GIRL WITH PEN: The Olympus Project by Ted Taylor Book Tour and Giveaway

A secret organisation delivers swift justice where the system fails.

Pages filled with tension and suspense.

The Olympus Project

The Phoenix Series Book 1

by Ted Tayler

Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction

A man plucked from a watery grave and given a new identity, meet The Phoenix – a ruthless assassin sculpted by circumstance. Embraced by the Olympus Project, a clandestine bastion against injustice, The Phoenix becomes the embodiment of swift, unyielding retribution. Buckle up for a rollercoaster of unrelenting action, immersing you in a world of high-stakes intrigue. With characters so vivid, you’ll feel their breath on your skin, the Olympus Project is the spellbinding thriller series for which you’ve been searching.

THE PHOENIX
Colin Bailey is The Phoenix. In the book that preceded this series, a tragic event turned Colin’s life upside down and unleashed a killing spree in his quiet West Country town. He narrowly cheated death under Pulteney Weir in the Roman City of Bath, and is now working with a secret organisation engaged in fighting injustice. The Phoenix has a clearly defined set of values regarding what is right and what is wrong. He believes guilty criminals must pay the price.
(Read CONCEPTION – THE BIRTH OF THE PHOENIX – for Colin Bailey’s story)

SETTING
Larcombe Manor is the headquarters of The Olympus Project and lies several miles northwest of Bath. The true nature of the organisation is hidden from the outside world. The Charity Commission believes the Manor is home to service personnel suffering from PTSD who are treated at the Manor until they’re ready to return to duty or civilian life. Larcombe is the family home of Commodore William Horatio Hunt OBE, and he is the senior Olympus agent on site: code name Erebus.

PRAISE FOR TED TAYLER:
"Tayler's intrigue is timely given world events. I can easily see the premise being real.”
“Vigilantes motivated by hope for a better world. Justice delivered where the system fails."
“Characters using their personal tragedies as motivation to fix the world."
"Spinning a tale of fear and violence straight from world headlines."

SERIES LIST
The Olympus Project
Gold, Silver, and Bombs
Nothing Is Ever Forever
In The Lap of The Gods
The Price of Treachery
A New Dawn
Something Wicked Draws Near
Evil Always Finds A Way
Revenge Comes in Many Colours
Three Weeks in September
A Frequent Peal Of Bells
Larcombe Manor

**Get it FREE Nov 4^th ONLY!!**

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Guest Post

What is one of your pet peeves?

The lack of ‘live’ music venues for young musicians. When we started out in the early 60s, there were youth clubs, village halls, pubs, working men’s clubs, sports and social clubs, and larger dance halls that were prepared to give us a chance. So many of those venues have closed, and many that remain settle for ‘covers’ bands or discos, rather than promote a new band writing their own material.

What are you passionate about these days?

Protecting free speech. When I became a teenager, one of the first things my parents taught me was to respect the opinion of others; and not just my elders. Whether I believed people were misguided, or just plain wrong, everyone was entitled to their own view on a subject – politics, religion, whether the world was flat, anything and everything, there were two sides to every argument. Times have changed, and not always for the better.

Describe yourself in 5 words or less!

Aspiring national treasure.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When a retired Naval Commander wrote to me a couple of years ago, asking who I’d spoken to at Faslane – home to Britain’s nuclear submarines. I’d written about the base in ‘Buried Secrets’ from the Freeman Files, and he was impressed with the accuracy of my observations on how the Royal Navy and the Russians operated. I was forced to admit that Google had provided the framework; the rest was my fertile imagination.

What can we expect from you in the future?

That’s a tricky one. I’m almost eighty, so long-term planning is optimistic. Also, after writing fifty-six books in ten years, I’m undecided whether to commit to another series. Perhaps, if I have a great idea for a book, I could write a standalone title featuring a character I’ve already created?

An adventure for Rusty Scott from The Phoenix Series where he infiltrates an organized crime gang to bring them to justice; or follow DI Grace Packenham’s first murder investigation with the Metropolitan Police after Gus Freeman’s cold case review team was disbanded.

If The Phoenix became a film franchise, who would you like to play the lead?

I’d remind the casting director that Colin Bailey was nondescript. The sort of character people walked past in the street and didn’t register. Average in height, weight, looks, and attire. It should be the ideal opportunity for an actor who’s been overlooked for leading roles in the past but can both act and handle action sequences with aplomb. I rarely watch films these days; so, I don’t have a clue whether there’s an English actor who fits the bill.

If The Freeman Files became a filmed series, who would you like to play the lead?

I’m not sure the stories lend themselves to the silver screen. They’re more ‘Midsomer Murders,’ or for older viewers, Ruth Rendell’s ‘Inspector Wexford’ from British TV.

Gus Freeman reasons his way through murder investigations rather than engaging in car chases and non-stop action. With a few tweaks, it could work on TV, and my preference would, again, be for new faces, rather than familiar ones. Although, I wouldn’t say no if Hugh Laurie was interested in playing Gus.

