Back Cover Copy

I would welcome feedback on my back cover copy for my latest book,

Maximus: The Way of Truth

YA Historical Fiction

Rome, 67 A.D.

Maximus was once a soldier, trained to kill, trained to survive. That was before the fire, before Emperor Nero’s merciless purge of The Way, before Maximus became one of them. Now he walks the perilous streets of Rome to bring his sister the truth worth living. Senator Publius Gallus has marked him for death, and enemies hunt him like wolves.

But when a life-saving act earns him favor with a praetorian commander, Maximus has a chance to escape the labyrinth of Rome. The man hands him a token, a ring, a promise of anything he needs. But his favor hangs by a thread and comes with a hidden cost.

Everything changes when someone Maximus thought dead returns to the living, shattering his understanding of that terrible night. Who else might have survived? His best friend, the one Maximus betrayed to the Romans? Consumed by guilt, Maximus uses his precious favor to beg the praetorian's help in finding him.

But the search illuminates the wrong secrets. The commander's question comes like a blade in the dark: "Are you a Christian?" Say yes, and Maximus dies a martyr. Say no, and he lives with the weight of betraying his Lord. Maximus must choose between the ring of lies and the way of truth.