Diamond Jubilee at Riverside

About the Book

A southern Protestant church is rudely thrust into a traumatic upheaval by an audacious crime perpetrated on the entire congregation. Resolution of this crime required ingenuity, courage and trust - - traits that only a cadre of its members possessed - - and that pocket of faithful resistance rose to defend against evil forces. Thankfully, pockets of courage still exist in the real world dominated by primordial evil; without pockets of love and spiritual soundness, chaos would run rampant and the Devil would have his way.

Everyone who has been active in a church will quickly recognize the human frailty of some characters in this story. They will also be able to relate to those characters that have courage and an indomitable spirit. Undoubtedly, readers will be able to project names and faces from his or her own church to this story’s main characters; the author did.

Diamond Jubilee At Riverside illustrates opposing forces at work in a church setting as it deals with spiritual malaise that is exacerbated by external evil forces. This requires references to dogma and soul survival, which are cornerstones of religious sects.

After reading this story, an ordained minister asked the author, “How were you able to get into the head of a typical minister, and accurately describe church life from that perspective?” The answer is obvious. All church members are ministers in a way, and as such, should be faithful pockets of resistance to the Devil. Diamond Jubilee At Riverside is a fictional story about one pocket of believers that fought evil and won.

About the Author

Ladd became hooked on writing fiction after retiring from a successful career as a Professional Engineer. This is his seventeenth published novel and he finds the creative process highly intriguing — to wit, his hobby. Developing characters and plots, and describing human interplay satisfies his inner urge to build something from nothing. He typically writes before the rooster crows, and then it’s off to the golf course. Ladd is a veteran of WW 2 and has a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech, Class of ’51. With his wife, Sara, they live in Winston-Salem, NC. They have three children and three grandchildren.