📖First Chapter: Iron in the Scepter (Stele Prophecy Pentalogy Book 5) by Randy C. Dockens #FirstChapter

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Title: Iron in the Scepter (Stele Prophecy Pentalogy Series Book 5)
Author: Randy C. Dockens
Publisher: Carpenter’s Son Publishing
Publication Date: April 12, 2020
Pages: 304
Genre: Christian Fiction

After Janet’s proposal for increasing teleporter efficiency to an all-time high is rejected by the King, she sets in motion a plan of revenge that has devastating consequences far greater than she ever imagined.

A co-worker puts Janet on the path to a prophecy that supposedly states the King will one day be deposed by a coming Overtaker who will bring true freedom to everyone. She puts her efforts, and those of her family, into the fulfillment of this prophecy. She marries a romantic who cherishes her for who she is, not wishing to change her, but doesn’t realize Janet also sees having children as a means to a greater end. Will she allow her animosity for the King and her pride to put herself, and her whole family, in harm’s way to fulfill her desire to see the King deposed? Her coercive efforts propel her into the fulfillment of a prophecy she could never have envisioned.

Iron in the Scepter, the fourth prequel to Mercy of the Iron Scepter, is the fifth and final book of a new biblical end times prophecy series entitled Stele Prophecy Pentalogy by futuristic fiction author Randy C Dockens. This is not your typical speculative fiction novel as it combines prophecy of biblical end times events with advances in science to describe a future home that is technologically advanced to produce a unique science fiction feel to this story. Plus, it provides a romantic read with a twist to the typical love story because pride gets in the way of true joy.

Iron in the Scepter is available at Amazon.

First Chapter:

Jubilee Calendar 18:5:6

Look away, Janet. He’s a farmer.

She tried to listen to her common sense by focusing on her delicious three-cheese and spinach lasagna, taking the last couple of bites. Studying her electronic tablet, she sipped her tea and tried to concentrate on a book she started the night before. After reading the same paragraph for the third time, she sighed and put the tablet down. Why was something so engaging the previous night not able to keep her attention now?

The waiter came by. Dinner came with complimentary cheesecake for guests with a birthday. How pathetic was it to spend her twenty-fifth birthday alone? Just like last year. Well, at least she was consistent. She stared at the slice of cake. Leave it, Janet. Walk out now. She almost did. Instead, she picked up her fork.

She heard him laugh. Don’t look over at him. She glanced his way. He had all the qualities on her “perfect man” list: square jaw, dimples, engaging smile, and, most importantly, muscles. He had on a long-sleeved shirt, but when he bent his arm, it looked as if the fabric would burst at its seam. His hair had strong red highlights, somewhat disheveled, but that made him all the more intriguing in her eyes.

She looked away and shook her head. Why did I look? I should leave. She didn’t. You’re a loner, Janet. That’s the way she had always worked. That’s why she became a commodities analyst, so she could avoid entanglements. She should leave this farmer to his wheat and antigravity harvester. That’s the way it had to be. But against her better judgment, she glanced at him again.

This time he glanced back. Their eyes made contact. The glance was brief but not so brief before he smiled at her. Trying to act nonchalant, she picked up her tablet again and pretended to read. His glancing rate increased, and soon he was looking at her nonstop, even when talking to his friends.

They stood. Are they leaving? Good. Soon all of this would be behind her.

He patted the shoulder of one of the others and headed her way. She now tried to ignore him completely. That became impossible when he was standing next to her table.

She repressed the urge to look up. “Can I help you?”

“That depends.” He sat down across from her.

She took a glance. He had his chin in his palm with an arm propped on the table, displaying an adorable smile.

She put down her tablet and forced herself to remain expressionless. “Upon what?”

“Whether you go out with me or not.”

“And why would I do that?”

He shifted in his seat, letting go of his chin, and placed both elbows on the table to lean forward, dimples now in full force.

“Let’s turn this into a challenge,” he said.

Janet’s eyebrows went up. She didn’t say anything. The guy’s smile broadened, if that was even possible.

“If I get you to smile in, say, the next three minutes, you go out with me.”

“Oh, that’s the challenge, is it?” Janet kept her matter-of-fact tone.

The man nodded.

“I must warn you. Better men have tried.”

“Other.”

Janet scrunched her brow. “Excuse me?”

“Other men. Other men have tried. Not better.”

Janet set back. “Oh, confident are we?” She nodded toward a table on the other side of the restaurant. “See that lady over there?”

The man turned his head and looked to where Janet nodded. The woman diverted her attention back to her salad.

“She’s been staring at you the whole time, eating her salad very slowly trying to get your eye. Maybe you’d have better luck with her.”

The man shook his head. “I’m more of a three-cheese lasagna man myself.”

Janet almost smiled, but she caught herself. Careful, Janet. If you let him win, social entanglements will only complicate things.

The man’s eyebrows raised, but she ignored him.

Janet looked at her T-band, a thin bracelet around her wrist displaying the time when touched, and then back at the man. “I believe you have only two more minutes.”

“All right then.” He cleared his throat. “Four men walked into a restaurant. Which one left with the prettiest lady there?”

Janet rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “That’s it? That’s the puzzle you want me to solve?”

The man nodded, dimples glaring.

“Well. Let me ponder this a moment. The depth of this puzzle is so vast.”

“Yes, but your pondering is eating away my minutes.”

Janet unfolded her arms, putting her hand to her chest. “Oh, sorry. Yes, I wouldn’t want to win on a technicality.” Janet thought for a moment. “I’m going to assume this a hypothetical question and not what is currently happening. OK?”

