It has been a while since my last published book, but that hasn’t been for a lack of writing. If anything, it’s because I have been working on too many projects at once. Today, I released the first book in a new series, Black Rock: The Rising, Death Curse.

While my past books have been primarily action/thriller with a twist of sci-fi, this book trends a little more toward the supernatural with concepts like remote viewing, mysterious disappearing islands, and witches burned at the stake. But not to worry, there’s also mystery, adventure, mafia enforcers, and characters that make it all worthwhile.

As always, I write the kind of stories I want to read. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The Amazon ebook lands today and the print release can be expected closer to the end of May.

The latest release in the Cyrus Cooper thriller series is now available in Kindle e-book format and trade paperback at Amazon and other major book retailers.  Though Halon-Seven is book #4 in the series, it also works well as a standalone introduction to the series.  New readers are offered a heart-pounding introduction to Cyrus Cooper.  Fans of the series will find him at a pivotal new point in his life.  If you’re new to the series, Halon-Seven offers tantalizing hints about Cyrus’s past.  Some secrets are covered in the earlier books but some will be revealed with the release of book #5: Surviving Origin.  If you’ve followed since book #1, you’re not going to believe where this edition ends up.

In any case, this is the best book yet.  I’m certain of it.
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Book #3 in my Cyrus Cooper thriller series is available today.  This is part two of the Rogue Faction story arc, and the conclusion of an important transition in the character’s life.  The book is available now for all Kindle compatible devices.  The print version will ship in approximately two weeks.

The books are serialized, in that the events of each new release build on everything that has come before them.  One of the things I did to try and make this obvious is to put Book One, Book Two, and so on in the title of each.  The characters evolve and develop over time, just like anyone.  By the end of this book, the protagonist is very different from the young man introduced in book #1.
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The second book in my Cyrus Cooper series went on sale through Amazon first thing this morning.  Rogue Faction Part 1 is the first half of a pair of novels that comprise a single larger story.  It has everything you would expect: murder, mystery, mayhem, and lots of action.  If you were wondering what comes next for Cyrus Cooper after the events in Dangerous Minds, I don’t think you will be disappointed.  Cyrus is back in action, this time working a new case that’s near and dear to his heart.

Part 2 of this story should be released shortly after the first of the year.  Since Part 1 is “To Be Continued,” I don’t want anyone left waiting for the rest of the story.  Part 1 is action packed, but Part 2 is going to take folks places they didn’t expect.  It should be a lot of fun… and it might pull at some heart strings along the way.
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The blog tour: one author tags three others, and they share information about themselves and their work.  In this case, J. Kent Holloway has tagged me.  You can read his blog post here.

1) What am I working on?

I am in the process of pulling together revisions on the final drafts of book #2 and #3 in the Cyrus Cooper series.  The books will be titled Rogue Faction Part 1 and Part 2, respectively.  The project was too big to fit into a single release, so I’ve split it into two parts—both of which will be longer than book #1, Dangerous Minds.

Since I don’t like the idea of leaving book #2 on a cliffhanger, I’m planning to release book #3 soon after #2.  Both parts have already been written.  It’s just a matter of finishing work with beta readers and the editor before I can put the books on virtual shelves.

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I’m excited to announce the release of the first novel in the Cyrus Cooper thriller series: Dangerous Minds!  I was trying to get it posted and available on Amazon.com for June 1st, but I
actually beat the deadline by 2 days.  So while June 1st was the official launch date, those who were watching Amazon closely, noticed that the book arrived slightly ahead of schedule.

Here’s the copy that’s currently displayed with the book on Amazon:

When test subjects participating in secret experiments begin to mysteriously die, Cyrus Cooper, the youngest recruit of the ‘Coalition’—a secret law enforcement organization—is assigned to prevent the program’s lead researcher from being the next victim. But there’s a catch: The seventy-four-year-old neuroscientist, Gertrude Waterford, has flatly refused any type of protective detail. Cyrus goes undercover, taking a position as a personal assistant in order to enter the life of the brash, elderly scientist. When multiple attempts are made on her life, however, not only must Cyrus protect the headstrong lady, but he must also uncover the perpetrator of the attacks before it’s too late. 

His job might’ve been easier if he’d been fully briefed on the nature of Waterford’s research. After working for decades to genetically trigger different paranormal gifts in her patients, she’s made some unusually powerful and extremely dangerous enemies. 

Cyrus Cooper’s efforts take him from high-rise apartments to secret underground research facilities, with stops at forgotten rendition sites and forsaken mental institutions along the way. And as the threats grow in force and number, Cyrus faces a race against time, and a war where all the players on the battlefield are anything but trustworthy. 

PRAISE FOR DANGEROUS MINDS 

“Weaver’s debut is a tense ride through the seamier sides of science, technology, the mind, and the paranormal. Gripping action and intrigue, brilliant escapes, and a whole lot of fun. Cyrus Cooper is a fascinating new hero.” 
—Kane Gilmour, Bestselling Author of Ragnarok and Resurrect 

Xander Weaver delivers a debut thriller with energy, depth, and twists rarely seen from experienced authors. A must-read for any thriller lover. 
—Seeley James, author of BRING IT, and other Pia Sabel thrillers

That includes amazing blurbs from Kane Gilmour and Seeley James.  That was incredible generous of both accomplished authors.  Somehow saying thank you just doesn’t seem like enough, given the level of support I’ve received.
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I’ve made a lot of changes since my last post.  Not the least of which include new titles for the books.  While I liked what I had previously, those titles seemed more pretentious than they did creative.  And while the original titles were good because they were unique, the new ones are more down to earth and simple.  So why did I like the originals so much in the first place?  First of all, they were creative and highly relevant to each novel.  But just as importantly, each title was distinctive and unique.  There wasn’t likely to be another thriller listed on Amazon, B&N, or GoodReads with the same name.  I liked that.

So, practicality won out over creativity.  Plus, with the covers I’ll be using for each book and the subtitle that I’ll be using to tie each book together as part of the same series, it didn’t seem as important to use such distinctive titles.  Who knows… that could change again at some point.  But I’m happy with the new titles, so I’m moving forward.

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The first book I wrote is called Halon-Seven.  I sent my best effort to my editor on August 5th, 2013.  I refer that that as my best effort because, at that point I had read the book several times.  I had already completed 5 full edits on my own.  These included massive editing contributions from my wife, family, and a very good friend.  In an effort to put my best foot forward, I had logged dozens of hours on those 5 edits before ever sending the manuscript to a professional editor.  And did I have to show for all of our collective time and effort?

The edits came back from my editor on January 27th, 2014.  Yeah, he had the manuscript for a really long time— but that’s beside the point and an entirely different story.  What is important is what my editor found… and how much of it it he found.  We’re talking a lot of corrections!  There’s just no point in sugar coating it.  For every bit of effort I put into the edits on my own, and all of the amazing contributions made by friends and family, a mountain of mistakes, typos, and corrections still managed to survive my best efforts to squash them.

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