I’m beyond excited to announce that my Cross series of supernatural thrillers will be continuing, with a new novel scheduled for 2025. The novel will be published by Poplar Press, an imprint of Wolsak & Wynn. I’m particularly happy about this because Wolsak & Wynn published my last book, Has the World Ended Yet?, and did a fantastic job. They will also be reissuing the first three books of the series in 2024. (The books were originally published under the pen name Peter Roman.)

If you’re not familiar with the Cross books, here’s the description of the first novel, The Mona Lisa Sacrifice:

For thousands of years, Cross has wandered the earth, a mortal soul trapped in the undying body left behind by Christ. He’s been a thief, a con man, a soldier and a drunkard. He’s fought as a slave in the Colosseum and as a knight at King Arthur’s side. But now he must play the part of reluctant hero, as an angel comes to him for help finding the Mona Lisa—the real Mona Lisa that inspired the painting. Cross’s quest takes him into a secret world within our own, populated by characters just as strange and wondrous as he is: gorgons and dead gods hidden away in museums; faeries that live in countryside pubs, trapping and enslaving unwary travellers; and super-rich collectors who trade magical artifacts among themselves. He’s haunted by memories of Penelope, the only woman he truly loved, and he wants to avenge her death at the hands of his ancient enemy, Judas, a forgotten god from an ancient time. The angel promises to deliver Judas to Cross, but nothing is ever what it seems when Judas is involved, and when a group of renegade angels looking for a new holy war show up, things truly go to hell.

The CBC compared The Mona Lisa Sacrifice to the work of Neil Gaiman, while the National Post called it “a deliriously unhinged roller coaster of a novel, blending fantasy, history, horror and humour with the aplomb of an overfull blender,” so that should give you some sense of the book.

For more info on the rest of the series, check out the second book, The Dead Hamlets, and the third book, The Apocalypse Ark.

This news brings two of my favourite things together. Cross has long been the character that most intrigues me as a writer, and his tales are my love letter to literature and myth. And Wolsak & Wynn has been my best publishing experience yet — they’re a great team that really care about publishing quality books. I’m still enamoured with the design of Has the World Ended Yet? years after it was first published! (Check out this backstory about the design process.) I’m really looking forward to continuing the Cross saga with them.

While you’re waiting for the new books to come out, please give Has the World Ended Yet? a read and support Wolsak & Wynn (and me). And if you’ve already read it, please consider giving it a review to let other people know about it. The best publicity for a book is another reader recommending it. And in these challenging times, books need all the publicity they can get. If you’ve already reviewed the book, then you have my deepest gratitude.

As always, thank you for reading.