Hello friend! Today I am chatting with author, Joe Ettle, about his fantasy novel, The Crusade of Vengeance. This is a historical suspense thriller that I hope to read in the future. 🙂
Get to know the author: Joe Ettle
Welcome to Armed with A Book, Joe! Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!
Hi, I’m a new author that only started writing a few years ago. My education is in classical archaeology, but my career is in something different so I was looking for a way to get back in touch with that side of me so I started writing. My books follow a team of experts as they try to recover stolen and hidden artifacts. They are heavily influenced by Indiana Jones and Clive Cussler.
What inspired you to write this book?
I had an idea that wouldn’t go away and the more I thought about it the more wanted to see where it went.
How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?
About a year, but I took a huge break once the pandemic started and our lives were turned upside down. It was about three months of actual writing spread out over a year.
What makes your story unique?
My main character, Rex Fletcher, while an expert in his field and very capable, is not always the one that solves the problem or defeats the bad guy. I wanted to show that he has flaws and is human.
Who would enjoy reading your book?
Lovers of Indiana Jones, Dirk Pitt, and other adventure stories with a historical bent.
What’s something you hope readers would take away from it?
That they learned a little bit about whatever culture/country/historical artifact that I included in the story, but also had fun along the way.
Do you have a favourite quote or scene in the book that you find yourself going back to?
The jaguar scenes in the rainforest. I tried to add some levity to a tense situation.
The Crusade of Vengeance
A shocking crime . . . a mysterious clue . . .how does it all connect?
Intrepid artifact recovery expert Rex Fletcher is tasked with tracking down a brazen group of criminals after they steal the Crown Jewels of England. But the closer he gets to them, the deadlier they become. With his erstwhile partner, Ruby Clarkson, by his side, can they uncover this mysterious group before all is lost? Or will they be allowed to enact their deadly plan to bring world powers to their knees through fear?
The Crusade for Vengeance follows the exploits of ARROW (Artifact Recovery and Repatriation Organization Worldwide) agent Rex Fletcher on another daring mission.
Content notes: None declared by the author.
Book Excerpt from
The Crusade of Vengeance
He was about to toss some more sticks onto the fire when he noticed it again. The forest was silent once more. No owls hooting, no frogs croaking. Nothing. And the feeling was back. The feeling of being watched. He turned to Alex to see if he felt it too, but Alex was already asleep, his arm across his face.
Rex peered into the dark, but the fire was only bright enough to light up a few feet around them. Past that it was pitch dark. Rex unsheathed the cane and waited, trying in vain to look all around him. He had almost convinced himself it was his imagination again when he heard it. A low snarl coming from right in front of him.
It was the jaguar. The one that had killed the capybara. That’s what had been following them. Rex had made sure to bury the entrails and carcass of the bird, but the jaguar wasn’t interested in that. It was interested in them. The only reason it hadn’t attacked already was that it probably didn’t know what they were. Rex doubted it had ever seen humans before and was still figuring them out. But judging from the snarl, it had figured out they were more than likely edible.
Rex held the sword in one hand and the knife in the other, but wasn’t kidding himself. He knew he didn’t stand much chance against a cat that size. The best thing he could do was try to kill or wound it so that it didn’t get Alex too. But Rex knew he was almost certain to die.
In addition to the jaguar’s ten razor-sharp claws and a mouth full of daggers, it could see better in the dark and was lightning quick. If he got the jugular, maybe he had a chance, but even then, the jaguar had the element of surprise. He knew the jaguar was going to pounce, but not when. He tried to steel himself to be ready.
Time seemed to slow down. To draw out. Rex kept his eyes on the space in the dark where the snarl was coming from, waiting for the jaguar to make the first move.
Waiting.
Waiting.
The snarl was getting closer. Rex could see the jaguar in his mind, crouched down, coiling its muscles to be ready to spring.
It was closer now.
Closer.
Any second now. Rex got ready.
Any seco—
SNARK! CHG! GHH!
Alex’s snores made Rex nearly jump out of his skin. He had forgotten the injured kid was there and the sudden noise had almost scared Rex to death. But apparently, the snores were loud and strange enough to startle the jaguar too. Rex couldn’t hear the snarl anymore. Gradually, the night sounds of the rainforest returned. Rex exhaled and tried to let go of the tension built up inside him. Alex continued to snore away, oblivious to the imminent danger.
Rex laughed to himself shakily and built the fire up even higher. If the jaguar had tracked them all day it wasn’t going to give up so easily. Rex knew they were going to have to face it eventually. And next time they would need more than snores to defend themselves. Rex settled himself in front of the fire and began to do what he did best. Come up with a plan.
Interested?
Find this book on Amazon, IndieStoryGeek and Goodreads.
Thank you so much for hanging out with us today! Connect with Joe on his website, Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads and Wattpad.
If you are an indie author and would like to do a book excerpt, check out my work with me page for details. Check out other book excerpts here.
Cover Photo on Unsplash
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