Alan Annand

Publisher info

ALAN ANNAND is a writer of crime fiction, offering an intriguing blend of mystery, suspense, thriller and occult genres. When he’s not dreaming up ingenious ways to kill people and thrill readers, he occasionally finds therapy in writing humor, short stories and faux book reviews.

Before becoming a full-time writer and astrologer, he worked as a technical writer for the railway industry, a corporate writer for private and public sectors, a human resources manager and an underground surveyor.

Currently, he divides his time between writing in the AM, astrology in the PM, and meditation on the OM. For those who care, he’s an Aries with a dash of Scorpio.

ALAN ANNAND:
- Writer of mystery suspense novels, and astrology books
- Astrologer/palmist, trained in Western/Vedic astrology.
- Amateur musician, agent provocateur and infomaniac.

Websites:
- Writing: www.sextile.com
- Astrology: www.navamsa.com

Fiction available at online retailers:
- Al-Quebeca (police procedural mystery thriller)
- Antenna Syndrome (hard-boiled sci-fi mystery thriller)
- Felonious Monk (New Age Noir mystery thriller #2)
- Harm’s Way (hard-boiled mystery thriller)
- Hide in Plain Sight (psychological mystery suspense)
- Scorpio Rising (New Age Noir mystery thriller #1)
- Soma County (New Age Noir mystery thriller #3)
- Specimen and Other Stories (short fiction)

Non-fiction available at online retailers:
- The Draconic Bowl (western astrology reference)
- Kala Sarpa (Vedic astrology reference)
- Mutual Reception (western astrology reference)
- Parivartana Yoga (Vedic astrology reference)
- Stellar Astrology Vol.1 (essays in Vedic astrology)
- Stellar Astrology Vol.2 (essays in Vedic astrology)

Education:
- BA, English Lit
- BSc, Math & Physics
- Diploma, British Faculty of Astrological Studies
- Diploma, American College of Vedic Astrology

Smashwords Interview

What genre do you write?
I write crime fiction, a blend of mystery, suspense, thriller and action. As I look back on my books, I notice structural similarities, and perhaps this is becoming my brand. My plots generally start with a murder or two, then ratchet up into an increasingly difficult investigation, until there’s a break in the case and the whole thing turns into a frenzied pursuit of the killer.

My novels are often hybrids, and may resist easy categorization. I generally weave in elements of private investigation, police procedure, psychological suspense and cinematic action. I certainly try to amuse myself as much as I can during the writing, and pass that on to my readers.
Do you write series or stand-alone novels?
Mostly stand-alone novels. A part of me resists getting trapped in a lifetime commitment to a single character. As a writer I find the prospect restrictive, although it’s obviously worked well for many writers. But on the flip side, once a character is developed, there’s the advantage of knowing them so well that you have a head start for future books.

Therefore, I’ve embarked on at least one series, and perhaps others will arise. The series is one I call New Age Noir, featuring my hero Axel Crowe, a criminal profiler using astrology, palmistry and other esoteric techniques in his work. Scorpio Rising is the first of the series. Felonious Monk will come out in 2014, Soma County in 2015.
Read more of this interview.

Where to find Alan Annand online

Spacemen Prefer Blondes
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 27,960. Language: English. Published: January 30, 2015 by Alan Annand. Categories: Fiction » Erotica » Literary Erotica, Fiction » Erotica » Sci-Fi Erotica
When an alien scout ship intercepts a shipment of cloned celebrities bound for Mars, the crew sample the cargo and find sex with earth women to be out of this world. After developing an addiction to blondes, they persuade their captain to change their itinerary to include a field expedition to San Francisco, where they hope to find something for every taste, no matter how alien.

Series

New Age Noir
Scorpio Rising
Price: $0.99 USD.
Felonious Monk
Price: $1.99 USD.
Soma County
Price: $1.99 USD.

