For the Gazette
XENIA — Local thriller author Joe Schlegel has re-released his action novels as multi-book sets, marking a turning point in his novel-writing hobby.
On Sept. 5, he published “An Abrupt Ending: The First Two and a Half Books of the Godrick Series.” It combines his 2012 debut (“The Appetite of Floyd”) and his 2013 sophomore installment (“Dare to Defy”) with a novella from this past July (“Ava”).
Both of Schlegel’s 2014 novels (“Wrath, and Raleigh,” and “A Few Grams of Horror Haze”) were packaged together earlier this month as, “Her Revolution Arrives: Books Three and Four of the Godrick Series.”
The action saga follows the exploits of Godrick Jasper who is drowning in bills and robs a bank, but he is double-crossed. His efforts to reclaim the heist money drag him through a dark, winding journey of loss, anger, fear, revenge, and impossible expectations.
Schlegel has planned nine books in the series, and he hopes to begin work on the next installment soon, which will officially mark the halfway mark point of Godrick’s journey.
But first he has to complete his current project. “Xenia, After” is a post-apocalyptic graphic novel that takes place four months after an infection decimates the world’s population and leaves “Them” wandering in search of human survivors. A shrinking community of Xenians struggle to prepare for an impending, brutal winter, unaware of the evils which walk among them.
“It’s written,” Schlegel said. “It’s right there at the end of the writing process, ready for an illustrator. But I don’t have a release date yet, not even a guess.”
He hopes to have the finishing touches on the graphic novel’s story by the end of the month.
“This has been a blast to write,” Schlegel said. “I’ve been riding my bike all around town this summer, looking at everything with a fresh perspective. Exercise can really get your imagination running!”
Schlegel is also releasing the Godrick Series in large print, and he plans to donate copies to the Xenia Library. He has made all of his books available there, as well.
More information about these and other books by Joe Schlegel can be found at Facebook.com/AuthorJoeSchlegel.
