The Founding of Denispri

From North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East; from the 14th and 3rd centuries B.C., from the 10th, 16th, 18th and 19th centuries A.D.; spouses, enemies, friends, strangers - twelve of them are rescued from certain death on earth to become the first families of Verdura.

Joshua and Marie Duncan are sent ahead to find each couple as they enter Verdura; to lead them to where they will begin their new lives together.

But people have their own ideas, their own desires. Sometimes they work for the common good. Sometimes they work against one another.

And they mess up.

You see, sometimes commands are for a reason. Sometimes there are enemies. Sometimes people need to listen. And if they don't, they often can't undo the consequences. They lack the power, the knowledge, the means, to undo the evil they've caused.

Someone else must undo it. But can it be undone? By whom? At what cost?

Will Verdura end before it begins?

Over a period of twenty-five years, Dr. Saunders lived in four countries in Europe--working in more than three dozen countries both before and after the end of communist rule--with the purpose of describing and purveying grace. Overcoming cultural differences and ways of communicating gave him insight both into what divides people and into what unites them. It also helped him understand elements in various cultures, baggage some call it, that keep people from hearing one another. Writing fantasy gave him a way to minimize the baggage and show truths to people they might otherwise be unable to see.

Anna Coleman is a freelance illustrator living in Deltona, Florida. She received formal training in Fine Art at Flagler College where she earned her BFA in 2011. Her style is versatile, ranging from detailed traditional paintings to whimsical digital illustrations. Anna's favorite things are animals, vintage aesthetics and the outdoors, which make them reoccurring themes in her work. She shares her home with her husband, her dog, and a growing collection of house plants.