Joe Nathan Paul Thriller Author

(BLOG)

THE STORY SO FAR

MY JOURNEY, SOURCES OF MY IDEAS,

AND MY INSPIRATION

Being me.

February 2025

Very simply, I decided after years of thinking that I could, that I would finally write the book I always believed was in me.

It felt a little strange, not just to me, but to those around me as well. I’ve always been the type to use a hundred words where ten might do, so maybe it wasn’t that out of character after all.

I’ve always questioned things—never quite accepting what’s on the surface as the whole truth. There’s always something beneath, something deeper. And, as they say, never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

So, after years of carrying an idea and a few scattered lines in my head, I finally put pen to paper in February 2025.

First Steps.

Just a few lines and an epiphany!

March 2025

Maybe it was my state of mind over the last few years. But there was one line I couldn’t shake—something that echoed in my head like a haunting lyric. I always thought I’d use it someday, maybe in a song, maybe in a story:

“If I had a gun, I would have used it by now.”

I never really stopped to unpack the meaning. It wasn’t a threat. It wasn’t despair. Just a phrase—dark, maybe—but something that lingered. A quiet reminder of a feeling I couldn’t quite name.

Then one day, I was watching the news. Four of the richest, most powerful men on the planet were standing together on TV, grinning, shaking hands, basking in the glow of another election win. I won’t say who—they’re not real people in the book, even if they lit the fuse. None of the characters are based on real individuals, but let’s just say… there were inspirations.

And in that moment, it hit me: We’re doomed. These men control what we read, what we see, what we believe. They don’t just influence the world—they own it. And with one decision, one command, they could end it. Just like that.

That was my end of the world is nigh moment.

Revelations. The Apocalypse. The Horsemen.

“Promotional preview of the thriller novel The Horsemen’s Shadow by Joe Nathan Paul. The left side features a prologue-style excerpt titled ‘First Steps,’ dated March 2025, describing the protagonist’s growing disillusionment and a prophetic epiphany about global control. On the right, the book cover shows a man with a rifle and a woman holding a book standing before a solar eclipse, with the tagline: ‘The end of the world isn’t coming. It’s already begun.’”

“Promotional image for Echoes Through the Spiral: The Real Stories Behind Before the Shadows Rise by Joe Nathan Paul. The left side shows a mock book cover stamped with ‘TOP SECRET’ over a golden horse-and-spiral emblem, while the right features a written reflection titled ‘Inspiration and Substance,’ dated March 2025. The text discusses blending real history, conspiracy theories, and speculative technology into high-stakes thriller fiction, referencing authors like Dan Brown, Chris Kuzneski, and Michael Crichton. It also highlights the real-world inspirations behind characters Adam Hayes and William Armitage.”

Inspiration and Substance

Where it all comes from.

March 2025.

I’ve always been fascinated by the line between truth and possibility, where real history, speculative tech, and ancient conspiracies converge. Inspired by authors like Michael Crichton, Dan Brown, Chris Kuzneski, James Rollins, and Lee Child, I write thrillers that ground high-stakes fiction in the real world, asking what if the secrets were true all along?

Many of my characters are based on real-life individuals. Adam Hayes reflects parts of my own story—childhood struggles, a knack for code and electronics, and battles with mental health. William Armitage is based on a close relative who served during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Other elements are drawn from real events, adapted and twisted into fiction to serve the story.

I’ve walked many of the places I write about—from the hills of Cyprus to the streets of Belfast, the frozen vastness of Iceland to the old stones of Athens and the wide reaches of Canada. I want readers to feel the reality beneath the story, because the more grounded the world, the deeper the shadows cast.

Some of the truth behind the fiction

Operation Steakknife was a covert British intelligence mission during The Troubles, involving a top-level IRA mole secretly working for the British Army’s Force Research Unit. Known as “Stakeknife,” he allegedly provided intelligence while helping execute suspected informers—raising allegations of state-sanctioned killings, cover-ups, and deep collusion in Northern Ireland.

