Cataclysm The Second Legend
Josias, grandson of Basilikos of the first Legend, must leave home after a cataclysmic event that has put his life - and the lives of others, in grave danger, should he stay. He takes with him his faithful servant, Haziel, his three cousins, Marzban, Arshad and Farbod - and the Ruby Heart.
In Daphne, north of Lake Huleh, just above the Sea of Galilee, he meets Jonathan (with and interesting connection) and his cousin, Eldad. They all go to Gamala where the second cataclysmic event begins to unfold, involving the capture of a leader of the Seditionists, plus two miraculous surgeries, the last of which spawns a possible romance.
Josias is introduced to Pliny the Elder, an author of many books of immense historical value. Pliny hires him as his personal physician. Pliny is the commander of the Roman fleet classis Misenatium based at Misenum on the west coast of Italia, at the base of Mount Somma - Vesuvius.
Josias arrives in Misenum in early summer,79 A.D.
Historical Note:
Mount Somma-Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 A.D.
The Ruby Heart:
The gemstone of the Legends is a ruby the size of a child's first. Its shape is similar to a human heart - hence the name. The Ruby Heart itself has no special powers. This is not sorcery, but somehow it connects with special God-given gifts in certain people who posses it for a time, as long as they use their gifts for good. This ability of the Ruby seems to be passed from generation to generation, but sometimes skips a generation.
Definition: Cataclysm -
1. An event that brings significant changes.
2. A momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition.
- Miriam Webster
About the Author :
My parents, E. Alan and Phyllis Webb, were British missionaries to the Sudan, Ethiopia and the surrounding areas. In 1963, due to civil war in the Sudan, they immigrated to the United States, two months before President Kennedy was Assassinated. I was thirteen that year. My schooling began in the southern regions of the Sudan where Mum home schooled us - me for my first three years. After we moved to Khartoum, the capital, we were shipped off to an American Boarding schools in other countries. Although writing was not my first love, I learned early how to tell a good story - in any medium - the written word or in images. I had always loved to color and paint as a child, often creating pictures to illustrate Mum and Dad's stories, so my parents allowed me to begin a more formal form of art instruction in 9th grade, and I continued through high school. I attended Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, where I met my future husband. With the draft dogging him, he chose to enlist in the Air Force. His first assignment was to a base in England. We married in 1969 and I followed to England. In the seven years we were together, he was stationed at seven different Air Bases, including Viet Nam, South Korea, Texas, Arizona and back to England. I managed to continue with my training, picking up a year of Commercial Art while he was in East Asia. My studies included Black & White Photography, Print Development, Graphic illustration, Layout & Design & 4-Color Printmaking. While in England, I visited art museums and studied the works of some of the great masters. After our break-up I continued my studies in California. I got a real break when Pacific Bell hired me as Civil Drafting. After returning to the Midwest in 2005, I completed my Associate of Science in IT/Web Design, and still maintain websites for myself and art groups to which I belong. My international experience continued in Australia in the mid 1990's when I worked with Professor Nell Arnold who hired me as her photographer in a special project in Queensland, using my artwork in many projects, books, festivals and so on. I was accepted by the artists of Out of Australia as their first International member in 2011. The same year, the National Council of Women of Queensland, Australia selected my image "New Beginnings" to be their logo for that year's convention. And in June of 2016, "Bathing Beauties", an oil painting of Australian Pale Headed Rosellas and Rainbow Lorikeets, was purchased and shipped to Germany, making Europe the third continent on which my artwork is displayed. My writing experience includes the curricula for my own classes in multiple art forms; Standard Operating Procedures for small businesses; technical papers; catalogs and websites; newsletters; articles; short stories; poetry; a musical, and now my second novel, CATACLYSM - The Second Lost Legend of the Ruby Heart which follows the first legend: RUBY HEART: The Legend Begins.
