Pictured: Left, Derek Armstrong with his horses Skugga and Bjarta, who became Izzy and Wizzy in The Last Troubadour novel (shown right)

"You were full of juicy tarot information," said Leisa ReFalo, host of the popular podcast on tarotconnection.net and professional Tarot Reader.

What fun. I chatted with Leisa for an hour about my love of Tarot, and — according to Leisa, anyway — I had "no terrible speech habits. I thought you sounded great." Okay, I feel a little better. I'm not Mr. Radio. There's a reason I became an author.

In that quick hour, Leisa squeezed in a lot of Tarot history, a reading from the novel, a bio of all the characters and how they relate to Tarot card trumps, and a whole lot of funky history. I'll just quote from her page, found at : http://tarotconnection.net/episode-59/ (I guess I'm episode 59!) —

"So, is this a clever gimmick? Just an author who thought one day, Hey, this hasn’t been done before? Does he even own a Tarot deck?I did not undertake The Last Troubadour lightly. The entire trilogy was a journey of some 18 years. Carcassonne and the south of France are my old haunts, where I explored the history in depth. An important history.

Nor is Tarot a passing fancy for me. My first deck was a Pixie, bought with part-timer earnings after school back in 1972. I’m obviously much older now, and I still have my Pixie, and some 112 other decks. Current favorites include Thoth (bought in 1974), Kat Black’s Golden, Place’s Buddha Tarot, Carol Herzer’s Illuminated, and a dozen others. I actually almost always have a deck in my pocket.

Why do I weave the mystical and legend with history? Well, why not? It’s fun, isn’t it? But more important, it’s a way of conveying important events that is entertaining and at the same time “real.” What better way for me to personally explore Tarot cards and archetypes and to convey some of what I’ve learned. The journey of the Fool is my favorite aspect of Tarot. It’s actually the plotline of all great epic fiction.

So, one day, two decades ago, I meditated on The FOOL in my very old Pixie (Rider Waite Smith) deck and he came to life. He became Ramon Troubadour. His journey became a novel-journey through the tarot major arcana. I actually named him Ramon, after researching Doctor Illuminatus, otherwise known as Ramon Lull, author of 320 books written at the time of my novel (the thirteenth century). He even had a character in his most famous book, Blanquerna, name Ramon the Fool. Wow.

All of my books have Tarot themes in them, some dark, some light. The Game, my hit thriller features a humorous “fool” character in the always-joking Alban Bane character. He was so popular, fans demanded a sequel, which comes out spring 08 as MADicine. This series is a blend of satire, comedy and thriller – bloody fun, quite literally.

The Last Troubadour and the other two books of the series, The Last Quest and The Last Stand, are “dripping with Tarot themes.” Most of the early fans are tarot-enthusiasts. Nevara, my Magician character, is my “fictional” inventor of Tarot. Each character is a major arcane archetype. And, of course, the epic journey is the archetypal journey of The Fool. To which, I added real history, substantial satire (targeting in particular the latest craze for Holy Grail themes), comedy and adventure – shaken not stirred.

Next year, with any good fortune, you’ll start to see these characters in Troubadour-style imagery as famed artist Kam Wai Yu illustrates the Troubadour Tarot, a dream of mine, to be published by Kunati. I hope you’ll take the journey with me."

Leisa explored why some characters are disfigured and had me read from the most "tarot-oriented" chapter in the book, a scene with my Magician, Nevara, reading from her invented Tarot cards and using them to help the main character Ramon with her magick. What fun.

Here's the synopsis of the book from Leisa's page:

"Ramon Troubadour returns to his devastated home city of Carcassonne to rescue the holy Dame of the Cathars from the flames of the Inquisition. His famous voice and sense of humor help him make new allies in his quest to prevent a bloody crusade.

Only the Dame knows the secret of the holy relic of Montségur. A king will go to war for the relic. A dying pope will kill for it.

Helped by a nameless one-eyed knight, a fighting damsel, a witch and a circus of colorful entertainers on dancing horses, Ramon must stand against a terrifying army led by Death incarnate, complete with archetypal scythe.

Based on the true history of the Inquisition and the legend of the Tarot, The Last Troubadour assembles a magnificent cast right out of the Tarot deck: the Fool, the Magician, The Emperor, The Pope, Death and even The Devil. Don’t miss this tale of knightly valor, Tarot symbolism, tragic history and exciting quests."

A bit of cool history on her page as well. She put up the original 1980's book trailer — the first trailer ever created, by the famous artist Kam Wai Yu — along side my publisher Kunati's latest version 2007. The original one was more Monty Python — I do so love humor — and the new one is more Tarot. I'd be interested in knowing which one people liked better (drop me an email at my website http://www.lasttroubadour.com).

