Ephron Son of Zohar Read online

  Chapter Eleven Tis Hatched and Shall Be So

  The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare

  The sun had set and the first stars appeared.

  “That's Polaris,” said Ephron.

  “I know,” said Shelometh. “And I am supposed to call you my husband and king?”

  “Please, walk with me,” said Ephron.

  “Where? This is a crowded city, getting more crowded by the minute.”

  The courtyard was crowded, but Ephron took Shelometh's hand and led her to the stairway to the roof, three stories high. They climbed in silence and every place that seemed to offer any hope of privacy had at least a dozen people already. Ephron led her to the tower and opened the door. The fires made the square tower warm, perhaps too warm. Even the tower itself was occupied.

  So they climbed, passing people at every landing. At the top, Ephron threw every window open, allowing the fire in the grate to backlight them to the courtyard below.

  “They're looking at us,” said Ephron.

  “So, is that what you want?” asked Shelometh.

  “If you don't mind,” said Akiia. “I'll just leave you two alone.”

  “You seem to spend a lot of time up here,” Ephron called after his brother as he descended the stairs. Even here at the top of the tower, there were people on the next landing below who could hear their conversation.

  Turning to Shelometh, Ephron said, “It's not about what I want. It is about doing what Adonai wants, what is right, and what is best for our tribes.”

  “Tribe,” said Shelometh. “Weren't you listening tonight? We make two tribes one. That's ridiculous.”

  “There's your mother, Mahalath,” said Ephron, pointing to her in the distance. “Did you ask her about what she thought? She's standing next to your father Yovov. Did you talk to him? That's my father, in that chair. We both know what he wants. Did you talk to my mother, Nebajoth? When you marry, you marry into the family. You know what Zohar wants. What about Nebajoth?”

  “How do we know what Adonai wants?” asked Shelometh.

  “Adonai gave His words to Noah, his sons, Shem, Ham Japheth, and their wives. They passed on the words of Adonai to us,” said Ephron. “If you believe someone passed on some Adonai's Words inaccurately; that they made a mistake, then you can go talk to them, since they are all still alive.”

  “Adonai has never talked to me, or anyone I know,” said Shelometh. “How can I know if what they are telling us is true?”

  “Look around you,” said Ephron. “There is evidence of a flood everywhere.”

  “But how do I know what Adonai wants, since none of us has ever met Him personally?” persisted Shelometh.

  “When I met Adonai,” said Ephron, “He wore a white robe, had hair much shorter than Hittite fashion, and He was surrounded by many other men whom He called His messengers.”

  “What did He tell you?” asked Shelometh.

  “That my wife and my family will meet His chosen servant, who will pray for us. He also said that not all of my family is chosen and many will reject the Word of Adonai Elohim.”

  “Is that all He told you?” asked Shelometh.

  “He said that I should leave the teaching of Canaan and return home to my father Zohar,” said Ephron. “He said that Zohar's ways were righteous and Canaan was evil.”

  “How many times did you meet Adonai?” asked Shelometh.

  “Just once,” said Ephron. “He told me one more thing. Our family, not now but hundreds of years in the future, will reject Adonai. Our children will be destroyed by the children of His prophet unless they accept His Word.”

  “So we should not have children,” said Shelometh.

  “That is not what He meant,” said Ephron. “He meant that we should not reject Him or His Words. We are each responsible for our own decisions.”

  By now the sky was completely dark and filled with stars. There was no wind and Hattus was warm for November. Even seven stories up, the sounds of the crowd could be heard.

  “If you choose to reject this marriage,” asked Ephron, “what are you going to do?”

  “Whatever I want,” said Shelometh and she descended the stairs alone.

  This story continues in the second book of the Hittite series, Tawananna.

  Addendum

  This is a fictional story. The entire story may be read and enjoyed without reading this addendum. This material is intended to increase your understanding of the time period. With the flood ending about 2350 BC, using Ussher’s date, this is story is set about 325 years later. It is set roughly around the time of the birth of Abraham, immediately after the fall of the tower of Babel. It is also written to correct the deceit and dishonesty masquerading as entertainment while promoting a false timeline so common in secular stories.

  Throughout the story I constantly had to chose between using accurate Hittite words, phrase, customs and terminology which would make little sense to a modern reader, or simply modernizing the scene, well aware that Hittite would not have acted the way I describe them or use the terms I used. I usually chose to make the story more understandable to the modern audience.

  Style

  This story is written to be historically accurate.

  This is a period piece and you the reader only have access to the information people of this time period would have. For instance, though they ride horses, they do not have stirrups. Many writers, such as William Shakespeare, use this same technique.

  Setting

  Artist recreation of Hattusus, Public Domain

  Using Ussher’s dates, the flood took place about 2350 BC. This story is just after the fall of the tower of Babel. We know that the tower fell during the lifetime of Peleg, 101 to 340 years after the flood. This story uses a date of almost 2025 BC, about 325 years after Noah and his family left the Ark and near the end of Peleg’s lifetime. Noah’s son Ham was born in the Antediluvian period and lived through the flood on the ark. Soon after leaving the ark, Ham’s wife gave birth to Canaan, who fathered Heth. Though neither Canaan nor Heth were firstborn, Heth was the same generation as Salah who was born 37 years after leaving ark when the flood ended. It is a very reasonable assumption that Heth was born less than 50 years after leaving the ark. This story assumes Heth to be almost 275 years old and his oldest son, Anah more than 200 years old.

  We are more familiar with the sons of Heth as the Hittites. Heth was a Canaanite (a son of Canaan, who was a son of Ham). Abraham negotiated with the sons of Heth for a burial plot for his wife Sarah. The Hittite named during these negotiations was Ephron the son of Zohar. Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, married Hittites, Judith, Basemath, and Adah. Perhaps Basemath and Adah were different names for the same woman, since they had fathers with the same name. Perhaps they were sisters or they had different fathers with the same name. Uriah was a Hittite and possibly his wife Bathsheba was also. If Bathsheba was Hittite, and that was very likely, then Solomon had a Hittite mother. Ahimelech the Hittite fought for David when he was fleeing from Saul. Solomon also married Hittite women.

  Seal of Tarkummuwa, King of Mera Hittite hieroglyphs surround a figure in royal dress. The inscription, repeated in cuneiform around the rim, gives the seal owner's name: the Hittite ruler Tarkummuwa. This famous bilingual inscription provided the first clues for deciphering Hittite hieroglyphs. Walters Art Museum Wikimedia Commons

  The recent translation of Hittite cuneiform has allowed us to use actual Hittite names based on the Hittite language. Hittite is an Indo-European or a Proto-Indo-European language. The Hittite names found in the Bible were translations into Hebrew from Hittite, which was then translated into English. The actual Hittite names are long and difficult for the modern reader. Therefore, the story deliberately uses shorter names which are more like Western names. Since the Hittite language is four thousand years old, the names have been translated into many languages and personal names, cities, rivers and bodies of water have many different accurate translations of the same name.
/>   Wikimedia Commons locator map

  In additions to translations, geographic place names, such as rivers, cities and mountains have many different names for the same places. Sometimes we use the Hittite name, but other times the Greek name is so well known and it is also ancient to the modern reader, we use the Greek name. The story is set in modern Turkey, the north central section. The Greeks referred to this area as Anatolia, the Romans called it Asia or Asia Minor. It was the seat of the Byzantine Empire as well as the Ottoman Turks. The city of Hattusha, which eventually became the Hittite capital, was originally settled by a people we know little about who we call the Hattic. The Hattic people founded the city as Hattus. It is located about 75 miles east of Ankara, just south of the modern village of Boğazkale, Turkey. In this story, the original founders of Hattus are Shemites who intermarry with the Hittites and are peacefully absorbed.

  While our knowledge of their physical appearance is limited, based on the limited available descriptions and excavated tombs, we assume that the average height was slightly under six feet tall for men and women were shorter than men. Their skin color was similar to those living throughout the Mesopotamian region at that time; darker than modern Europeans but still considered to be fair skinned. They had dark, almost black hair. Most corpses and depictions show long wavy hair on men as well as women. They wore a variety of make-up. They wore jewelry, but compared to other cultures of the same time period, not as much. Or at least they were not buried with their jewelry. They both wrote extensively about warfare and showed battle scenes in their art. As with most rules, there are exceptions.

  Hattusa: All pictures are of the city Hattusa or Hattusha. This is greatly expanded by the new kingdom. The original Hattus existed entirely on the top of the mountain. Even the geography was modified by the Hittites, so we do not know what the original Hattus looked like.

  Hittite bas relief sculpture in Ankara's Museum of Anatolian Civilizations 3 August 2010 Author Koppas Wikimedia Commons

  Since this story takes place during the height of the Ice Age, the Black Sea did not exist. There are many unknowns, but ruins of stone structures exist on the bottom of the Black Sea today. Even today, the rivers flowing into the Black Sea bring fresh water in faster than it can either mix with other salt water or evaporate. For this story, we assume the Black Sea was populated, had cities and marshes. It also had caravans traveling through it.

  The Yerkapi rampart at Hattusa, Turkey. This artificial ridge marks the highest point in the city's fortifications. It is 250 meters long and at the foundation over 80 meters wide. Its name means 'gate in the earth'; indeed a tunnel - built with corbeled arches - runs through the rampart. 7 July 2001 Author China Crisis

  Character List: in order of appearance

  The names were chosen based on accuracy to original Hittite names combined with easy of use by a modern audience. Hittite is only recently translated directly from Hittite cuneiform documents. Hittite has been known through, Akkadian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Chaldean, Mittanai, and Hebrew. Breathing marks, hyphens, and tonal accents all common in the Hittite language, are not used.

  Ephron; a single thirty year old male, son of Zohar and his wife Nebajoth

  Tawananna; his nineteen year old sister: This is actually a Hittite title; It is the position of a queen after her husband, the king died and means “Great Queen”

  Akiia; unmarried brother of Ephron, son of Zohar and Nebajoth

  Taku; his married older brother about 45 years old.

  Adah; a Shemite and wife of Taku

  Mesha and Sephar the young sons of Taku and Adah

  Zohar; their 65 year old father. He is the father of Ephron, Tawananna, Akiia, Taku, Dumu, Xenna and others.

  Anah: Head of a tribe, brother to Zohar, about 200 years old and his tribe has about one thousand. They live in tents and are excellent hunters. Wife Mitanish

  Yovov; a great grandson of Anah, he is about the same age as Zohar.

