Before Chant Sinclair, awesome warrior with a deadly secret past, self-employed mercenary/con man and the hero of these books, there was Chant Kendry, awesome warrior with a deadly secret past, brain damaged painter who suffers "vivid dreaming" that gives him deep insight into other people's problems.

I had conjured up Mr. Kendry between midnights and dawns, during a stint working as a night security guard, a job I had taken first, because I had run out of money, and second, because it gave me the time to think and write in an effort to get back into the full time freelancer game. During this time I was approached by a publisher who wanted me to create an original paperback series aimed at the male, blue collar, action-adventure crowd. The only proviso was that the books would be written under a pseudonym, a "house name" that would belong to the publisher, enabling him to bring in other writers to augment or continue the series under the correct assumption that I would have other things to do besides write the 2 to 3 books a year he envisioned. I would still get royalties on all books and retain film rights, no matter who wrote them. Sounded like a deal to me, and it would enable me to escape the most disagreeable world of night I'd entered.

I was so confident that Mr. Chant Kendry was perfect for the series that I wrote the first two novels in the time the contract was being negotiated. I regretted that they would be published under a pseudonym, for I felt I'd done some of my best writing, but it seemed nothing could be done about that. When I received the contract and advance money, I triumphantly sent off the manuscripts to my editor, expecting accolades. What I got instead was the news that what I had written was not even close to what the publisher had in mind for the series. Uh-oh. Panic turned to despair as the editor began to explain to me the major surgery that would be required to make the works acceptable. I didn't want to change anything, so I proposed that I keep those two novels and start over from scratch. The editor graciously agreed, with the proviso that the publisher retain the right to the name Chant, just about the only thing in the two books the editor liked. Thus was Chant Sinclair born, and my proposals were accepted. As I proceeded, I began to hear complaints that the writing and plots were too complicated for this audience. I didn't know any other way to write, and so I persisted. It seems the editor was right; sales were disappointing, and the series was cancelled after three books. Chant would eventually become part of Mongo's entourage. In the meantime, I had found a publisher for the first two books, which now featured Veil Kendry. Veil, too, would eventually become an important part of Mongo's entourage.

John Sinclair. Medal of Honor. Black Belt. The savage fury of the West meets the ancient power of the East in one awesome warrior-for-hire.

Chant

Genius of disguise, master of intrigue, adept in the killing arts, In every government there's at least one person trying to buy him, and another trying to kill him.

Chant

A professional killer---who's about to meet his match. The ultimate challenge awaits on a deadly island known only for the exquisite art of unspeakable torture. An island run by a renegade doctor who is a specialist at inflicting pain. Only a madman would go there voluntarily. Or a fool. Or a warrior bent on administering his own terrifying justice.

SILENT KILLER

• "...I believe, simply, that some men and women are evil, and that's all there is to it." -Chant Sinclair

• "...It is the anticipation of pain that eats away at the soul and breaks the will." -Richard Krowl