Category Archives: Cincinnatus

Independence Day

The secret society in Cincinnatus actually exists. The Society of the Cincinnati was founded Cincinnatusin 1783 following the Revolutionary War. The society’s founders wanted to make sure the sacrifices made to protect our liberties were never forgotten.

Learn more about The Society of the Cincinnati here. 

Tomorrow will be a day of barbecues and fireworks for most Americans. While there’s no reason why we shouldn’t enjoy the day, I think The Society of the Cincinnati got it right with their dedication to remembrance. Take a moment this weekend and remember all the sacrifices, past and present, that have allowed us to celebrate our freedom.

Have a safe, enjoyable 4th of July!

Reoccurring Characters

I wrote Crosley and Coral Castle to give my readers insight into people from the past Cincinnatuswho I thought were extraordinary. These books tell the stories of Ed Leedskalnin and the Crosley brothers through meticulously gathered research and facts.

After learning so much about these three men, I decided I wanted them to be a part of my next book.

Cincinnatus also features Ed and the Crosley brothers, but this time in a work of fiction. The versions of Ed Leedskalnin, Powel Crosley, Jr. and Lewis Crosley that appear in Cincinnatus are characters, but I crafted them from what I’d learned about their actual personalities. The interactions they have with each other in the book are purely fictional, but I wrote their encounters imagining how the men would actually react.

Writing the true account of these men’s lives gave me the insight and inspiration to write them into their next adventure. Crosley and Coral Castle tell the stories of the Crosley brothers and Ed Leedskalnin as they really lived, but Cincinnatus allows them to live on in a new story.

Steganography

The characters in Cincinnatus encounter lots of secret messages. While it makes for Cincinnatusgood fiction, the secret form of communication used throughout Cincinnatus actually exists.

Steganography is used to insert secret messages into digital images. You can only retrieve the message if you know where to look and have the key to decipher it.

The modern use of steganography with digital technology began around 1985. Steganographers can insert secret messages into videos, websites, pictures and sound files.

It sounds complicated, but you don’t have to be a spy or a computer genius to become a steganographer.

Click here to go to the Cincinnatus website and learn how to decode secret messages from images. 

Writer’s Block?

Cincinnatus is a work of fiction, but it’s based around real people and real places.Cincinnatus

Did Ed Leedskalnin and Lewis Crosley really clink glasses and share secrets? No, but they might have if they ever crossed paths. Both men sure had some stories. 

Is the Society of the Cincinnati actually embroiled in a plot to change the course of American history? Probably not, but with all the secrecy you never know.

Can you really golf in the middle of the ocean? Only if you’re a member of the Cat Cay Yacht Club.

Do attorneys and golfers join forces to uncover supernatural secrets and bust draconian plots? In my mind they do.

Plenty of interesting characters and story-inspiring settings already exist.

Suffering from writer’s block? Look around.

No Gimmicks

I’m pretty skeptical when it comes to free giveaways.

Cincinnatus

If it’s truly a giveaway, I don’t think you should have to jump through hoops, give out your credit card number or provide free advertising.

I’m currently hosting a giveaway on my Goodreads page that’s free, fair and easy to enter.

Enter to win one of three autographed hardcover copies of Cincinnatus.

There’s no gimmick or obligation. If you want to review one of my books while you’re there, that’s great. If you don’t want to, you can still enter the giveaway.

You can enter to win until midnight, Monday, April 7th.

Good luck!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Cincinnatus by Rusty McClure

Cincinnatus

by Rusty McClure

Giveaway ends April 07, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

 

Win an Autographed Copy of Cincinnatus

I’m giving away three hardcover autographed copies of Cincinnatus.

Enter the Goodreads giveaway here. 

This giveaway closes at midnight on Monday, April 7th. Entering is free, fast and easy. Don’t miss out on your chance to win a book.

 

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Cincinnatus by Rusty McClure

Cincinnatus

by Rusty McClure

Giveaway ends April 07, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

 

What is the Society of the Cincinnati?

If you browse around the Society of the Cincinnati website, you might become less Cincinnatusconvinced that they are a secret society worth writing about. The society hosts tours of their mansion, they give away scholarships and you can even have your wedding at their headquarters.

None of that is very exciting.

However, the Society of the Cincinnati is an organization built on ideas like patriotism, preserving history and honoring our forefathers who fought for independence.

Those ideas have been inspiring stories for generations.

 Cincinnatus: The Secret Plot to Save America is a work of fiction , but it’s based around  real places, real people and a real secret society.

The Society of the Cincinnati you’ll find in Cincinnatus might be more exciting than the real thing, but who knows what goes on behind closed doors?

If you’re looking to unearth the secrets of a real secret society, good luck.

If you want to solve mysteries, save America and crack fictional secret societies tonight, read on.

Unlikely Heroes

What would you do if you stumbled onto a plot that jeopardized the future of America? CincinnatusWould you turn it over to the FBI? Would you look the other way and not get involved?

We read books, watch movies and TV shows that feature awe inspiring, sometimes death defying feats of bravery and heroism. It’s fun to imagine living a life of adventure, but if we were faced with these situations in real life, would we have the guts, the brains and the know-how to actually survive?

Maybe that’s why we enjoy tales of intrigue so much. We sit back with a snack, and without breaking a sweat we participate in the defeat of zombies, political plots, hit men and all other bad guys and gals.

The characters in Cincinnatus don’t start out as heroes, but when they uncover a plot that threatens existence as we know it, they choose to try and save America. Although they are fictional characters in a made-up situation, I like to think there are plenty of underdogs out there just waiting to fulfill their potential.

If your day job involves unraveling political plots, solving murders and delving into secret societies, Cincinnatus: The Secret Plot to Save America might not seem that exciting. However, if you’re an average Joe like me who wants to experience adventure alongside other unlikely heroes, click here.

Grab an Autographed Copy of Cincinnatus

I’m giving away three autographed copies of Cincinnatus on Goodreads.

Get into the Goodreads giveaway here.  The giveaway closes at the end of this week, so get your hat in the ring soon.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Cincinnatus

by Rusty McClure

Giveaway ends March 01, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Cincinnatus by Rusty McClure

Enter to win

 

Who Was Cincinnatus?

CincinnatusI talk a lot about The Society of the Cincinnati, and this guy named Cincinnatus.  So who was this guy?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted some pretty good links to find more information about him.  Find those here.

Those links can do a better job than I can, but here’s the short version:

Cincinnatus (full name of Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus) was a Roman General in the 5th century B.C.

In his later years, Cincinnatus was living out his time as a farmer, minding his own business.  At the time, the Roman empire was expanding and the Roman armies were scattered to the wind.  So when the so-called barbarians invaded Rome by surprise, there was no one left to stop them.

The Roman Senate called upon Cincinnatus and gave him full dictatorial control to defeat the invaders.  Cincinnatus took control, rallied the army and defeated the invaders.  But that’s not the cool part.

After the invaders were defeated, instead of maintaining control as the dictator, Cincinnatus immediately gave the power back to the senate, and returned to his farm.

He did this again almost 20 years later, and, once again, gave the power back as soon as the conflict was resolved.

This became a model for our founding fathers.  Good leaders use power wisely, and then give it back to the people.  It’s in the nature of humans to hang onto power once they have it, but our founding fathers knew that Cincinnatus set a better model for the way that society and a good government should work.