S.P. Grogan in 2008 gained recognition with his first novel, Vegas Die, a Quest Mystery, in which the writing were clues that led the ‘Questor’ to seek out a dagger hidden somewhere in the Vegas Valley to be redeemed for $25,000 cash. Launching a fan-based treasure hunt Vegas Die became a best-seller, and an award for ‘Best Regional’ fiction. S.P. Grogan calls himself an eclectic storyteller in that he seeks out blending history and romance into various genres to create unusual plotting. In 2019, academic publisher Histria Books negotiated to acquire the author’s existing catalogue of four novels for re-issuing and an option on the next several stories he might create. Lafayette: Courtier to Crown Fugitive tells the coming-of-age story of the young Marquis de La Fayette, ‘France’s richest orphan’ and delves into his quest to revenge the death of his father, and his unbridled ambition to escape the intrigues of the court of Queen Marie Antoinette and go to the American colonies to find glory. In 2022, Captain Cooked, A Hawaiian Mystery of Romance, Revenge and Recipes won “Best Novel” from Gourmand International Cookbook Awards. Here, the author writes from the first-person perspective of a twentyish LA woman who is filming her father’s top cable cooking show when she stumbles into the murder of a famous Hawaiian singing star (think ‘Iz’), and struggles with romantic ‘love on all the wrong beaches’ when she has to choose between a thief, a king, and a murderer. Best-selling author Anne Hillerman said of Captain Cooked: “It reads like Janet Evanovich morphing into Rachel Ray while filming a remake of Perils of Pauline. Coming out in August 2023 is Atomic Dreams at the Red Tiki Lounge, an elaborately crafted Hawaiian fantasy-thriller set in post World War 2 Honolulu with the gods fighting against mutated demons, star-crossed romance, where future famous people pass through the doors of the Red Tiki. There’s even Russians seeking to steal an Atomic Bomb. Artwork illustrations provided by famed surrealist artist, Brad ‘Tiki Shark’ Parker. Finally, is Crimson Scimitar, which has been described as ‘the awakening epic of our times’ to be released September 2023. Multiple story lines including Hollywood Culture takes on Terrorists. The reader will be amazed how the author can take current history and give it resonance to today’s events and still provide a thriller with unusual twists including the warning: ‘9/11 can happen again.’ Author S.P. Grogan lives in Henderson, Nevada, and is working on his next novel.
Website: www.spgrogan.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grogan.sp
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4032468.S_P_Grogan
10 Things You Might Not Know About Crimson Scimitar: Attack on America 2001-2027
1. At 600 pages (hardback), 270,000 words, Crimson Scimitar is more than the 209,000 words as long as Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, and less than A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (298,000 words). Crimson Scimitar is being called by one reviewer 'An Awakening Epic of Our Times'.
An epic is a genre of literature that typically describes a hero's journey or quest on a grand scale. It often involves the protagonist overcoming monumental obstacles, engaging in intense battles or conflicts, and encountering extraordinary beings or events. Epics are known for their length, intricate plotlines, and exploration of important themes such as heroism, honor, fate, and the complexities of human nature. They often reflect the values, beliefs, and cultural heritage of a particular society or civilization.
2. Author S.P. Grogan creates main characters in three strong willed women whose only flaws are frustrations at not achieving their goals. Samantha, NYC fashion celebrity, tires of the social life and seeks extraordinary thrills. Callie, a reality television actress who knows she has more talent for bigger roles. And Sabz, the child-betrothed pawn in tribal politics seeks to escape from her marital fate and go to college. And in the midst of taking the right path they are also willing to take chances for and against their romantic choices.
3. The idea for Crimson Scimitar began in 2009, when the author began writing out the plot premise. The manuscript was half-way completed when one night he was told, "Listen to the TV, they've killed bin Laden." The original idea was to be written as a courtroom drama, with bin Laden found innocent!! The unfinished manuscript was shelved for nearly 20 years until re-written in its entirety!
