Author Bill Speir
Crusaders of the Saltier- by William Speir
The Order of the Saltier Trilogy is William Speir’s first serious works of fiction, and reflects William’s fascination with secret societies, knights and orders of knighthood throughout the ages.
In August 2009, William had just finished watching a number of television specials about the various secret societies to which many people believe the Founding Fathers of the United States belonged, as well as several shows about the Knights Templar and what happened to them, when the question came to him: “what would a secret society based loosely on the early crusading knighthood orders look like today and what activities would it perform to be relevant in modern times?” He sat down and began creating a group called the “Order of the Saltier.” He developed everything about the Order – the symbols, the rules and governing structures, the ceremonies, the regalia of the officers and ranks, the Order’s aims and purposes, and the activities the Order would perform. Once he had the Order fully defined, the ideas for the first book began coming to him.
Some of the events in the book are based on William’s own life, but set in the context of this secret society. Originally, William was only planning on writing the one book, but some of the people he let read the early manuscript drafts pointed out that he could easily write a series of books about the Order and the characters he had developed. The ideas for Books 2 and 3 came to him almost immediately after that, and he completed the Trilogy in January 2010.
From a genre perspective, Book 1 leans more towards Crime Drama since the main action concerns the Order’s efforts to bring down a large crime syndicate. Books 2 and 3 (Crusaders of the Saltier and Protectors of the Saltier) are more Political Intrigue and Terrorism since the main action concerns the Order’s efforts to thwart an attempt by criminals to infiltrate the government.
Right now, William is working on the marketing of Book 1 and working to get Books 2 & 3 printed and distributed for sale. He has also started working on the second trilogy involving the Order of the Saltier called the Quest of the Saltier Trilogy (The Lost Knights, The Knights’ Crucible, and The Knights Victorious). This new trilogy will involve the same core characters, and will be set mostly in Europe.
Interview on Blog Talk Radio – Exclusive Radio Broadcast from August 2010
Interview on Blog Talk Radio – Exclusive Radio Broadcast from December 2011
To Buy Book 1 Knights of the Saltier:
To Buy Book 2 Crusaders of the Saltier:
