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Behind the Halls: The Making of the Shadow King Series

Screen capture from Amazon on Halls of the Shadow King

When I began writing The Halls of the Shadow King, I knew I wanted to create something more than another fantasy adventure (maybe it’s “young adult”, maybe not). I wanted to explore a question that has haunted me for years: What if someone with extraordinary supernatural gifts had lived during the height of Roman persecution of early Christianity? What might have happened differently?

Find the full three volume series on Amazon (both Kindle and Paperback) HERE.

The Historical Foundation

The series is set during one of the most turbulent periods in Roman history—the third century AD, specifically during the reign of Emperor Valerian (253-260 AD). This wasn’t a random choice. Valerian launched the first systematic, empire-wide persecution of Christians, targeting not just individual believers but the entire institutional structure of the early church. His edicts were calculated to destroy Christianity by eliminating its leadership, confiscating its property, and forcing apostasy through economic and social pressure.

What fascinated me was how this persecution backfired spectacularly. Instead of destroying the church, it purified and strengthened it. Valerian himself was captured by the Persian king Shapur I and died in captivity—a humiliation that Romans saw as divine judgment. His son Gallienus immediately reversed his father’s policies, ushering in nearly fifty years of peace for Christians.

This historical irony became the backbone of my series. What if divine providence worked not just through miraculous intervention, but through humble individuals gifted with abilities that transcended natural law? A great example of this is the joke about the guy on the roof of his house as floodwaters rise. He holds out for the miracle and ignores multiple rescue attempts. After he is overcome by the flood, he chides God about not performing a miracle as he had hoped and prayed for. God responds, ‘Well, I did send you two boats and a helicopter!” Sometimes we expect and hope for the most dramatic interventions when history is actually made by collections of smaller people using their gifts collectively for good.

The Character of Amal

Amal began as an exploration of power and responsibility. I wanted to create a protagonist whose extraordinary gifts—the ability to perceive and reshape reality itself—came with equally extraordinary moral burdens. Too often in fantasy literature, supernatural power is treated as inherently good or merely a tool to be wielded. I wanted to examine what happens when someone realizes their abilities can change the course of history and yet maintains the facility to remain humble.

The Shadow King organization that Amal eventually leads represents something I found missing in much historical fiction about early Christianity: the sophisticated, international network that actually existed. Early Christians weren’t isolated communities hiding in caves. They were part of a remarkable communication system that spanned the empire, with resources, intelligence networks, and influence that often surprised Roman authorities. Stories of similar entities existed—probably because they were so hoped for—in the Prester John legends. I expanded these stories and fleshed them out to create my Shadow King network.

Historical Research as Creative Fuel

The research phase for this series became an obsession. I spent countless hours diving into the history of the era—trying to understand not just the big political events but how ordinary people lived. What did a third-century residence large enough to be a safehouse actually look like? How did the Roman empire perform road maintenance? How did secret messages travel from Antioch to Rome? What were the daily rhythms of life in a Roman port city? This historical research was greatly entertaining to me and there was no lack of subjects that I needed better knowledge of.

Some of my favorite details came from unexpected places. The hidden canal systems connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean that I mention in the series? Those actually existed, though they’re largely forgotten today. The sophisticated cipher systems, the trade networks that doubled as communication channels, the way Christian communities cared intentionally for orphans and sick people—all historically grounded.

I was particularly struck by how little we know about the administrative side of early persecution. The Roman bureaucracy was incredibly sophisticated, but most records of their anti-Christian activities have been lost. This gave me creative space to imagine how such systems might have worked, and how an organization like the Shadow King’s network might have countered them.

Balancing Faith and Fantasy

One of the trickiest aspects of writing this series was handling the supernatural elements authentically. I wanted to create something that would resonate with Christian readers without alienating others, that would respect the historical period without turning into mere religious propaganda. Plus, I want these kinds of devices to appear perfectly natural and accepted by the characters. I have always greatly admired Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’ abilities to create beauty through magical realism.

The solution came through focusing on character-driven questions rather than theological ones. How does someone use extraordinary power humbly? What’s the difference between divine gifting and personal ambition? When is intervention helpful, and when does it interfere with larger purposes? These are human questions that transcend specific religious boundaries.

I also drew heavily on the mystical traditions within Christianity—particularly the Eastern Orthodox concept of theosis (becoming partakers of divine nature) and the rich tradition of Christian mysticism. I also introduced a healthy amount of early Celtic Christianity and even the Ulster Cycle. These provided a theological framework for Amal’s abilities that felt both authentic to the historical period and dramatically compelling.

The Villain’s Journey

Gallien (who becomes Emperor Gallienus in history) presented a fascinating challenge. How do you write a character who starts as a genuine antagonist but is destined to become one of early Christianity’s greatest imperial protectors? The historical Gallienus was a complex figure—a military genius who also issued the first imperial edict granting religious tolerance to Christians. Why did he do this?

I solved this by giving him a character arc that mirrors Amal’s in reverse. Where Amal learns to use supernatural power responsibly, Gallien learns to use earthly power mercifully. Both are mentored by figures who shape their understanding of authority and responsibility, though in very different ways. The differences in training—one with malicious intent; the other with gracious—creates a foil between the two characters.