  Mahalath: wife of Yovov

  Shelometh: daughter of Yovov and Mahalath, about the same age as Tawananna

  Elon: son of Yovov and Mahalath, slightly older than his sister Shelometh, about the age of Ephron.

  Te’oma; unknown general

  Hepa daughter of Zohar and Nebajoth but married to the Shemite AriTesup They have several children. A fourteen year girl named Tichu and a ten year girl old named Uzuel.

  Four older teenage boys of Anah's tribe; Benazimi and Zidaa sons of UrhiTesup, and Zataatna and Sutarna sons of Tyrgnns

  Basemath, a Shemite married Xenna, a son of Zohar

  Sidon, brother of Heth

  Elan, Menta, and Hershaw companions of Sidon, sent by Heth.

  Zomar, Hittite clan chieftain to the west.

  PuduHepa, daughter of Ham, wife of Heth

  Heth, son of Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah; the father of the Hittites; the word Hittites means (sons) of Heth.

  GiluHepa female servant of Heth's wife, PuduHepa

  Athena concubine of Heth, daughter of Japheth

  Arvad Heth's brother who first married Athena, but died almost 100 years before these stories begin.

  Family Tree

  This tree is limited to characters who are either included in or mentioned in this story. While real people are included, this is a fictional story. Any real names which are included have the proper historic relationships.

  Noah, father of Japheth, Shem and Ham

  Japheth father of Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras all sons; and Athena, daughter.

  Noah, father of Shem

  Shem father of GiluHepa, and father of Basemath [married to Xenna, a middle son of Zohar], AriTesup (son) [married to Hepa daughter of Zohar], Adah (daughter) [married to Zohar's oldest son Taku] {Basemath, AriTesup and Adah all Hatti, the original settlers of Hattus who named the mountain Hattus; lived in the caves for years until the arrival of Zohar the Hittite}

  Ham, father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan.

  Cush the father of Nimrod.

  Canaan the father of Sidon, Heth, and Arvad (husband to Athena no children in this story by this marriage)

  Heth (married to PuduHepa, concubine Athena)

  Heth m Athena parents of Zohar

  Zohar m Nebajoth parents of Ephron (son), Tawananna (daughter), Akiia (son), Taku (son), Dumu (son), Xenna (son), Hepa (daughter)

  Taku m Adah parents of Mesha and Sephar (sons)

  AriTesup m Hepa parents of Tichu (14 year old daughter) and Uzuel (10 year old daughter)

  Heth m PuduHepa parents of Anah, Elan, Menta, Hershaw, Zomar (son), and many others, not named

  Anah m Mitanish (her ancestry is not in the story) great grandson Yovov intervening generations not named

  Yovov m Mahalath parents of Elon (son), Shelometh (daughter)

  UrhiTesup (son of Anah; exact number of generations not mentioned; wife not mentioned) Benazimi and Zidaa (sons)

  Tyrgnns (son of Anah; exact number of generations not mentioned; wife not mentioned) Zataatna and Sutarna (sons)

  Cities

  Yadiya: City of the plains in the far north of modern Syria, the mountains of Turkey. Far to the south of Hattus it was a Hittite city. It is the southern destination point of the Hittite caravans in this story, though Hittite caravans during this time period traveled to Africa.

  Hattusha; the mound where Zohar and his tribe live. At this time still known as Hattus, it will eventually become the capital of the Hittite empire.

  Balawat city which fell to the Assyrians in the province of Ninawa Province

  Mizraim Hebrew for Egypt

  Harappan Earliest Indus Valley Civilization; Modern Pakistan and Northwest India.

  Xia earliest Chinese civilization: Yellow River valley

  Waterways

  In this story the Marashantiya River makes a large loop around Hattus and makes Hattus well watered and fruitful.

  The Black Sea does not exist at this time. Since the land which is now the bottom of
the Black Sea was lower than the oceans during the Ice Age. Though it was inhabited, it was unstable with the lakes of continuously rising during this period. There was more river water coming in than could evaporate out. At the time Zohar arrived at Hattus, the sea level was 400 feet lower than today's oceans. The sea level was approximately to edge of continental shelf today. However, the oceans were rising. For the purpose of this story, the rise in sea level was noticeable, about a cubit per year.

  Measurements

  There is a cubit rod on display in the Louvre, Paris, France from the tomb of the royal treasurer under Tutankhamun and Horemheb, 18th dynasty. It has a rectangular cross section and different cubit measurements on different surfaces. One surface includes the owner’s name, Maya along with an inscription. Another surface has the names of Egyptian gods. The cubit of Maya is 52.3 centimeters or 20.59 inches. Many such cubit rods are known to exist and most vary from 20.6 to 20.8 inches.

  Weapons

  Archery was well known and widespread, but very basic. Many bows of this time period were so poor that they could break apart while drawn. Arrows were not well made, often without fletching, inferior wood and rarely straight. Well made archery equipment was the most deadly and efficient hunting and military equipment during the Ice Age. However, the poor quality and difficulty in making quality archery equipment made the average bow a very poor choice. While nomadic tribes could easily find the material to make archery equipment, quality bows and arrows required both skill and time to assemble the equipment which they did not have. Bows were 2-3 cubits and powerful, but difficult to control.

