Words from the Author - Why I wrote the books

What made me write the Tree of Faith?

History fascinates and no part of history more so than World War II. The conflict decimated Europe in seven years of madness and left behind a legacy of hatred and distrust. What drove it forward? For me, it would be too easy to blame Germany for the conflict. They were responsible for the Holocaust and had walked willingly into a right wing morass. Is there something in the teutonic character that makes them more willing to go to war and to join conflict. Certainly, the nation is highly competitive excelling at sport and commerce, but does that make them incapable of living sociably with their neighbours. The last fifty years would tell you that the Germans are fully capable of living in peace. There is one country that above others has a focus upon environment, introducing world changing policy to convert ourselves from the CO2 producing juggernaut that we have become.

So what was it that compelled them to follow Hitler and burden its people with this legacy of shame? In my opinion the answer lies in economics and religion.

First, it is widely accepted that the Treaty of Versailles was a mistake and the Marshall Plan a success. Men can only live together when there is a tolerant spread of wealth or in other words there can be no peace as long as the world believes that inequality is acceptable. The Americans and for that matter us Europeans would do well to understand that we will never gain the respect of the rest of the world when our consumption is so one sided and wasteful. Communism is unlikely to be the answer, but wealth and bullying of the poor cannot be the way to a peaceful and sustainable future.

Religion has always played its part in world conflict and WWII was no exception. Our views have been clouded by the fact that propaganda focuses entirely upon the Holocaust. There is no doubt that this was unmistakably evil act, yet we should also not forget other equally awful tragedies of this period. China and Russia lost lives that dwarf the six million figure. Poland itself lost a higher percentage of its population than any other country and though many were Jews, the genocide was not limited to them. Even the victors were not above their own version in revenge upon Sudeten civilians. We should remember these people with equal respect. There is no good death under conditions of conflict.

It is in this context that I decided to write the book series. I wanted each book to have a symbolism for a particular belief, though there is much crossover. 

-Whispering Birches was written in view of the Orthodox religion and distinguishes itself clearly from the Western version of Christianity. In this vein the characters in Birches are modelled after the seven archangels that dominate this religion. 

-Truth in Ash looks at the Roman Catholic church and tracks the questionable role played by the church. Many Nazis were of this belief and we see in the story the internal conflict of the characters as they come to terms with their acts of genocide. Again it is no coincidence that the book is related by the four apostles. Just like the bible, one is left unsure of the real truth. 

-Fallen Beech traces the role played by Pagan religion both within the Nazis themselves and in the colonist tendency of western society. We see that as one empire falls, another rises from its ashes. Le plus ça change! The characters again model the characters of the Pagan lore of Tyr and Fenrir the wolf.

-Blood Orange Blossom recounts the story of Israel's early formative years. The characters Avram, Daniel and Rudi (Noah) tell their stories and we see the biblical links in this epic event.

-Mahogany Rose turns the clock forward to a time when science would solve all. The nuclear testing of the early 1960s was the time when man realized that science could not replace the spirit.

In each book, I have modelled events off real life stories. Although I always emphacize that the stories are fictional and do not reflect real opinions, the pressures of the time must have been similar. I hope to have captured some of this flavour and wish you every enjoyment in reading my books.