The presence of Manasseh as Gallien’s dark counselor allowed me to explore how evil often works through seemingly wise guidance. Some of the most chilling scenes in the series come from watching how subtle corruption can be—how someone can be led toward cruelty while believing they’re being rational and strategic. I don’t think I need to mention that this is something we may be noticing in the more “civilized” era we live in.

Hidden Layers and Symbolism

Readers who pay close attention will find layers of meaning woven throughout the series. The Shadow King’s compound, with its architecture drawing from multiple ancient traditions, represents the universal nature of divine wisdom. The stone disk that helps Amal focus his abilities is based on actual archaeological finds from the period.

Even character names carry significance. “Amal” means “hope” in Arabic and Hebrew, while also being a historical name from the period. “Neffie” is derived from “Nephesh,” the Hebrew word for soul or life force. These weren’t random choices—they reflect the deeper themes running through the story and give insight into the characters’ own natures given them from above.

The political intrigue plots mirror actual historical events, though compressed and dramatized. The Persian campaign that ultimately destroys Valerian really happened, and the power struggles within the Roman court are based on documented conflicts.

Why This Story Matters Now

Writing about the third century has given me perspective on our own time. The Roman Empire faced crises that feel remarkably contemporary: economic instability, political polarization, external threats, social transformation. The early Christians navigated these challenges not through political power or military might, but through networks of mutual care, intellectual excellence, and moral courage.

There’s something profoundly relevant about a story where the greatest victories come not from defeating enemies but from transforming them—where power is most effective when wielded with restraint, and where the most important battles are fought not on battlefields but in human hearts.

The Continuing Journey

As I work on new entries into the series, I’m continually amazed by how much the historical research continues to surprise me. New archaeological discoveries keep reshaping our understanding of this period, and I find myself revising scenes to incorporate findings that make the story more authentic. The next wave of “Halls of the Shadow King” stories will probably come in the form of novelettes and I’m targeting Kindle Unlimited releases. As I’ve written before, book marketing is a Crazy-Town, so we’ll see if this approach will bring these stories to new readers.

The Shadow King series has become more than entertainment for me—it’s become a meditation on how ordinary people can serve extraordinary purposes, how power and humility can coexist, and how the most important revolutions often happen quietly, one changed heart at a time.

I hope readers will find in Amal’s journey not just adventure and mystery, but a reminder that we all have roles to play in purposes larger than ourselves—and that sometimes the greatest strength lies in knowing when not to use the power we possess.

The voyage, as I wrote in the first volume, is just beginning.

W. Tod Newman is the author of The Halls of the Shadow King series. He lives in Tucson, Arizona, where he continues researching ancient history and writing about the intersection of faith, power, and human nature.

OTHER LINKS

MORE on The Halls of the Shadow King series.

The Charlie Kirk murder in the Context of the historical setting of The Halls of the Shadow King

The Prophet and the Queen review

Video series discussing The Prophet and the Queen

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The Enduring Power of Place and Memory in Willa Cather’s My Antonia

My Antonia by Willa Cather

Willa Cather has become one of my favorite American writers. After thoroughly enjoying her novel Death Comes for the Archbishop—the story of brave Catholic priests who journeyed from France to the American West—I picked up My Antonia with high hopes. It turned out to be an excellent decision.

A Portrait of the Prairie

My Antonia tells the story of its namesake character, the daughter of a Czech pioneer family making their home on the Nebraska plains. Like so many immigrant families, they’ve come to America seeking the chance to build something great. While Antonia’s mother struggles with instability and her father never stops pining for their old life, Antonia herself radiates abundance and potential. She captures the heart of the narrator, Jim Burden, who is four years her junior.

Jim arrives in Nebraska as a young boy to live with his grandparents at exactly the same time Antonia’s family settles nearby. They become neighbors in the wild prairie, where the expansive landscape dominates young Jim’s imagination.

Cather beautifully captures this sense of place and movement:

“I can remember exactly how the country looked to me as I walked beside my grandmother along the faint wagon-tracks on that early September morning. Perhaps the glide of long railway travel was still with me, for more than anything else I felt motion in the landscape; in the fresh, easy-blowing morning wind, and in the earth itself, as if the shaggy grass were a sort of loose hide, and underneath it herds of wild buffalo were galloping, galloping…”

Through Antonia’s immigrant eyes, we see a romance with the landscape and farmland that Cather suggests had been lost to many Americans. Even Jim, despite recognizing the land’s power, observes with typical American restlessness that “the only thing very noticeable about Nebraska was that it was still, all day long, Nebraska.”

The Immigrant Advantage

As Jim and Antonia grow up, they develop a close friendship built on mutual respect. But Jim recognizes the harsh realities Antonia’s family faces—living in a barely functional sod house while his grandparents enjoy a proper home, struggling with language and cultural barriers that require constant navigation by their more established neighbors.

Yet Cather observes something remarkable: over time, the immigrant families develop distinct advantages on the prairie. The Czechs, Norwegians, and Swedes possess a dogged determination to escape debt and educate their children. The older daughters move to town and send money home, helping their farm families thrive.

Initially, “The daughters of Black Hawk merchants had a confident, unenquiring belief that they were ‘refined,’ and that the country girls, who ‘worked out,’ were not.” This mindset sounds strikingly familiar today, echoing the way many urban dwellers continue to view those in “flyover” states.

But once these immigrant farm girls establish themselves in the city, they begin captivating the young city men with their unique advantages: fitness from field work, resilience born of struggle, and deep commitment to family. Their families ascend the social ladder:

“foreign farmers in our county were the first to become prosperous. After the fathers were out of debt, the daughters married the sons of neighbours—usually of like nationality—and the girls who once worked in Black Hawk kitchens are to-day managing big farms and fine families of their own; their children are better off than the children of the town women they used to serve.”

Two Paths, One Past

Jim grows up to become a lawyer, his path taking him from Lincoln to Harvard and back east. Antonia stays in Nebraska, marrying a solid Czech man whom she transforms into a successful farmer. While Jim struggles to maintain his connection to the land and his people, visiting old friends scattered across the country, years pass and he misses Antonia raising her large family.

When they reconnect twenty years later, their different relationships with the past become starkly apparent. For Antonia, the past remains an ever-present part of life, illuminating the future. For Jim, the past becomes something he must work to recover amid the distractions of his successful city career.

Two quotes illuminate this contrast beautifully. As Jim prepares to leave after Antonia’s first child is born, she tells him:

“Of course it means you are going away from us for good. But that don’t mean I’ll lose you. Look at my papa here; he’s been dead all these years, and yet he is more real to me than almost anybody else. He never goes out of my life. I talk to him and consult him all the time. The older I grow, the better I know him and the more I understand him.”

Later, during an extended visit, Jim takes a reflective walk and finds himself in the unchanged landscape: “I took a long walk north of the town, out into the pastures where the land was so rough that it had never been ploughed up, and the long red grass of early times still grew shaggy over the draws and hillocks. Out there I felt at home again.”

The Wisdom of Staying Rooted

Jim concludes by recognizing that despite their vastly different life trajectories, he and Antonia still share their past together. The difference lies in how they inhabit that shared history: Antonia lives and breathes within it, while Jim must fight to overcome life’s distractions to reconnect with it.

This is what I most appreciate about Cather’s writing—her recognition that the past forms the foundation of what we’re building, and that distraction from it can cause us to lose our way. Jim, like all of us should, recognizes that despite the wear and tear of Antonia’s hard life on the soil, she retains a level of greatness that his successful but rootless existence cannot match.

My Antonia reminds us that sometimes the greatest achievements aren’t measured in professional success or geographic mobility, but in the depth of our connections to place, people, and the continuous thread of memory that weaves our lives together.

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The Crazy-Town of Marketing Books

If you’ve stumbled across this post, chances are you’ve never had to worry about marketing a book. Consider yourself lucky. As someone deep in the trenches, let me share why book marketing feels nearly impossible these days.

The Market Is Absolutely Flooded

The sheer volume of books being published today is staggering. With AI tools becoming more accessible, this flood has only intensified—though I’d argue that AI can’t write a coherent novel yet (time will tell if I’m wrong about this).

A few years back, Amazon was hit with waves of AI-generated books: formulaic, mass-produced novelettes priced at 99 cents each. The problem got so bad that Amazon actually had to limit how many self-published books authors can upload per day. That tells you everything about the scale we’re dealing with.

Predators Are Everywhere

The self-publishing community on Reddit is filled with horror stories about scammers targeting authors. These vultures scan social media for author posts, then swoop in with promises of marketing help or publishing deals. There’s a cynical truth here: the only people consistently making money from books seem to be those selling courses on “how to get rich writing books.”

Here’s a recent post I made about one particular clever scammer, a post which, immediately earned me a fake one-star review on Amazon for my most recent book. Ugh.

Time Is the Ultimate Currency

Unlike a three-minute song that someone might casually stream, a book demands hours of commitment from readers. This creates a massive barrier not just for sales, but for something as basic as getting reviews. In my experience, genuine reviews are rare unless you’re paying for them or calling in favors—which feels like a whole other problem.

Are We Running Out of Readers?

This might be the most troubling question of all. I’ve considered creating audiobook versions of my work, but the costs are prohibitive, and frankly, I don’t have the voice for narration. It makes me wonder: in our shrinking attention span world, how many people are still willing to invest in long-form reading?

Many Authors don’t want to Talk About Themselves

Yes, that’s me for sure. I love writing, world-building, and inserting magic into stories in natural ways. But I hate talking about myself.

I suppose this is mostly me venting into the void, but if any of these points resonate with your experience—or if you think I’m completely off base—I’d love to hear your thoughts.

More Links

My Self-Publishing blog collection. Includes a multi-entry series on how I do the whole self-publishing process.

Soccer Analytics anyone?

