Thursday, October 25, 7pm, The Book Loft of German Village, 631 S. Third St.

Friendship, forgiveness and faith set the groundwork of “The Lyra and the Cross,” a historical novel depicting the political and spiritual unrest in the first-century Roman Empire. Drawing on five years of historical research and on her own cross-cultural experience as journalist, Peace Corps volunteer, and interpreter, author Elizabeth Sammons depicts a world as full of interfaith conflict and choices as difficult as our own. Amidst familiar characters from the New Testament, readers will find stories of a slave turned freedman, a Greek orphan adopted into life as a Jew, and two bitter-sweet love stories set against a background of cross-cultural conflict comparable to events that we witness in the 21st century.

Elizabeth L. Sammons lives in Worthington, holds an M.A. in journalism from OSU, and has lived in five foreign countries. Her love of both scripture and Greek mythology dates back to childhood. To her knowledge, this is the only modern English-language novel that features St. Stephen as its protagonist. This is her first novel.