The Old Guard

So I was entirely unfamiliar with this graphic novel/series until I stumbled across some news about this being made into a film for Netflix. My first reaction is “Holy crap, that sounds mighty familiar.” Like so familiar I had to look into it a bit more. If you don’t know it or aren’t familiar with it, the premise is as follows: An immortal from Greek mythology turns mercenary and fights for humanity from the shadows. Sound at all familiar????? The comic came out in 2017. My books were first published in 2015, but the first book, Havoc Rising, was written in 2012. Back then it was called “Humanity’s Fist” and it was the first part of the Guardian Chronicles. Now its the Metis Files. Oddly The Old Guard revolves around Andromache of Scythia, whom I assume is some version of Queen Andromache who fought (and was beaten by) Heracles. I doubt it would be about Andromache, the wife of Hector, because she is not a warrior. And, of course, she could be entirely made up by the author of the comic series. (I won’t go into Diomedes’ dealings with the Amazons at Troy. It was not pretty. ) Anyway, I guess if you find The Old Guard interesting, the check out The Metis Files…..

Charlize Theron is an Immortal Mercenary in Netflix’s Summer Action-Thriller ‘The Old Guard’ [Images]

#theoldguard #themetisfiles #greekmythology

Its been a while

I apologize for not posting something here more regularly over the past eight or nine months. Lots of things going on. Still working on Book 4, tentatively titled Maelstrom Within. It’ll be a bit darker for Diomedes than the previous three, but if you’ve read Rebellion Reborn, you’ll know why. If you haven’t, well then shame on you. Go read it!

The first image is of a logo I’ve been messing around with for a while. Needed something for the Metis Foundation. I think its pretty cool! Any thoughts? Yes, the infinity symbol has to do with Metis, while the owl is associated with Athena, of course. The olive branches are for peace, since that’s what the Metis Foundation is all about, and the globe represents the scope of operation! So there you have it!

The second image is a bit more complicated…. Diomedes modern coat-of-arms so to speak. The wolf is the symbol of his homeland–Argos, while the Calydonian boar is the symbol of his family. The modern weapon at the bottom offsets his traditional weapon at the top, his kopis swords. The two spears just divide it up, but they can be seen as the Pelian spear he took from Achilles when he died. Again, whatcha think?

Not sure what I’ll do with them, but I think they’re cool!

Please VOTE!

So in my last post I noted Chaos Unbound has been nominated for a Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award. But it is also up for a Reader’s Choice Award as well… and you can help!

Just follow the link, scroll down to Fantasy/SciFi and vote for Chaos Unbound. Then scroll down some more and submit your vote and that’s it! I suppose you could also vote for a few other books in the other categories while you’re there, but hey, who am I to tell you how to spend your time on the internet? Except the voting for Chaos Unbound part. Do that. No seriously… Do that. And from the deepest part of my shriveled little heart, I thank you!

Killer Nashville International Readers’ Choice Award

Havoc Rising nominated for a TopShelf Indie Book Award

So, I might have forgotten to mention this, but back in June, Havoc Rising, the first book in the Metis Files series, was nominated for a TopShelf Indie Book Award. Ok, I know, Havoc Rising is not new, nor is it “Indie” but it is published by a small (but very awesome) publishing house–Red Adept Publishing. Anyway, yeah, apparently being nominated is a prestigious thing, and I am honored to be nominated for this award. More than honored, I am humbled. We won’t know anything until the end of the summer, but I will keep you informed as to what happens. Unless of course I don’t win. In that case, I’ll be sulking in a corner of a closet somewhere wondering why they didn’t love me enough…

Oh, and Chaos Unbound is up for a 2018 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award, too…

Expect big things from Rebellion Reborn. I hear the Pulitzer people are already fast tracking it. So what if its right out the door. I’m an Urban Fantasy author, I take what I can get!

Indie_Book_Awards

Rebellion Reborn, Book 3 of the Metis Files

 

Rebellion-Reborn_800-Cover-Reveal-and-PromoMillennia ago beings we call angels were tasked with watching over humankind in its infancy. Rather than protect humans these Watchers decided to subjugate them instead, beginning a rebellion that would rock both the heavens and Earth. Defeated, the most powerful of the rebels were imprisoned for eternity while the weaker ones were condemned to live out their existence on Earth, relegated to the shadows that now occupy human myths and legends.

Until one of the Watchers somehow escapes.

Diomedes, immortal protector of humanity and one time hero of the Trojan War—better known as Steve Dore these days—is horrified to discover that what human authorities think is a mentally unstable cannibalistic murderer is actually a gateway to something ancient and apocalyptic. And he’s far from the beginning. Racing against a cosmic timetable, Diomedes is drawn into a dark and sinister underworld in a desperate attempt to stop another uprising.

But stopping this enemy will cost him far more than his life.

All because some grudges never die.

San Diego Scavenger Hunt

So for those of you in the San Diego area, I am going to host a scavenger hunt of a kind on Monday, July 31st. Nothing to buy, sign up for or even like. It open to anyone and everyone in San Diego. Just go to TheMetisFiles Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/themetisfiles/) and click on the video that I will upload by 10AM on that day. It will give you the instructions and rules, then you’re on your own! First person to reach the end gets signed copies of Havoc Rising, Chaos Unbound and two $50 gift cards, including one to Amazon. Second person to the end gets signed copies of both books and everyone after the first person will be eligible for a random drawing for a $25 Amazon digital gift card.