Books

Stellar Astrology, Vol. 3
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 53,170. Language: English. Published: September 7, 2020 . Categories: Nonfiction » New Age » Astrology, Nonfiction » Religion & Spirituality » Body, mind, & spirit » Astrology / eastern
Stellar Astrology, Volume 3, is a third compilation of articles covering topics in Jyotish, or Vedic astrology. Key principles and techniques of analysis and prediction are illustrated through a series of profiles featuring celebrities, criminals, and political figures, plus many instructive technical essays.
The Draconic Bowl
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 87,470. Language: English. Published: July 27, 2019 . Categories: Nonfiction » New Age » Astrology, Nonfiction » Religion & Spirituality » Body, mind, & spirit » Astrology / eastern
Most astrologers recognize the Bowl – a horoscope pattern popularized by Marc Edmund Jones. Many others work with Pamela Crane’s concept of a Draconic chart, wherein the lunar nodes strike a benchmark to assess karma. Merging both ideas, we get a unique shape – THE DRACONIC BOWL – where the nodal axis forms the rim of that bowl, and the seven planets are bound to one side of that axis.
Kala Sarpa
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 92,920. Language: English. Published: November 22, 2018 . Categories: Nonfiction » New Age » Astrology, Nonfiction » Religion & Spirituality » Body, mind, & spirit » Astrology / horoscopes
Kala Sarpa, “the serpent of time,” is an astrological pattern wherein all of the planets occupy half of the chart as defined by the axis of the moon’s nodes, Rahu and Ketu. Although one in eight people have Kala Sarpa in their charts, few know whether it constitutes a yoga, a sign of power and fortune, or a dosha, an inherent flaw that may irrevocably spoil a life.
Stellar Astrology, Vol.2
Price: $4.99 USD. Words: 49,200. Language: English. Published: March 6, 2017 . Categories: Nonfiction » New Age » Astrology, Nonfiction » Religion & Spirituality » Body, mind, & spirit » Astrology / eastern
Stellar Astrology, Volume 2, is a second compilation of articles covering topics in Jyotish, or Vedic astrology. Techniques for analysis and forecasting are illustrated through a series of articles – biographical profiles, criminal and mundane events, political and spiritual luminaries, and technical essays.
New Age Noir: the Trilogy
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 296,190. Language: English. Published: December 4, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller
Axel Crowe is a criminal analyst, a finder of wayward people and stolen possessions, who profiles subjects using astrology, palmistry and other unconventional techniques. Facts are gross, but the truth is subtle, his guru repeats like a mantra, and although motives for murder lie buried deep, a righteous and relentless man will inevitably unearth them.
Mutual Reception
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 80,680. Language: English. Published: May 26, 2016 . Categories: Nonfiction » New Age » Astrology, Nonfiction » Religion & Spirituality » Body, mind, & spirit » Astrology / eastern
43% of us have a mutual reception by sign in our birth chart, ie, when two planets simultaneously occupy each other’s sign. It’s a powerful combination linking the effects of two houses in a chart, yet it’s one of the least understood patterns in astrology. This book, an invaluable reference for any astrologer's library, describes the effects for each of the 66 combinations of house lord exchange.
Soma County
Series: New Age Noir, Book 3. Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 99,300. Language: English. Published: December 17, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Amateur sleuth, Fiction » Mystery & detective » International crime
Profiler Axel Crowe searches for a missing person in wine country and discovers a little man with big eyes, and a hand in the black market for body parts. When Crowe follows a trail of evidence to an ashram in India, he discovers the fruit of karma is often bittersweet.
Parivartana Yoga
Price: $6.99 USD. Words: 59,530. Language: English. Published: August 2, 2015 . Categories: Nonfiction » New Age » Astrology, Nonfiction » Religion & Spirituality » Body, mind, & spirit » Astrology / eastern
Parivartana Yogas are said to be among the most powerful of planetary combinations, having the capacity to link the effects of two astrological houses in a chart. In this book, an invaluable reference work for any Vedic astrologer's library, the author describes the effects for each of the 66 combinations of house lord exchange, also known as mutual receptions.
Stellar Astrology, Vol.1
Price: $3.99 USD. Words: 44,260. Language: English. Published: February 25, 2015 . Categories: Nonfiction » New Age » Astrology
Applications in Vedic astrology (jyotish): a compilation of essays on techniques, in-depth celebrity profiles, and analysis of mundane events. A highly informative reference work for serious students of astrology written by an astrologer experienced in both western and Vedic systems.
Specimen & Other Stories
Price: Free! Words: 26,630. Language: English. Published: February 11, 2015 . Categories: Fiction » Humor & comedy » General, Fiction » Adventure » Action
(4.00 from 1 review)
A six-pack sampler of short fiction by Alan Annand: humor, crime and WW2 adventure.
Antenna Syndrome
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 79,820. Language: English. Published: April 18, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Utopias & dystopias, Fiction » Mystery & detective » Hard-Boiled
(4.00 from 1 review)
New York, 2026. In the aftermath of a terrorist A-bomb, private investigator Keith Savage searches for a kidnapped artist, the paraplegic daughter of a crime-busting politician, but tracking her down leads him to a place where her fascination with insects collides with his fears.
Felonious Monk
Series: New Age Noir, Book 2. Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 99,360. Language: English. Published: April 6, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller
Profiler Axel Crowe investigates the murder of a reporter at a Vermont ashram. His esoteric sleuthing reveals a series of Manhattan rape-murders dating back 12 years, with connections to sex trafficking, drug smuggling and the theft of an ancient golden Buddha.
Al-Quebeca
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 97,480. Language: English. Published: April 23, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Police Procedural, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller
Montreal homicide detective Sophie Gillette, still mourning the death of her brother during covert ops in Afghanistan, investigates a fatal hit-and-run, uncovering a terrorist plot to assassinate an American governor, disable New England’s electrical grid, and kill 10,000 hockey fans.
Harm's Way
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 81,220. Language: English. Published: September 6, 2011 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » Hard-Boiled, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Action & suspense
(3.50 from 2 reviews)
A private investigator searches for the runaway daughter of an aspiring politician only to find that, on or off the campaign trail, honesty is the rarest commodity. As mystery descends into mayhem and murder, he confronts an unsettling truth – the innocents are always the first victims.
Hide in Plain Sight
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 83,300. Language: English. Published: May 12, 2011 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Psychological thriller
(5.00 from 1 review)
A man assumes his twin brother’s identity in order to alibi his own wife who’s accidentally killed his brother in an argument. But when he finds himself sharing a bed with his beautiful sister-in-law, he faces bigger challenges and harder choices.
Scorpio Rising
Series: New Age Noir, Book 1. Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 99,710. Language: English. Published: May 12, 2011 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Crime thriller
(4.50 from 4 reviews)
A criminal profiler investigates the killing of a New York City heiress, only to discover that her death is linked to two other murders on the same day: a dot-com millionaire in San Francisco, and the team leader of a government counter-terrorist project in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Smashwords book reviews by Alan Annand

