After retiring from Bethel University as Director of Visual Communications, I am thrilled to have written two fiction books. Book Pursued and Identity Confused are intense thrillers.

I called the two-book series “Pursued by Evil, Called by God.” I was going to write a trilogy, but decided to shorten the series to two-books, saving the main characters a lot of grief.

Book Pursued is about a married couple, George and Jane Mercy, who find an ancient book in a modern library. They are attracted to the beautiful book that is written in code. After walking off with it, they discover it belongs to an evil guild that is willing to kill to get their book back. But George and Jane feel so attached to the book they cannot give it up. They later discover the book is called, The Book of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

After I published Book Pursued in 2017, I published the second concluding book, Identity Confused, this year.

In Identity Confused, George and Jane struggle as they attempt to escape from the Evil Guild with secret new identities. They must hide from both the police and the guild, while they attempt to understand who they really are, as individuals, and as a couple in love.

Both books are available for the Kindle reader. You can click the link below to find the books on Amazon:
Book Pursued and Identity Confused

Or if you search for Woody Dahlberg on Amazon, you will find both books.

The next steps to getting Identity Confused published.

I have combined books two and three into one book. Identity Surrendered will be included at the end of Identity Confused.

The book is currently being proofed a second time on a paper copy. After I make those corrections, I will go over the book one more time to double check the corrections.

I like using self-publishing agencies, but I can’t afford using their services this time. I have been a graphic designer for most of my life, so I know how to put a book together. I also know how to work with printers. But some of the details of the finishing the book present new challenges.

Cover and introductory copy must still be written. I will also need to order an ISBN number, copyright the book, get a Library of Congress Catalog Number, and find a print-on-demand printer to publish the book.

I have not finalized the cover design yet. Here are a few concepts for the cover and spine.

I decided to combine books two and three of the “Pursued by Evil, Called by God” series into one book. I have finished the writing and printed a proof copy that we are reading aloud to look for errors. Proofing from a printed copy is helpful to find problems and errors that get missed on the computer screen. Reading out load helps find sentences that don’t flow smoothly.

After we make corrections, we will contract an outside editor to proof the book. Then we will be ready to send it to a self-publisher who may also read it one more time. 

Good writers know they need good editors. I have worked with editors who were also excellent writers. When they sent their writings to other editors to proof, they almost always found errors or sentences that would read easier if changed.

I will keep you posted on how the book is progressing. It is a sequel to Book Pursued, and continues the thrilling story of George and Jane Mercy.

Of course, no editor of my first book realized that the word “book” was a database key-word on Amazon. When you type “Book Pursued” on Amazon, hundreds of books with the word pursued in the title show up. You always need to search under my name to find it. If I could name it over again, I would call it A Book Pursued or Evil Book Pursued.

By Woody Dahlberg

Frank looked at his beautiful wife and smiled as he thought of the diamond necklace he had purchased for her birthday. Tomorrow he would give it to her and all her friends would know how wealthy they were. But right now, all he wanted to do was go for a drive around the neighborhood to show off his new classic Cadillac. He enjoyed his wealth and loved showing off his prosperity.

Frank walked out of his house into his spacious yard maintained by his grounds keeping service. He looked back at the mansion he had built in an exclusive gated neighborhood. The hardwood craftsman trim looked deep and rich in the morning light. 

He turned to go into the garage to get the Cadillac when he felt a sudden pain in his chest. In moments, he was on the ground clinging to his ribs and gasping for air. He wanted to cry for help, but all he could do was gasp for breath.

He heard his wife scream and come running. Kneeling beside him, he heard her yelling into her phone, “Help, please help! Yes, send an ambulance fast. I think Frank’s having a heart attack.”

Those were the last words on earth Frank heard.

The next moments were quiet as he lost consciousness. Then he saw a dim light in the distance. He felt himself moving in the direction of the light that was growing in size and brightness. Suddenly, he was propelled past the light and exploded into eternity.

He had prepared for this day. He had said the words, “Jesus, I accept you.” He had attended church most Sundays, missing only occasionally for a golf game or to go hunting. He was ready to claim his inheritance, to walk into the eternal city of riches.

He smiled to himself as he approached Heaven’s Pearly Gate, the entrance to eternal bliss. The gate was open, and looking past it, he saw the streets of gold and gem covered houses. The great wealth displayed beyond mesmerized him and he could hardly wait to enter, establish himself, and claim his mansion.

While he was admiring the golden beauty and ready to boldly announce his presence so he could accept his inheritance, a young boy walked out of the gate and stepped up beside him. He was dressed in rags, smelled like he had come out of a slum, and looked malnourished. He wore no shoes. He was carrying a book in his left hand and a pen in his right. He lifted the book and the pen up to the man.

