On the Zeitgeist and Islam – I’ll argue to take it back further

I’ve just listened to the most recent Author Update podcast and want to extend Thomas’s challenge re: writing historical fiction that addresses the history of Islam. I am a few weeks from publishing Farewell, O Syria which takes place in the Near East (Syria and Persia) just as the Muslim forces are beginning their conquest. (AD 634-636). Since this is my passion topic, I would argue that to understand the Crusades, you might consider looking all the way back to the beginning.

I am not trying to sell you my book here. I am days from having the epub formatting completed (thank you, 100Covers) and would be happy to send out some epubs to any of you here who are at least curious about the context. No strings attached. I hope I’ve written a compelling story, but also pray that it pushes more people to learn about these foundational events. I know of zero other novels in English set from this (Christian) POV. (I know of several set from the Islamic side). I’m OK with being super niche 🙃, I just want people to know.

Here’s the blurb:

“In AD 635, as Khalid ibn al-Walid’s Saracens besiege Damascus, the ancient city is consumed by internal strife.

Alexander’s heroes crumble. He longs to join the Roman army, but that legendary force is soon in retreat, leaving the Syrians to the rule of barbarians.

Allegiances shift. Options recede. Alex and his best friend must reconstruct their loyalties and ambitions as the Caliphate rises from the Arabian sands, threatening the ancient Roman and Persian kingdoms.

When his sister is wrenched from her home, Alex will defy his bishop and three armies to find her. But in a world where empires die and prophets lament, will he also dare to defy God?

Farewell, O Syria plunges the reader into the consequences of the Byzantine-Persian wars and the explosive rise of the Saracens. This epic drama unfolds at the hinge point of history—a period largely neglected by the Western canon, yet one whose seismic conflicts still shape the modern world. This is an unflinching story of faith and survival in a time when the world faced the onslaught of a new era.”

DM me if you’re interested in an epub.