Action-adventure-romance-political-terrorist-thriller of American television culture versus the War on Terrorism—the Awakening Epic of Our Times…
Title: Crimson Scimitar: Attack on America 2001-2027
Author: S.P. Grogan
Publisher: Addison & Highsmith Publishers
Publication Date: September 5, 2023
Pages: 680
Genre: Current Historical Fiction/Action/Adventure/Thriller
Crimson Scimitar by S.P. Grogan is an expansive action-adventure terrorist thriller that tells the ‘what if’ story of the al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden. What if, in 2011, instead of being killed bin Laden is captured and put on trial, what would American justice look like, and would the outcome be as expected? What if prior to his capture he and al Qaeda were planning to launch on America worse than 9/11? Who could stop it? In Crimson Scimitar is the chase to capture bin Laden, the ‘Trial of the Century’, the diabolical Crimson Scimitar plot in action, and climactic ‘gun battle at the bridge.’ Author S.P. Grogan’s writing seamlessly blends the political War on Terrorism events of 2011 into a realistic landscape that features strong women characters, an eccentric multi-millionaire, reality television stars, SEAL members on the attack, battling defense and prosecution lawyers, CIA agents, the President of the United States, and an ambitious jihadist who will begin a violent transformative journey. More intriguing is how the terrorist plot was crated that will lead to stock market manipulation, attacks on amusement parks, and nuclear waste poisoning. And amid it all there are romantic challenges that must be faced to create strong bonds to fight against evil. Crimson Scimitar is labeled as the ‘Awakening Epic of Our Times’, reminding readers that a 9/11 could happen again and that we must be vigilant.
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Book Excerpt
REEL ONE
EPISODE ONE – Prologue
Scene 1: On That Day, Where Were They?
Setting: September 11, 2001, New York, Chicago, Jalalabad
Booker Langston, defense attorney
He was angry with her. Not really. His Tuesday schedule went into flux with his fiancée’s casual request (non-negotiable demand) for a mutual shopping appointment before his afternoon court session, where he was set to deliver his closing argument, defending the accused.
Judy said it would be a quick decision on her final choice of the wedding gown design. But he knew women. Maybe he didn’t. He did know that he was in love with investment banker/trader Judith Yu, her brilliance of mind, her beauty, the warmth of her smile, and her malleable body. The perfect cultural match: 3rd generation Chinese, she a math whiz, to merge by wedding vows to a 2nd generation African, his family political refugees, the elite of the previous regime, from a civil war in Liberia. Now, totally Americanized, successful though not yet rich, ‘Bookie’ was gaining a rep as a savvy defender of the legally entangled downtrodden of New York City. Complacent in his happiness within this work day, he had agreed to meet her in the lobby of the World Trade Center, North Tower. She would ride the elevator down from her currency exchange executive position in the financial trading office of Cantleigh & Fitzpatrick on the 103rd Floor. He checked his watch. 8:40 am. He picked up his pace, grinning. This time he would be early. Surprise her. He had flowers in his hand, a small bouquet.
The shadow of an aircraft momentarily darkened his steps. A grumbling scream filled the skies above his head, and then….
Hugh Fox had done it. A little fakery, not fraudulent, but the bankers would not have loaned the funds to a 19-year-old kid, who some called an ‘erratic genius,’ where others colored him as wild and driven, tinged with unpredictability. The bankers were under the impression that the product he was developing and marketing was ‘transistor type’ because one of the contracts he had signed was with Radio Shack, giving comfort for a relationship with a major retail corporation and thus credence to an asset valuation to support the collateral…
Hugh Fox felt, no, knew that with this lending capital, he could now succeed. He was in a buoyant mood. Then, just as his finger hit the elevator’s down button, he looked out the hall window to see American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower.
A hole-in-the-wall office, on the second floor, in the Garment District. The name on the glass kept simple. S. Carlisle, Creative Fashions. Sam, as she was known to amiable friends, Sammie to her family, wasn’t satisfied with the moniker for a future fashion trademark. She would scribble out words, match, and juggle, but nothing screamed, ‘famous apparel stylist works here.’ Sam was smart, smart-alecky, with a natural dose of ambition. One had to be bold, if not brash, if not outlandish, to succeed in this world of couture glam.
Eve, one of her two seamstresses, arriving late, rushed in, slurring out her sentences.