  • The Experiencers on June 11, 2014

    Well-paced character development, action, romance and menace! For anyone who’s ever lent credence to the notion that aliens visit Earth, The Experiencers by Val Tobin is frighteningly real. Michael Valiant is a black ops assassin for a government agency that shields alien presence from public knowledge by silencing UFO researchers who know they’re here among us. Carolyn Fairchild is a psychic medium who functions as a sort of spotter for her local research group, and when they see something they shouldn’t, Michael and his partner are dispatched to shut them up before they blog about it. Just when Carolyn’s group starts having fatal accidents at the agency’s hands, Valiant has a crisis of faith. He’s discovered our government is in league with the alien “establishment”, with the joint goal of global subjugation. But Valiant learns there’s a rebel alien base in a wilderness park, whose mission is to work with the people, not against them. So instead of killing Carolyn, Valiant enlists her help to find the base. Now the agency wants them both dead before they reach the rebels. The Experiencers is written with a deft hand, and well-paced between thoughtful character development and straight-on action scenes. Lurking in the background is some entirely plausible bleeding edge technology. The few psychic episodes are both real and out there. And for the tender-hearted, there are a couple of poignantly real sex scenes between two people thrown together by fate and accepting it. Meanwhile, pursued by government men with stones where their hearts should be…
  • Storm Lake on Feb. 15, 2015

    This story, which starts out so normal, turns compellingly creepy very quickly and then doesn't let go. Stylistically clean but eerily atmospheric, this reminded me at times of Stephen King.
  • A Ring of Truth on May 25, 2015

    A fast-paced adventure of government conspiracy, sexual manipulation and out-of-body experience. The second book in Tobin’s The Valiant Chronicles, A Ring of Truth picks up where The Experiencers left off. Former black ops assassin Michael Valiant has fled to the Northwest Territories in search of the alien “hatchery” he wants to sabotage. Meanwhile his lover, empath Carolyn Fairchild, has been captured by the Agency, a government cabal in league with aliens, and coerced to provide remote-view status reports on Valiant`s whereabouts. To ensure Fairchild’s compliance, her teenage daughter Samantha is held captive in a sort of Stepford town run by the Agency. Meanwhile, others of Fairchild’s associates are in lock-down with Carolyn, and subjected on a daily basis to physical, psychological and sexual torment to extract information or perpetuate their ongoing indoctrination. Many of the principals are exposed to manipulation of one kind or another, and it’s an exercise in character development to see how each resists, succumbs and resists again in a struggle for their own identities and futures, against the pervasive control of the Agency and their unseen masters, the aliens. Ultimately, the good quest prevails, but not without many consequences. As a result of Valiant’s actions, a hell-storm of violent weather is unleashed, followed by other natural disasters, disease and sweeping social unrest. In the midst of this chaos, rivalries and unexpected alliances come to a head, resulting in many deaths, many transformations and birth of a new order. Thanks to Tobin’s brisk writing style, this is an effortless read.