  Swords were well known, but weapons were primarily used for hunters. Long swords were not, and still are not, very effective in hunting. Short swords, or long knives, which were kept sharp and could be used repeatedly in close quarters. Short swords or knives were the primary tools used to slaughter, dress and skin the harvested animals. Knives were frequently stone, obsidian or flint, because they could easily be sharpened by chipping them while being used. Short bronze swords quickly lost there edge in repeated use. Stone knives, since they could be sharpened during use, were superior to the quickly dulled bronze knives with heavy use.

  Javelins were thrown and were the earliest form of athlete contests, just behind running races. Most people mistake the spear for a javelin. While anything, including rocks, can be thrown, a spear by design should not be thrown. A javelin was normally short, only three or four cubits and usually had a very small, thin stone or just a sharpened tip on a hardwood shaft. Javelins were usually used like arrows. However, javelins were heavier than arrows and could, at less than a dozen cubits, inflict more damage. Javelins were easier to make and almost anyone could throw one, since they did not require highly specialized skills to use.

  A stone in a sling required skill to use, but did not inflict the damage of an arrow. The sling was primarily a military weapon. It was easy to make, compact and could be easily carried, or even wrapped around the body like a long belt. Though a sling could be effective against predators such as lions, bears, wolves when the intent was to scare them off, it was a poor choice when attempting to kill a larger animal. Unlike an arrow, slings used easily gathered stones or projectiles cast out of metal. The major advantage of a sling, for the average person, was the ability to use stones that you did not have to carry. The primary problem with a sling was the difficulty actually killing the intended prey.

  The spear was the workhorse of every hunting party. Whatever a hunter's primary responsibility, he also had a spear. A spear was used for overhead thrusting and was not released. It needed to be long enough to keep the animal being hunted from reaching you. A hunter needed a spear no shorter than five cubits (about 8.5 feet or almost 3 meters). A spear could be longer, and had to be much longer if used as a military weapon where the opposing soldier also carried a spear. A hunter could use both hands to thrust with his spear. But a soldier needed to use his shield with his left arm. He could only thrust his spear with his right arm.

  Tools

  Lanyard: The common Hittite lanyard was a leather strap over one arm and under one shoulder. It was usually attached in two points to what is carried. It was more like what we would think of as a rifle strap. While the Hittites used large carrying cases, often with openings, they did not use holsters as we know them. Instead, they used what we might think of as oversized quivers for most things. In this story, lanyards are used many ways to carry almost everything because it leaves the hands free.

  Shaduf Usually wooden; it dates back as far as written records exist in Egypt. A long horizontal pole on top of a stationary vertical pole with a counterweight. Usually used with water, when properly balanced, the same effort is used to pull the empty bucket down as raise the full bucket. As a water sweep, it is used worldwide by a variety of names. With more people, it can be used to lift heavier loads by altering the counterbalance. That is, additional weights are added after the load is attached to pick up a heavier load. Then the additional weights are removed after the load is dropped to properly balance the shaduf and allow it to swing back. In this story, one large stone provided the empty counterbalance. Stones in a leather bag are used as additional weight to provide additional counterbalance. If the weights of the loads being picked up are nearly uniform, the variable weights can be slid back and forth instead of removed to make the entire operation quick and not too tiring.

  Marriage

  The marriage customs of the Hittites were not significantly different from any of the Mesopotamian cultures, including the Jews. Marriage was about preserving family status and property. Sometime the property exchanges were what we call a dowry. But our concept of a dowry is different than the Hittite concept. Children, men as well as women and regardless of age, were controlled by the head of the household. Everything was about promoting, advancing and preserving the family. For men, that meant your occupation was chosen for you as well as your spouse. Children were often pledged in marriage to people they did not even know, frequently to people the parents did not even know. Marriages were the primary means of securing alliances between families, nobility and kingdoms.

  While no two people or marriages are identical, most Hittite marriages had three phases. The first was strictly a political/business arrangement. This might take place when the children were infants, or it might be just before the wedding, but this was the first step in all Hittite marriages. It might be very simple and it might be very complex. Some of the most complex legal/business transactions translated from Hittite documents were sealed by a wedding. The second phase we might view as a betrothal. At this point, though the bride and groom still might now know each other, in Hittite Law they are married. Ending the marriage at this point required a divorce, which in the early Hittite empire, where this story takes place, was almost impossible to obtain. In the later Hittite period, divorces were more common. The betrothal period was instigated by the exchange of property and/or social position. Again, the bride and groom did not have to like the terms, but they had to be aware of the terms and not pose any objections. Once the terms were agreed to, they could only be changed by a divorce.

  Abraham's servant requesting Rebekah for Isaac follows this custom. So does the request of Jacob for Rachel.

  The final phase is the wedding ceremony followed by the consummation. As with Rebekah coming to Isaac, once the business transaction was consummated, the actual ceremony was optional.

  Ice Age Civilizations

  There are no artifacts, human or otherwise, earlier than the Ice Age. All early human cultures existed during the Ice Age. Rather than stretched over vast periods of time as taught by the religion of Secular Humanism, these cultures coexisted. They changed rapidly, had technology, traveled, and interacted with many civilizations. The sea levels stabilized a few decades after the flood about 4oo feet lower than they are today and rose continuously during this time period. By the time period described in the first book, approximately 350 after the flood, sea levels wer
e near modern levels. Sailing worldwide was known and possible, though there was not extensive sea trade, so there were no economic pressures to continue this extensive travel. Civilization and travel collapsed because of sin, primarily greed and warfare. The explosive growth of idolatry is included in the later books.

