As you may know, my new novel, The Spirit Of…, is being released on June 3, so in an attempt to build some anticipation for the book, I’ll be introducing you all to the major characters over the next three months.
First up is Matthew Stevens, archaeologist and Professor of Archaeology at Yale University. At least he was a professor before he squandered all of his grant money on a fool’s attempt to locate the city of Atlantis. And this wasn’t the first time he’d ruffled feathers in the scientific and archaeological communities. His theories and ideas have never been widely excepted. Some even went so far as to dub them blasphemous. Just reading a snippet of his graduate thesis gives you some insight into why:
To know a Pharaoh was to know a witch. The Pharaoh was not only rich, with idols of gold laced upon their walls, but very fluent in the art of witchcraft. In the Bible, stories are told of men parting seas and changing water into wine. Though these attributes were linked to the God of Abraham’s almighty power, there is concrete evidence that these ‘Acts of God’ are in fact acts produced by the sorcery of the Pharaoh, who, upon death, would use this power to haunt the realms for which they slept. Disturbing their realm, though it makes the soul angry, does not cause the supernatural to occur. It goes much deeper than the act of entry, and in fact draws its power from the mind of the man that enters the realm. The ‘curse’ left behind by a Pharaoh was not one of disdain or hatred or pain or evil. It is an attribute to the heart of a man and the purity for which that man enters the realm of the sleeping God.
He would continue comparing pharaohs to gods, making several connections to Biblical events in the process. It’s a bit of an understatement to say his name and reputation were tarnished for a long time, but even then, it never stopped him from pursuing the truth of what sparked the stories in the first place. But that’s exactly what led him to discovering more than he bargained for, events that have been chronicled in The Spirit Of….
The man himself is a good, honest man who’s also rather reserved and jonesing for Indiana Jones-level fame. Nonetheless, there’s no denying he’s very passionate about religious and historical artifacts, highlighted by his drive and determination to prove his wild theories. You probably wouldn’t know it from the bio I pulled from the Yale University website before they officially terminated him.
Matthew Stevens is Professor of Archaeology and a historian at Yale University (New Haven, CT), specializing in religious and Biblical artifacts. He earned his MPhil in Archaeology from the University of Cambridge, where he specialized in Egyptian Archaeology. While studying for his graduate degree, Matthew spent time in Egypt, Israel and Jordan, and has gone on to continue his research in Egypt, among other locales, studying the pyramids as a Yale University professor. His research interests are in religious artifacts, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Mesopotamian, Palestinian and Roman history. His work has been published in a few prestigious publications, “Archaeology Magazine” among them, and has plans to write a book detailing his various expeditions and findings.
Those expeditions, which included the search for pieces of Noah’s Ark and the staff of Moses, would make him a very sought after archaeologist before his reputation once again caught up to him. That didn’t stop him from financing expeditions based on theories very few people, including his daughter, accepted. But those who did would become part of his team, and in turn, his family, for over two years. It did take a bit of a toll on his daughter, left to fend for herself for the majority of that time, as the passion for his work always seems to get the better of him. It’s probably why his wife, Jaime, left him when she did. He still loves them both, that’s quite obvious in how he talks about them, but there’s still an underlying regret for all that’s happened, and what will happen in The Spirit Of….
Learn more about Kara Reisen and Thomas Demeut
Pre-Order the digital copy of The Spirit Of… today. Available in all ebook formats, including Kindle, Nook and iBooks. (Unfortunately, the print edition is not currently available for pre-order.)
Amen Dello Keli.
The Spirit Of… A Novel; Written by Bryan Caron
Chaos breeds Chaos 