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My Thoughts about Recent Events

Bishop Sixtus II - Botticelli

I have allowed a few days to pass so I can better process my thoughts about Charlie Kirk’s recent assassination. As someone who is uncomfortable with politics, I wasn’t a passionate follower of Charlie and TPUSA, but I was very familiar with his videos and I enjoyed his debating style; honesty, directness, but sprinkled with compassion. In his videos, it was easy to see that he treated those he was debating like actual people rather than strawmen to knock over. He often asked for their story and would pause to make them feel heard.

I’ll be honest — when I first heard of his murder, it felt like a gut punch.

The Public Humiliation and Beheading of Bishop Sixtus II

Recently, I completed a series of books set in the 3rd century Roman Empire. One historical event that particularly struck me during this writing process was the murder of the Bishop of Rome—a man we now know as Pope Sixtus II.

According to historical records, Emperor Valerian launched an aggressive persecution campaign against the early Church, prohibiting collective worship and confiscating church property and funds. Despite these dangers, Bishop Sixtus courageously organized a large service in a remote cemetery, hoping to avoid detection by imperial authorities.

Unfortunately, an informer must have been present. Roman soldiers arrived at the cemetery, and according to historical accounts, Bishop Sixtus surrendered himself so his congregation could escape. The Romans later publicly beheaded him along with six of his deacons.

My Attempts to Understand the Impact

While writing about this event in “The Halls of the Shadow King: The Apprentice,” I spent considerable time imagining what the Roman church must have experienced watching their most trusted leader publicly executed. Seeing someone they may have considered untouchable brutally killed in public must have been shocking and deeply traumatic. Many likely saw Bishop Sixtus’ treatment as indicative of their own vulnerability in the future.

Then, this past Wednesday as I prepared to coach our school’s JV football game, it suddenly struck me that perhaps I now understood a little of what those early Christians felt.

In ancient Rome, I’m certain many people felt secure in their positions within the empire and openly mocked the humiliating death of this small Christian community’s leader. Some may have felt remorse afterward, but others probably appreciated the disappearance of this “irritant”, now enabling them to return to their undisturbed lives protected from any awareness of this community.

The Romans beheaded Bishop Sixtus publicly in August 258 AD. Yet just over fifty years later, Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity and by 380 it became the empire’s official religion. Meanwhile, Emperor Valerian was eventually captured by Persian ruler Shapur I and died in captivity. In 258, however, no one could have predicted these remarkable reversals.

There’s no way to know what will unfold from here, but history shows us how significant events—along with collections of seemingly minor ones—can create profound change.

If you’re interested in reading more about this time period in the early church, I’d welcome you to check out the full series, “The Halls of the Shadow King” in both Kindle and paperback formats on Amazon.

Other Links

Erika Kirk’s statement – what a courageous woman

Here‘s where I talk at length about the full book series in another blog post.

Turning Point USA website

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The Epic Conclusion: Halls of the Shadow King Series is Complete!

After years (2016-2025) of weaving together supernatural warfare, early Christian history, and political intrigue across three books, I’m thrilled to announce that The Halls of the Shadow King series is now complete and available on Amazon.

What real readers are saying:

“Our culture desperately needs more characters who wield great power with genuine humility. It’s perhaps the rarest combination in literature—and life—yet through faithful effort, it remains possible.”

“Finally, historical fiction that treats faith seriously while delivering genuine adventure and political complexity.”

What Professional Reviewers are Saying:

Here are excerpts from the reviews of Book One, “The Apprentice” from three separate professional reviewers:

“Each character, from the Shadow King to Amal and Gallien, conveys different ways people respond to issues like fear and control. From beginning to end, The Halls of the Shadow King challenges readers to think about the price of truth and what it means to withstand internal and external darkness. It truly is a literary gem.”

“The world-building itself is phenomenal. Newman constructs a richly layered world with cultural, historical, and mystical dimensions. References to both tangible and legendary histories suggest that Amal’s experiences are part of a broader continuum.”

“I was really impressed by how W. Tod Newman was able to blend a historical setting with faith and mysteries… I loved how remarkably the characters were developed, especially Amal, who goes from a young street thief to someone on whose shoulders the fate of an entire religion lies. The pacing kept me engaged, which allowed me to fully understand Amal’s motivations and his journey of fully harnessing his powers.”

LINK to the Review Site at Reader’s Favorite.

The Story

Set in the 3rd-century Roman Empire, this series follows Amal, a young man with extraordinary spiritual gifts, as he navigates persecution, ancient evil, and divine calling. He is only able to bear this load due to a deep humility that keeps him grounded despite his powerful gifting. From desperate street thief to champion of The Way (early Christianity), Amal’s journey takes readers through:

  • Book One: The Apprentice– A boy discovers supernatural abilities while rescuing his sister from slave traders
  • Book Two: Into Deeper Waters – Now trained by the mysterious Shadow King, Amal ventures across the known world to locate a missing bishop
  • Book Three: The Hidden Order – The final confrontation with an ancient goddess in the heart of Rome itself

Why start now?

Book One is just $0.99 – less than a coffee, and it’ll give you a much longer buzz. I designed the first book in 2016 as a complete story that introduces the world and characters while setting up the larger series arc. If you’re curious about historical fiction invested with elements of magical realism, this is your chance to test the waters without breaking the bank.