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ered his questions if he had wanted to. And he certainly didn’t seem to want to.

  “It looked just like the bag Mr. Carlisle put on the train -- and the one that man in the black suit was carrying. What was in all those bags? Or -- was that you pretending to be somebody else again? Were you the one that killed that man at the bank and stole the money?”

  Mr. Clancy had been staring at him all this time without moving. Suddenly he jumped forward and grabbed Benny. He covered Benny’s mouth with one hand and with the other pulled out a big, long knife. Holding Benny so tight it hurt, he laid the knife up against his throat and whispered in his ear.

  “I guess you do get to go along with me, after all, Benny my boy,” he hissed. “But somehow I don’t think we’ll make it to Uncle Tom’s. The chickens’ll be so disappointed.”

  Benny and the Bank Robber 2: Doctor Dad

  A new marriage for Benny’s mother should be a time of rejoicing. But why is Uncle Tom so angry? While substitute teaching for his mother Benny meets twin girls who turn his world upside down.

  A terrifying mystery at a private boys’ school in Detroit includes gambling, extortion and attempted murder. Benny makes the mistake of trying to impress members of a secret society, discovers he may have a double, and hopes to survive a meeting with someone who may already have murdered to enforce his will.

  from Chapter Fifteen -- “An Ultimatum”

  That night Benny took one more look through his footlocker. Suddenly he noticed a slip of paper tucked into his winter boots. He pulled it out and opened it.

  “The box is the key. Use it to unlock the door to the cat.” At the end was a symbol Benny recognized as the Greek letter Omega. Like lightning, Jason leaped across the room and slammed Joseph down on the floor.

  “You’re the one who stole it!” Jason snarled. “I knew it all the time. We want it back right now!”

  “Make him get off of me, or you’ll be sorry!” Joseph squealed to Benny.

  “Let him up, Jason,” Benny ordered. “Joseph, I guess you don’t want to be expelled, do you? I just want my cougar skin back. I don’t want any trouble.”

  “You can’t prove I had anything to do with that note or your -- cougar skin,” Joseph said with an oath. “You can tell me now what’s in the box. Then they’ll let you know what they want next.”

  Benny and the Bank Robber 3: The Oregon Sentinel

  Ben Carlisle’s longtime dream has been to travel west with his family. When he is offered a newspaper job in Detroit, he is forced to question whether moving west is really God’s will for him. Can he leave behind his grandfather, the girl he thought he loved, and an opportunity few writers could even dream about? Can he risk the life of one of his best friends, or face an old enemy head-on? What price will he have to pay just to make his writing live?

  from Chapter Two -- A New Partner and an Old Enemy

  A giant man on a huge buckskin gelding suddenly clambered up out of the gully behind the bush. He pulled up sharply and scooped Sarah up with his long, powerfully-muscled arm. Ben’s mother gratefully took Sarah from the newcomer. Sarah giggled delightedly and reached up as if she wanted to ride up into the air again.

  “Thanks, Mister,” Jeremy said as the man lifted his wide-brimmed tan hat. “I’m Jeremy Carlisle, and this is — “

  He broke off sharply and Ben came up beside him as Caleb Sutter looked slowly around at them.

  “I guess I know who you are.” His blond hair trailed long as an Indian’s down his broad back. His shirt hung open and an intricate beaded choker clung to his corded neck. Caleb turned his head slightly and Ben saw a jagged scar running from where his left earlobe should have been halfway down his massive chest.

  “I saw your names on the roster, so this wasn’t exactly a surprise for me,” Caleb went on as the family remained speechless. “Bet it was for you, though. Let me try to make this trip easier for all of us. I’ll do my job, and you’ll take care of your family, Doc. I don’t want to dig up any stuff that’s been buried. I sure don’t want any trouble. Boss Tibbs relies on me, and what was between Ben an’ me — well — Just do me the favor of keeping out of my way as much as is humanly possible so I can keep out of yours.”

  Benny and the Bank Robber 3: The Oregon Sentinel

  As soon as Violet arrives with the wagon train Ben can finally be married. But is she truly in love with Ben, or with the five or six trunks of things her letters say she can’t do without?

  When trouble stalks the widowed young schoolteacher, will Ben go past protecting her and threaten both their futures? What will it take to stop a violent drunk determined to possess his dead brother’s wife?

  How can Ben save Violet and himself from a ruthless outlaw gang? Will he ever stop paying for that headline, or even live to tell it at all? An avenger of blood looking to settle scores is not the only thing Ben discovers when he helps a man with a past.

  Everything Ben has worked and prayed and bled for could be washed away in a day. Can an unexpected visitor from the past change the course of a raging flood with Cascade right in its path?

  Hope and the Knight of the Black Lion by Mary C. Findley

  (Also available in the “Illuminated Version,” echoing the style of a medieval manuscript. “Home to My Father: A Knight’s Tale,” is a stand-alone excerpt from this novel.)

  Seventeen-year-old-Hope rebels against arranged marriage in medieval England. The earl’s handsome son Robert tempts her to defiance. A mysterious knight appears to help Hope find her missing family. Does Hugo Brun de March truly travel on a Holy Quest?

