Category Archives: Writing

Sky Full of Stars

Posted by Ross Harrison on

Getting reviews for books is even harder than actually selling books. A fraction of the people who read a book will review it, so when I got out of the shower the other week to a surprise email telling me I’d won a bundle of five reviews from Readers’ Favorite for my contributions to their forum, I carefully avoided mentioning that I’ve only posted there twice.

I chose to have Church of the Assassin reviewed, because it probably has the widest potential appeal of all my books, is probably my favourite, and has very little attention.

The result is five 5-star reviews with some nice, quotable lines! Unfortunately, they can’t be posted on most sites like Amazon or Goodreads, because Readers’ Favorite is a professional company, not a customer; however, they’re still nice to get. Here’s a snippet of the book’s six 5-star reviews from Readers’ Favorite:

Christian Sia – “Ross Harrison plots like a genius, filling the story with twists that readers won’t see coming. The conflict is well-written, and I liked how the author explores the shadowy sect to which the heroine belongs, allowing its effects on her to shine through the story. Church of the Assassin is fast-paced, a real thrill ride and a brilliantly executed page-turner.”

Alex Ndirangu – “I found Church of the Assassin to be spellbinding. Things get even more exciting when fate adds to Alex’s responsibilities. She inherited a baby girl and will run like the wind to keep her out of harm’s way, but first, she will shoot, and she never misses.”

Vincent Dublado – “It is a surprisingly moving sci-fi action novel with a compelling emotional arc.”

K.C. Finn – “Ross Harrison knows how to keep sci-fi fans on the edge of their seats with this fast-paced, cinematically drawn novel that never lets up on the action. […] The worldbuilding is off the scale for its depth, even down to the parlance and cultural attitudes of the characters, which gives Church of the Assassin an immersive quality throughout. This is a highly recommended and accomplished novel that grips readers hard and never lets go.”

Sheena Monnin – “Church of the Assassin by Ross Harrison is masterfully written. The reader will be neck-deep in the quagmire of lies, deceit, action, and murder from the very beginning of the story. […] This is a hair-raising adventure book that is impossible to put down, containing great characters, an excellent plot, and thought-provoking themes throughout.”

Alma Boucher – “Church of the Assassin is jam-packed with action, fast-paced, and never has a dull moment. The storyline is complicated and intriguing. […] Church of the Assassin was worth every minute I spent reading it.”

Starting on December 15, Church of the Assassin will be on sale for 50% off during the Smashwords Winter Sale, and I’m currently writing a direct sequel to it, so now is a good time to read!

Fear of the Dark

Posted by Ross Harrison on

Fear of the Dark is out now for Kindle and in paperback and hardback! This space opera is standalone, and you do not need to have read the previous books in the series (although it helps).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4GPSF18

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B4GPSF18

Do you fear the long dark?

– A dark planet on the galaxy’s edge. A primordial predator. A desperate hunt for a dangerous secret.

When the medical frigate Ruby Rose picks up an SOS from the planet’s lightning-ravaged surface, the medics do not hesitate to drop into the raging storm. But the innocuous little planet is home to something sinister. Something desperate. Something that will stop at nothing to find what it’s looking for.

Across the galaxy, the crew of the Star Wraith receives a call for help. The captain of a medical frigate has lost his medics, and one of their names is all too familiar. But how could the Wraith’s crew know that a simple rescue mission will lead to a string of murders and a waking nightmare that will leave them forever changed? –

Read about the main characters, Archer and Juni here:

Fear: Cover Reveal and Pre-Order

Posted by Ross Harrison on

Fear of the Dark will release in just 20 days, on 9 July, and is now available for pre-order!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4GPSF18

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B4GPSF18

Here, at last, is the cover:

Do you fear the long dark?

– A dark planet on the galaxy’s edge. A primordial predator. A desperate hunt for a dangerous secret.

When the medical frigate Ruby Rose picks up an SOS from the planet’s lightning-ravaged surface, the medics do not hesitate to drop into the raging storm. But the innocuous little planet is home to something sinister. Something desperate. Something that will stop at nothing to find what it’s looking for.

Across the galaxy, the crew of the Star Wraith receives a call for help. The captain of a medical frigate has lost his medics, and one of their names is all too familiar. But how could the Wraith’s crew know that a simple rescue mission will lead to a string of murders and a waking nightmare that will leave them forever changed? –

Fear of the Dark is the sixth book in the NEXUS series but, like most of them, it is standalone. If you happen to know book one and two, though, that will help, because this is finally the return of Archer and Juni!

Character Spotlight: The Assassin

Posted by Ross Harrison on

Juni Lien was supposed to be a woman, not a killing machine. But perhaps for the daughter of three assassins, there was never anything else in the cards.

Juni is second-in-command of the Star Wraith, but sitting in one place is not something she’s used to, and the sense of confinement is growing when we meet her again nearly a year on from books 1 and 2. Working in a team, coming to terms with the fact that she’s in possession of feelings, having to confront herself as a person rather than drifting through life as a weapon…it may be too much. Perhaps she made a mistake in not pulling the trigger when she had Archer in her sights.

For the rest of the team, Juni is an unknown entity – a predator carefully placed among her prey, yet choosing instead to fight alongside them. She could be a valuable and fearsome ally…if she can be trusted.