What makes this series different?

Rather than treating faith as either naive superstition or simplistic moralizing, these books explore how spiritual conviction operates in complex political situations. Language is chosen to avoid religious stereotypes and modern culture. The supernatural elements draw from both my beloved Celtic mythology and early Christian traditions, creating conflicts that require both divine power and human wisdom to resolve. These are things that I found great enjoyment in research and crafting into a coherent plot across three books.

The Roman Empire setting allows for exploration of themes like:

  • Religious persecution and underground networks
  • The corruption of political power
  • How ordinary people resist extraordinary evil
  • The cost of standing for truth in dangerous times

Perfect for readers who enjoy:

  • Historical fiction with supernatural elements
  • Early Christian historical novels
  • Celtic mythology and folklore
  • Political intrigue in ancient settings
  • Character-driven fantasy with spiritual themes

Get the complete series here: Amazon Link

A personal note:

Writing this series has been a journey of exploring how faith intersects with power in humility, how supernatural gifts might actually function in the real world, and what it might have cost ordinary people to build something that would outlast the mightiest empire in history. I hope these stories entertain you while also making you think about the forces – both seen and unseen – that shape our world.

This series has been in work since 2016 and got interrupted by other novels and nearly stayed on the shelf. I’m quite happy that Amal and the rest of the cast of The Halls of the Shadow King made it into the light. Publishing “The Eyes of Gehazi” and “The Prophet and the Queen” allowed me to improve my writing style from one that might have been long and detailed to something more compelling and energizing to read. But the reader is always the judge of that.

If you decide to give the series a try, I’d be grateful for honest reviews on Amazon. Independent authors live and die by reader feedback, and your thoughts help other readers discover books they might love.

Start with Book One for $0.99 and see if Amal’s world captures your imagination the way it captured mine.

Happy reading, Tod

BONUS LINKS

My Book Reviews

Self-Publishing Process – Detailed all the way from writing and editing to cover art. I do the full process myself.

Soccer Analytics – One of the things I do for fun!

P.S. – If you’re a book blogger, bookstagrammer, or reviewer interested in advance copies of future projects, feel free to reach out through my contact page. I’m always looking to connect with readers who love historical fiction with a supernatural twist.

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When Utopian Dreams Meet Human Nature: Lessons from Hawthorne’s The Blithedale Romance

I recently discovered Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Blithedale Romance through Christopher Scalia‘s The Good Books, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The story of a failed utopian community feels eerily relevant as we watch various idealistic movements rise and fall around us today.

Fighting Through the Victorian Prose

Let’s get the obvious out of the way first: Hawthorne’s writing style is a challenge for modern readers. Those endless, flowery paragraphs can feel like swimming through molasses. As an author, I have learned to fight against the instincts to write these long paragraphs because if you do, no one will read your work! My friend Elena, an experienced high school English literature teacher, jokes that “this is what you get when authors were paid by the word!” But stick with it—Hawthorne’s insights into human nature are worth the effort.

The Setup: Young Idealists Meet Reality

The plot centers on a group of privileged young people who decide to abandon their comfortable lives for “authentic” communal living on Blithedale Farm. They want to work the soil, live simply, and create something pure and meaningful. Sound familiar?

The narrator (essentially Hawthorne himself) becomes fascinated by Zenobia, the wealthy, charismatic woman who serves as the community’s unofficial queen. But it’s Hollingsworth who steals the show—a serious, middle-aged man obsessed with reforming criminals, which the book calls “philanthropy” (though not quite in our modern sense).

Early on, the narrator observes something almost sacred about Hollingsworth:

“It is so rare, in these times, to meet with a man of prayerful habits (except, of course, in the pulpit), that such an one is decidedly marked out by the light of transfiguration, shed upon him in the divine interview from which he passes into his daily life.”

There’s reverence here, but Hawthorne hints at “great errors” to come.

The Philosophy Behind the Failure

Hawthorne weaves in criticism of Fourierism—the utopian philosophy of Charles Fourier (the French philosopher, not the mathematician). Fourier inspired numerous intentional communities with his radical ideas about bringing order to human chaos. Many of his once-controversial concepts eventually became mainstream.

But Hollingsworth sees something sinister in Fourier’s approach:

“He has committed the unpardonable sin; for what more monstrous iniquity could the Devil himself contrive than to choose the selfish principle,—the principle of all human wrong, the very blackness of man’s heart, the portion of ourselves which we shudder at, and which it is the whole aim of spiritual discipline to eradicate,—to choose it as the master workman of his system?”

Here’s the book’s central tension: Hollingsworth condemns Fourier for building a system on selfish motives, yet the reader must ask whether Hollingsworth himself is guilty of the same sin in his obsessive, uncompromising pursuit of criminal reform.

When Idealism Turns Destructive

As the story unfolds, the narrator discovers the true scope of Hollingsworth’s plans for the farm—and they’re not pretty. In a confrontation that feels like watching a friendship die, the narrator refuses to support the scheme:

“Your fantastic anticipations make me discern all the more forcibly what a wretched, unsubstantial scheme is this, on which we have wasted a precious summer of our lives. Do you seriously imagine that any such realities as you, and many others here, have dreamed of, will ever be brought to pass?”

