My Next Novel, The Foreigner

The name of the novel I’m writing now will likely change.

This story chronicles the life of the intense and troubled Foreigner, the scourge of Anat and David who appears in The Flower of Canaan.

This story explores how people born innocent and good become evil and find a god to validate their insanity. The novel follows young Gershom’s relationship with his father, Nabu, a power-obsessed general under King Marduk. Gershom is groomed to be obsessed with power like his father and to think of himself as someone destined for greatness. We see him supplant his father as the supreme force under King Marduk. We follow his escape into the north country when he fails to prevent the city from falling to an invader. There he meets a tribal leader, Niqmepa, who introduces Gershom to a new religion of righteous power in the name of Elohim, the one god above all other gods. He leaves Niqmepa to cross westward across the Arabian desert. By night, in prayers and dreams, a consuming megalomania is formed as he becomes “the Foreigner,” chosen by Elohim as his prophet to convert all the cities of Canaan. When he enters Canaan, his work begins, until ….