Three days to go! The Curse of the Jade Idol is out in just THREE DAYS!
In case you’re still undecided about Byrd and her adventures, here’s what a few of our advance readers thought:
“The Nora ‘Sierra’ Byrd captured readers from her first appearance in an Eden Black adventure, practically demanding her own books. You'll find all the action of a great, well plotted archaeological thriller with twice the humor and wit.”
“The Jade Idol has interesting characters that keep you guessing about what comes next—just when you think they’re going to zig, they zag.”
“Boy oh boy does this next outing with Sierra Byrd and her best mate and mentor Bourdell pack a heck of a punch.”
“If you're a fan of fast-paced action with world changing consequences, then this is the novel for you! The Jade Idol has the power to change the world for good or bad... Pick up this book and find out which it will be.”
“A rip-roaring novel with a touch of supernatural influence—worthy of Indiana Jones or Lara Croft!”
“A brilliantly written fast-pasted adventure that has a few surprises along the way.”
Thank you if you’ve already locked in your pre-order copy of the Curse of the Jade Idol. Pre-orders are so encouraging, as they show us that people are as excited about the book as we are.
Once again, I’ve loved working with John on this, and it’s been great fun to hang out with Byrd and her crew once again.
As you may know, I love travel! I’d go so far to say, that I wouldn’t be a writer if I hadn’t first been a traveler. 🌎
Every week I’ll post a random picture from one of my adventures… it’s your job to guess where I am. 😁
The closest, the most accurate, or maybe just my favorite answer in the comments gets my eternal love and respect! 🥳
Cast your guesses in the comments now! 👇👇👇
@followers
Spies, Smugglers and Misfits: The Lawless History of Tangier with Sean McLachlan What makes a city the perfect setting for an adventure story? Imagine a city where a spy could disappear into a medieval medina, where ancient ruins sit in the shadow of colonial mansions, and where two continents seem to tug at the air around you. That city is Tangier and in this episode, archaeologist and writer Sean McLachlan brings it to life. Sean has spent months at a time there researching his Moroccan Mysteries series, and he knows the city the way a detective knows a crime scene: layer by layer. We go from its days as a lawless international zone, governed simultaneously by France, Spain, Britain, Belgium, and Italy, to the modern port city it's become, unpacking what made it such a gift to writers of adventure fiction. The history alone reads like a novel. Drugs and homosexuality were legal when banned almost everywhere else. Anti-Franco republicans shared streets with former Nazis. Rival cafés in the Petit Socco were known to throw glasses at each other across the square. And in the antique shops today, you can still find 1950s police arrest records filled out in triplicate: English, French, and Spanish. If you're drawn to cities where history hasn't quite been cleaned up, this one's for you. In This Episode, We Explore:Geography as character – Tangier sits between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, 14km from Spain. That proximity has shaped everything from its languages to its smuggling routes.The international zone experiment – from 1924 to 1956, multiple world powers co-governed Tangier under a legal framework so permissive it became one of the wildest cities in Africa.Espionage as backdrop – Cold War fears of Soviet influence south of the Strait of Gibraltar meant spies were everywhere, and the French and Spanish were quietly rooting for Moroccan independence to keep the Russians out.Layered architecture, layered identity – the Casbah, the Medina, colonial mansions on the Marshan ridge, and now Gulf Arab palaces where Europeans once lived.Real objects, real st
In last Sunday’s newsletter: • Nora “Sierra” Byrd is ready for take off • Visiting the house of one-thousand spies… Connecting with readers (like you!) is one of the things I love the most about being an author.
Of course, I love writing stories too!
If hearing about my inspirations, travels and adventures (both real and fictional) sounds like something you’d enjoy, then you should totally sign up to my newsletter.
You’ll get a free novella just for signing up, there’s no spam guaranteed, and of course you can leave at any time.
The link to sign up is in the first comment.
/mailinglist
The latest review comes from The Atlantis Agenda - Eden Black Archaeological Thriller book 3
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Atlantis Agenda carries on the story and it is a good one. Eden and Baxter along with Athena and a host of other characters, have to deal with another orb that brings quite a bit of angst along with it. They then have to save her father and of course we learn more about Eden's origins. Which is fun. The story is full of action and the annoying Fasslane who gets what is coming to him eventually is a fun character to introduce. There is no Baxter relationship yet, but seriously, get a grip Baxter and ask her out!