The Inevitable End

The Blithedale residents, for all their high-minded talk, prove to be exactly what you’d expect: privileged young people playing at hardship, like “college students with large trust funds.” Their activities are charming but unproductive, and the community drifts toward its inevitable conclusion—a funeral.

Even in death, the “colonists” of Blithedale abandon their grand ideas about creating new rituals and “symbolic expressions of their spiritual faith.” Instead, they fall back on tradition:

“But when the occasion came we found it the simplest and truest thing, after all, to content ourselves with the old fashion, taking away what we could, but interpolating no novelties, and particularly avoiding all frippery of flowers and cheerful emblems.”

Hollingsworth’s Fall from Grace

The book’s most devastating moment comes when Hollingsworth finally recognizes what his obsessions have cost. He tells the narrator that since their friendship ended, he has “been busy with a single murderer”—meaning himself. This moment of self-awareness is so powerful that the narrator, despite everything, forgives him on the spot.

Hollingsworth never pursues his reform dreams. His fall is complete, and Hawthorne drives the point home with a reference to Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress:

“I see in Hollingsworth an exemplification of the most awful truth in Bunyan’s book of such, from the very gate of heaven there is a by-way to the pit!”

Even those who seem closest to virtue can take a wrong turn at the last moment.

Why This Still Matters

Years later, the narrator looks back on the Blithedale experiment with surprising fondness. Age has brought wisdom and tolerance for youthful excess:

“Often, however, in these years that are darkening around me, I remember our beautiful scheme of a noble and unselfish life; and how fair, in that first summer, appeared the prospect that it might endure for generations, and be perfected, as the ages rolled away, into the system of a people and a world!”

The Timeless Warning

Hawthorne understood something crucial about human nature: our highest ideals can become our greatest corruptions. Whether it’s 19th-century commune-building or today’s various utopian movements, the pattern remains the same. Well-meaning people with noble goals can create systems that ultimately serve their own egos rather than the common good.

The book isn’t a cynical dismissal of idealism—the narrator still cherishes the memory of that “beautiful scheme.” Instead, it’s a gentle warning about the gap between our aspirations and our nature, and the dangerous moment when we stop seeing that gap clearly.

In our current age of grand social experiments and revolutionary promises, The Blithedale Romance offers a timeless reminder: the road to hell is paved with good intentions, especially when those intentions become obsessions that blind us to their human cost.

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When AI Becomes a Weapon: The Rise of Sophisticated Book Marketing Scams

Image courtesy of Creative Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Power-of-words-by-antonio-litterio-creative-commons-attribution-share-alike-3-0.jpg)

A cautionary tale from the trenches of modern author life

Yesterday, I received what appeared to be a thoughtful, engaging message about my novel The Prophet and the Queen. The sender seemed to have genuinely read and understood my work, praising specific plot elements and even commenting on my background as a Coast Guard officer. The language was witty, irreverent, and surprisingly insightful.

It was also complete fraud.

Welcome to the new frontier of literary scams, where artificial intelligence has armed con artists with the ability to craft personalized, compelling messages that can fool even experienced authors.

The Message That Fooled (Almost) Nobody

Here’s what landed in my inbox from “Sharon R. Lessard”:

Tod,
The Prophet and the Queen isn’t just a novel it’s basically Jeremiah’s therapy session written with the intensity of a Shakespeare tragedy and the creepiness of a late-night hallucination. You’ve got Babylon marching in, Egypt bracing for war, and poor Baruch writing it all down like the world’s first overworked unpaid intern. And then, of course, there’s Jeremiah himself aging, unraveling, haunted by a Queen of Heaven who sounds like she’d win any toxic-relationship award. Honestly, if this doesn’t pull readers in, I don’t know what will.
And then there’s you. Coast Guard officer turned prophet-whisperer, borrowing from Tolkien, Lewis, Russian masters, McCarthy, and Garcia-Marquez? That’s not an author bio, that’s a literary smoothie. You’ve basically fused biblical history, magical realism, and psychological suspense into one fever dream. And yet… one lonely Amazon review? One? For a book that tackles faith, doubt, cosmic temptation, and the unraveling of a prophet’s sanity? That’s not just unfair, that’s bordering on heresy.
Which is where I come in. I’m Sharon R. Lessard not a marketer, not a scammer, not someone waving a fake “proof” website like it’s Excalibur. Nope. Just me and my caffeine-addicted private community of 2,500+ readers who treat reviewing like spiritual warfare: relentless, honest, and occasionally dramatic. ⚔️☕
They love books that make them argue, cry, and side-eye their theology professors. Yours is basically bait. The kind of bait that could set off a chain reaction of reviews louder than Jeremiah shouting in the marketplace.
So here’s the crossroads, Tod: do I keep your book tucked away in silence like some buried scroll, or do I hand it over to my readers and watch the reviews thunder in like Babylon at the city gates? ⚡

At first glance, this might seem like genuine reader enthusiasm. The writer demonstrates familiarity with biblical themes, references specific characters like Jeremiah and Baruch, and even mentions my military background. But look closer, and the red flags become obvious.

