Detective Jake Helman’s troubles continue in Greg Lamberson’s The Jake Helman Files, the follow-up to his 2004 novel Personal Demons (read review). The Jake Helman Files: Desperate Souls trade paperback arrives from Medallion Press on October 1, 2010, with two more volumes, Cosmic Forces and Tortured Spirits planned for 2011 and 2012.

“This is my big, ongoing project,” says Lamberson, whose werewolf novel The Frenzy Way (read review) was published in June. “I originally wrote Personal Demons as a screenplay back in 1989, but the story was way too big for the kind of budget I’m able to raise as an indie filmmaker. I revisited the tale more than a decade letter, expanding its scope. A small press published the book as a limited edition hardcover in 2004, and as a small press trade paperback in 2005. I wanted to go to a series then, and started developing additional stories, but didn’t see any point in writing them until I had a mass market deal.”

After battling the mysterious billionaire Nicholas Tower and the serial killer known as The Cypher, reluctant hero Jake Helman finds himself caught in a one-man war against the undead in the streets of Manhattan. The Jake Helman Files mixes noir and super natural elements delivering the first worthy anti-hero since Hellblazer.

“Jake is different from other characters who battle the supernatural because I make him suffer,” explains Lamberson. “When you have a continuing character in any series, readers know he isn’t going to die, and the character moves on to his next adventure. Jake endures severe emotional and physical trauma in each book, and he wears those scars forever. By the end of the series, he’s going to be a real mess.”

Audible.com has acquired the audio book rights for Personal Demons and Desperate Souls, and on Saturday, September 11th, Medallion is hosting a unique “online, interactive book signing” for Desperate Souls. Readers who register for the event will communicate with Lamberson via webcam, chat room, or traditional email, and he’ll personalize a copy of the book to them, which Medallion will ship; purchase of the book is required as part of the registration process.