Steve Grzeszczak

Books and Stories

Secrets – Critical Times

Secret insight and content for:

 

 

 

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SECRET INFO

The four main characters – different eras

The four main characters come from the same small town, but from different eras in time. (See the FAQs below for more details).

The four main characters – different personalities

Creating four distinct, but balanced characters for this story was very important. To track their personality traits I built a spreadsheet with the characters’ names (Ben, Mary, Jacob and Emma) across the top of row one. In the first column I listed over a dozen personal attributes. These included common ones such as gender, age, occupation, marital status and hobbies. I also included several beliefs and attitudes such as their temperament, religious and political views. I made sure to balance them out. Two men, two women, various ages and equal representation between political and religious views.

GOD <-> DOG

Most people miss it, but in the last two paragraphs of the story, Ben looks down at his dog and up to his god as he asks each the same basic question.

1-2-3-4-5

Here is another one that most people miss. Around page 2, just as Ben is being seated, I slipped in a counting sequence:

ONE quick stop
the TWO arrived
at table THREE
FOUR chairs
FIVE minutes

Future Stories

Look for the main characters in future stories. The same is somewhat true for Ruby.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY

The inspiration for this story came from hearing so many people talk about how advanced and enlightened mankind is right now. It is true that we have technology that produces advancements in all areas of our lives. But if you study history and take it all into context, people are the same. If you take away the technology, people are same now as they were two or four thousand years ago.

Ben states this half way through the story, “…no matter how the world changes, basic human nature is still basically the same…”

FAQ

Click here if you have a question that you would like to ask.

Since some readers were unsure, here are the eras of each character:

  • Ben – 1000BC
  • Mary – right after the death of Christ
  • Emma – 1000AD
  • Jacob – current times

The forest represents the light of God’s presence in our life. All four characters felt safe in the forest, but once they left, they felt in danger. It is a miracle from God that people from various eras can meet.
So, in a crude sense it is like a time machine.

Yes! Good catch. The the porch beams of the building on the book cover were intentionally brightened to emphasize the cross shape.

Michael, the Archangel.

There are a few in the early pages:

  • Around page 2, Ben says, ‘Benjamin, first of four. Mary to follow’
  • Around page 2, Ben refers to, ‘stepping into a different world’
  • Around page 3, Ben tells Mary that he felt as if he was waiting 1000 years for her (they live 1000 years apart)

Ruby was being forced into a marriage that she didn’t approve of. Her past lover, the curly-haired blonde man came back to town to convince her to marry him instead. Ramone saw the man and became enraged. The fight broke out and Ramone was stabbed. Who stabbed him? Was it accidentally self inflicted, did the blonde man do it or did Ruby? It was the blonde-haired man who stabbed Ramone, although he had no intention of doing so.