By caring for the needs of the train passengers due to blocked rails, inhabitants of the little town of Bugler set the stage in 1897 for a life-changing experience for at least one of them. Elise was becoming convinced bad things would continue to befall her. The warm, helpful welcome gave her new direction. A series of unexpected events, both joyful and trying, reinforced her character growth.

Meet and become acquainted with Kate, her new friend; Becky, the landlady, an encourager and gentle mentor; Tom, who owned the leather shop and always gave a bit more than the customer expected; Jake, the cabinetmaker and friend of Becky; Silas, who called the square dances and loved a good story, plus the pastor and his family, livery stable owner; and other interactive neighbors and ranchers.

When the time came, would Elise choose this chance at what she felt might be her real happiness, or would family pressures cause her to return to her society upbringing, leaving Bugler behind as an impossible dream?

Welcome to the year 2163 AD. It has been 144 years since the 2019 collapse of the government of the United States of America. In the aftermath of that collapse, several regional governments were organised across the North American continent. Now, in the seventh decade of the twenty-second century, the various North American governments are being invited to unite in a new coast-to-coast federation, known as The Federal Union of Independent North American States, (the FUINAS), under a constitution in many ways similar to the United States Constitution of 1789. These governments, however, in order to help keep the FUINAS from suffering a fate similar as that of the United States of America, want certain guarantees that weren’t in the original US Constitution written into the FUINAS Constitution. These guarantees, known as the “Fourteen Principles of Federalism,” an analysis of each of them, and the justification for their inclusion in the FUINAS Constitution, are the subject of The Federalist Manifesto of 2163 AD.

Welcome to the year 2163 AD. It has been 144 years since the 2019 collapse of the government of the United States of America. In the aftermath of that collapse, several regional governments were organised across the North American continent. Now, in the seventh decade of the twenty-second century, the various North American governments are being invited to unite in a new coast-to-coast federation, known as The Federal Union of Independent North American States, (the FUINAS), under a constitution in many ways similar to the United States Constitution of 1789. These governments, however, in order to help keep the FUINAS from suffering a fate similar as that of the United States of America, want certain guarantees that weren’t in the original US Constitution written into the FUINAS Constitution. These guarantees, known as the “Fourteen Principles of Federalism,” an analysis of each of them, and the justification for their inclusion in the FUINAS Constitution, are the subject of The Federalist Manifesto of 2163 AD.

In 1850, a nine-year-old boy living in London, England, is forcibly snatched out of a devastatingly broken family upon the disclosure of his father’s infidelity. In the care of a guardian, this child loses everything familiar as he is shipped off as part of British colonial expansion in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, supposedly “for his own good.” 

As a result, little Grayson’s life and sense of identity are shattered, and it seems a mysterious generational legacy propels his life into inexplicable tragedy and loss. Will a destructive family dynamic triumph, or will a transcendent power arrest the evil at work and release a positive inheritance upon this family?

In 1850, a nine-year-old boy living in London, England, is forcibly snatched out of a devastatingly broken family upon the disclosure of his father’s infidelity. In the care of a guardian, this child loses everything familiar as he is shipped off as part of British colonial expansion in the Canterbury region of New Zealand, supposedly “for his own good.” 

As a result, little Grayson’s life and sense of identity are shattered, and it seems a mysterious generational legacy propels his life into inexplicable tragedy and loss. Will a destructive family dynamic triumph, or will a transcendent power arrest the evil at work and release a positive inheritance upon this family?

In the third century, the Roman Empire threatened Christians with torture and death if they did not sacrifice before the Roman gods. The Church thrived under such pressure, for as Tertullian said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity.” Instead, the greatest threat to Christianity was Christianity itself. Divergent theories of God’s nature, apostolic tradition, and dissimilar copies of Holy Scriptures caused the early Church to question itself.