4. SEAL member Shawn Pacheco was named after a friend at a previous job, Hugh Fox, the games maker, named after a neighbor. Hugh's company, Skilleo Games Technology, is named after an actual company that the author, as a businessman, incorporated, to work on various video business projects. The author worked 15 years for a company that designed and invented casino games. He also worked as an economic development advisor for several Native American tribes, thus the Indian inferences appearing in and around the plot of 'The Trial of the Century'.
5. True events are woven into the story fabric. Examples are the missile strike in Sudan in 1998, 9/11 of course. The 2011 earthquake in Virginia, nuclear power plants being impacted by high river flooding.
6. At the story's attack climax, 'the battle at the bridge', the author took several trips to the site to study bridge structure, to determine if such an attack could be successful, and how to accomplish.
7. The lady police officer who appears at the bridge during the battle actually made her debut as a main starring character as a Las Vegas Metro Police Homicide Detective in the author's first published novel, "Vegas Die", that contained a special 'Quest Mystery' of a treasure hunt for a $25,000 valued dagger hidden somewhere in Vegas, the clues within the book's writing. A Quest Mystery for a hidden war club appears in the next novel, "Captain Cooked, Hawaiian Mystery of Romance, Revenge, and Recipes" but, for Questor fans, no treasure hunt in Crimson Scimitar.
8. This novel suggests the question: Could there be a Crimson Scimitar attack on America? Famous best-selling authors think so in plotting of their own thriller books. In 2023, Federal statistics stated 100 known, registered terrorists were apprehended at the border, but no statistics of course on how many made it undetected into the heartland of the U.S., or are hiding in our cities. Crimson Scimitar does not purport any political agenda in our current divisive country, but only asks readers if they believe this country is vulnerable to a larger terrorist attack than 9/11?
9. Much of the public dialogue of bin Laden in the story is taken from his own writings/speeches. He did think, by 2011, that his power was waning and he was becoming irrelevant against the Arab Spring movement. The planned attack on oil tankers was an actual viable plot in 2010-2011. And yes, he was having employee problems with his security guards being too protective. The timeline of the attack on the bin Laden compound is accurate. The tweets published during the attack were from a real listener to the event unfolding.
10. The publisher of Crimson Scimitar, Histria Books, up to 2019 only published academic history books. In reading S. P. Grogan's works, the publisher thought the fictional writing outstanding and the stories interesting and compelling, and made a deal to purchase all rights of the Author's catalogue of four novels, and re-publish them, which they have done so between 2020 and this year. Outside the scope of the agreement, Crimson Scimitar is the first newly written novel written by Grogan, published by Histria Books, to be released for the holiday season, 2023.
Title: CRIMSON SCIMITAR: ATTACK ON AMERICA 2001-2027
Author: S.P. Grogan
Publisher: Addison & Highsmith Publishers
Pages: 680
Genre: Current Historical Fiction/Action/Adventure/Thriller
Crimson Scimitar by S.P. Grogan is an expansive action-adventure terrorist thriller that tells the ‘what if’ story of the al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden. What if, in 2011, instead of being killed bin Laden is captured and put on trial, what would American justice look like, and would the outcome be as expected? What if prior to his capture he and al Qaeda were planning to launch on America worse than 9/11? Who could stop it? In Crimson Scimitar is the chase to capture bin Laden, the ‘Trial of the Century’, the diabolical Crimson Scimitar plot in action, and climactic ‘gun battle at the bridge.’ Author S.P. Grogan’s writing seamlessly blends the political War on Terrorism events of 2011 into a realistic landscape that features strong women characters, an eccentric multi-millionaire, reality television stars, SEAL members on the attack, battling defense and prosecution lawyers, CIA agents, the President of the United States, and an ambitious jihadist who will begin a violent transformative journey. More intriguing is how the terrorist plot was crated that will lead to stock market manipulation, attacks on amusement parks, and nuclear waste poisoning. And amid it all there are romantic challenges that must be faced to create strong bonds to fight against evil. Crimson Scimitar is labeled as the ‘Awakening Epic of Our Times’, reminding readers that a 9/11 could happen again and that we must be vigilant.
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/6v9s8n9k
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-crimson-scimitar-sp-grogan/1142693076
Histria Books: https://histriabooks.com/product/crimson-scimitar
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/149851203-crimson-scimitar
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