Here’s the second installment of Xlibris author Geoffrey Clayson’s blog entry where he gives us a synopsis of his gripping novel.
The Apology Overview
Imagine if the ownership of all the land claimed by the Vatican was suddenly in question! When Mark Albert receives a mysterious box from his recently deceased grandfather it sends him delving into his ancestral past right back to the 16th century, a time when man, woman and child were in constant danger of being executed for so-called crimes they did not commit or simply for non-conformist religious beliefs. But whatever happened to their land and their possessions is now becoming a massive headache that the Vatican needs to rid itself of in the fastest and most discreet way possible.
The story is set in 16th century Brugges and takes us to Elizabethan England, following the lives of a family, the Auberts, who have suffered greatly through the consequences of the Roman Inquisition and their rise to glory under Elizabethan rule. The story also talks about religious persecution and the genocide of the time.
The novel is divided into two books: historic and present. Book 11, set in the present day, brings us right up to date with a thwarted terrorist threat at the London Olympics, then links back into the past as Mark Albert, member of the MI6, traces his ancestry and cannot believe what he finds. His ancestor, Pieter Aubert, was Grand Master of the Order of Templars and fought for justice for the ordinary man.
Through his cousin, a litigation lawyer in New York, they find the descendants of Pieter and other members of the Order, and between them they begin a class action that will shake the world.
Through the influential avenues of New York, to the conservative blue-bloods of London – this story will have readers enthralled throughout.
300 word synopsis
March 12, 2000: Pope John Paul 11 apologises for the ‘sins of yesterday’s Christians,’ recognising past wrongs committed by the Church centuries ago.
July 16, 2007: Mark Albert receives a mysterious box from his recently deceased grandfather. It sends him delving into his ancestral past right back to the 16th century.
Book 1 – Parts 1-3
The Knights Templar spent 173 years fighting for what they believe only to be accused of crimes against the Church and disbanded by the Pope.
1525-1533: Tibaldus Martinus is a popular tailor in the Flemish town of Brugge. Friar Godfrey is vehemently set against the Martinus family and they suffer more than most could bear. People lose their lands and most valuable possessions to the Church, but unbeknownst to them, they have a secret weapon in Duke Jacob de Beckel.
1569-1580. The grandson of Tibaldus, Marc Aubert, joins the Order of Templars and trains to become an assassin, working underground for Queen Elizabeth’s cause to bring peace to Protestant England. He lives with his cousins in the town of Baldock and it is here he meets the lovely Mary, a tavern worker living in fear of her rapacious uncle.
What Marc doesn’t realise is that his cousin, Daniel, also has eyes for Mary.
Book 2 – Parts 1-2
2007: As a desensitised Telco worker, no-one suspects that Mark Albert has a double life within the British MI5. When he begins to research the list of curious names his grandfather had bequeathed, he seeks the assistance of his friend, ex-Navy Seal, Mark Finch (Birdy). Together their search leads them to the Grand Master of the Masons in New York and what they begin to uncover is momentous.
Through the influential avenues of New York, to the conservative blue-bloods of London, to Germany to Afghanistan to inside the Vatican – this is a story that will have readers reeling from the revelations and enthralled from page to page.
This sneak peek tells us why the novel has created a cult following among online readers. Find out what readers say on the third installment of Geoffrey’s blog.
Read the first of this three-part blog here.
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