Valley of Thracians Is Published

More than two years in the making, my novel Valley of Thracians is now a reality. It has been published and is available for Kindle, with other formats to follow. (If you prefer the touch of paper, don't worry, a paperback version is coming soon).

Valley of Thracians is a novel of Bulgaria. You could call it a "fiction travel book", as Bulgaria plays a central role in the story. According to Condé Nast Traveler, a fiction travel book is "a book in which a place is as important a character as the protagonist; … it's a book that has shaped the way we see a certain place; it's a book whose events and characters could be set nowhere else."

Valley of Thracians is such a book.

My wife and I lived for two years in Sofia and during that time we traveled extensively around Bulgaria. We learned about the country's history, culture, language, customs, people, and politics. We saw Bulgaria's archaeological sites, climbed its mountains, visited its villages and monasteries, and sunbathed on its beaches. We ate in the restaurants and shopped in the stores, sometimes conversing only in Bulgarian. We made many friends.  In short, we fell quite in love with Bulgaria.

Valley of Thracians is a suspense novel, set in Bulgaria. By reading it, I hope you will get a better understanding of the uniqueness and beauty of Bulgaria, a country not often visited by Western travelers.

I look forward to reading your comments and reviews. I hope you enjoy Valley of Thracians.

Book Description:

A Peace Corps volunteer has gone missing in Bulgaria and everyone assumes he is dead, everyone except his grandfather, who refuses to give up hope. Retired literature professor Simon Matthews launches a desperate search only to be lured into a bizarre quest to retrieve a stolen Thracian artifact—an unique object of immense value others will stop at nothing to recover.

Matthews travels through a Balkan landscape dotted with ancient tombs and fortresses, unaware that his grandson has been confined to an isolated mountain cabin, slowly recovering from a severe head injury. Nothing can be taken at face value, as the woman assisting Matthews in his quest and the nurse caring for his injured grandson may have ulterior motives in helping the two reunite. Even when Matthews succeeds in joining up with his grandson, departure from Bulgaria is only possible if the missing relic can be found.


Now available on Amazon for Kindle.