Gloria is a beautiful romance and adventure novel that contrasts a broken world with customs completely different from ours today. It is a unique love story set in both 2026 and over 200 years in a broken, devastated future. A sister-and-brother team of scientists inherited an instrument capable of viewing the past. Together, they had worked on it for years until by 2026 AD, they could see an image of the future as well. What they observed so startled them that they allowed the U.S. Government to access it. Without help, the leader of the righteous, Manhig, is about to fall to the wicked, leaving no balance between good and evil. Wickedness is poised to completely control the future.

The United States Army sends its best-qualified commando, Captain Augustine ‘Gus’ Tadlock, over two hundred years into that ravaged future. His mission is to find the Manhig and evaluate him to determine whether he is a good leader, as they believe. If he is, then Augustine can begin helping him with the full support of the U.S. military of 2026 AD. The problem is that Augustine is placed nowhere near the Manhig. Instead, he finds himself close to a wicked location. While gathering information about Manhig’s whereabouts, Augustine’s first glimpse of the future is of a brutal place. The wicked lead unbridled, licentious lifestyles. Among other unholy things, human slavery exists—people are bought and sold like animals. While in that wicked place, Augustine eventually discovers the location of Manhig’s encampment. However, at the same time, the good-hearted Augustine comes upon and frees a teenage slave girl, Gloria. Not knowing what to do with her, he takes her back to his campsite. There, he attempts to heal her repressed trauma of slavery before they can set out to find Manhig. Then their adventure begins. There are touching depictions of Gloria and Augustine bonding after they meet. Then many stirring, warming moments as Augustine and Manhig forge a lifelong friendship. Steamy romances unfold, some ending in heartbreak. Suspenseful battle scenes add action. A bit of humor also appears in the least expected places. A reader might find himself or herself keyed up one moment, then crying the next, in this outstanding read. Overall, reading Gloria’s story of growing from a teenager to a woman while struggling to become a doctor is an amazing story.

A little more than halfway through the book, a totally unexpected and shocking event occurs, sending the storyline spinning in a completely different direction until the smoke settles. The novel Gloria offers well-developed characters with twists and turns abound. It has an exquisitely creative and beguiling literary plot for mature readers.

Writing the novel Gloria has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had as an author. Bringing these passionate characters to life was challenging enough, but creating the storyline’s sentimentality drew on my own emotions as much as it will on the reader’s.