Are your characters based on real people or did they all come from your imagination?

When you get to my age, you have a lot of different people on which to base your fictional characters. If you get things right as a writer, you produce characters with a range of quirks and idiosyncrasies the reader finds believable. Strong characters that fit seamlessly into the situations in which you put them. I’ve enjoyed creating dozens of new characters, but they’re always imaginary, never based on one specific person I’ve met.

Who are your top 10 favourite authors?

William Shakespeare,

Charles Dickens,

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,

Agatha Christie,

Josephine Tey.

Ruth Rendell,

Colin Dexter,

Ian Rankin,

Lee Child,

Karin Slaughter.

What do you think about the current publishing market?

I’m glad I started writing when I did, despite being sixty-seven years old, because self-publishing was available to me. The journey was harder because I had to learn on the job, plus handle my own marketing, but I would never have published as many books as I have if I’d followed the traditional route.

When indie writers were first around, the traditional crowd looked down on them, and thought they’d go away in time. Over the last three years, I’ve seen more and more books appearing on Amazon (often with new covers and titles) from authors whose books were big sellers in hardback and paperback, ten, twenty, even thirty years ago. Some language in those books has been moderated to reflect changing times, but the publishers have at long last realized how much money can be made from the Kindle and Audio market. That’s made life tougher for an indie author like me, but there’s no point moaning about it. The market is expanding, so there’s room for both types of writers to be successful – if you’re prepared to work hard for it.

Do you read yourself and if so, what is your favorite genre?

I used to read between 150 and 200 books a year and posted reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. My choice was usually from the Mystery, Thriller and Suspense category, but sometimes I received requests from other authors that allowed me to dip into different genres. I haven’t found as much free time since my own books became more popular. I’m reading 75-100 books a year these days.

What have you read recently?

Eight from September: -

Whispered Bones – NC Lewis

Little Girl Missing – JG Roberts

If I Run – Molly Black

Watch Her Vanish – Ellery Kane

No Mercy – Blake Pierce

Fool Me Once – Solomon Carter

Father Brown Collection – G K Chesterton

The Murder Book – Mark Billingham

What does success in writing look like to you?

A girl who was at school with my twin daughters read my first book. and wrote to me; she said it was the best book she had ever read. She had left school seventeen years before and read nothing since. Now that’s what I call a success!

If something I wrote can give someone back the love of reading that they had lost, then would a ‘best seller’ selling thousands of books to people who read all the time be any more satisfying?

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

In 2017 I contacted a prolific author whose books I’d read and enjoyed, to ask how they were so successful while attracting such a high percentage of unfavourable comments. They said that unlike Ian Rankin and Lee Child, who could spend eighteen months polishing their manuscript so that it shone like a diamond, they needed to publish half a dozen titles each year in order to put food on the table for their family. So, they accepted that readers would spot the typos, and the change of character name halfway through a book. Their job was to continue to do their best to turn out fast-paced, page-turning stories that most readers enjoyed.

I’m a storyteller who tries to follow the same path. I won’t find all the elusive typos, and I know that my grammar isn’t perfect. I don’t ignore the bad reviews, nor do I go over the top with the stellar variety. I too can’t expect to have a manuscript that shines like a diamond when I aim to publish six titles a year. What I need to do is ensure they’re fast-paced, page-turners and pray readers enjoy them.

Which is your favourite character and why?

That’s a difficult question. Colin Bailey (The Phoenix) the vigilante assassin, was someone I wrote about for six years. He believed the punishment should fit the crime. I enjoyed writing about him, but.

I’ve decided Rusty Scott is my favourite. I don’t think that will change, however many series I might write. Rusty was the Phoenix’s best friend and right-hand man throughout the series. Mr Dependable.

Ted Tayler is the international best-selling indie author of the Freeman Files and Phoenix series. His next project is another series of challenging mysteries set in England in the 1930s. Brothers In Crime is scheduled to appear on Amazon from October 2023.

Sign up to his mailing list at tedtayler.co.uk to keep informed about future release dates, giveaways, and exclusives. In addition, readers can find him on BookBub, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Ted Tayler lives in the English West country, where his stories are based. Born in 1945, Ted’s been married to Lynne since 1971. They have three children and four grandchildren.

Since he published his first novel in 2013, Ted has sold over 50,000 books and surpassed 20 million page reads on Kindle Unlimited. His thought-provoking mysteries appeal to readers of Sally Rigby, Joy Ellis, Pauline Rowson, and Faith Martin. His action-packed thrillers are a must for fans of Mark Dawson, Jack Mars, and J C Ryan.

Gus Freeman’s cold case investigations are carried out with reasoned deduction rather than bursts of frantic action. In each of the 24 books, unsolved murder is accompanied by romance, humour, and country life. The core message in the 12 Phoenix novels is that criminals should pay for their crimes. Unfortunately, the current system fails to deliver the correct punishment, so Phoenix helps redress the balance.

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