And I can’t wait to unveil it

“Great story, reminds me of The Da Vinci Code,” the agent told me down the phone. I could detect her wide grin on the other end as she delivered her next remark. “But there’s no way I’m touching it. And no publishing house on earth is going to get within a hundred yards of it, either.”

“Uh huh,” I simply replied, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. Thanking her for her time, I ended the call and sat back to let my frustration simmer down over the next ten minutes.

I didn’t need to ask her why I’d been rejected; like every other email and phone call I’ve ever had with a publisher about my works, the response was a firm no. My other book, A Plague of Murder, was once turned away because of my stubborn refusal to allow it to be cut down from its 480,000 word count. “Would Tolstoy have butchered War and Peace to fit with a publisher’s expectations?!” I once flippantly declared.

But my latest book has an altogether different issue. It’s set almost entirely in the present day and is loaded with modern technology. It’s also a globetrotting adventure novel featuring a desperate treasure hunt, a vengeful secret society, and a strong female lead. On top of that, it’s based on years of academic research and scientific studies to keep it rooted in reality. In short, it’s a perfect holiday escape.

So why the curt rejection?

Well, the best reply I can give is the feedback I got from a friend who kindly read my first 40,000 words over the course of a rainy afternoon;

“It’s an adventure novel that explores the very origins of Islam, and if the research it’s based on is true, it reveals a secret that’s been in plain sight for almost fifteen hundred years. Forget Dan Brown; have you ever heard of Salman Rushdie, and of what happened to him?”

And therein lies the problem for any publisher gazing at such a manuscript over a strong cup of tea. Perhaps I’m being ridiculously naive with my “glad tidings, good stranger” attitude whenever it comes to discussing any form or style of literature – for me, nothing is ever off the table. Here in the West, we have thousands of fictional stories all taking inspiration from various religions. Yet so far, I haven’t read one that delves into the origins of Islam with anything like the breadth and depth of a good adventure novel (but I’m happy to be corrected in the comments below). So I’ve decided to write my own.

I have to stress, this book doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a fast-paced work of fiction, and neither does it seek to cause offence – far from it. I think it treats the whole concept of religion with great respect and doesn’t go stomping around making wild-eyed speculations. Yet it’s undeniable there is a largely untapped historical world out there – some of it is located in the Quran itself, while much is carved into monuments like the Dome of the Rock – and all of it just waiting to be explored by an author’s imagination.

Like I alluded to earlier, this part of human history is an on-off obsession I’ve had for the past three years. When I began delving into the founding of Islam, I expected to find something similar to what I was taught in school about this fascinating but well-recorded religion and its beginnings. But what I’ve found from experts in the field is endless possibilities branching out in every direction.

At the moment, I’m continuing the book’s editing, and still have its final chapters to complete. But for now, I’ll end with its introduction that I think sets the scene and gives you an idea on what to expect. I’m incredibly excited to get this project over the finish line as I believe it’s my best work yet, and I’ve got plenty more updates to come. My self-imposed deadline for publication is 1st September 2022, and there is every expectation the ebook will be absolutely free!

Until next time, stay safe!

Introduction – untitled work in progress

There exists a story, rarely ever spoken.

At the beginning of the Islamic conquest of the Middle East, just twelve years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, there rose a great Caliph known to history as Uthman. Accused of corruption from the earliest days of his reign, his grip on power was tenuous, even as the religion ignited like wildfire throughout his lands.

By 650AD the Caliph had grown concerned at the number of variations appearing in the Quran as his domain spread beyond the Arabian Peninsula, into North Africa and Persia.

Fearing a fragmentation of his fledgling Caliphate, Uthman ordered a standard version of the holy text be prepared and distributed across the urban centres of the Islamic World. Soon, these new copies were dispatched with armed guards to the nine great cities of his growing empire, and local officials were ordered to burn their existing scriptures.

One by one, each city obeyed, and their unique Qurans were consumed by fire, never to survive the ages. 

All except one, held in the City of Alexandria.

The Ninth Quran.