  What is the a strange diary the Arab Sadaquah gives Hope? When her protector is captured she discovers a plot to subvert English law and justice.

  from Chapter Eleven

  “Sir Knight. I hear that thou wilt not say thy name nor thy true business to anyone.”

  “It is a vow I have made, that Baron Cloyes must be the first in England to know of these things. “

  “Man, thy story might turn my heart completely to thy cause,” Lord Godwin said.

  “It matters little now, my lord. “ Sir Chris coughed several times. “The earl has said I am to be made to confess to the burning of the manor house. To that I cannot confess, and so ... Lady Hope?”

  “Yes, Sir Chris?”

  “I am sorry I could not help you,” he said in a voice I could scarcely hear. “I am sorry, too, that you were not persuaded to know Christ.”

  Chasing the Texas Wind by Mary C. Findley

  Hamilton Jessup agrees a sham marriage with socialite singer Maeve Collinswood. This beautiful spinster needs a handsome wounded war hero husband to show off at Texas fundraisers. Ham has no choice, but they both have secrets to keep from each other.

  Ham was supposed to ignore her frequent disappearances. Falling in love with her changed all that. His discovery that their secrets are connected plunges both of them into a race to outwit whoever is supplying arms to Mexico as the countdown ticks away toward the Battle of Monterrey.

  from Part One, between June, 1844 and March, 1845

  “Hamilton?” Maeve said suddenly.

  “Yes, Ma’am?” Ham asked.

  “The story you told about Goliad,” Maeve said, looking pained, “Was it some sort of alcoholic raving or did you tell a true tale?”

  Ham looked away. “A true tale, Ma’am,” he said. “I could never be intoxicated enough to show so much disrespect to the memory of that event as to fabricate a tale about it.”

  “Thank you,” Maeve said.

  Send a White Rose by Mary C. Findley

  Leah Masters came to the New Mexico Territory hoping to make a “mail order match” with handsome Judge Bartholomew Durant. She fainted at his feet and when she woke up discovered she had stepped into an assassination plot with her hot-tempered brother as the prime suspect.

  Who does Bart Durant trust when facing revolution theology and a still-unknown assassin? How can he ignore the sudden realization that his heart might already belon
g to someone else besides the woman he still thinks is a stuck-up weakling?

  from Chapter Two

  Bartholomew caught sight of a half-wild rose climber in the chapel garden. White roses.

  “You -- you know la Señorita Alethia at the Orphanage? I am sure ... she would give you a sweet … if you ... pick the prettiest white rose on that bush over there and take it to her.”

  “It is a good thing I have my burro, or I would not go. It is a long way. I will be back later, but I will not have any more time to waste on you, dead man. I hope you will be quiet, like the other one is.”

  Bartholomew did not answer, and the footsteps shuffled away.

  Carrie’s Hired Hand by Mary C. Findley (Novella)

  Carrie Wilkes is the Northern widow of a Southern soldier in the middle of the Civil War. Robert Salinger may be handsome but his promise to take care of Ben’s family rings hollow as she struggles alone with the farm work. She is grateful to give a deaf and dumb stranger work for food and a place to stay. Southern soldiers come with accusations of spying. Robbie’s “secret code” might spell terror for Carrie and her children.

  “God bless you … for all you’ve done, Rob,” Ben whispered, half-opening his eyes and gripping Robert’s shoulder. The handsome young man continued his work, but he stared at Ben with the same look of intensity he had given Carrie. “You’re …that friend that … sticketh closer than a brother … the Scriptures …talk about.”

  Robert produced a canteen and Carrie gave Ben a drink. He choked and groaned. “Carrie, I don’t … want to leave you … alone like this,” Ben said when he could speak again. “All alone.”

  “I’ll look after them, Ben,” Robert said suddenly, gripping the dying man’s shoulder. “As God is my witness. This was my doing, and I will take care of your family.”

  “The work’s got to get done … “ Ben said faintly.

  “It will,” Robert promised. Carrie couldn’t help wondering how this slight young man, dapper in spite of the filth around them, was going to help get the farm work done.

  “You give me the Lord, Rob,” Ben said. “Try to give Him to my Carrie, an’ my babies too.”

  Carrie strained to hear. What Ben had just said didn’t make any sense. Robert nodded.

  “I will try,” he said softly.

  Biblical Studies Curriculum by Michael J. and Mary C. Findley

  (Student and Teacher Editions) Bible Study aids for children, homeschoolers, and adults. Commentary, Review Questions, Free Videos on YouTube. Bible Doctrines, children’s whole book studies of Jonah and Ruth with 3D puppet commentary, Proverbs, Adult studies in the New Testament and Major Prophets background, featuring more than 30 videos in the Revelation study alone, Old Testament and New Testament Manuscript History

  The Conflict of the Ages Series

  Newly revised and expanded homeschool books. Combined teacher manual for books 1-3 covering Creation to the Flood and Ice Age plus three separate student manuals. I: The Scientific History of Origins, II: The Origin of Evil in the World That Was, and III: They Deliberately Forgot: The Flood and the Ice Age. by Michael J. and Mary C. Findley

  Science, History, Literature reunited. Eyewitness testimony and the real scientific method. Read ancient manuscripts, search the world, and discover truth instead of buying into preconceptions. When did time begin? Who are the Sons of God? Did ancient Establishments of Religion construct cultural controls and make man a god? Rediscover the Worldwide Flood and the truth about the Ice Age.

