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The best piece of advice I could give a new author is to trust your vision.

What often happens is that when we conceive of an idea, we’re excited, and so we want to share it. We want to tell our family and friends. So we gather everyone up and we gush, we talk about this wonderful, brand-new idea we’ve thought of, and that we want to share with the world.

When we do that, I feel, what happens is that, because everyone has an opinion, people will try to change your vision.

They’ll say, “oh, you need to do this!” and “oh, you need to change that!” or “that doesn’t work; what about this?” It’ll be anything, from the title, to a character’s name, or motivation — people will find anything that they want to alter.

Soon enough, at least in my experience, because of the pressure, or deflation we feel when someone doesn’t like our idea, our idea can then change or shift, and I feel at that point, you’ve lost something. There’s something very special, very powerful about that initial fire we pull from our soul; that initial vision of the story we see in the mind’s eye. And that is the vision I would recommend authors try to preserve.

Write. Write as much as you can, as far as you can, ideally through your first draft. And then, you can go ask for help, and share your idea. By then, it’ll be done.

Obviously, there are some exceptions — if you feel you need grammar or spelling help, or if you have writer’s block, and you need a gentle shove, that’s different. But, again, I advise any aspiring authors to try their best to preserve their original vision, because it’s a beautiful thing.

Julien Allais, a French Catholic, prays for only one thing: to kneel before God in the Holy Land of Jerusalem, far from his home in Constantinople, the capital of the Christian world in AD 1096. Joining the silver-clad Crusaders arriving from the west to free the Holy Land seems like the answer to his prayers.

Young and untrained, Julien is soon captured, abandoned by the knights he had trusted. Despite what he was told, his Muslim captors are not Godless fiends. Ahtmar, a boy near his own age, is among his captors, and Ahtmar’s sister Zahra tends to Julien’s wounds. As Julien’s feelings for Zahra and respect for Ahtmar grow, he questions everything he thought he knew. The Jerusalem they describe is a bustling city ruled by the Turks for the sake of all residents, no matter their faith. It doesn’t need to be freed – it needs to be protected from the Crusaders who will destroy it in the name of their faith.

As Julien and his captors travel to Jerusalem, a forbidden love between Julien and Zahra is born. This love will change them both. Will it have the power to change a world at war?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Chapter 1 June, 1096 — Constantinople

With my hands clasped and my eyes closed, I prayed. Lord, please protect my father and I. Bless us so that we might get by – even if it’s only for a few more months. Please, lift our spirits and ease our burdens. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, pushed my knees firmly into the cold floor, and sat up straighter, as if that would somehow hasten my communication with heaven. I want to travel to Jerusalem. I want to complete my pilgrimage. Please, dear God, allow this to happen. Allow us to find our way to your holy city.

My next thoughts had been my heaviest, and I hesitated in sharing them with God, even though He already knew. Father says I should be content. He says I should simply wait until a path to Jerusalem opens. But it doesn’t feel like it’s that simple. Please, guide me, Lord… Amen.

I gazed up at the impossibly high ceiling, which was marked with delicate, colorful paintings of Jesus, and a clear window that was like a view to heaven itself. The dusk sunlight beamed down upon the hundreds of loyal church followers and cast many of us in a deep, orange light.

The church was supported by stunning pillars and walls made of stone and marble, and featured stained glass windows that depicted the miracle that was the life of Jesus. They showed him bearing the crown of thorns, suffering on the cross, healing the sick, and returning to life – they were all a reminder that our pain was nothing in the grand scheme of things. A person-sized crucifix watched over me from the far end of the room.

I concluded my prayers feeling energized but unsatisfied. I didn’t allow my impatience to get the best of me, though, especially inside this house of salvation. I darted by the Greek citizens in their brightly colored dalmatic tunics and headed outside.

The city had been truly unbelievable. A far cry from France, where things were held together mainly by wood and farmland. Here, the Greeks had a towering fortress surrounded by stone walls and towers, compact and circular. The buildings were largely tall and secure, like ever-watchful stone trees. It was packed with citizens along the bustling main street.

The Greeks visited shopping stalls and restaurants, bought new clothing and loudly made trades. Even after being there for a year, Constantinople had remained truly foreign to me. The noise of shopkeepers hailing potential customers and the nearly blindingly bright colors of clothing in yellows, blues, and purples were enough to distract me on my way home.

It was hard not to get absorbed in the beauty of the city, but truly, I had been an outsider to Byzantium, and as part of the Catholic Church, it hadn’t exactly been the warmest welcome for my father and I. Even now, I remember the hostile glares and turned up noses from the purple-wearing nobles. I remember looking down at my own unassuming, tan tunic, picking at it, feeling how ragged it was, and most of all, how inferior I’d felt.

About the AuthorBorn and raised on Long Island, Joshua has had a love for storytelling since he was young. He grew up with the larger-than-life characters and silly stories in pro wrestling and got lost in complex role-playing video games, and finally manifested his love at age 18 when he wrote his first book.

Joshua often reflects on the bigger picture in life and thinks most people are good, decent, and worthy. Love, unity, and respect are his core ideals, and they are woven into all of his writing.

He currently lives on Long Island with a loving family, which is he truly grateful for.

You can follow current projects, or catch up with him on social media; he is always open to making new friends!

Buy the book at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

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