The Belial Stone (The Belial Series #1)(93)

She knew Henry was a good man. She had no doubt about that. He had put everything on the line to save all of them. The image of Henry reaching down to pull her uncle out of that crevice would stay forever branded in her mind. And Henry had taken it upon himself to make sure that all of those harmed by Kensington’s agenda were taken care of.

She also knew that there a side to the man he’d kept hidden from the world. Henry’s knowledge of ancient civilizations and religious matters went beyond simple academic interests.

And his physical abilities were astounding. In the hospital, she’d researched gigantism to see if the incredible strength she’d observed was part of the condition. But, if anything, people who suffered from the condition were weakened by the syndrome, despite what their large size suggested. So what accounted for Henry’s abilities?

And then there was his mother, Victoria. What had Gideon meant when he said he knew his mother? And for a long time? For Gideon, a long time would be centuries. Was she like him, a fallen angel? Or was Gideon just taunting Henry?

She sighed.

“What was that for?” Jake asked as he set a tray on the coffee table in front of her.

“Just trying to figure out some of the mysteries we don’t have answers to yet.”

Jake sat next to her and tipped her chin up, kissing her lightly on the lips. “Which mystery in particular?”

“Henry.”

“Ah.”

“It doesn’t bother you, not knowing?”

“Laney, I know everything I need to know about Henry. He’s a good man. In fact, he’s one of the best men I know. He’d put his life on the line for mine without hesitation and I’d do the same for him. That’s all I need to know.”

“And his abilities?”

“When he’s ready to say something, I’ll be ready to listen. Until then, it’s his truth to tell.”

She nodded. “I know. I’ve just never been very good at leaving mysteries unsolved.”

He shifted closer to her on the couch. “Well, if you need something to distract you, I have some ideas.”

Laney slid her hands up his chest and around his neck. “I don’t know. They'd have to be some really, really great ideas.”

Jake leaned over her. “I do love a challenge.”





AUTHOR’S NOTE



Thank you for taking the time to read The Belial Stone. I hope you enjoyed it. I really enjoyed creating the characters and knitting together facts and possibilities from history, religion, and archaeology. And writing action scenes using all that Kung Fu knowledge I’ve been building up for years was an absolute blast!

The Belial Stone was about three years in the making. Actually, it was longer than that. It was three years of physical writing, but I had been thinking about the story a few years before that. I knew it would involve Atlantis, and alternative archaeology. But I couldn’t quite figure out how to put it all together. Then I saw a documentary one Saturday on Edgar Cayce. And the light bulb went off.

While I was writing, I realized other people’s impressions were critical in improving my writing, both for figuring out what’s working and what’s not. My critique group has been an incredible resource in pointing out what I couldn’t see.

And now that The Belial Stone is out there, I have another incredible resource: readers. When I first published The Belial Stone, I sent it to a copy editor prior to release. But thanks to reviews that pointed out numerous errors, I realized I needed to get it copy edited again. I am very thankful to those reviewers who took the time to contact me about the errors. Most of them were very kind in the way they phrased their feedback. ?

As a new writer, reviews are a critical part of the learning process as well as a great way to get feedback from readers about what they liked. In fact, it was feedback from readers that encouraged me to make the next book, The Belial Library, focus on Henry’s identity. I had planned on revealing his backstory a little later in the series, but changed my mind after quite a few people expressed an interest in learning more about him.

Reviews are also critical in helping a writer get discovered on Amazon. The more reviews, the higher your profile. And hopefully, more people will discover, read, and enjoy this book.

So if you have the time, I would really appreciate if you could write a review for The Belial Stone, good, bad, or somewhere in between. I read all reviews and hopefully, your review will help others decide if The Belial Series is right for them. If you'd like to write a review you can go to The Belial Stone page on Amazon or use this link here:

Click here to leave a review

If you have any questions or would like to hear about upcoming publications, please contact me at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you.



Thanks again for reading.



Until next time,

R.D.





FACT OR FICTION?



Whenever I read books with lots of facts, I like to know what was real and what was the product of the author’s imagination. The Belial Stone concept was derived from multiple sources in history, religion, and new age studies. Below I will discuss some of the research for the book.



Edgar Cayce. Edgar Cayce did indeed exist. He was a truly remarkable man. Everything reported in this about novel about him is accurate. Cayce was a psychic who diagnosed people’s illnesses while in a trancelike state, and his accuracy was incredibly high. He also did past life readings, including a small portion that involved Atlantis.