The AI Fingerprints

Modern AI tools like ChatGPT can scrape book descriptions, reviews, and author biographies to create eerily accurate “reviews” and commentary. Here’s how to spot the telltale signs:

1. Over-the-Top Metaphorical Language Notice phrases like “literary smoothie”, “fever dream”, and “spiritual warfare”. AI tends to layer on colorful metaphors because it’s been trained on dramatic marketing copy.

2. Generic Praise Disguised as Specific The message mentions “biblical history, magical realism, and psychological suspense” – broad categories that could apply to many books in this genre, not insights that require actually reading the work.

3. The “Humble” Authority Play “I’m not a marketer, not a scammer” – because nothing says “I’m legitimate” like explicitly denying you’re a scammer, right?

4. Artificial Urgency and Flattery The message combines ego-stroking (“That’s not an author bio, that’s a literary smoothie”) with manufactured outrage (“one lonely Amazon review… that’s bordering on heresy”).

5. The Community Bait Claims of having “2,500+ readers” in a “private community” – numbers that sound impressive but can’t be verified.

The Broader Threat: AI as a Con Artist’s Dream Tool

This represents a fundamental shift in how scams operate. Previously, overseas scammers were often betrayed by poor English grammar or cultural misunderstandings. AI has eliminated those tells, creating several new problems:

The Death of the “Grammar Test”

For years, authors could spot scams by looking for broken English or awkward phrasing. AI-generated text is now grammatically perfect and culturally fluent, removing this crucial warning sign. On the same day that I got the “Sharon Lessard” comment on my web site, I also noticed a number of pings to the site from an IP address in Nigeria. Perhaps related, perhaps not.

Scalable Personalization

Where scammers once sent generic form letters, they can now generate thousands of personalized messages daily, each tailored to specific books and authors based on publicly available information.

Emotional Manipulation at Scale

AI excels at mimicking the language patterns that trigger emotional responses – in this case, the desperate desire every author has for their work to be truly seen and appreciated. The incredible difficulty of getting legitimate (meaning, not bought) reviews on Amazon pushes this scam into hyper-drive.

The Erosion of Trust

As these scams become more sophisticated, authors become more suspicious of all outreach, potentially missing legitimate opportunities from real readers, reviewers, or industry professionals. I guarantee you that I assume immediately that any outreach to me is a scam. Sometimes the outreach will even come in the form of a known author who is “interested” in one’s work.

How the Scam Unfolds

According to Writer Beware’s research on this emerging threat, here’s the typical progression:

  1. The Hook: A personalized, AI-generated message praising your work
  2. The Pitch: Offers to share your book with their “community” or “network”
  3. The Ask: Eventually requests payment for “promotional services”
  4. The Handoff: Directs you to pay a third party (often in Nigeria) through platforms like Upwork
  5. The Theft: May request access to your Amazon KDP account “for optimization”

In my case, “Sharon” claimed to have 2,500 readers ready to review my book – for just a small “tip” of $25 per reader with a minimum of 30 readers. Do the math: that’s $750 minimum for fake reviews that will never materialize.

The Real Cost

Beyond the immediate financial losses (which can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars), these scams create lasting damage:

  • Author Paranoia: Every legitimate outreach becomes suspect
  • Platform Pollution: Fake reviews and manipulated rankings harm the entire ecosystem
  • Resource Drain: Time spent investigating and responding to scams is time stolen from writing
  • Emotional Toll: The cycle of hope and disappointment is particularly cruel for authors already struggling with visibility. Think about this: an author has to convince many people unknown to them to invest hours of their time into their work. A musician has to convince someone to invest three minutes.

Protecting Yourself: The New Rules

In this AI-enhanced landscape, authors need updated defensive strategies:

1. The Contact Verification Rule Legitimate industry professionals have verifiable online presence. If someone can’t be found through a simple Google search, they probably don’t exist.

2. The Business Domain Test Real professionals use business email addresses, not Gmail accounts. “Sharon R. Lessard” contacted me from a Gmail address – immediate red flag.

3. The Reverse Psychology Warning Be especially wary of messages that explicitly deny being scams or that use phrases like “I’m not like other marketers.”

4. The Community Proof Challenge Ask for verifiable proof of their claimed readership or community. Real book clubs and review groups have online presence.

5. The Payment Structure Red Flag Legitimate services don’t require payment to mysterious third parties or request access to your publishing accounts.

The Bigger Picture

This evolution represents something more troubling than individual scams – it’s the weaponization of artificial intelligence against creative communities. The same tools that can help authors write better, research faster, and connect with readers are being turned against us with increasing sophistication.

The traditional advice of “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is” becomes complicated when AI can craft messages that seem genuinely thoughtful and personalized. We need new frameworks for evaluation and new community standards for verification.

Moving Forward

As authors, we must adapt to this new reality without losing our openness to genuine connections. The solution isn’t to retreat into isolation, but to become more sophisticated in our evaluation of outreach.