  It’s tough, but you need this exhaustive worldwide study of evidence, investigation, and exalting the Scriptures as the ultimate authority. There was one eyewitness to the beginning of the universe. It might surprise you to know how much of His truth has been preserved, and how many struggle today to put that truth in the hands of teachers and students.

  A Dodge, a Twist, and a Tobacconist, The Alexander Legacy Book One: by Sophronia Belle Lyon

  The Alexander Legacy Company is on the track of a ruthless enslaver of souls. Prowl the foggy London streets. Encounter a nightmare from the Indian jungles.

  Travel the Thames in Sluefoot Sue’s Giant Catfish. Soar on a stealth glider with a Bohemian prince. When Oliver Twist unwraps the Algerian mummy at Charley Bates’ funeral, will he discover his real enemy? Or is it all just another “dodge”?

  “He’s going to ram Twist’s ship,” Kera breathed. “They’ll both crash into the house and Mrs. Rose just might have her bomb going off.”

  I ran along the edge of the roof as if I were looking for a shot. But I already knew my pistol was empty, useless, and the guard was trying to get around another gable to get a clear shot while staying behind cover. I had come to a conclusion a moment earlier that I dared not say out loud lest I be grabbed and thrown down on the roof by both women, but I knew what I had to do.

  Just as the spy craft hove around the corner of the house, only a few feet away from the airship, I launched myself off the roof. The smaller ship disappeared and my heart leaped in panic at the thought of being sliced into quarters by the tail rotor. But my fingertips caught hold of a solid object. I found the fuselage of the spy ship and wrapped my legs around it. The thing slewed and spun and began to fall tail-first toward the green lawn.

  The Alexander Legacy Book Two: The Pinocchio Factor, by Sophronia Belle Lyon

  Can Oliver Twist trust Spring-heeled Jack when he offers to “bodyguard the little’un”? Do costume balls conceal more than the faces of the wealthy and powerful? Trevor Newsome disappears just days before the election but the Legacy Company can’t search for him from the London Lockup. When the trip to Switzerland finally becomes a reality, it’s for a funeral, not for a wedding.

  Quests for immortality meld with the worship of powerful men, with terrifying and tragic consequences. When Long John Silver arrives, Oliver has to think fast to protect more than just his own life from the pirate who says he only cares about rescuing his daughter.

  “Twist! Look out!” I spun and swung wildly as the crack of a Colt revolver split the air. Sluefoot Sue had both her firearms out and was shooting at something below me. To my astonishment tentacles rose out of the Thames and wrapped themselves around the Catfish. Each time one of Sue’s bullets struck them they disappeared under the water again, but when she paused to reload they re-emerged and began to reach for me, climbing the Catfish sub. I hastily winched myself over toward the dock but a tentacle grabbed hold of my leg just as I started to set myself down. It flung me down on the dock and started dragging me to the edge.

  “Hey, boss lady!” Dobbs, Sue’s assistant, hollered out from inside the workshop. I was just able to see a pump-action shotgun cartwheel through the air and land in Sue’s gloved hands. Just before it began to blast me deaf, I realized that it was in fact no ordinary shotgun, rather had some sort of gattling action, and a bit more. I hoped I would get a better look at it rather than end up 20,000 leagues under in some sea monster’s maw.

  Black Crow’s Blessing

  Novella set in the Alexander Legacy Universe, Prequel to Book 4, The Most Dangerous Game

  Pecos Bill and Sluefoot Sue watch their youngest daughter’s honeymoon train leave the station and realize they have never had a honeymoon themselves. They are a little surprised to encounter Edward S. O’Reilly selling his books, and to hear how writers can sometimes come up with odd interpretation of people’s lives and adventures. A chance encounter with a horse thief at a hot spring in the Northern California mountains changes their lives forever.

  Desperation takes them to the village of the People of the Crack, where Sue discovers the people’s startling forgotten lore and helps them reclaim their ancient gear and steam technology. A shaman claims only he knows the true identity of the Father of the People and can decide the fate of these strangers. Sue tries to mine the secrets that might set the People of the Crack free from an ancient evil while protecting the innocent child who seems to hold a key to making the People of the Crack remember who t
hey are. But will they claim their true father or once more fall into the shaman’s secret power?

  “Why are they burning that man?” I asked the one guard who was closest to the door.

  “Runs Far says he has been giving us the Evil Eye from the top of the crack,” the buck replied. The crack was what they called their volcanic crater. In fact, their tribal name meant “People of the Crack.”

  Runs Far chose that moment to hold up a metal object that caught the light of his burning brand as he shook it preparatory to tossing it onto the woodpile. I Couldn’t believe my eyes. It was one of Pa’s Seven League Spyglasses devices, the two-eyed variety that had night vision, infra-red, ultra-violet, and Roentgen’s X-ray vision to boot.

  “Stop!” I shouted, running across to the middle of the mob. The chief appeared and I saw by his face that he didn’t want to have to go through another contest of wills with Runs Far, especially on my account. This prisoner was nothing to his tribe as far as he knew, and in fact, Runs Far had declared him an enemy and a spiritual threat by that talk about the Evil Eye. In my own mind I had declared Runs Far a spiritual threat, but I couldn’t do a thing about him before today.

