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When school teacher Kira embarks on a light-hearted quest for the Holy Grail, she never imagines it will change her life.
In the year 79 A.D., Mt. Vesuvius buried Pompeii and two other cities in a sea of lava, but the story that lures Kira Ellison to southern Italy is one of blinding lights and miracles following in the wake of St. Paul as he traveled through that region prior to the volcano's eruption. For a woman who wants one last chance to chase after a phantom before she settles into a life that seems expected of her, it is the perfect diversion.
Prior to her arrival, a dream haunts Kira's sleep. The premonition forewarns her of the dangers that lay in wait, but it doesn't prepare her for Dominic Fioretti. When she comes face to face with the "man of her dreams," the dangers become all too real, both physically and emotionally. Will she find the legendary grail? Or will she go back home to lead the life that seems destined for her?
The question I'm asked most often is "What is the Holy Grail?" Well some people say it is the most sought after archeological artifact. Others will tell you that it is a lost book of the Bible. Many different scholars have their own viewpoints on the matter but for me, it is a romantic invention, taking its basis from the tales of Camelot and King Arthur with his Knights of the Round Table. Does it actually exist? Well the debate for that goes back to the original question - what is it?
THE TREASURE OF ST. PAUL portrays my own imagined resting place of the cup used at the Last Supper, that elusive artifact long since lost or forgotten, and the woman destined to uncover it. What possessed me to write this story? Well I was resting after oral surgery one day, watching a special on the volcano that buried Pompeii and somewhere in the back of my mind the year 79 A.D. didn't seem that far removed from the Last Supper and the grail (okay, I was watching Indiana Jones just before the special came on). Another interesting fact that piqued my interest was that St. Paul had been to southern Italy. My imagination started binging around in all different directions, pulling trivia from different parts of my brain. Most stories about the grail endow it with special, magical powers and the first bing was that Paul was blinded by a bright light, then healed three days later. Magical? This man did a complete turnaround from who he was to what he was to become all based on that moment. Was he presented with the grail? Was the power more than an evil man (using that term loosely for dramatic effect here) could bear, causing the blindness? Then the healing process three days later at the hands of a "righteous man" showed him the power of good over evil channeled through the grail. Ok, ok, it was a little extreme to empower a cup with all of that, but for someone with my imagination, it gave a good reason for the grail to show up in Italy, assuming Paul then carried it along on his journeys. Hey, what is imagination for?
Paul performed miracles along his tour of Italy and surrounding islands and then he was imprisoned in Rome. Did he leave his "miracle maker" behind to protect it from the Roman Empire? Was it further protected by the eruption of the volcano, buried from the evils of the world? History documents Hitler and Mussolini chasing religious relics buried under the lava that consumed three cities. It also documents another eruption that forestalled their efforts. Coincidence? Magic? A Miracle? The more research I did, the more fascinated I became with the subject.
So why send a woman to unearth what no one else could over two thousand years? Well that's just kinda the way the story came out. I could see the excavation, I could see the brothers and I could see our heroine walking blindly into her destiny. Add in a Knight Templar, the Irish Republican Army, a greedy illegitimate son and my story was born.
I hope you enjoy the story! Thank's for stopping by.