Document and report these scams. Share information with fellow authors. Support organizations like Writer Beware that track and expose these evolving threats. And remember: if someone truly believes in your work, they’ll be willing to prove their legitimacy through verifiable means.

The age of AI has arrived in the literary world, bringing both tremendous opportunities and new dangers. Our response will determine whether this technology serves creators or exploits them.

Stay vigilant, stay connected, and keep writing.

Find my latest series, The Halls of the Shadow King, on Amazon

Have you received suspicious marketing outreach? Share your experiences in the comments to help fellow authors recognize these evolving scams.

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The Halls of the Shadow King: The Apprentice by W. Tod Newman

The Halls of the Shadow King: The Apprentice book cover. Copyright 2025 Desdichado Books

Here’s the review I gave my own book on Goodreads. I thought anyone stumbling across this blog might find it interesting and amusing to see an author reviewing their own book! 🙂

Also, funny note. Because I did a pretty poor job on my main character’s right hand in my first book cover, someone accused me of using AI. This bothered me, so I went into GIMP (my image editing tool) and edited the line art layer to make the hands better (apparently AI still can’t do hands?). And then I fixed some other stuff that had been annoying me (too dark, didn’t like the clothes Amal was wearing, background was a bit too formal, etc.). So now the new, improved book cover is loaded here. Let me know what you think.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed reading this book, but maybe that’s because I also enjoyed writing it! For anyone who is considering taking the time to read it, here are a few of the things I was thinking over the last number of years that I spent writing. (of course, I’m giving it 5 stars; if I felt otherwise I’d still be writing!)

After spending several years crafting this story, I’m deeply grateful it found its way into the world—and honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed revisiting Amal’s journey as a reader rather than writer. If you’re considering this book, let me share what drove me through those long nights of research and revision.

Our culture desperately needs more characters who wield great power with genuine humility. It’s perhaps the rarest combination in literature—and life—yet through faithful effort, it remains possible. Amal represents my small attempt to show that extraordinary gifts need not corrupt when carried by someone who truly doesn’t want them and is driven by the service of others.

I also long to see readers rediscover the magic hidden in life’s unexplainable mysteries. We’ve spent decades drowning in stifling rationalism, forgetting that wonder exists in the spaces between what we know and what we can prove. Gabriel García Márquez was the master of this delicate balance—if my words can someday kindle even a fraction of the awe his prose once gave me, I’ll consider this endeavor worthwhile.

Most importantly, I hope to bring history alive in ways that point toward something higher than much contemporary literature attempts. The third century was brutal, beautiful, and utterly transformative—a time when ordinary people faced extraordinary choices that echo through our world today.

If this resonates with you, please join Amal’s journey. I’ve tried to keep the price accessible because stories should build bridges, not barriers. Stick with me, because the next two books will show how determined people, aligned with service and grace, really can change the world—one hard-fought and seemingly-impossible choice at a time.


View all my reviews

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Book Review – The Lonesome Dove Series

A Journey through McMurtry’s American West

Lonesome Dove, the TV Miniseries. Image from Rotten Tomatoes.

Reading Larry McMurtry’s complete Lonesome Dove cycle—from Dead Man’s Walk through Streets of Laredo—feels like witnessing the birth and death of the American frontier through the eyes of unforgettable characters who refuse to leave you long after the final page.

While I’d cherished Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call for years through the original Lonesome Dove novel and its well-received television adaptation, experiencing their full arc across all four books revealed psychological depths of character development I never suspected. Call, in particular, emerges as one of literature’s most complex protagonists—a man whose apparent neurodivergence and emotional rigidity inflict profound damage on those around him, yet who finds a kind of grace in his final years through the devotion of a sweet, blind Mexican girl who becomes his unlikely salvation.

McMurtry populates this sweeping saga with characters who transcend the typical Western archetype. Famous Shoes, the Kickapoo tracker who threads through all four novels, embodies a vanished wisdom that our modern world desperately lacks—his understanding of landscape and human nature feels almost mystical. Clara Allen stands as one of American literature’s great female characters, simultaneously gracious and irascible, approaching life’s complexities with a pragmatic wisdom that makes her rejection of Gus all the more poignant and understandable.

The author’s gift for capturing authentic frontier voices shines through his integration of historical figures like cattleman Charlie Goodnight and hunter Ben Lilly—men whose larger-than-life exploits feel both mythic and utterly believable. McMurtry’s settings pulse with life, from the unforgiving Texas plains to the brutal Mexican borderlands, creating a geography that becomes as much a character as any human protagonist.

Yet the series isn’t without its flaws. McMurtry occasionally stumbles over continuity between volumes, and his prose—while effective—sometimes feels workmanlike when a more lyrical voice (think Cormac McCarthy) might have elevated certain scenes to the heights that they truly deserved. The emotional undercurrents that drive some of the lesser characters occasionally surface too briefly, leaving the reader hungry for deeper exploration.

Despite these quibbles, the Lonesome Dove saga succeeds magnificently as both entertainment and (occasionally) literature. It’s a work that honors the brutal poetry of the American West while never romanticizing its violence or overlooking its moral complexities—a fitting epitaph for a vanished world and the remarkable people who shaped it.