Premonition

Eleanor looked around nervously. Acrid air burned her lungs and stung her eyes. She was surrounded by the smoking, hellish landscape that frequented all of her nightmares. She’d been having dreams about the end of the world since childhood, and as terrifying as they were she prayed to God that they could finally come true so that the torment would stop. The backdrop was set, but as she waited for the horror to begin something caught her eye.

Even though it was the middle of the day she could see a star in the sky above. Eleanor watched as it grew bigger and brighter. She watched as it grew into the moon, then it grew into a mountain floating in the sky, and then it became a city. A city so wonderful that none could resist it, but it also brought something terrible. The city was so big that the earth couldn’t contain it. The ground trembled and quaked until it felt like nothing could possibly stand up against the violence. It would be safe in the city, but first she had to reach it.

Eleanor tried to run but there was something holding her back. She could feel a hand keeping her in the crumbling world, keeping her from the safety of the city walls. When she looked back there was nobody there, just the shattered world that was getting worse by the second. The ground was breaking apart and falling away into fiery chasms that threatened to swallow her. She strained against the force that was holding her and fought it with all her might. Inch by inch she crawled towards her salvation, clawing her way across the burning earth, finally reaching the city gates only to find them locked. She couldn’t pay the price to get in. Eleanor pounded and hollered for the gate to be opened as the crumbling world was catching up to her, devouring everything into a burning tempest. At the last second the gates swung free and she dashed inside to safety, but it was too late. When her feet passed over the threshold she plunged into the flames below as a voice laughed. An unfamiliar voice that she knew all too well.

About the Main Characters

Eva and Elle are two friends who feel like they’ve been put through the wringer of life. While they’re both successful in their own field of study, neither of them can seem to keep a relationship together. With their self-esteem at an all-time low the ladies book a cruise to see the Holy sites of the Mediterranean in an attempt to reconnect with God and their own spirituality. Little did they, or anyone else, know that this trip was going to be the beginning of the end of the world. It seems that even the Aiōn, the mysterious angels of Heaven, weren’t expecting it to happen.

It takes a lot to get an angel’s attention, so when a small brotherhood of Aiōn are caught off guard they take it seriously. Some want to deal with the matter directly while others insist that they wait for instructions from a higher authority. The only thing they can all agree on is that this apparent Armageddon is out of place even though the balance of the universe seems to be in check. While the all-knowing Aiōn don’t care much for mysteries, some are more patient than others when it comes to getting the answers they seek.

What makes this book different from others?

A mystical combination of action and drama, with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure, Second Prophecy is a page-turner that will captivate you in a present-day world that slowly grinds to a halt while it’s transformed into the apocalyptic world as described in the Bible. Even though Second Prophecy is based on scripture, I’ve avoided making it a preachy story that tells people how to live their lives. The characters are flawed and struggle like the rest of us would as they try to make sense of what is happening around them.

Apocalyptic fantasy has become a popular topic for novels these days, but unfortunately most of these books have little to do with the biblical apocalypse from where this idea originated. I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that most apocalyptic writers borrow from the Bible to set their theme, but it does disappoint me that they can’t be bothered to research the parts that they take. I think this happens because most people have trouble understanding biblical scripture. As a result, writers often misinterpret their source and use it incorrectly or incompletely, but their audience is equally uninformed so they don’t notice the inconsistencies. Loading up their stories with undead, super plagues or gun-wielding angels is an easy way out for the writer, and some readers would probably think those are neat ideas, but I don’t feel that’s the best way to handle such situations. It’s definitely more work to write in the proper elements, and explaining why they are relevant, but in the end it would be a much better story while also being accurate. This is how I prefer to write.

While there are definitely a lot of fantasy elements in Second Prophecy, most of them are inspired by the Bible itself. If you don’t know much about apocalyptic prophecy then you’ll probably learn something by reading my book and enjoy yourself while doing it. If you are familiar with the Bible then you won’t be constantly saying, “Hey! That’s not how it’s supposed to happen!” In fact, the more you know about the Bible, the more you might say “Hmmm… that could actually happen. I hadn’t thought of it that way.” The ultimate goal for Second Prophecy is to deliver a well-researched, well written and thought-provoking story, otherwise it would be a terrible waste of fifteen years of research. You will enjoy the characters, even if you don’t like them all, and you will definitely come away from it with the realization that the Bible isn’t as boring as you’ve been made to think. I feel I also need to say that there are no zombies, vampires or werewolves in this apocalypse – it is much too interesting for that.