The Penitent: Part III continues to follow Pall Warren on his quest where he must fight off malign forces to maintain humanity. Were you able to bring the trilogy to a close or do you feel you have more stories to tell in this world?

Yes, I believe that I was able to bring the trilogy to a close. However, like a Matryoshka or Russian doll [a doll within a doll within a doll], the story continues. I hope to create a trilogy of trilogies for The Immortality Wars series. Each trilogy represents a specific reality. The first trilogy, the Penitent, has a medieval setting. The characters, and reader, despite hints given throughout this trilogy to the contrary, believe they are in a time period similar to the Middle Ages.

The second trilogy, the Pilgrim, is currently being written. It occurs in another time period, which is actually the “present” within the time frame of the series. The manuscript was started in early July of 2021. I am excited about the story line and how it is unfolding. Pall has a long journey ahead of him…

What were the morals you were trying to capture while creating your characters?

I created this story as a thought experiment. I wondered what humanity would be like 500 years from now. We have the capacity to do incredible deeds for evil and for good. War and peace tug unceasingly at one another. Add in the trajectory of our scientific development and our insatiable desire to acquire power, I wanted to explore where this thirst for control would lead us. What will happen to faith? Will democracy still be a vital source for liberty and freedom? What will we be able to do? Will Earth be left behind in poor condition as the galaxy is explored? What happens between humans and AI?

Also, I thought it would be interesting if I could combine the voices of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Lew Wallace, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Lee Child together and see if I could create a unique, epic story with a 21st-century sensibility.

Can faith, reason, and, above all, love survive against a sustained onslaught of evil?

What was your favorite character to write for and why?

That is a tough question for me to answer because I so much enjoyed writing about many of the characters, protagonists and antagonists, alike. Pall Warren, John Savage, Matthew Greatworth, and Evangel (protagonists) are variations on a theme of human goodness, strength, fragility, faith, and loss in the face of suffering. Kosem Mungadai, Ünger, and Commander Gregor Mordant (antagonists) represent our desire for power, as well as our ability to exploit our circumstances and those around us as tools for satisfying our desire for control. Writing about these characters was a blast because they helped fulfill the story’s search for truth.

With this trilogy over, what is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

I am hoping to complete the first rough draft of book four by next May or June (2022). Perhaps it will be ready for release later on in the fall of that year. I will continue writing books five and six as well.

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