The assassin will slip out of the shadows soon, in Fear of the Dark…

Arianne has done all of the art for my books since book 3, and you can find more of her work here: arianneelliott.artstation.com

Character Spotlight: The Freelancer

Posted by Ross Harrison on

One of the two main characters of the NEXUS series, I technically haven’t written a book about him for 10 years! Travis Archer is a freelance bounty hunter with just a little obsession with the idea of being a space cowboy.

Archer is half human and half Necurian, an ancient race with psionic abilities. Although Archer can use these abilities, his lacking knowledge of how to do so safely may have caused some problems, just beginning to manifest when we meet him again, a year after the events of books 1 and 2.

He is the de facto captain of the Star Wraith, having uncovered the ship’s ugly truth almost a year earlier. Plagued by nightmares about the things he has been a part of since then, he knows that it isn’t a position he deserves.

The freelancer will drift into town soon, in Fear of the Dark…

Arianne has done all of the art for my books since book 3, and you can find more of her work here: arianneelliott.artstation.com

FEAR OF THE DARK

Posted by Ross Harrison on

Coming later this summer (release date to (probably) come with the cover reveal), book 6 of the NEXUS series is again a mostly standalone one, but finally sees the return of the Star Wraith and its crew. As such, knowing the events of books 1 and 2 will be beneficial but not necessary.

For now, I can say that the title, in keeping with the Something of the Something convention corner I’ve painted myself into, is…unnecessary dramatic pause despite the all-caps title already having given it away…Fear of the Dark.

That’s it. That’s the update.

Also, because procrastination is at least two thirds of writing, I made another ‘soundtrack’ for the book.

Also, keep an eye out this weekend for artwork of protagonists Archer and Juni! They were done by Arianne Elliott again, who did the covers of books 3-5, as is the upcoming cover. Here are some reminders, because I’ve run out of things to say.

Mara

Obligatory Update

Posted by Ross Harrison on

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a useless blog-writer must still update their blog at least once every year. As it is approaching the one-year anniversary of Church of the Assassin releasing (already), and I’ve written nothing here since…here is that update.

Ahem. Let’s see… What’s in the news… Well, never mind.

Although this was never supposed to be any kind of review blog, I have babbled about films and even games here and there, and yet I haven’t even returned to talk about the dreaded/fawned-over Snyder Cut. I do have a half-finished review of it written, but I couldn’t be bothered to finish. The gist is that I grudgingly like it a lot more than Whedon’s nonsense, but it’s still terrible.

More importantly, I am currently just over 90,000 words into my next book, which will see the return of Archer and Juni, the two who are supposed to be the overall main protagonists of my series, and yet haven’t been seen for 9 years. I’m glad no one was around to take a picture of the stupid smile on my face while I was writing their first scene together since 2012. It will be the first of a trilogy of sorts, alternating with the trilogy that Church of the Assassin kicked off.

In the meantime, I’m working on hardbacks of all the books, which will be available soon! And because I wanted it, the artist who has done the last three covers is doing some art for both Archer and Juni, so I should have that to share soon too.

I’m also considering writing some more of the Writer’s Guides, as they seem to be the most popular thing on this site. But you can see how infrequently I write anything here, and judge for yourself how likely that is to happen.

So there’s my annual update.

Bye.

Cover Reveal: Church of the Assassin

Posted by Ross Harrison on

Coming very soon, Church of the Assassin is a standalone sci-fi thriller and the 5th book in the NEXUS series. Blurb and pre-order information will be coming later in the week.

This is the third cover to be art-iculated by Arianne Elliott, and hopefully won’t be the last.

Authors Give Back

Posted by Ross Harrison on

POSTER ALL

I should probably have written about it before, since it’s already been going for a month, but Smashwords is running a sale during the pandemic to help people stay sane. There are huge discounts on a large number of books, which can be downloaded for any e-reader, including Kindle. This sale, unless it is extended again, will be running until May 31.

It would be nice for authors, in the same position of decline in work and income as everyone else, to see a rise in downloads through this and other legitimate sites, rather than on torrent sites. And don’t forget to take a couple of minutes to post a review when you’ve read them; it only takes a small effort to support all of the authors here providing their hard work for drastically reduced cost, or even free!

Click here to start browsing this vast library of discounted books.

My own books are all anywhere from 30-100% off:

TwitterHeaderGhosts

Pre-order Ghosts of the Fallen

Posted by Ross Harrison on

Ghosts of the Fallen is now up for pre-order (ebook version only) on Amazon, Smashwords, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. It will be sent to you the moment it is published on November 24.

This is a direct sequel to Blades of the Fallen, so if you haven’t read that, you can use this code to get it for 75% off ($1): TU36E.

Pre-ordering goes a long way to helping the book’s visibility on launch, so any pre-orders would be appreciated.

Kindle-GhostsCover-Med

Four inquisitors, four paths. The path of justice. The path of vengeance. The path of love. The path of fear.

The Vanguard is still reeling from Bane and his master. There are still scattered remnants of the Fallen to hunt down. But so too are there unknown elements moving in the shadows. A cult whose path to their god of war is through the death of inquisitors. An empire on the path to something terrible. And meanwhile, a familiar darkness rises anew.

The little girl with accelerated ageing asked only one thing before she died: don’t let them do this again. It was a promise they could not keep.

Ghosts of the Fallen, coming November 24, 2019