Several of you have written asking for an update on INFERNAL GAMES. Some of you have even posted multiple times in the same day, asking the same question but adding a few extra exclamation points after it for emphasis.

First, I appreciate the interest in both my work and this particular book in general. Thank you. I can’t stress that enough.

However, there are several factors at work here which together have caused the delay. The first is my desire to produce the best book I can. I love this series and I won’t rush something to market just because I’m anxious to release it. I want my readers to love this book so much that they will pick up books five and six as well. (Yes, I did say five and six – more on that later.)

Second, I make my living from my writing and the simple fact of the matter is that unlike my contracted work, no one is paying me to write Infernal Games. Which means it needs to be written, edited, designed, laid out, and converted into digital formats all in my spare time between writing the books that I AM paid in advance for and which put food on my kid’s dinner table.

Sometimes, things don’t go as planned. I had haoped to have IG out by the end of February, but rewrites on another project for which I am under contract simply had to take precedence. Then, when I did return to work on finishing IG, I was just not happy with a good chunk of the text. It was fair, but it wasn’t great. So back into rewrites it went. And that’s where it still is.

I’m working on it whenever I can and hope to have some more concrete information about a release date shortly. It will be released for the Kindle, nook, iPad, and Kobo all at the same time. In addition, contracts have been signed and approved to bring out an audio edition via GraphicAudio, the company who produced the first three books. Discussion on a print version still continues, but it won’t hold up the digital release in any way at this point.

So I hope that answers all of your questions. If not, feel free to use the Contact page and drop me a line. If you preordered IG, those preorders still stand and you’ll get a copy the day it is released. If you would prefer to get a refund and wait until it comes out, simply let me know and I’ll take care of it immediately.

And now, back to work!

-Joe Nassise

The great folks over at GraphicAudio have begun releasing the audiobook editions of the Templar series and these aren’t your average everyday audiobooks, not by any stretch! Full cast narration, digital sound effects, original music scores – this is audio done right!

Listen to the samples and then click the cover art to grab a copy of your own!

The Heretic

At the end of the First Crusade, the church created a monastic military order known as the Knights Templar. Now, rising up from the ashes of history, they are the Vatican’s last defense in the war between good and evil…

Cade Williams is no ordinary man. His ability to cross over to the other side makes him uniquely qualified to command the Church’s special operations division. As a modern-day Knight, Cade can use the curse that has scarred his soul as a weapon against the forces of darkness. But a new kind of unholy war is brewing — and soon Cade may be the last man standing…between the living and the dead.

The desecration of Templar cemeteries has sparked a full-scale investigation. Cade and his team suspect that a cabal of necromancers is behind it all. Their purpose: to claim the legendary powers of a lost holy relic for their own ungodly campaign. For Cade, there’s only one way to stop them — by tracking the dead himself…crossing the most sacred of battle lines…and facing his own terrifying demons.

Release Date: February 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59950-836-8

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A SCREAM OF ANGELS

Release Date: March 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59950-845-0

In honor of Friday the 13th, I’m making THE HERETIC, book one in this internationally bestselling series, free over at Amazon for the next 48 hours. If you’re looking for some new urban fantasy, swing on over and download a copy – you won’t be disappointed!

Get it now!

Book one in the Templar Chronicles

The wait has been long, I know, but trust me when I tell you it will be worth it. INFERNAL GAMES, book four of the Templar Chronicles series, will be released on Wednesday, February 15th. To start it will be available in ebook format on the Kindle, Nook, and iPad platforms. Shortly thereafter I hope to have a paperback edition as well. It will sell for $3.99, just like all the other books in the series.

But…if you preorder it now, you can have it for $2.99, which is a 25% discount off the cover price. In addition, you’ll be featured on the acknowledgements page for showing your support.

So what, exactly, is INFERNAL GAMES about? I’m glad you asked…

[Spoiler Alert - if you haven't read TEAR IN THE SKY, you probably don't want to read any farther...]

The Templars have emerged victorious following their battle with the Chiang Shih, but paid a high price in doing so. The dead line the halls of the local commanderies and the survivors are both physically and spiritually exhausted. Estimates suggest it will take years for the Order to recover.

Even Echo Team has been decimated; its ranks reduced by half. Knight Commander Cade Williams managed to survive his journey deep into the heart of the Beyond and his subsequent confrontation with the Adversary, but he has returned a changed man; his thirst for vengeance quenched but his spirit broken. As a result, command of Echo has passed to the newly-promoted Captain Riley.

