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So Many Complicated Emotions
Architect follows the Keane family and Akolo across haunted houses, ancient worlds, faith, grief, and time itself in a supernatural fantasy about legacy, healing, and the true meaning of home. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for Architect came from our own personal experiences of loss, grief and a bit of the supernatural. Starting in 2020 through 2023 we experienced an overwhelming amount of grief as we both lost our moms, over 12 people during Covid (which was already such hard times to live through), a nephew to a random gunshot from a neighboring apartment, and then we lost our home to a flood making it uninhabitable. We had to tear it down. We lost everything. Waking up daily to only face our grief was insurmountable at times. We tried a brain treatment called Cereset to help calm our brains from fight or flight mode, depression, and anxiety. During the sessions a story developed, and we sat down and voice memo’d our conversation back and forth for 3 1/2 hours. That ultimately became the entire story of our trilogy The Goodpasture Chronicles with Architect being the third and final book.
Akolo’s long journey gives immortality a heavy emotional cost. How did you approach writing a character who carries love, grief, and purpose across so much time?
Even though Akolo has immortality, we wanted him stay human. Humans are the only creation that can carry so many complicated emotions. It was important for us to make Akolo relatable even though he was immortal. Everyone experiences love, grief, and consequences, all while searching for purpose. Akolo is no different than us.
Faith and restoration are important themes in the book. What did you most want readers to take away from the spiritual elements of the story?
Earlier in Akolo’s life, he makes a choice that alters his future. It’s a choice with good intentions, but it affects his future generations negatively. We gave him the storyline of immortality to also give him a chance at redemption, and sometimes redemption comes at a great cost. The weight of his story is heavy at times, but ultimately it’s a story of forgiveness, healing, and restoration. We want readers to walk away with hope that they, too, can receive healing, redemption, and restoration, regardless of the choices they’ve made in their lives.
As the third book in The Goodpasture Chronicles. What was the most challenging part of bringing these characters and mysteries to this stage of the series?
The most challenging part of closing the series was making sure that each character had their moment of resolution. The lives of the five main characters intertwine and affect one another. As a result, it was a bit of a puzzle to resolve each mini-storyline within the larger plot. But that’s also true of real life. Our lives intersect and intertwine with those of so many other people. We should be mindful of both our own storylines and those of others, as well as the lasting impact we have on humanity.
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In the final installment of the Goodpasture Chronicles, R.J. Halbert’s Architect explores legacy, consequence, and the courage required to confront the designs that shape us. Enthusiasts of award winning Caretaker and Servant will discover even more emotional depth. spiritual tension. and a sweeping historical scope delivering a powerful and deeply personal finale.
The morning after Zach’s astonishing return, the Keane family grapples with how to process the supernatural events of the previous days. Time feels fractured. Memories don’t align. The house that once concealed its secrets now seems to pulse with a restless purpose. Still wary of the forces that have already torn her family apart, Ariel must find an inner strength to confront truths long hidden in the fog. Beyond their world, Akolo’s ancient story moves toward its own turning point-one shaped by devotion, loss, and a power that has never truly been laid to rest. As past and present begin to converge, the Keanes realize their lives are not simply being influenced by history … they are entangled within it. And Marshall-the quiet figure, always standing at the edge of their understandings-may hold the key to a design far older, and far more personal, than any of them ever imagined.
As truths rise and long-buried consequences demand resolution, the Keanes must play their part in a design stretched across history.
Architect: The Goodpasture Chronicles (Book 3)
Architect by R.J. Halbert is a supernatural fantasy novel with strong threads of mystery, family drama, faith, and time travel. As the third book in The Goodpasture Chronicles, it follows the Keane family after Zach returns from an ancient world, while Akolo’s story continues across years, grief, love, and strange divine purpose. The book moves between the haunted pull of the Goodpasture house and a much older world of temples, artifacts, kings, and impossible choices. At its heart, though, this is a story about home. Not just the house you live in, but the people, memories, wounds, and hopes that make a place matter.
I enjoyed the way Halbert lets the supernatural sit right beside the ordinary. One moment, I was reading about portals, ancient power, storms, and voices in the wind. The next, I was with a family trying to eat breakfast, survive school, clean up a chicken coop, or figure out how to talk to a teenager who feels deeply hurt. That balance gives the book its warmth. The fantasy elements are big, but the emotions are close to the ground. I also liked how the writing gives different characters room to be confused. Nobody has all the answers, and that feels honest. Zach is trying to piece together memories. Ariel is angry and scared. Lyana and Ian are doing their best while clearly not knowing what “best” even means anymore. That uncertainty makes the story feel lived-in instead of staged.
I was also struck by the author’s choice to build the book around legacy. Akolo’s long journey could have been only a fantasy device, but it becomes something sadder and richer. Immortality is not treated like a prize. It’s heavy. It costs him. It stretches love and loss over time until both become almost unbearable. That gave the book more weight than I expected. The faith language is direct, but the sincerity worked for me more often than not. The book is not trying to be detached or ironic. It believes in healing, restoration, and purpose, and it says so plainly. There is something refreshing about that.
I would recommend Architect most to readers who enjoy faith-centered supernatural fantasy, especially stories where mystery and suspense are tied to family history and emotional healing. It will probably land best for those who have read the earlier books, since this feels like a closing movement in a larger piece of music. Readers who like time travel, ancient history, haunted houses, hidden identities, and redemptive endings will find a lot to enjoy here. I came away feeling that the book is less about solving every strange event than about learning to trust that broken stories can still be gathered into something whole.