“Would you be so kind as to autograph this book?” the boy said.

The man stared disdainfully at the kid. “You look pathetic. How did you ever get into Heaven? Why should I sign your stupid book? You’re obviously of no value, and I am about to enter into paradise to claim my reward. No, I won’t sign your stupid book.”

The boy cried. “Please sign the book,” he said. “Please,” he pleaded again.

“No! Shut up. You are distracting me from my goal,” Frank yelled at the child.

The boy stepped to the side, walked back to the gate, and humbly continued through the entrance to the other side without looking back. He handed his book to an angelic looking person standing on the golden street inside the entrance. This person wore an expensive looking white suit, stood tall, and appeared to have great authority. The gate immediately shut behind the boy.

Frank was disgusted at the boy’s arrogance, but was awed by the presence of the man inside the gate. He stood as tall as he could while walking up to the magnificent gate and said, “I am here and stand worthy to enter into paradise to claim the eternal wealth I have believed in all my life. In the name of Jesus, I come to claim my eternal mansion and position in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

“I am Saint Peter,” the person in the shining white suit nodded his head and said. “Let me check the Book of Life to see if you are listed therein.” He then searched every page of the book the young boy in rags had given him to see if he could find Frank’s name.

 “I’m sorry sir, I don’t see your name anywhere in this book. You may not enter.”

Frank was mad at the decision of the gate guard. He was furious at the child as he was directed to the broad road leading to the eternal poverty of the City of Hell. Upon entering the City of Hell, he looked around and saw many others who appeared to have been wealthy in their former life, but none would ever be his friend. Arrogance and hate filled the air. All the residents of this place competed to outdo every other person. There were no streets of gold, no hope of eternal joy, and no love.

From the gates of this city, Frank could see the Golden Gates to the Kingdom of Heaven. Anger filled his heart again as he thought of the child who had asked for his signature in his book. That pitiful little child; if only he had signed his stupid book, he would be in Heaven now, enjoying its wealth, instead of in this putrid place. 

I guess wealth is my God, Frank thought. No one can take that away from me. He turned to walk down the dreary lane that led deeper into the city.

Why am I getting so hot?

* * * *

This story is not meant to imply no rich people will enter into Heaven, but that there is an attitude of making money their god or seeing themselves as their god that will keep many out of Heaven. In fact, we read in Matthew 27:57-60, Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb of a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea, who had become a follower of Jesus.

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® 
All rights reserved worldwide.

What does Jesus say are the two greatest commandments?

First, we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength. And second, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Such a love for God is demanding. It goes far beyond loving a sport, some television show, or some activity. We might love going to church, and miss it when we can’t go. But attending church might be a love for the beautiful building, or it can be a love for the singing and relationships. It might even be intellectual or political. No, the love of God is a deep and far more intense love, the kind of love we must be willing to give up our lives for. Ultimately, Jesus gave up his life for us by being crucified on the cross to save us—to save the whole world.

How do we love your neighbor as our self? First, who are our neighbors? Are they the close friends that live around us or that we share fleeting feelings with on social media? Are they the people we meet at church and stand next to when we sing the songs of worship and praise? Are they our relatives? Well, yes, they are, but our neighbors also include people we have no connection with. They are from around the corner and from around the world. They include people of every color, language, and culture. They are our neighbors. We are told to love them as ourselves. If they are in need, we are to respond to their need as we would our close friends.

Help! How is that possible? But that is loving the neighborhood of the world God created, doing what we can when people are suffering or in crisis. Currently, our world is facing two major crises that we need to respond to in Christian love.

Black Lives Matter—We must recognize that all people are created equal and that everyone should have the opportunity to live a fulfilling life. Too often people of color have been isolated from the opportunities to succeed in life, and they have been treated unjustly. We need to recognize that they are our neighbors who we are told to love as we love ourselves.

Covid-19—We also must confront the Covid-19 crisis with care for each other by wearing face masks when meeting together, and we need to keep our social distance. That sounds like a strange way to love those around us, but such a crisis challenges us to break the norms. Love your neighbor by keeping your social distance from them and wearing a face mask.

May God bless you as you seek to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and as you love your neighbors as yourself.

_____________________________________________

If you have not yet read, Book Pursued, the first book in the series, it is a suspense thriller that will give you a riveting read during these challenging times. It is available on Amazon as both a paperback and an e-book for Kindle. It helps to search under my name to find the book. The paperback is also available from Itasca Books, a local book warehouse. Identity Confused is days away from being ready to send to my publisher.