Without telephones, printing presses, or a reliable postal system, the 1,800 bishops of that time found themselves in numerous cultures, speaking different languages, and needing someone to gather and consolidate authentic Church doctrine and reliable Scriptures. They found such men in Origen and Jerome. These two men wrote the unifying books that caused the Christian Church to remain “One, Holy, and Universal.” This is their story, warts and all.

The American Civil War still captivates our interest.

As the war entered its third summer, the Confederate army met the Union army in July 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. During the second day of this three-day battle, some of the most brutal fighting occurred at Little Round Top.

This story describes the bloody fighting that took place between the Union’s 20th Maine and the South’s 15th Alabama. It also describes how two fictional soldiers meet on Little Round Top and become friends. This meeting portrays those that often took place between opposing soldiers. They were random acts of compassion during a brutal war.

These soldiers pushed aside their differences to become friends. In an act of kindness, one of these soldiers initiated their friendship, while the other cemented their friendship by a personal sacrifice he later made.
It was a friendship that would last for years.

Jim and Valerie Quinn are educators who have a burning desire to teach in an international situation. On a previous visit to Turkey, they fell in love with both the people and the place. The people are very warm-hearted and hospitable. The cuisine is exotic. The country is the cradle of Christianity and a mecca of archaeological ruins. The landscape is peppered with fishing villages and rich farmland, as well as luxury hotels and fine dining.

Upon arrival in Izmir, Jim and Val are showered with the initial installments of Turkish delight. Warmly received at the Izmir Turkish/English Academy, the Quinns are pleasantly surprised at the assistance they receive house hunting and enrolling their children in school. Assuming their teaching responsibilities, Jim and Val show their strong suit of relationship-building with foreign students. They have embarked on one of the most adventurous and challenging experiences of their lives. The Quinns’ teaching credentials and experience suggest a rewarding career progression. An added bonus will come in their travel to ancient church sites and in exploration of excavated ruins. The equation adds up to what they will soon discover as pure Turkish delight!

Typically, historical fiction tells a story set in the past with characters tending to be fictional. Although genres vary, the made-up account of ordinary people is interwoven with historical events of the time. Thou Shalt Not is the exception. The characters existed, the setting was real, and many of the incidents are authentic. Many of the conversations were taken directly from court documents as printed in the area’s 1898–99 newspapers. As I read these accounts over and over, took notes, and started reading between the lines, the narrative developed.

“All the Rivers Run into the Sea was easily one of the best books I have seen in a long time. You handled the suspense of Martin masterfully.”
- Dorothy Garlock,
best selling American author of over 50 historical romance novels

“Stauffer used a true story from rural Iowa in the late 1800s and created an historical novel that will keep you spell-bound until the end when a quiet village exploded with the ultimate evil.”
- Curtis W. Younker,
Mitchell County Sheriff (1964–2012)

“My dad told this story to me as a child. David was my hometown. Although an unusual event, the same circumstances exist today in some relationships. I loved all the connections.”
- Vivian Emerson DuShane,
author, History of David, 2004

A college philosophy professor known only as the “Thinker” tells how he converted from atheism to Christianity and has a series of dreams about the creation, corruption of mankind, world flood catastrophe, confusion at the Tower of Babel, the birth of Jesus Christ, His crucifixion, and the prophetic end-times tribulation judgments and consummation of mankind to his Creator as revealed to the Apostle John. The dreams tell a brief biblical history of mankind from Genesis to Revelation. When Jesus Christ returns for His church, will you be among them or left behind to endure the trials of the tribulation? When Jesus Christ returns at the end of the tribulation, will He find faith in the Earth?

In the third century, the Roman Empire threatened Christians with torture and death if they did not sacrifice before the Roman gods. The Church thrived under such pressure, for as Tertullian said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity.” Instead, the greatest threat to Christianity was Christianity itself. Divergent theories of God’s nature, apostolic tradition, and dissimilar copies of Holy Scriptures caused the early Church to question itself.

