Of Word And Spirit

I have heard the voice of the Lord. He said "I am displeased with the churches of America because they have not told the people outside the church who I am."

Terrorism is Everywhere

The more I hear of terrorist attacks around the world, the more I realize how On the Run in College Park embodies the issues of today. Obviously, acts of terror cannot by themselves topple a nation, but they can change the political climate, and reshuffle the priorities of a country. They can serve as forerunners of more invasive acts, such as taking over neighborhoods, or putting up their own political candidates.

Nevertheless, every act of terror, every action to foster a revolution, must be led. History is the story of leaders. If you can see that the direction of a nation or a culture is toward change, regardless of how many people seem to favor it, how many demonstrators are in the streets, or how many columnists are writing about it, if you dig deeply enough you'll eventually find a single person who is the leader of that movement. In the Protestant revolt against the Roman Catholic church you can trace it's beginning to Martin Luther. After him came others, whose statues now stand in Geneva, who followed Luther's lead to further the work he began.

Finding the leader(s) of terrorist actions should be the aim of every nation and every city. The characters in On the Run in College Park didn't uncover the leader of the acts that affected them, but it should open the minds of readers to understand that to stop terrorist acts, the leaders behind each movement must be found and prosecuted.

will there be a sequel?

On the Run in College Park may spawn a new mystery. I like some of its characters, particularly Tom Parker and Martha Jenkins. I also like Ahmed Suliman, but he needs to return to Morocco after graduation. That doesn't mean he won't reappear, but at the moment it isn't likely. The story is still taking shape, so I won't say anything more about it for a while. 

Most of my time is being taking up with marketing/selling. While I am busy with book signings around Lexington, I'm lining up venues in the College Park, Maryland, area, with the help of Tate Publishing. I hope to be there in late February and early March.

Everyone who has read On the Run has told me they really like it, but it hasn't caught on in the general public yet, which means bookstore and on-line sales haven't taken off. I'd be grateful if some of you who've read it would review it on Amazon. Thanks.

 

 

On the Run in College Park was released September 16

Finally On the Run in College Park is out! It's a mystery, set on the campus of the University of Maryland, in College Park. The main characters are Ahmed Suliman, an international student from Morocco, Nadira Shalash and Lauren Stevenson, freshmen girls who room together, and Tom Parker, a junior from College Park. Ahmed was glad to join with two other Middle Eastern exchange students to form a non-profit company to raise money for an orphanage in Iraq. He was surprised to learn that he had become, inadvertently, a criminal. Perplexed and torn between loyalty to his partners in crime, and fear of being found out and arrested, Ahmed wanted to get out. A terrorist organization had other plans for him, however. How the terrorists knew who he was and knew what he and his partners were doing is a mystery. You'll have to read the book to find out how they knew and how it turns out.

I've been selling books to friends and family, and at book signings at coffee shops, church, tail gate parties, and festivals. I've personally sold 94 books so far. All the comments I've received have been very positive. It's available on line from the publisher (Tate Publishing and Enterprises), Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.