 

Remember, just go to the link above, click on the video and go where it sends you at 10AM July 31st! And have fun!

 

Best

Brian S. Leon

What’s real…

So one of the things I try to do is keep as much of my books grounded in “real” things as I can. Almost all of the locations are real–except perhaps the caverns under Central Park, maybe. The modern weapons and tactics are real, too. But there are  a host of plot elements in both Havoc Rising and Chaos Unbound that are also based in reality that you might not be aware of (yes, I ended that sentence with a preposition–get over it–I’m from the south).

In Havoc Rising, there is a real connection between the very real terrorist organization I mention, Jundullah, and Medea. Her son Medus was the founder of the Medes, whom Jundullah claim heritage to. Kinda cool, right? If you want to read the free pre-prologue which goes into more detail on Medea and Medus’s run into what is now Iran, just email me and I’ll forward it to you. There is far more based in reality in Chaos Unbound, however. For instance, the blackout at the beginning of the book actually happened in Southern California. Again the places are all real, including Dytlov Pass and Aoikigahara. And I did as much research as I could on North Korea and the presidential train. And Kim Jong Il did indeed die on his train in that area on the day I list. Again, I have a prologue for Chaos Unbound that I can send you if you want that includes a unique conversation, also based in reality–which is damn scary to think once you’ve read it. Anyway, I always figured that the more I can ground my stories in reality, the better they are even though they are fantasy. I didn’t want to create a fantasy version of this world. I wanted to drag fantasy into it. Lemme know if you like it. Be warned. Book three, Rebellion Reborn contains more of this than either of the previous two books, including a telling of the Axeman Murders in New Orleans in 1919. After all, what fun is fantasy if it doesn’t have at least some connection to reality?

Blog Tour Schedule for Chaos Unbound

Chaos Unbound Button 300 x 225With the recent release of Chaos Unbound, I am doing a massive 39 stop blog tour over the next month. Beginning March 20, you can find me at the following blogs, talking about everything related to Chaos Unbound, Havoc Rising and The Metis Files–maybe even some stuff not related to my books. You never know.

Just so you know where to go and when, here’s the schedule.

Oh, did I mention you can register to win a signed set of The Metis Files books and even a $25 Amazon electronic gift card!

 

March 20
Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
http://creativelygreen.blogspot.com/

March 20
Just Another Bookaholic
http://itsgoingtobeobvious.blogspot.in/

March 21
The Silver Dagger Scriptorium
http://silver-dagger-scriptorium.weebly.com/

March 22
I Smell Sheep
http://www.ismellsheep.com/

March 23
Share My Destiny
http://sharemydestiny.blogspot.com

March 24
Urban Fantasy Investigations
http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/

March 24
Read Day and Night
http://readdayandnight.blogspot.com

March 27
The Authors Blog
http://traceyawoodblog.wordpress.com

March 27
Amidst the Pages
https://muggleboooks.wordpress.com

March 28
The Paperback Princess
www.princessofpaperback.wordpress.com

March 28
Reading Renee
Http://www.readingrenee.com

March 29
Mello and June, It’s a Book Thang!
https://mellojune.com

March 29
Lisa-Queen of Random
http://www.Lisas2900.blogspot.com

March 30
For Love of Books4
Welcome Page

March 30
SImply Kelina
http://simplykelina.blogspot.com/

March 31
Supernatural Central
http://supernaturalcentral.blogspot.com

March 31
Traci Douglass

Home

April 3
Fang-tastic Books
http://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com

April 3
Ctrl, Alt, Books!
Home

April 4
Roxanne’s Realm
http://www.roxannerhoads.com/

April 4
Reading From Dawn till Dusk
Www.instagram.com/reading_from_dawn_till_dusk

April 5
Another Book Hangover

April 5
Lisa’s World of Books
http://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/

April 6
Chill and Read
https://chillandreadblog.wordpress.com

April 6
Books and Tales
http://booksandtales.blogspot.co.uk/

April 7
One Book Two
https://onebooktwo.wordpress.com/

April 7
Ogitchida Kwe’s Book Blog
http://ogitchidabookblog.blogspot.com

April 10
Lisa’s Loves(Books of Course)
http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.blogspot.com/

April 10
Ramblings of a Book Nerd
www.booknerdramblings.com

April 11
Books, Dreams, Life
http://staceyschneller06.wordpress.com

April 11
Illuminite Caliginosus
http://darkwriter67.wordpress.com

April 12
Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer
http://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com

April 12
T’s Stuff
http://teresanoel.blogspot.com/

April 13
Don’t Judge, Read
http://dontjudgeread.blogspot.ca

April 13
3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, and Sissy, Too!
http://3partnersinshopping.blogspot.com

April 14
Books N Pearls
http://booksnpearls.com/blog

April 14
Infinite House of Books
http://www.house-of-books.com

April 17
The Book Junkie Reads
http://mileythebookjunkie.blogspot.com/

April 17
Sapphyria’s Book Reviews
http://saphsbookblog.blogspot.com/