To be “On a Roll”

We all use the idiom “on a roll,” with the sense that we are mostly NOT on a roll.  We hit grooves in our lifecycle where we get good and efficient and are proud of whom we have become.  My wife gets it when preparing for a party we will host.  I sometimes get it when I am cutting firewood.  My youngest gets it when he is sharing with others.

Yet, more often than not, we are not on a roll.  We are in a routine that mirrors whatever we have historical done.  We haven’t gotten better in our own eyes.  We are mediocre.

Which kind of roll have you been on lately?  Toilet paper roll?  Dinner roll?  Ha.

For me, I have been on a roll with writing.  I have already published four books and have five more books ready.  I intend to release them at regular intervals.  This “roll” for me has meant the discovery of new things followed by creation using words.  I now even find editing fun, if not easy, as I rewrite dialog or take a different angle on the same issue.

Good writing skills require good reading skills.  Hopefully, someone taught you that in high school.  The more I have read, the more I conclude that discussing and understanding Christ requires understanding the Roman Empire.  In the days of the New Testament, the world was ruled by Rome.  One in every four people lived and died under Roman law from England to Africa and Syria to Spain.  The Emperor and the Senate governed the Empire.  To discuss the times of Christ without reference to Rome is like describing an apple pie with no reference to the crust.  It doesn’t work.

Rome was much more than just one city.  The empire was a vast collection of states backed up by a powerful force, a single language of commerce, and a single rule of law.  Even allowing for an occasional revolt, the empire was an enormous achievement.  It served as a great marketplace for its citizens, and remnants of its impact are alive; after all, Amazon.com is fashioned in its image!  See the research in the last sentence.

In the first book coming out, The Scrolls of Cornelius, I finish the story that is started in Acts, Chapter 10.  As the venerable character from the bible dies of old age, he leaves behind his personal journals to his survivors with instructions.  They are not for the faint of heart, as they are stories of a man of faith’s battles with membership requirements in the Roman military.  Rape, murder, and inquisition are all part of this warrior’s dark past, and he gives those heartfelt stories of failure to his nieces and nephews.

In book 2, Follow Me, a young Hebrew follower of Christ takes up her cross and calls several young men and women to become her disciples.  She calls them to follow her, and she mentors them while battling her demons. I develop her leadership skills and those of her disciples over the course of several years together.  Developing character defects were also a lot of fun.

In book 3, Amira, I focus on the development of a young Hebrew woman who was asked to follow the rabbi in book 2, despite being a former prostitute and a single mother.  Her complete honesty and transparency endear her to everyone, and her daughter invites grace across Egyptian, Roman, and Hebrew cultures.  Through happenstance and shared adversity, her best friend is also the princess of Rome, and the disparity between their social backgrounds was a lot of fun to create.

In book 4, Oren, I focus on the development of Amira’s daughter as she becomes an adult and prepares to marry and have a career as a wife and mother and something more.   During my recent training for some athlete events, as my body was depleted of glycogen after three hours of cycling, I asked, “I wonder what Oren is doing now?”  That created the background for book 5.

In book 5, Senator, I complete Oren’s development as she becomes the first Judahite to serve as a Senator in Rome.  She is present during the fall of the Flavian dynasty. She is personally involved with the transition to what history refers to as the “five good emperors” era of Roman history.  I bookmarked 20+ websites as I studied the history of the events of the transition from the Flavian dynasty to the five good emperors.  I feel like I could teach a college course on it.  I needed to develop all the characters within the confines of actual history.

I will release sample chapters throughout.  A sample is here for book 1.

Other Recent Releases

I wrote a story about the tragedy of Audrey Hale and her “faith’s” role in the recent shootings at a Christian School.

I hosted an event for the athletes I have coached, and here is a link to that video.  Very impressive group and worth the 50 minutes to watch it.  After all, they are your TEAMUSA as much as they are mine.

I wrote a story about discipline and bucket lists.

Ed Marx and I did a podcast on his channel.  You can find it here.

How to catch up on my earlier books?

To start, please follow me at goodreads.com  It helps as I develop the books and the brand

You can buy my books at Amazon or my website, https://jeffgaura.com

You can get a three-book set here of my trilogy.

Follow my podcasts here

By the way, according to Yahoo finance, Amazon earns $1.4B a day or $977K per minute.  And that is still less than an inflation-adjusted Roman empire earning!