CHILD OF CHAOS: Eccentric adventure - or something more?

While CHILD OF CHAOS may seem, on the surface, to be an eccentrically acerbic, far-flung action-adventure, I wrote it with a more pressing theme in mind.

The gods with whom I've chosen to populate this particular story are archetypes. They are projections, if you will, of the many desires and flaws that we all share. So I've used them to illustrate this shared point in our human history, and when you read this book I just ask that you keep some things in mind.

Zeus represents 'patriarchy' - rulership by a single male, an all-powerful father figure. We owe most of our human history - good, bad and ugly - to this type of monarchic governing.

Without getting too spoilery - I want you to enjoy the novel as it unfolds! - the 'threat' to Olympus and to Zeus represents the social forces that have come to usurp 'big bad daddy's iron fist' as a means of societal control. Specifically, our new overlords, here in the real world, are no longer thunderously demanding kings; they are our own greed, our own lust, to which we are yoked and leashed by those who manufacture the objects we are so convinced we desire. Whether they're video games or drugs or cans of cola, we all have a carefully-crafted hedonistic carrot on a stick guiding us one way or another.

As for making your hero the embodiment of sarcasm and cynicism itself? Well, in a world where we are daily hammered with insistent claims that we can only eat, drink and be merry thanks to Product X, what healthier response is there than to say, "Yeah, okay ... fuck it."

Of course, you're welcome to read CHILD OF CHAOS on a more surface level, as a romp and a journey and a wee battle of wits with some poorly-armed combatants. Feel free! But if you squint at the story and turn your head and the lighting is just right at a very certain time of the day ... well, if you happen to see a deeper (and perhaps a darker) meaning, I re-assure you that you're not losing your mind.

Happy reading!

Product page on Kindleboards

CHOKE HOLD has a product page on Kindleboards. Check it out, it's pretty cool!

Click here to see the page + samples!

How long should an e-book be?

Abraham Lincoln was often mocked by his detractors for his lanky height. When one asked how long a man's legs really needed to be, he responded with dry wit: "Long enough to reach the ground."

The same is true for e-books. They need to be long enough to get the job done, but the exact length doesn't matter.

Of course, they should be priced accordingly. CHOKE HOLD is a complete story, told in only about 16,000 words - a novelette by print standards. So I priced it at .99 cents because any more seemed an unfair fee for the length of the content. But that's the freedom of e-books over print - one author can write a shorter book meant to be a fast-paced read, another author can write a long book meant to be slowly savored, and both can be a success!

CHOKE HOLD: Newest Novel!

Hi folks! Awesome news - you can now download CHOKE HOLD, by Scott Frederick (blush!), directly on your Kindle or on your computer.

Hooray!

What's it about, you wonder? Here's the summary:

"Disturbed and ominous ... a thriller with the strangest hero you'll ever meet..."

Malcolm Drake is a thief by trade.

Judge Malachy O'Casey - the local law who also happens to run the area's organized crime - sees Drake's potential, and welcomes him into his lawless underworld.

But a clever double-cross by one of his clientele has Drake framed for the judge's sudden downfall, and O'Casey orders all of Drake's former partners-in-crime to hunt him down.

It's a race against time to discover who set Drake up - before O'Casey has him killed.

Can the thief who thrives on danger handle the pressure - or will death finally claim the man who's taunted it one too many times..?

Though it's a quick and easy read, CHOKE HOLD is a thriller that may still be disturbing for some readers...

Tornadoes Ate My Blog Posts!

Tornadoes Ate My Blog Posts!

Sorry no updates as promised this weekend, but I live in the area of the country that got absolutely spanked by tornadoes recently. Without phones, internet or even electricity, the only way I could have gotten through to you folks is by smoke signal or carrier pigeon.

I'm not proficient in the former or an owner of the latter, so ... delays.

New book samples, and other goodies, soon!

So what's it all about?

What's Ye Gods! : Child of Chaos all about, you ask?

Here's a blurb by way of explanation:

One minor god, one major mission: Seize control of Mount Olympus.

Risking his eternal life has never been such fun!

Momus, god of Sarcasm, must use all of his guile and cunning to undo the terrible mess caused when a coup on modern-day Mount Olympus unseats mighty Zeus and installs greedy Plutus and gluttonous Bacchus as the new co-rulers of the gods. With his friend Anteros (the god of Broken Hearts) in tow, Momus must plot, sweet-talk and connive his way to the ultimate prize: dominion over the worlds of both gods and men.

Take a ride with the wise-cracking schemer as he goes on a wild adventure leading to the four corners of the supernatural world - and beyond.

"YE GODS!:Child of Chaos", is now available for Kindle. Ye gods will be pleased if you click for more information!

Click for more info

Ye Gods! : Child Of Chaos Book Excerpt

Want to sample some of my writing style before you check out the details for Child Of Chaos?

Here's a taste, from Chapter One:

  The ground had, at long last, stopped shuddering.

  Momus sat some way down the mountain from its Olympian palaces, now
shrouded in turbulent gray clouds.  He shifted his weight uneasily on the
rough rock, cast a short glance up the mountainside to its summit, then
rested his chin on his fist and sighed.

  Surely, he thought, some of the other Olympian gods had survived. 
Not that he wanted to actually see any of them; that much had
not changed.

  But he could hear no sounds from above; none of the angry shouting,
the accusations and recriminations that had filled the air an hour earlier.

  Just before the thunderbolts had started flying. 

  And how they had flown!  One after the other, lancing with
prescient accuracy from the fingertips and palms of beleaguered
Zeus, ripping with thunderous ferocity into the bodies of
gods far more powerful than Momus.

  Even they seemed surprised by the raw fury Zeus unleashed
upon them; one deity after another, pain-wracked bodies
silhouetted black against the brilliant electric flashes, hurled
like straw-filled dolls against the white marble walls of
the throne room...

Child of Chaos is available at Amazon! It won't hurt to click for more information:

Click for more info