The Books
Inspiration for my books comes from studies in history, archeology, sociology, and theology. Evidence reveals an ancient people who loved and hated, suffered and thirsted for life as we do today. The ancient rich and poor communicate with us through their art and statues, building reliefs, steles (gravestones), graffiti, journals, plays, architecture, religious texts, holidays, myths, and oh so much more. Archeological excavations around the globe are shedding light on the lives of our ancestors, and hopefully, these books will also.
Inspiration for my books comes from studies in history, archeology, sociology, and theology. Evidence reveals an ancient people who loved and hated, suffered and thirsted for life as we do today. The ancient rich and poor communicate with us through their art and statues, building reliefs, steles (gravestones), graffiti, journals, plays, architecture, religious texts, holidays, myths, and oh so much more. Archeological excavations around the globe are shedding light on the lives of our ancestors, and hopefully, these books will also.
The Books
In case you haven't already guessed the inspiration for my books comes in part from the lives revealed in these ancient (or not so ancient, only 2000 years ago) reminders that people lived, loved and died then just as we do today. Jesus said the poor will be with us always and apparently so will the rich as both are recorded in statues, building reliefs, steles (gravestones), graffiti, journals, plays, architecture, religion, holidays, myths and oh so much more. Archeological excavations around the globe are shedding light on the lives of our ancestors, and hopefully, these books will also.
In case you haven't already guessed the inspiration for my books comes in part from the lives revealed in these ancient (or not so ancient, only 2000 years ago) reminders that people lived, loved and died then just as we do today. Jesus said the poor will be with us always and apparently so will the rich as both are recorded in statues, building reliefs, steles (gravestones), graffiti, journals, plays, architecture, religion, holidays, myths and oh so much more. Archeological excavations around the globe are shedding light on the lives of our ancestors, and hopefully, these books will also.
Obedient Unto Death:
A Secrets of Ephesus Novel
Book 1
2023 Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award Winner & 2023 Winner of the Spiritual Fiction Category
Sabina, young widow and secret disciple of Christ, walks a narrow ridge between two realms. By birth she is daughter to a stern magistrate sworn to seize all who refuse to bow before the Emperor‐god; by baptism she is sister to the hunted flock.
When a humble scribe is found slain in a hidden house-church and Sabina’s own pastor confesses to the deed, the verdict is swift—death by decree of Caesar. To prove the shepherd innocent, she must cast aside the velvet walls of privilege and step into the smoke-choked alleys of Ephesus.
A pagan idol concealed in the victim’s robe hints at a darker design. Pursued by the scribe’s grief-fired brother, Sabina unearths the charred fragments of a mysterious scroll and descends into the secret chambers of a Gnostic cult where truth is bartered for gold and souls are the price.
Each revelation tightens the snare: her family marked, her fellowship endangered, her life pledged upon the altar of imperial wrath. In a city where gods abound and justice is weighed in blood, can one woman’s faith unveil a murderer before the noose silences them all?
Faith or empire—only one shall stand when the final witness speaks.
Published on March 22, 2022. Order at Amazon.com and CrossRiver Media.
Obedient Unto Death: A Secrets of Ephesus Novel Book 1
Behold the days of Domitian, when the sword of Rome lies unsheathed against the followers of the Way.Sabina, young widow and secret disciple of Christ, walks a narrow ridge between two realms. By birth she is daughter to a stern magistrate sworn to seize all who refuse to bow before the Emperor‐god; by baptism she is sister to the hunted flock.
When a humble scribe is found slain in a hidden house-church and Sabina’s own pastor confesses to the deed, the verdict is swift—death by decree of Caesar. To prove the shepherd innocent, she must cast aside the velvet walls of privilege and step into the smoke-choked alleys of Ephesus.
A pagan idol concealed in the victim’s robe hints at a darker design. Pursued by the scribe’s grief-fired brother, Sabina unearths the charred fragments of a mysterious scroll and descends into the secret chambers of a Gnostic cult where truth is bartered for gold and souls are the price.
Each revelation tightens the snare: her family marked, her fellowship endangered, her life pledged upon the altar of imperial wrath. In a city where gods abound and justice is weighed in blood, can one woman’s faith unveil a murderer before the noose silences them all?
Faith or empire—only one shall stand when the final witness speaks.
Published on March 22, 2022. Order at Amazon.com and CrossRiver Media.
Fortunes of Death:
A Secrets of Ephesus Novel
Book 2
Behold the days of Domitian, when gilded monuments crumble and the fickle Fates toss lives like dice upon the paving stones of Ephesus.
Dionysius—merchant prince, patron of pleasure—lies crushed beneath the very colossus raised to immortalize his name. Accident, omen…or murder wrought by unseen hands? Sabina, a covert disciple of the Way, and daughter of Rome’s stern magistrate, is drawn into the mystery. Among the mourners she finds only masks: a widow too calm, children coveting the inheritance, an architect whispering of flaws, a gladiator thirsting for favor, and the oracle who foretold the merchant’s doom.As Sabina threads through perfume-heavy banquets and torch-lit alleyways, another corpse is offered to the night. Rumors of sorcery coil with talk of rebellion; Domitian’s spies hunger for a scapegoat, and every clue she lifts tightens the noose about her hidden faith.
To name the killer, Sabina must walk the razor’s edge between imperial law and divine conviction, risking her father’s wrath, her brethren’s safety, and her own life. In a city where fortunes overturn in a heartbeat and justice is bought with blood, can one woman’s courage unmask the murderer before she becomes the next offering to Rome’s insatiable gods?
Fortunes of Death—a Secrets of Ephesus novel—casts readers into a world of perilous intrigue, where faith is tested, loyalty is fragile, and the cost of truth may be death itself.
Fortunes of Death: A Secrets of Ephesus Novel Book 2
Behold the days of Domitian, when gilded monuments crumble and the fickle Fates toss lives like dice upon the paving stones of Ephesus.Dionysius—merchant prince, patron of pleasure—lies crushed beneath the very colossus raised to immortalize his name. Accident, omen…or murder wrought by unseen hands? Sabina, a covert disciple of the Way, and daughter of Rome’s stern magistrate, is drawn into the mystery. Among the mourners she finds only masks: a widow too calm, children coveting the inheritance, an architect whispering of flaws, a gladiator thirsting for favor, and the oracle who foretold the merchant’s doom.
As Sabina threads through perfume-heavy banquets and torch-lit alleyways, another corpse is offered to the night. Rumors of sorcery coil with talk of rebellion; Domitian’s spies hunger for a scapegoat, and every clue she lifts tightens the noose about her hidden faith.
To name the killer, Sabina must walk the razor’s edge between imperial law and divine conviction, risking her father’s wrath, her brethren’s safety, and her own life. In a city where fortunes overturn in a heartbeat and justice is bought with blood, can one woman’s courage unmask the murderer before she becomes the next offering to Rome’s insatiable gods?
Fortunes of Death—a Secrets of Ephesus novel—casts readers into a world of perilous intrigue, where faith is tested, loyalty is fragile, and the cost of truth may be death itself.
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