💚💚💚💚💚
This book was such a fun one to write — full of secrets, danger, old mysteries, and the sort of rabbit holes I can never resist falling into.
So when a reader connects with it like this, it honestly means the world.
Thank you to everyone who’s been reading, reviewing, and telling other people about the series. You make a bigger difference than you probably realise.🙏
In last Sunday's newsletter
• Kathmandu Killers is seven years old!
• Nora “Sierra” Byrd is back…
• Have you caught up with the Adventure Story Podcast?
Connecting with readers (like you!) is one of the things I love the most about being an author.
Of course, I love writing stories too!
If hearing about my inspirations, travels and adventures (both real and fictional) sounds like something you’d enjoy, then you should totally sign up to my newsletter.
You’ll get a free novella just for signing up, there’s no spam guaranteed, and of course you can leave at any time.
The link to sign up is in the first comment.
/mailinglist
The House of a Thousand Spies: Teufelsberg, Berlin's Most Extraordinary Secret In the forests west of Berlin, a hill rises above the treeline that shouldn't exist. It was built by hand from the rubble of 400,000 bombed buildings. Beneath it, entombed in concrete, lies an unfinished Nazi military college so solidly built that the Allies couldn't demolish it — so they buried it instead. On top of all of that, the stood one of the most important spy stations in the world. From 1961 to 1991, over a thousand operatives worked around the clock at Field Station Berlin — known to locals as Teufelsberg, Devil's Mountain — intercepting Soviet and East German military communications, feeding intelligence to the NSA, the CIA, and British intelligence. Most of what they heard is still classified. Then the Berlin Wall fell, the agencies packed up and left, and Teufelsberg was reclaimed by the forest. In this episode, I visit Teufelsberg — climbing the hill, stepping through the chain-link fence, and standing inside the radar domes where some of the Cold War's most sensitive intelligence work took place. Some places hold their secrets long after the people who kept them are gone; Teufelsberg is one of them. My book BERLIN UNDERGROUND was party inspired by Teufelsberg and other places in Berlin. Tap here to read it. Here's what Berlin Underground is all about: A missing fashion tycoon. Rival gangs at war. A city built on secrets. When Leo and Allissa take what looks like a straightforward case, they’re pulled into the darkest corners of Berlin — from its underground techno clubs to the eerie ruins of Teufelsberg, an abandoned Cold War listening post looming over the city. But someone will do anything to keep the truth buried. With Berlin’s most dangerous man closing in, Leo and Allissa find themselves trapped in a deadly game of violence, betrayal, and shifting loyalties. And as the pressure mounts, the bond between them is pushed to breaking point Because this case is bigger than a disappearance. It’s a secret people have killed to protect for decades — and if
Kathmandu Killers is seven years old!
Seven years ago (on the 4th of May, actually), I published my first book. Whilst it never really had the success that my later books have, it still has a very special place in my heart as it was the first. There’s something about that binary line, isn’t there, when things move from zero to one.
Even now, thinking of that first story, I’m super proud of it. It’s not perfect, although no story ever is. But it was a reflection of me at that time, and that’s really cool.
At that point, still working at the High School, I dreamed of one day making my living from writing books. Needless to say, I’m so glad I pushed on with it and tried to make it work. And, as always, thank you for coming with me on this adventure. Each of the books you buy, each person you tell about my writing, really does help me continue to make this work.
This week's review comes from The Giza Protocol - Eden Black Archaeological Thriller Book 2
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Entertaining romp through the historic Arabic world interlaced with Biblical icons wrapped in a story of good versus the bad. A very enjoyable read.
💚💚💚💚💚
This book will always be a special one for me. I’d stood in front of the Great Pyramid years before writing it, wondering what secrets might still be hidden beneath all that stone, sand, and history.
That little question eventually became an Eden Black adventure.
Huge thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, and recommends the series. It genuinely means a lot.
Thank you so much if you’ve left a review on any of my books! 🙏