Pages: 258 | ASIN: B0GXNW6X9V
Servant
Servant is a supernatural fantasy novel that blends family drama, ancient mystery, and time-crossed storytelling. The book follows two threads that eventually begin to echo one another: Zach, a middle-school kid from the Keane family who vanishes from his house under eerie circumstances, and Akolo, a boy living centuries earlier whose life is marked by war, trauma, and the demands of kings. As Zach’s family searches for him in the present day, he finds himself wandering through stone hallways, oil-lit corridors, and a world that feels pulled straight from his dad’s archaeology stories. Meanwhile, Akolo faces his own captivity in a foreign palace controlled by a ruler who insists he will “need” him. Both boys are caught in places where power, fear, and destiny collide. By the time the book reaches its epilogue, the story has cracked wide open into something larger, hinting at deep magic, interwoven timelines, and a house that is far more alive than anyone wants to admit.
I found myself pulled in by the writing style. It’s simple on the surface but has this steady emotional current running underneath. The authors don’t rush. They let each moment breathe. Even the small scenes, a father making coffee, a daughter complaining about pizza for breakfast, or the house creaking in the early morning, carry a sense of “something is happening here,” even if you can’t name it yet. I liked that. It made me feel like I was sitting inside the Keanes’ home, overhearing bits of life while the bigger mystery brewed just out of sight. And then we cut to Akolo’s story, which feels raw and grounded and ancient. Those chapters landed hardest for me. His fear. His confusion. The way he clutches the jeweled stone in his pocket just to feel connected to something familiar.
I also appreciated the author’s choices around pacing and perspective. Switching between timelines can easily feel gimmicky, but here it feels purposeful. Zach’s modern confusion mirrors Akolo’s ancient disorientation, and that parallel makes the supernatural elements feel earned. I liked how the book doesn’t give its secrets away too quickly. We get hints, symbols carved into doors, fog in places fog shouldn’t be, Marshall knowing more than he says, but the authors trust the reader to sit in the unknown for a while. That kind of patience is rare, and honestly, refreshing. The emotional beats hit hardest because they’re framed by that tension: the Keane parents’ terror when Zach goes missing, Ariel’s mix of resentment and fear, Akolo’s grief for his family, Marshall’s haunted loyalty to forces he doesn’t entirely understand. All of it builds toward that late-book shake of the earth, where the house itself moves as though waking up.
Servant doesn’t wrap everything up, but it feels like a middle chapter that knows exactly what it is. I’d recommend this book to readers who love supernatural fantasy with a human heart, people who enjoy stories about families surviving strange things, or anyone who likes time-slip mysteries tied to ancient cultures. If you want something atmospheric, character-driven, and a little eerie without tipping into horror, this one will hit the spot.
Pages: 262 | ASIN : B0FQ5ZGH1R
Caretaker (The Goodpasture Chronicles)
Caretaker, the first installment in The Goodpasture Chronicles by R.J. Halbert, is an intriguing blend of historical mystery, family drama, and supernatural elements. The story follows Ian and Lyana Keane, a couple who move with their children to a mysterious old house in a small town, hoping for a fresh start after a series of personal losses. As they settle into their new home, they begin to uncover the secrets of the house and its connection to the enigmatic Goodpasture family, leading them on a journey that intertwines the past with their present.
What immediately stands out in Caretaker is Halbert’s ability to create a sense of place. The descriptions of the Goodpasture house and the small town of Littleton are vivid, almost cinematic, making it easy to imagine the sprawling gardens, the eerie, fog-laden driveway, and the antique-filled rooms of the old mansion. The house itself is practically a character in the story, with its creaking floors, hidden rooms, and a mysterious caretaker who seems to know more than he lets on. Halbert does an excellent job of building an atmosphere that is both inviting and unsettling, pulling the reader deeper into the mystery. The character development in the book is another strong point. Lyana, in particular, is a well-drawn character whose struggles with her past and hopes for her family’s future make her relatable and compelling. Her journey from skepticism to belief, as she encounters the house’s strange phenomena, is handled with subtlety and care. The dynamic between the Keane family members, especially between Lyana and her children, adds depth to the story and grounds the supernatural elements in a very human experience. The flashbacks to Lyana’s childhood, although sometimes jarring, effectively build her backstory and explain her motivations. The story thoughtfully takes its time in the beginning, richly establishing the setting and characters, which allows readers to fully immerse themselves in the world before diving into the central mystery. As the plot progresses, the pace accelerates, drawing you deeper into the unfolding events. The buildup of tension is masterfully handled, leading to satisfying revelations that keep readers engaged while also leaving just enough unanswered questions to create anticipation for future installments.
Caretaker is a captivating read that blends elements of mystery, history, and the supernatural into a story about family, loss, and the search for new beginnings. R.J. Halbert’s skillful storytelling and rich descriptions make it an enjoyable journey, particularly for readers who appreciate a slow-burn mystery with emotional depth. I would recommend this book to fans of gothic fiction, haunted house stories, and those who enjoy a well-crafted family drama with a touch of the supernatural.
Pages: 232 | ASIN : B0D15KJXBR
