Finally! An Update!
INVESTIGATORS GUIDE TO THE BIBLE
Hey, Subscribers!
It’s been a bit since you’ve heard from me, so I wanted to catch you up on the latest.
First, though, thanks for all your support over this last year, while I wrote what I hoped would be my first book. The short story is that, if you read my posts or listened to the podcast, you already have the first draft of the book.
I posted the final chapter the night before my wife and I got on a plane for a two week pilgrimage to France which, very possibly, could figure significantly in my next book. A few days after getting back from Europe and because I am really old, I got a double knee replacement. What can I say? The doctor had a BOGO. My plan had been to edit all of the episodes and mold it into a book, while I recovered from surgery. This should tell you how absolutely little I know about recovering from major surgery. It was weeks before I could sit down for any length of time to edit.
As October rolled into November, I was able to focus a bit and (very) slowly work the episodes into shape. I was making progress, though it was not great progress. And, it is here that I have to take a detour. If you’ve read my stuff, this should be normal to you.
Sometime after I returned to faith, our family moved to our current church. We had an older deacon in the parish who was, quite literally, the nicest man I ever met. We became friends and I absolutely adore his wife. I just saw them a couple days ago and they are still the cutest couple you’ve ever seen. When Deacon Jack learned that I wanted to write a book about Joseph’s Ordeal, he became my biggest fan. Every time I saw him, he wanted a progress report. What I thought was going to be a one-year writing process became two, then two became three and then four. Even after he retired, Deacon Jack never lost interest and never stopped supporting me. He always said that, when the book came out, he wanted a copy. When I finally started writing productively, that would be the part you read, I tried to interest Deacon Jack in the online posts or the podcast. Old school guy that he is, Jack wanted a book he could hold. I understand his preference, so I wanted to hand that book to him.
But progress was slow, so God stepped in. I know that my work is, largely, investigative and analytic but you should understand that I am really into the God side of it, too. Anyway, I started thinking the editing would take until early next year to finish. I do not know how to explain this part rationally, but God gave me a message. There were no trumpets; no flashing lights; just a thought that became clear: “Jack isn’t going to live forever, you know. Try to finish the book by Christmas.” I will tell you that I fervently hope this was just God’s way of jumpstarting my effort and that Deacon Jack will be with us for another thirty years but, when God tells you to get a move on, you should take Him seriously.
I am writing this on December 10th, 2025. I heard you, God! Yesterday, I finished a couple of short annexes and closed out the editing. I filed my copyright application and started thinking about how to publish the book.
My wife asked if I considered a Catholic publishing company. I told her that, while I am Catholic, my book was an investigative work and probably would not fit in with the kinds of titles most of them would publish. Besides, my snark and weird sense of humor is more of an acquired taste. You might remember that my chapter on the Annunciation, a pretty holy event, was titles “Shazam, It’s Go Time!” While I tried very hard not to be offensive, you would probably agree that this is not exactly standard Catholic fare.
Besides, God gave me a timeline which did not allow for years of dickering with publishing companies. Amazon, however, has an online publishing tool that was cumbersome to use but was not too difficult to figure out.
And this, finally, leads to why I am writing to you. “ORDEAL: The Trial of Joseph of Nazareth” should be available on Amazon by the weekend. The first edition will be a hardcover, clocking in at a whopping 440 pages, but I priced it as cheaply as I could, at $20 per copy. For any budding or prospective authors, this is the price you charge when you are more interested in getting your book into people’s hands than you are about making money. My profit for each book is a staggering $1.07 per book. (If a million of you buy the book, I might be doing pretty well. For the six books I expect to sell, I can get a cup of coffee.)
I will release paperback and e-book versions, where I will try to get the price much lower. If whatever price I set is too high or is a barrier to reading the book, reach out and we’ll find a way.
Honestly, I’ve known Joseph was innocent for many years. I just want the story to get out there.
Again, thanks for your support and, till the next case, I’ll be looking for you!
Tony