel were hundreds of crates, all strapped together in groups and sealed. “It’s… I don’t know what it is. But I’ll bet Silya will be surprised.” They’d have to find a place to put all this stuff—whatever it was, it was likely rotten after all this time. Silya needed somewhere to store people, not ancient goods.
Cor’Lea stepped carefully over the splintered boards to join him. “What do you think’s inside them?”
The long row of crates disappeared into the darkness. Who knew what the ancients had considered valuable enough to stash down here. Coin? Lost treasure? “One way to find out. Does the Temple have a crowbar?”
That’s right! I’ll have stories in all four issues of Thrill Ride this year–but only with your help. Want to know why Nigel’s so attached to his teeth? Or what’s the deal with the world’s largest pistachio?
Oh, wait–that doesn’t sound thrilling–maybe if I tell you that Grant Casey’s out in the desert, shepherding his newly reconciled family on a visit to an archaeoastronomy site when the first shots are fired…
Or that Nigel’s best friend from Oxford’s been found beaten half to death, and Nigel’s the last person anyone would call when they need help! Or is he?
As for the last story, from Drakemaster, well, that’ll be in the final Thrill Ride issue this year–and it’s worth the wait!
So click on through to support me and 30 more authors of short adventure tales! You won’t be disappointed.
So, if you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know that my author motto is “you do NOT want to be my hero.” I’m not saying you’d want to step into the shoes of my new protagonist, Nigel Rowe, but they’ll be a little more comfortable than Grant Casey’s are, that’s for sure!
Well…mostly. Aside from the bit where he drowns in the swimming pool…and there was the shooting, of course, but at least Nigel’s far too civilized to cuss about it. His new bodyguard might, though.
But I think Nigel’s sardonic tone and taste for the exotic might appeal! The Blighted Mission launches just after Christmas, with more adventures hot on its proverbial heels!
Here’s five reasons I love writing for Nigel–and I hope you’ll love reading him!
5. These books are “clean” (no cursing, no sex, violence is mostly off-screen). It’s a different tone for me–kind of a palate cleanser!
4. Nigel is a different kind of hero. Grant Casey, from the Bone Guard books, is ex-military, omni-competent–more of a strong, silent type. Nigel is none of those things. He’s an academic and an extrovert–but he’s unafraid to stand up for what’s right. Well, okay, he’s definitely afraid, but he’ll do it anyway, in spite of what his bodyguard suggests!
3. About that bodyguard… Close readers of the Bone Guard series might recognize the code name “Jessica”, ex-Marine, ex-member of the Unit, the Special Forces Intelligence group that formed Grant and his friends. She’s as opposite from Nigel as you could be. Think: odd couple frenemies. Maybe it’s best if Grant doesn’t find out what she’s been up to.
2. Getting to say things like “Gormless Wally” Nigel’s British heritage shows through, without taking over the story.
1. Nigel will eat absolutely anything! Somewhat to Jessica’s dismay.
Tap the button below to pre-order the first book, wherever books are sold! Or here, for Amazon. Or here, if you want a taste of Rogue Adventure before you jump in! The Manky Head, a short story, is available in ebook or audio–and you can get it free!
I’m excited to host one stop on the blog tour for Scott’s new release, The Gauntlet Runner, which comes out today! Read on for more… including a giveaway and the chance to read the other books in the series for just 99¢!
Aik has fallen hopelessly in love with his best friend. But Raven’s a thief, which makes things… complicated. Oh, and Raven has just been kidnapped by a dragon.
Now Aik is off on a quest of his own, to hunt down the foul beast and make them give back his … friend? Lover? Soulmate? The whole not-knowing thing just makes everything harder.
Meanwhile, the world of Tharassas is falling apart, besieged by earthquakes, floods, and strange creatures no one has ever seen before. Aik’s ex, Silya has gone back to Gullton to do try to save her people as the Hencha Queen, and Aik’s stuck in a caravan with her mother and a damnable magical gauntlet that won’t let him be. He has to find Raven, before it’s too late.
Things were messy before, but now they’re much, much worse…
CHAPTER 1 excerpt: Like Fire and Ice
He has to be here. Aik searched frantically through Raven’s pack as the early morning sunlight slipped across the stone windowsill and across the floor, a long, green-tinged ray of light.
He was anxious to be on his way after Raven. His heart was pounding, his thoughts skipping like a spinning stone off hard waters. No one else was awake yet, as far as he could tell, and he wanted to be in and out of the room before anyone was the wiser. Aik glanced at the unmade bed and blushed at what they’d done there the night before. He could still feel Raven’s touch, their bodies entwined….
The sooner he set off, the sooner Aik could rescue him from those awful creatures. The verent must have coerced him; Raven had all but said so. If he could just find Spin, the little familiar could guide him.
He doesn’t love you.
“Shut up.” Knowing that Raven had chosen the verent over him still burned. And that he didn’t say ‘I love you.’ But surely, he wasn’t allowed to be angry about that in the face of what had happened.
His mind was spinning, looking for answers, scared for his love, returning to old, stupid wounds and weaknesses.
Why?
The question reverberated again and again, but not even Aik knew what he was asking. His panic stripped away reason and maturity, and left him dizzy and afraid.
He got to the bottom of the pack, finding nothing but clothing and some toiletries. Farking hell. Where are you?
He started opening some of the side pouches, checking through each one before tying it closed again. Maybe Raven had taken Spin with him?
“Searching for this?”
He spun around to find Tri’Aya leaning against the doorway, looking as fresh as if she’d just slept ten hours, though she couldn’t have gotten more than four at best. How does she do that?
She held Spin’s silver sphere between two fingers.
Grab the book now! But if you haven’t read the first book, you might want to start there, with a 99¢ sale.
