The Order of the Saltier Trilogy is a work of fiction set in modern times about a secret society that was formed to help preserve justice and freedoms. This society sees it as its duty to identify where justice and freedom are in peril or under attack; and to take action where possible to help restore justice and freedom to those who have lost it. Rather than acting as vigilantes, extracting justice according to their own code, the Order acts as an extension of the justice system, secretly helping law enforcement bring criminals to justice without revealing the existence of the Order.
Book 1 – Knights of the Saltier
In Book 1, we are introduced to Tom Anderson, a young man wanting to be part of something bigger than himself. Estranged from his father, he follows his own path, joins the military after college, and has a distinguished career. Once out of the military, he is recruited into the Order, only to later discover that his own father is the Grand Master and Founder of the Order. This revelation begins the healing process between Tom and his father as they work together to bring down a large crime syndicate. The climax of the book comes when one of the leaders of the crime syndicate, who has become aware of the existence of the Order, attempts to have Tom and his family killed in revenge for the Order’s efforts against his business.
The idea for the Knights of the Saltier came to me after watching a series of television specials on the Knights Templar and other crusading orders during the middle ages. The thought came to me “what would a secret society of crusading knights look like if set in modern times? What would be the purpose and activities that would keep them relevant to what is going on in the world today?”
I sat down and created the Order of the Saltier on paper, including the Constitution, symbols, regalia, forms, certificates, ceremonies, and codes. I then thought about how the Order would operate in modern times, and the idea for the first book came to me.
Originally, I intended to only write one book, but shortly after completing Book 1, the ideas for Books 2 and 3 came to me. I had completed all three volumes before I started looking for a publisher. I started working on the background materials related to the Order in September 2009, and I completed the first draft of Book 3 in early January 2010. The entire process took close to 6 months including editing and revisions.
Look under the tab labled THE ORDER for more background information about the Order of the Saltier.
Author William Speir's Blog 