“A plane hit the World Tower. And not a small plane, a big jet. You can see the smoke from the street.” So, all three of them did just that. Sam, Eve, and Madeline, the other seamstress and the occasional part-time bookkeeper. She saw others were straying outside, glancing, peering down to the end of the island. And yes, black smoke appeared from not just one but both towers. ‘How could one plane set both buildings on fire?’ thought Sam, now hearing the emergency sirens from all directions heading towards the ‘accident.’
… She turned her attention back to the television. Good God, it is Dante’s Hell, as she saw ‘ghosts’ coming out of a tsunami cloud of grey ash. Her eyes focused on two men, stumbling toward the camera, neither one recognizable, even to what ethnicity they might be. Leaning, holding each other up, strangers clinging. Aloud, to no one, shaking her head, she mourned, “Everyone is grey confusion, like amnesiac ghosts.” Then thinking as a fashion designer might, seeing the perspective of all people now running. “No ethnics; no discerning tribes, no stuffy cliques, no Benetton colors of culture. The world has gone drab.” No one was around to hear what she later called her epiphany. She threw in a couple of curse words to emphasize a world gone crazy. And then, thinking more, she gained direction, “I will use a grey-black fabric background with minimalist color slashes, walking art of a chained political statement, of starkness representing sadness personified. Disturbed Valentino embraces nihilist Versace.” And Samantha Carlisle began to sketch, ignoring the wail of distant sirens.
For his part, Barack Obama, Illinois State Senator, remembered it beginning as probably an ‘unremarkable day.’ He was driving on Lake Shore Drive on his way to a required yet probably tedious Illinois Legislative Committee Meeting on Administrative Policy. The radio’s music channel switched to ‘Breaking News,’ and he first learned of a plane crash into one of the World Trade Center buildings in New York. By the time he arrived at his meeting, it had been canceled, and people were milling outside, many of them staring at Chicago’s Sears Tower, wondering, as he put it later, ‘Would this building go from workplace to target’?
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, Pan-Islamic al-Qaeda leader
He had called his mother the night before. “You might not be able to reach me for some time.” She asked no questions. They had a pleasant visit about her life, his wives, and children. “No, they will not be coming with me for a month or so.” His mother did not ask why. He ended the call, both of them exchanging endearing goodbyes. Neither said they loved the other. That was not a ritual done in the bin Laden tribal clan. Yet, the call placed him in a good mood, as did other events yet to be.
S.P. Grogan in 2008 gained recognition with his first novel, Vegas Die, a Quest Mystery, in which the writing were clues that led the 'Questor' to seek out a dagger hidden somewhere in the Vegas Valley to be redeemed for $25,000 cash. Launching a fan-based treasure hunt Vegas Die became a best-seller, and an award for 'Best Regional' fiction. S.P. Grogan calls himself an eclectic storyteller in that he seeks out blending history and romance into various genres to create unusual plotting. In 2019, academic publisher Histria Books negotiated to acquire the author's existing catalogue of four novels for re-issuing and an option on the next several stories he might create. Lafayette: Courtier to Crown Fugitive tells the coming-of-age story of the young Marquis de La Fayette, 'France's richest orphan' and delves into his quest to revenge the death of his father, and his unbridled ambition to escape the intrigues of the court of Queen Marie Antoinette and go to the American colonies to find glory. In 2022, Captain Cooked, A Hawaiian Mystery of Romance, Revenge and Recipes won "Best Novel" from Gourmand International Cookbook Awards. Here, the author writes from the first-person perspective of a twentyish LA woman who is filming her father's top cable cooking show when she stumbles into the murder of a famous Hawaiian singing star (think 'Iz'), and struggles with romantic 'love on all the wrong beaches' when she has to choose between a thief, a king, and a murderer. Best-selling author Anne Hillerman said of Captain Cooked: "It reads like Janet Evanovich morphing into Rachel Ray while filming a remake of Perils of Pauline. Coming out in August 2023 is Atomic Dreams at the Red Tiki Lounge, an elaborately crafted Hawaiian fantasy-thriller set in post World War 2 Honolulu with the gods fighting against mutated demons, star-crossed romance, where future famous people pass through the doors of the Red Tiki. There's even Russians seeking to steal an Atomic Bomb. Artwork illustrations provided by famed surrealist artist, Brad 'Tiki Shark' Parker. Finally, is Crimson Scimitar, which has been described as 'the awakening epic of our times' to be released September 2023. Multiple story lines including Hollywood Culture takes on Terrorists. The reader will be amazed how the author can take current history and give it resonance to today's events and still provide a thriller with unusual twists including the warning: '9/11 can happen again.' Author S.P. Grogan lives in Henderson, Nevada, and is working on his next novel.
Website: www.spgrogan.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grogan.sp
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