Without telephones, printing presses, or a reliable postal system, the 1,800 bishops of that time found themselves in numerous cultures, speaking different languages, and needing someone to gather and consolidate authentic Church doctrine and reliable Scriptures. They found such men in Origen and Jerome. These two men wrote the unifying books that caused the Christian Church to remain “One, Holy, and Universal.” This is their story, warts and all.

In the third century, the Roman Empire threatened Christians with torture and death if they did not sacrifice before the Roman gods. The Church thrived under such pressure, for as Tertullian said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity.” Instead, the greatest threat to Christianity was Christianity itself. Divergent theories of God’s nature, apostolic tradition, and dissimilar copies of Holy Scriptures caused the early Church to question itself.

Without telephones, printing presses, or a reliable postal system, the 1,800 bishops of that time found themselves in numerous cultures, speaking different languages, and needing someone to gather and consolidate authentic Church doctrine and reliable Scriptures. They found such men in Origen and Jerome. These two men wrote the unifying books that caused the Christian Church to remain “One, Holy, and Universal.” This is their story, warts and all.

Jim and Valerie Quinn are educators who have a burning desire to teach in an international situation. On a previous visit to Turkey, they fell in love with both the people and the place. The people are very warm-hearted and hospitable. The cuisine is exotic. The country is the cradle of Christianity and a mecca of archaeological ruins. The landscape is peppered with fishing villages and rich farmland, as well as luxury hotels and fine dining.

Upon arrival in Izmir, Jim and Val are showered with the initial installments of Turkish delight. Warmly received at the Izmir Turkish/English Academy, the Quinns are pleasantly surprised at the assistance they receive house hunting and enrolling their children in school. Assuming their teaching responsibilities, Jim and Val show their strong suit of relationship-building with foreign students. They have embarked on one of the most adventurous and challenging experiences of their lives. The Quinns’ teaching credentials and experience suggest a rewarding career progression. An added bonus will come in their travel to ancient church sites and in exploration of excavated ruins. The equation adds up to what they will soon discover as pure Turkish delight!

Jim and Valerie Quinn are educators who have a burning desire to teach in an international situation. On a previous visit to Turkey, they fell in love with both the people and the place. The people are very warm-hearted and hospitable. The cuisine is exotic. The country is the cradle of Christianity and a mecca of archaeological ruins. The landscape is peppered with fishing villages and rich farmland, as well as luxury hotels and fine dining.

Upon arrival in Izmir, Jim and Val are showered with the initial installments of Turkish delight. Warmly received at the Izmir Turkish/English Academy, the Quinns are pleasantly surprised at the assistance they receive house hunting and enrolling their children in school. Assuming their teaching responsibilities, Jim and Val show their strong suit of relationship-building with foreign students. They have embarked on one of the most adventurous and challenging experiences of their lives. The Quinns’ teaching credentials and experience suggest a rewarding career progression. An added bonus will come in their travel to ancient church sites and in exploration of excavated ruins. The equation adds up to what they will soon discover as pure Turkish delight!

Typically, historical fiction tells a story set in the past with characters tending to be fictional. Although genres vary, the made-up account of ordinary people is interwoven with historical events of the time. Thou Shalt Not is the exception. The characters existed, the setting was real, and many of the incidents are authentic. Many of the conversations were taken directly from court documents as printed in the area’s 1898–99 newspapers. As I read these accounts over and over, took notes, and started reading between the lines, the narrative developed.

“All the Rivers Run into the Sea was easily one of the best books I have seen in a long time. You handled the suspense of Martin masterfully.”
- Dorothy Garlock,
best selling American author of over 50 historical romance novels

“Stauffer used a true story from rural Iowa in the late 1800s and created an historical novel that will keep you spell-bound until the end when a quiet village exploded with the ultimate evil.”
- Curtis W. Younker,
Mitchell County Sheriff (1964–2012)

“My dad told this story to me as a child. David was my hometown. Although an unusual event, the same circumstances exist today in some relationships. I loved all the connections.”
- Vivian Emerson DuShane,
author, History of David, 2004