Check it the podcast at http://tarotconnection.net/episode-59/

My latest novel is generating quite a sensation both in literary circles and in the "Tarot" community. This was somewhat deliberate on my part. I've been a "Tarot journeyer" for 35 years, since I picked up my first deck, a Waite-Smith Pixie deck in 1972. The Tarot is, perhaps, the richest source of visual archetypes, and appeals to creative people, generally, although I was never sure if a mainstream novel would appeal to broad audiences if deliberately flouting its Tarot-roots. Films and Books review seems to put that doubt to rest: "The tarot-themed characters are inspired. An author to watch." Statistics were on my side as well: • 1.7 million tarot decks sold in the last year (Nielsen Bookscan stats) • 50 million (estimated) Tarot fans worldwide (Wise Tarot Magazine) My novel, The Last Troubadour is the first in a trilogy of historical epics focused on the founding of the Inquisition, a quest for a Holy Relic, the Cathar Crusades, and the history of the Tarot. Reviews have been stunning: "Brilliance in which Armstrong blends comedy, parody, and adventure in genuinely innovative ways. A writer of abundant talent." Booklist, David Pit "Derek Armstrong is good." Michael Korda, editor in chief emeritus, Simon & Schuster Ultimately, I wrote The Last Troubadour out of my thirty-five year passion for all things Medieval, Cathars -- and the Tarot. The Last Troubadour is first and foremost an epic fiction adventure and the quest of the hero. "Kudos to Derek Armstrong ... this is a wonderful work of art, and I highly recommend it to all who are interested in the Tarot, in the history of the 13th century, and in a mystery that crosses many boundaries!" Bonnie Cehovet, Aeclectic Tarot Reviewer Although The Last Troubadour is certainly mainstream as an adventure — an epic story based on real history that reshaped our entire world in the Middle Ages — I'm focusing most of my "reach-out" to the Tarot Community. Although there have been books focused on tarot-themes, they've been sporadic and certainly not enough to fulfill my own "lust" for Tarot fiction. The sequels to The Last Troubadour — The Last Quest due out Fall 08 from Kunati and The Last Stand in 09 — will continue my Tarot themes. My new thriller, a sequel to the popular The Game — a satirical comedic thriller that "bashed reality TV" — has Bane partnered up with a new character who reads Tarot cards to help solve crimes, due out in March 08. The book, MADicine, should satisfy fans who crave more of the sarcastic and funny Alban Bane (modeled on my real-life Scot mother Anna Kane) with more Tarot adventuring. I suppose I've found my two niches: • "Armstrong blends comedy, parody, and adventure in genuinely innovative ways." Booklist • "The Tarot-themed characters are inspired." Films and Books. I plan to continue my "tradition" of blending satire, comedy, adventure, suspense and Tarot in most of my future projects. In fact, Kunati Books plans to published a tie-in Troubadour Tarot Deck in 2008 to celebrate. It will be illustrated by famous illustrator Kam Wai Yu who designs all of Kunati's incredible book covers and has hundreds of International Creative Awards to his credit.

Week 1 — Shoot 'Em Up with Lynn Hoffman's bang BANG! "Brilliant" Booklist "Five stars!" ForeWord View the so-hip animated novel trailer. Read the reviews!

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Week 2 — Scream and Laugh as Derek Armstrong bashes Reality TV! "Injects the trope with new vigor!" Booklist "Sexy" Publishers Weekly "Darkly humorous thriller" Library Journal View the thrilling novel trailer. Read the reviews!

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Week 3 — You'll Laugh and Cry: a memoir of Mothering a Mother with Alzheimer's "Beautiful, told with much love." Booklist "An emotional roller coaster ride." Barry K. Baines, MD. View the touching animated trailer. Read the reviews!

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Week 4 — You'll get MAD: Peyton Place meets the Science Thriller! "Impressive." Publishers Weekly "Starred Review." Booklist View the controversial animated trailer. Read the reviews!

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Week 5 — Intrigue, adventure and greed — the HUNT is ON! "Riveting!" ForeWord "Romance, adventure, danger." Kirkus View the adventure novel trailer. Read the reviews!

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Week 6 — Relive the Grooviest Summer of the Sixties! "Exciting. A lot of fun!" Booklist "A page turner" NY Times bestselling author William Martin View the oh-so-hip novel trailer. Read the reviews!

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Week 7 — Hilarity on the Links! "Wacky! Par for the course!" ForeWord "Workaday golf fans will jump at the chance...over-the-top slapstick!" Booklist View the R-rated golf novel trailer. Read the reviews!

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Week 8 — End Summer With a Touching and Tragic Charmer "Tardif is already a hit." Booklist "A wise, enchanting story." Edmonton Examiner View the wonderful novel trailer. Read the reviews!

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Derek Armstrong's THE GAME (ISBN 1601640013, ISBN-13 9781601640017), a comic thriller critics say "injects the trope with new vigor" already sold out its first press run two days after books arrived at the warehouse.  Kunati Books has gone back for more books to fill backorders.

Top reviews, including an "author to watch" from Booklist and "dark tongue-in-cheek" thriller from Library Journal may have contributed to THE GAME's  first sell-out run. With library orders and initial chain orders swallowing up the first run, Kunati has to return to the printers for an even larger run as THE GAME.

THE GAME is a unique thriller that combines satirical humor with "punch in the gut" thrills. Described by ForeWord Magazine as "in the tradition of Connolly" and by Booklist with "the semi-satirical plotline compels us to keep reading, and his prose style keeps us chuckling," THE GAME seems to ride on "Armstrong's abundant enthusiasm for his material."

THE GAME releases April 1, 07, and some stores are already backordering the title. In this darkly humorous thriller, reality television becomes too real when a killer with a message preys on the contestants of America's number one TV show.

A major contributor to the buzz certainly must be the reviews:
"A series to watch...Armstrong injects the trope with new vigor."
Booklist
"Dark tongue-in-cheek thriller"
Library Journal
"...suspenseful and rich with dark humor..."
Foreword Reviews
"Hugely cinematic thriller with hilarious dark comic moments."
Films and Books Magazine
"Promising premise, sexy, gory resolution."
Publishers Weekly
"A super sleuth...a grisly gamester...a multiplicity of games..."Kirkus

Derek Armstrong is also the author of THE LAST TROUBADOUR (ISBN 1601640102, ISBN-13 9781601640109, releasing from Kunati Sept 07), THE PERSONA PRINCIPLE (Simon & Schuster # ISBN-10: 0684802694
# ISBN-13: 9780684802695), and MADicine (the sequel to THE GAME, releasing Spring 08 from Kunati.)

For Information:
publisher@kunati.com
http://www.derekarmstrong.com
http://www.kunati.com