A Light through the Cave

Joshua.

This was a totally different voice than he had heard before. It conveyed a sense of terrible beauty and power. Joshua blinked, shook his head slightly, and began to climb the rise that separated him from the cavern.

It was not a difficult climb, this little rise, but Joshua could do it only with great effort. His body seemed reluctant to work. As he neared the top, the light did not grow brighter, but he felt it would blind him. The cave did not become warmer, but he felt the heat would scald him. He covered his face with his arm, and still something kept him back. The very air of the cavern pressed against him.

Yet slowly, methodically, Joshua plodded up the rise. It ended in a sort of wall. Over this wall, feeling shame and great fear, his arm still in front of his face as if to fend off a blow, he raised his head, miserably, at length.

Come down, Joshua, said the terrible beautiful voice. I have been waiting for you.

You’ve never read a fantasy like A Light through the Cave by Gordon Saunders. You’ve never seen characters like those who inhabit the world called Verdura.

Kentucky, 1836. Joshua and Marie were only going to tour Mammoth Cave. Amanda and her Daddy’s slave, Steven, were only going for a picnic in the cave. Only the way out didn’t lead out. It led in. In to another world where they were desperately needed to save the lives of dozens of women and children. But it wasn’t what they thought. It wasn’t against an army. The army only wanted them to fight… something else. Something worse. Something worse than their worst nightmares. Will they defeat it? Can it even be defeated? Will the rocks cry out to help them? And where is that glowing bird, the one they saw killed, the one who lit up the sky not long after? The only one who can get them back home. Will he come?

Join Joshua, Marie, Amanda and Steven in their first Verduran adventure. Or maybe their last adventure. Anywhere.

“I loved the concept right from the start,” said one reader. “Especially the world Saunders created––the one in which his characters become trapped. But I also loved the historical element, the contrast between the opening setting and where the story ends up, and the adventure elements that kept me turning the pages long after I should have been asleep. Highly recommend!” (Middle School teacher).

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.