In the Beginning: The Early Days of Religious Beliefs

It is 40,000 BCE, and Neanderthals believe in spirit gods. Og is an ancient, exceptionally intelligent Neanderthal. As he sits in his cave sheltered from the vicious storm that rages outside, he knows there must be a better way to survive. Now all he has to do is convince his tribal troupe that he has the answers to their fears and apprehensions.

After he convinces Chief Olo that he can appease the spirit gods and end the storm by performing a ritual he learned from his father, Og puts on a colorful show with rattles, bones, and face paint. When the storm subsides and it becomes evident that Og displays some power over the elements, he begins to receive respect from most tribal members—except the insecure chief, who is threatened by him. But when Og saves the chief’s life, he makes way for Og to become the tribe’s first fully anointed priest and create a legend whose idea of persuasive idolization will spread throughout the old and new world and carry on into the future.

In the Beginning shares the compelling tale of a Neanderthal man’s journey as he becomes spiritual leader of his clan and passes his knowledge on to his descendants so they can continue to benefit.

Mr. Jaime Reyes has enjoyed many career changes. He was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, several decades ago. His family moved to the US mainland when he was nearly eight years old. He spoke no English but in a matter of months was fluent enough to become a straight A student. It helped that he learned to read Spanish at age three and continued to feed his voracious appetite for words in the new language. After graduating from Thomas A. Edison High School, he was drafted into the US Army and served honorably in Vietnam as a military intelligence agent and analyst. After completing military service, he started his own business, which he managed successfully for seven years. He sold the business and pursued the career of his dreams in law enforcement. He worked with the Philadelphia Police Department for five years and then the Philadelphia Office of the Sheriff as a deputy sheriff. He served for twenty-five years, the last ten years as a supervisor. During off hours, he wrote articles as a hobby in English and Spanish, including opinion pieces, guest columns, and public service articles in various newspapers and online publications. After retiring from law enforcement, he wanted to establish credentials to continue a writing career, and so he earned a bachelor's in communication and journalism at an age when most people are enjoying a leisurely retirement. As a result of having read hundreds of books, he used CLEP (College Level Examination Program) and other similar programs to test out of elective courses and earn his degree in just two years. He continued writing articles and short stories. The short story version of In the Beginning received good reviews, and he decided to convert it to a novel. An incentive for the short story and the book came from a genealogical study that determined that his varied ancestral lineage includes three percent Neanderthal DNA. In the Beginning is his first published book.