  “Runs Far means to destroy a thing my father made!” I complained to the chief. That was considered a very bad thing, since anything a person made contained some of his spirit, they believed. I snatched the Spyglass away from the shaman. “This man is under my protection, as my father would have protected him were he still walking the earth. Let him go, or there’ll be a pile of trouble.”

  Fifty Shades of Faithful

  This collection of short stories chronicles adventures in the lives of a couple with 20+ years of marriage under their belts. Sam and Vivian Tucker are not exactly conventional Christian marriage counselors. But they are a couple in love with each other and the Lord and they do have some life experience with “Song of Solomon marriage”. It is a mixture of suspense, humor, and love primarily designed to help marriages in trouble and to get unmarried people to understand the need for commitment and fidelity.

  The book deals with issues like adultery, spouse abuse, hiding things you need to talk about, guilt and jealousy toward family caregivers, marriages of convenience, and even child sexual abuse.

  There is no graphic or explicit content in this book, but there are some eyebrow-raising bits of advice about trust and honesty, playful communication to create desire, and gentle roleplaying within marriage. This book has some single people in it, and those who are, as Sam himself puts it, “living in sin,” may insist on reading it. It’s not a sex manual. It will do you no harm.

  Married people of all ages have adventures, and this book includes all ages and many conditions of life.

  Tim called his father’s cell phone. “Dad, I have got to talk to you,” he said.

  “Son, I’ve been meaning to call you,” his father said uneasily. “We’ve been really busy. Sandy has disappeared.”

  “She’s what?” Tim demanded.

  “There was a woman who visited our church last week and again this past Sunday. She was--” Tim could hear his father swallow. “She was very different from the usual visitors. She seemed to take an interest in Sandy. The girl’s been very unhappy, and this woman took her out to dinner, talked to her, made quite a fuss, it seems. She’s even bought her some new clothes, according to Ron and Doris. Then Sandy told them she had a job interview, left yesterday morning, and no one has seen her since.”

  “What, they think this woman kidnapped her? Why? Have they called the police?”

  “No, no, son, calm down. Sandy has called a couple of times, assured her parents she’s fine – But it’s very unlike her. Very odd. She – uh – Son, I don’t want to start something, here, but she did ask for your email address awhile back.”

  “Dad, I’ve been getting some emails,” Tim breathed. “But they couldn’t have been from Sandy. Do you think this woman might be baiting me, trying to get me to meet her, to get something from me because she has Sandy?”

  Write for the King of Glory

  Share the fruits of my first five years of publishing. Learn about blogging, writing, cover design, editing, marketing, and find a bunch of great resources to help you in your publishing journey, many of them free. I’m not the be-all and end all of Christian publishing, but I’m here to help, and so are a bunch of other Christian writers and service providers.

  I’m living proof that you can get your book published. It doesn’t have to stay in those pre-publication versions, or be taken out of your hands and changed to the point where you hardly recognize it. God educated me through some amazing preparation and hard times to the point where I realized that it’s up to me to make my books. Nobody’s going to do it for me. At least not so that I can control it from start to finish, or within my mostly nonexistent budget, or on my timetable.

  So, I have learned to be a cover designer, an editor, an ebook formatter, and everything else I need to create my own books. I have also learned some things about online marketing, to the point where we have regular monthly sales that continue to grow.

  Ephron Son of Zohar Ephron the Hittite Book One

  Meet the man who met Abraham. Ephron's father Zohar chooses him to lead their family. He not only has vital skills to ensure the security and growth of their tribe but he is still unmarried. Zohar plans to unite the Hittite tribes using Ephron and his sister as peace children in arranged marriages.

  Marauding enemies and rising waters threaten the homelands of fellow Hittites but no one wants to sacrifice autonomy just for safety, food, clothing, and shelter. Family patriarch Heth's arrival might settle the unrest, but when he does not appear, his representatives find rising tensions and a need for desperate action to show strength, unity, and prosperity.

  Ephron can't force Shelometh, his intended bride, to marry him. Will she make his tireless work pay off, or destroy his future and her own?

  Tawananna Daughter of Zohar Ephron the Hittite Book Two Tawananna loves her people and her brother Ephron. The arranged marriage between herself and Elon seems likely to show strength and unite the clans. It might even tame Shelometh’s rebellious heart.

  Tawannana is a slayer of dragons and the best archer in the village. But her greatest challenge comes when she has to sit and do nothing while her people face the army of Sargon.

  Tawannana receives a visit from her grandmother, known to some as Heth’s whore and to others as Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Battle. Premarital counseling from a 300-year-old concubine might make the difference between victory and defeat in the quest to forge the Hittite Empire.

  Sample our longer works with free excerpts of full-length titles. All our publications are linked on our blog.

  Elk Jerky for the Soul includes posts on current issues, excerpts from our fiction and nonfiction works, Bible teaching, travel and everyday observations, and more. https://elkjerkyforthesoul.wordpress.com/

  Visit our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ffvp5657. Watch Jonah and Ruth as well as “Sojourner,” part of the Space Empire Saga, in full 3D animation, book teasers, and upcoming projects related to biblical study and the Conflict of the Ages.

  Science, History, Literature, and biblical worldview studies are the focus of our book and video projects.