Since Antonius

by Alexander Francis

A heartbreaking message from the distant past is uncovered in the ruins of Herculaneum. It is a plea for help meant to be read by the only man in the twenty-first century who knew the messenger in person and called him his brother.

Tony and Mary are saddened by the plight of Cosimo, and they at last disclose the stunning truth to their son. Tony was born in the first century. He and his wife have traveled in time, and their companion and friend was left behind in the past.

A young brilliant scientist has the means and the knowledge to create time travel, just like his mother did twenty years previously when she enabled two young translators to go back to the first century. But Barron is being watched by relentless government agents who are determined to prevent a window into the past to ever be opened...again.

410 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2020

About the author

I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina and went to college there. I still have the sand in my shoes and the smell of the salt air in my nose, and when I return, encountering those two things brings back floods of memories.My first attempt at writing was to re-create some of my favorite episodes from childhood and, also, to poke a bit of harmless fun at my brother. In college, I discovered an ability to write poetry, thanks to a rather demanding English professor, who eventually came to appreciate and encourage my work.

Life intervenes, as it does for everyone, and there was a large hiatus before I found time to write again. My first attempt came almost by accident, because one day I simply wrote down what had happened to me the previous evening. The story slowly became a book…Are We A Band Yet?, and at the time, the few who read it were full of praise. Because the story was personal, and some of the characters real, I declined to publish it for a long time. But my language skills and my storytelling were re-awakened by that first attempt, and since then, I have gone on to write eight full-length novels, all the while working on my style and literary abilities.

I found that what most interests me is the interrelationship between a man and a woman. It’s a subject which has tested writers and storytellers for eons and is truly inexhaustible, for each situation is both unique and timeless, as well as compelling.

During my rather short career, my emotions have been awakened, and I attempt to give my readers the intensity of my feelings through my words. Two of my novels (Beware The Exit and Memory Gap) were inspired by dreams, and after recalling the fragments that remained the next morning, I put the essence down on paper and began the laborious task of creating an exciting book.

Writing has made me grow as a person, not only because of attention to the emotional content of my books, but also attention to detail, both environmental and personal. Writing is like photography in that it brings the world around you into your consciousness, occasionally for the first time.

Instead of being exhausted, my writing is just getting started, because everywhere I look, I can see the outline of yet another book which needs telling, another exciting tale or tender moment which can be created in ink and paper.


Alexander Francis