My latest release, The Roman Candle, was inspired by my interest in the Baroque artist Caravaggio (his given name is actually Michelangelo–which isn’t confusing at all!)
Born in 1571 in Milan, Caravaggio lost most of his family to the plague when he was just a boy. He was fortunate to have local patrons who took an interest in himself and his brother, enabling him to find work and take an apprenticeship with a fresco artist. He moved to Rome as a young man, to expand his potential as an artist, but his volatile personality made him hard to work with.
The dramatic lighting and compositions of his work brought some commissions, but as often as not, they were rescinded when he delivered portrayals of saints and martyrs as if they were not divine beings, but people of flesh and blood–wrinkled, grubby, and wholly human. Many of his models came straight from the street, including, notoriously, a few prostitutes who served to represent the Virgin Mary. One could see why some churches rejected the works they had commissioned.
As his daring style swept the art world. he garnered a reputation as a brawler, with numerous arrests for offenses as varied as wearing a sword after dark and hurling a plate of artichokes at a hapless waiter. Eventually, one of his spats turned murderous, and he was forced to flee the city. Fortunately, his artistic reputation gave him a home in Naples, then as a knight of St. John on Malta–where, inevitably, it seems, he fought again and escaped his confinement to Sicily and Naples once more. The whole time, he painted some of the most indelible images in Italian art. He had a penchant for portraying beheadings, in particular–including at least two that are his own head!
His misbehavior caught up with him in Naples where an ambush left him grievously wounded just as he received word of a possible Papal pardon that would enable him to return to Rome. Together with a three paintings, he set sail, only to be detained again along the voyage, and ultimately die of a fever, never to reach Rome again. The year was 1610, and he was only 39 years old.
Two of the paintings he sailed with have been located…and the third was never found.
The Roman Candle: A missing masterpiece points the way to a treasure lost since the fall of Rome! Now available wherever books are sold!
A lost U-boat, a desert hit squad, a secret that might bury this veteran forever! A furious hunt explodes in the desert: will a former spec ops intelligence officer recover the most famous skeleton ever lost—or will he join the bones in their eternal rest? “Impeccably researched and well-written…highly recommended!” NYT bestseller Brendan DuBois
Thank you to all the readers who have already bought their copy of The Nazi Skull–for giving me my first-ever Amazon Best-seller ribbon! The sale is on for a few more days (until 6/17/2023) so if you’re seeing this after that date, drop me a line at ecambrose (at) gmail.com and I’ll send you a coupon so you can still get the discount!
Today’s the day! Launch Day for The Fascist Frame, book 5 in my Bone Guard archaeological adventure series! Those of you who’ve been following my work for a long time (Since Elisha Barber) will know I have a long-standing tradition of doing a footnotes post on a book’s launch date.
Usually, these posts will gather all of the posts I’ve made on various research topics that relate to the book I’m launching. Sadly, I haven’t been posting most of my research as blogs any more (though I do sometimes post about it on my Facebook feed, and I share tidbits in my newsletter, Tomb Reader–where you can also get 3 free short stories for signing up!)
So I don’t have links for All The Things, but I can give you a few glimpses of what you’ll find inside the pages of the latest Bone Guard Book!
Let’s start with the fact that today is National Submarine Day! The image above is a CB-class Italian “midget” submarine, perhaps the only one still in existence from World War II. At that time the Italians were world leaders in all things underwater, and these nifty little subs were one example. They also developed technologies for underwater breathing that enabled their frogmen to pull of some interesting missions.
Another key element in the book is Operation Gladio, a system of sleeper cells, if you will, sometimes called “Stay Behind Units” because many of them were formed around Nazis and Hitler Youth members who concealed themselves in local populations to guard against what was perceived as the real threat to European society: the rise of Communism. Gladio units were intended to rise and prevent leftist incursions, in particular, invasion by the Soviet Union, and they created weapons caches all over central Europe to access in case of need. Oh–and it was partially funded by the CIA. According to some sources, by selling drugs smuggled by the Mafia into predominantly Black areas of New York City.
Last but not least, are the impressive fortified shelters built to defend Berlin from Allied air-raids, the Flak Towers. These enormous concrete buildings were built in pairs, a command tower, with a radar array for tracking planes, and a bunker that could protect about 10,000 civilians, complete with a hospital, as well as providing a weapons platform to fight back. Remnants of these structures remain, including one in Austria now in use as a climbing wall. Check out this archival footage of a flyover of Berlin after the war, which shows the massive scale of the Flak Towers. (it comes on screen around 3:07)
All of which formed the backdrop for the adventures of Grant Casey and the Bone Guard as they try to locate the stolen Jewish Library of Rome in a hidden cache of treasures looted by the Nazis!
The Fascist Frame, Bone Guard 5, launches on April 11!
A stolen library, an old adversary, a league of warriors, lying in wait!
I’m so excited for this one! It’s been in the works for over a year, when I had an idea that was way too ambitious, and I thought, well, what if one treasure hunt led to another?
Don’t worry–this book delivers on all the thrills, twists and moral quandaries you’ve come to expect from the internationally best-selling Bone Guard series. The adventure begins with a bomb-sniffing dog at Bone Guard HQ, then flies off to Sardinia, with some dangerous company. How will it end? With a deadly enemy, a Nazi stash, and a betrayal they never expected!
If you haven’t read the series, start with The Mongol’s Coffin–but really, you could jump in anywhere. Every volume has its own roller-coaster race to the finish! Oh–except The Mongol’s Coffin is on sale through April 16 for just 99¢! So, now’s the perfect time–(Unless you want to wait for the audiobook to go on sale in May on Chirp…)
E. C. Ambrose 