The man shrugged. “Sure. OK.”

Janet squinted her eyebrows together. What is he up to? She really had no idea how to answer his question. There was no information to come up with a logical solution, so there probably wasn’t one. “Sorry. I have no idea how to answer that.”

The man leaned farther in. “The one who asked her.”

Their eyes met for several seconds. His with a twinkle in them, hers trying not to give into his. In spite of herself, and against all internal reservations, a smile swept across her face. Shaking her head, she chuckled. “That has to be the stupidest question and answer in the world.”

The man sat up and chuckled along with her. “Yes, but effective.” He held out his hand. “Hi. I’m Bruce. Bruce O’Brien. It’s my honor to meet the most beautiful woman here.”

Janet took his hand. “Hi, Bruce. I’m Janet.” She was hesitant to give out her last name. While adorable, if he didn’t work out—or she didn’t want the social entanglement to work out—she didn’t want him knowing how to reach her.

“Janet.” The way he said her name made it sound like hers was the most beautiful he had ever heard. He held her hand a couple of seconds longer before letting go.

He is certainly the smooth operator. Stay on your guard, Janet. But if he hugs me with those arms . . . I may just melt and pool on the floor. Without meaning to, she was now staring at his biceps.

“Shall I pick you up at nineteen hundred tomorrow evening?”

“What?” She slightly shook her head, coming out of her trance. “Oh, yes. That will be fine. I admit my defeat and accept the consequences.”

Bruce held his head back and gave a hearty laugh. “I certainly hope you find our time together to be good consequences.”

Janet displayed a smile but kept her tone matter-of-fact to hide delight. “We shall see.”

Bruce returned her smile, displaying his dimples again. He stood and planted a kiss on the back of her hand. “Until tomorrow night, Janet. I’ll meet you in the hotel lobby?”

Janet nodded. He turned and walked back to his friends, who had waited to see if he would be successful. They each patted him on his shoulder or back as they left the restaurant and headed to the hotel.

Janet leaned back and let out a long breath while taking her napkin and fanning herself. As she thought through the experience again, she smiled. Her smile slowly faded, though. What did you do, Janet? What could a city girl and a farmer find in common? After all, you came from farming territory to Chicago vowing never to return. Could any good come from this? Come on, Janet. It’s a date, not a lifelong commitment. Her smile slowly returned.

Yes, it would likely be a good consequence after all.

She validated the check to her hotel room with her thumbprint, gathered her things, and headed back to her room. Either sleep would be hard to come by or she’d have very pleasant dreams.

About the Author:

Dr. Randy C. Dockens has a fascination with science and with the Bible, holds Ph.D. degrees in both areas, and is a man not only of faith and science, but also of creativity. He believes that faith and science go hand in hand without being enemies of each other.

After completing his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Auburn University he went on to graduate school at Auburn and completed his first doctorate degree in Pharmaceutics. He began his scientific career as a pharmacokinetic reviewer for the Food and Drug Administration and later joined a leading pharmaceutical company as a pharmacokineticist, which is a scientist who analyzes how the human body affects drugs after they have been administered (i.e, absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted).

Through the years, he has worked on potential medicines within several disease areas, including cardiovascular, fibrosis, and immunoscience to seek and develop new and novel medicines in these therapy areas.

He has also had his attention on the academic study of the Bible. He earned a second doctorate in Biblical Prophecy from Louisiana Baptist University after receiving a master’s degree in Jewish Studies from the Internet Bible Institute under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Congdon.

Randy has recently retired from his pharmaceutical career and is spending even more time on his writing efforts. He has written several books that span dystopian (The Coded Message Trilogy), end-time prophecy (Stele Prophecy Pentalogy), science fiction (Erabon Prophecy Trilogy), and uniquely told Bible stories (The Adversary Chronicles). All his books, while fun to read, are futuristic, filled with science to give them an authentic feel, have a science fiction feel to them, and allows one to learn some aspect of Biblical truth one may not have thought about before. This is all done in a fast-paced action format that is both entertaining and provides a fun read for his readers.

He has also written some nonfiction books as well. One is to show how all humans are connected from God’s viewpoint by looking at biblical prophecy (Why is a Gentile World Tied to a Jewish Timeline?: The Question Everyone Should Ask). This book shows how all scripture is connected and inclusive of everyone. In addition, he and his editor have written two books about writing. The first is on writing techniques themselves and is entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Writing: Creating Vivid and Colorful Stories that Readers Want to Read. This book not only addresses the techniques of writing, but what makes writing unique to each author. It conveys not only how to better hone one’s craft of writing but also the brand an author wants to portray. This helps an author make their writing unique as well as captivating for his/her audience. The second is a companion book to this one entitled Mastering the ABCs of Excellent Self-Editing: Framing Your Colorful Masterpiece to Keep Readers Engaged in Your Story. This is best used in conjunction with the first one. Yet, self-editing, though intricately connected to writing, is a distinct event. The better the quality of a writer’s draft manuscript when it is delivered to one’s editor, the higher the final quality of the manuscript will be for readers, and that is extremely important.

Dr Dockens is still not done. He has other creative ideas he is bringing forward as he is currently working on two new futuristic series. So, stay turned!

Website ➜ https://www.randydockens.com/
X ➜ https://x.com/RandyCDockens
Facebook ➜ www.facebook.com/Randy.C.Dockens
Instagram ➜ https://www.instagram.com/randydockens
Goodreads ➜ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16453941

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