It is the moment Simon Logan, former leader of the Council of Nine and the man once known as the Necromancer, has been waiting for. In a daring prison break, he frees himself from Templar control and vanishes into the night. Given the difficulty the Order had in capturing him the first time, the assignment to track Logan down falls to those who know him best – Captain Riley and the newly reformed Echo Team.

But rather than waiting for Echo to coming looking for him, the Necromancer takes the battle to them instead; luring former Commander Williams away from his home and stealing the physical form of his wife, Gabrielle, a woman caught somewhere between life and death.

It is perhaps the one act that could rouse Cade from the grey haze his life has become. As he ruthlessly tracks the Necromancer through this world and the next, Cade can’t help but ask himself what Logan might want with a half-dead woman and the man who had literally travelled to hell and back to rescue her.

One thing is for certain – Cade won’t rest until Gabrielle is by his side once more.

Reserve your copy today and it will be emailed to you as soon as its available on February 15th!

Coming Soon

The Heretic - audio edition

Erik Smith over at the Monster Librarian recently reviewed The Templar Chronicles Omnibus and had this to say:

Nassise blends action and character moments deftly, keeping a steady pace throughout. He writes with a clean style, never getting bogged down in overly descriptive passages, yet he doesn’t skimp on the details. This is Stephen King meets Tom Clancy, with military action and horror served up in equal portions.

The rest of the review is equally as good. Drop by and give it a read!

As the Templar Chronicles series grows in popularity (no doubt thanks to many of you who have helped spread the word!), I hear from fans on an almost daily basis, asking if there will be another book. I’ve been a bit evasive on the topic before this, primarily because I wasn’t sure if the series would support another volume.

Thanks to the hard efforts of all you Templar fans out there, I can finally give you a firm answer to the question.

No, there will not be another Templar book. There will be two!

The first, INFERNAL GAMES, picks up right where A TEAR IN THE SKY, left off. I hope to have the book completed sometime next month and available shortly thereafter. Then, later this fall, the as-yet-untitled fifth (and possibly final volume) of the series will be released.

I can’t thank my fans enough for supporting the Chronicles all these years and I’m looking forward to giving you some of the answers you’ve been clamoring for! Stay tuned to the mailing list for more information, including a sneak peek at the opening chapters of INFERNAL GAMES in the next few weeks.

The past couple of weeks have brought several reviews of The Heretic and A Scream of Angels, all of which have praised the books highly. Here are a few that you might like to check out:

Fellow Dead Man author James Reasoner recently said

“Nassise keeps the reader turning the pages (or the e-book equivalent) all the way to a spectacular final confrontation in the Louisiana swamps.” You can read the full review at the Rough Edges blog.

Vixen’s Daily Reads gave The Heretic a five star rating, saying

“This story moves supremely fast, holding the reader in its grasp, until the very amazing end. I cannot wait to read the next in the series, A SCREAM OF ANGELS and A TEAR IN THE SKY.”

At the BarnesandNoble.com digital store, Maedchen says

“Nassise’s ability to create scenes is masterful, giving vivid descriptions of natural and supernatural settings and beings alike. The story is fast-paced without feeling like pieces are missing. This story will draw you in from the start and will compel you to finish it as quickly as possible, simply to see what happens next.”

Sandra over at ThruDreamsgate’s Blog took on The Heretic and A Scream of Angels back to back and had terrific things to say about both.

“The Heretic is a well written, fast paced supernatural thriller that will leave you rapidly turning pages, (or in my case, clicking the next page button on my Kindle). When I finished reading it, my first thought was “Wow, damn good book!”, second thought was “I want more, NOW!”

“Scream of Angels was a good strong sequel that expanded on what the Heretic had started and paved the way for further conflicts and adventures in book three.”

Find out what all the excitement is about by checking out the series yourself – all three books are available separately or as an omnibus volume at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Bad Moon Books.

Bad Moon Books posted on their blog this morning that the Templar Chronicles Omnibus is now in stock and ready to ship!

This beautiful trade paperback edition with full color cover art by Kip Ayers comes in at just about 700 pages and contains the first three books in the Templar Chronicles series – The Heretic, A Scream of Angels, and a Tear in the Sky. If you’ve been waiting to read all three of them together, now’s your chance.

Get your copy of the Templar Chronicles Omnibus today!