Operation Gladio was a secret NATO-backed “stay-behind” network established during the Cold War to resist potential Soviet invasion in Europe. Active mainly in Italy, it later became linked to false flag attacks, political manipulation, and domestic terrorism aimed at shaping public opinion. Its exposure sparked major controversy over Western covert interference.

Field Notes from Athens

March 2025

My first time in Greece—and what a city to start with. Athens is a breathtaking fusion of ancient history, living mythology, and sun-soaked streets humming with stories. I spent a week there with my incredible wife, and it quickly became one of the most inspiring places I’ve ever visited.

Standing beneath the shadow of the Acropolis (yes, it really is that awe-inspiring), I felt the weight of history pressing through the stone. It’s no surprise that this iconic city made its way into Before The Shadows Rise. In one key scene, the Horsemen—those enigmatic architects of global disruption—meet in the heart of Athens, cloaked by legend and secrets.

If you’re a fan of thrillers rooted in real places and layered with mystery, myth, and conspiracy, you’ll understand why this city left such a mark.

“Excerpt from ‘Field Notes from Athens’ in Before the Shadows Rise, March 2025. The left side features a travel reflection about the author’s first visit to Athens, describing the mythic and historical inspiration drawn from the Acropolis and its connection to scenes in the novel involving the Horsemen. On the right is a photo of the Parthenon under clear blue skies, representing ancient Greece’s architectural and symbolic influence on the thriller’s setting and themes of conspiracy and power.”

“Composite image featuring Kolossi Castle in Cyprus with medieval Crusader architecture, a fresco of the Crucifixion showing a fleur-de-lis symbol beneath Christ, and the entrance sign to RAF Akrotiri military base. These real locations are featured in the novel Before the Shadows Rise, connecting historical iconography, religious symbolism, and British military history.”

In the Footsteps of Shadows

Visiting Kolossi Castle and RAF Akrotiri

April 2025

In April, I walked through the same stone corridors and sun-bleached courtyards that my characters once did in Before the Shadows Rise. Cyprus has always felt ancient, layered, haunted — but standing inside Kolossi Castle, with its worn fleur-de-lis etched faintly into the limestone walls, the lines between fiction and memory began to blur.

This is the very castle Claire and Margaret Armitage visit in Chapter 13, after William loses his leg in the Balkans and is recovering at the real-life Princess Mary’s Hospital at RAF Akrotiri — a facility tucked inside a British military base still active today.

“Some artists weren’t painting faith,” William says quietly. “They were preserving memory.”

— Before the Shadows Rise, Chapter 13

Inside the frescoed chapel at Kolossi, I saw it too — the aged Crucifixion scene, halos oddly triangulated, and a near-hidden fleur-de-lis tucked behind Christ’s right hand. Just as Claire senses in the novel, there’s something eerily deliberate about the geometry, a kind of code hidden in paint and silence.

“They form a triangle. Perfectly spaced. That’s not artistic coincidence. It’s deliberate,” Claire observes, her voice caught between curiosity and something deeper.

— Claire Armitage

These real places anchor the novel’s speculative conspiracy in authentic geography. The hospital at Akrotiri, the castle’s Crusader architecture, the fresco’s strange symbols — all exist, and all play a role in the psychological and historical layering of the book.

This is why Before the Shadows Rise isn’t just fiction. It’s a thriller rooted in real soil, where ancient stones still whisper, and forgotten symbols still resonate.

If you ever find yourself in Cyprus, take the road west. Stand inside Kolossi Castle. Look at the fresco. Then ask yourself what Claire did: “Was it art? Or was it a signal?”

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“Joe Nathan Paul writes cerebral thrillers blending geopolitics, mythology, and shadow wars. His stories explore what lies beneath the surface of history—and the people willing to risk everything to expose it.”