Heather Graham on Ancient Texts and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

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The Reaper Follows arrives out in the world this week, and I’m certainly hoping that it’s a suspenseful novel readers will enjoy!

It’s the last in my ‘Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse’ series—which, naturally, includes four books. Each book stands on its own, of course, a case that must be investigated, that brings danger and mystery, a beginning, a middle, and an end!”

But working on this has been intriguing for me! I have always been fascinated by ancient texts of any kind, words that can be—and are—interrupted differently by different people through time. 

And the Four Horsemen . . . 

We’ve recently lived through a period in which all signs of the ‘horsemen’ might be seen—we’ve encountered war (not sure what decade, century, or millennium we haven’t) pestilence, famine, and disease.  I can certainly say that as I was raising my children, I didn’t think to warn them that we might be facing a pandemic in their future, so that one was . . . far from impossible, of course, but for me, at least unexpected. 

Again, though, we see different things in the words that are left to us by wise men and women of days gone by!

But!

Here is the point of words, their effect on us—and how they can be twisted and turned and used by others, sometimes for the most nefarious of purposes!

The series started with Danger in Numbers, continued with Crimson Summer, then Shadow of Death, and now, The Reaper Follows. Again, each novel stands entirely on it’s on, but it’s been a lot of fun to develop the overall arc with the four books. 

Just as we may all interpret many things differently, we’re all capable of seeing and believing different things. That’s part of the beauty of what our American forefathers fought and died for—our rights to our own opinions. 

But what forms those opinions?

Many truly terrible things have occurred in history because of the things we set and believe in our minds—often for good reasons. But good things can be twisted, too. I remember once when a very wise man told me that there was nothing wrong with the world’s major religions, what could be terribly wrong was what mankind sometimes chose to do with them. 

I remember my disbelief and horror when I learned about the massacre at Jonestown. 

By the time it occurred, of course, there were those beginning to doubt the words of their venerated leaders. 

And it was too late for them. 

But knowing how many little children, so innocent, died that day, I was appalled, and I couldn’t begin to understand how such a thing could have happened!

The human mind is one of the greatest mysteries that will ever exist, right along with the human heart, which is, perhaps, along with the great part of us that allows us to feel kindness, compassion, and empathy, even for strangers, the soul. 

Besides Jonestown, of course, we’ve seen many other instances of people believing . . . often, again, in goodness, but then discovering that maybe, all that they’ve been told, isn’t true. 

Back to our freedoms of thoughts, opinions, and words!

My mom came from Ireland at a time when things were rough—Catholics were killing Protestants and vise-versa. I was taught to go everywhere, study everything, find out what worked for me. I was also taught that religious wars were usually based on something else as well—such as property, rule, and of course, our age-old need, money. And, studying history, that does appear to be true. If you’re suffering horribly in abject poverty and someone promises you an after-life filled with plenty for you and those you love, you might well be willing to sacrifice your own life in the pursuit of vengeance against those who have caused the pain and misery. 

Things aren’t always that radical, of course. 

But that’s one of my favorite things about one of my protagonists in these novels—Hunter Forest. 

That wasn’t the name he was given at birth!

Hunter’s mom, horrified by her rich father’s refusal to show generosity and kindness to others, fell into a cult. 

But, luckily for the family, Hunter discovered what was going on when some others who were doubting the words of the elders suddenly disappeared.

And then a beloved friend turned up dead. 

They were helped by a hunter. 

In a forest. 

And thus, the name the young hero would take on for the rest of his life.  

I’ve also made use of places I know and love. Sounds strange, perhaps, but I love the Everglades. That said, I’d never want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere within our great “river of grass.” There are some terrifying things out there, too. But the birds are exquisite, the landscape is unique, and there are places where you can enjoy it all without worrying about alligators, the crocodiles who seem to be moving up along the coast, or the pythons and boas now taking over like wildfire—probably let loose originally by some well-meaning people who realized they couldn’t keep them but didn’t want to kill them. 

Florida is home these days to the Seminole and Miccosuki tribes of Native Americans. There’s a great museum at Big Cypress with a boardwalk that allows a wonderful look at so very much. The museum offers a great deal of history. Some of this is history that the ‘white’ or European settlers should not be proud of—‘settling’ and seizing what was wanted and killing those who were there already. But I’m a big believer in the words of the philosopher George Santayana—“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”  (There are even different theories on the origin of the quote, but I’m going with Santayana.)

So, I love history and always hope we learn from it!

And I am fascinated by the strength, fortitude, and survival of our tribes. 

Those who remained, hiding and fighting from the Everglades, are the only “Undefeated.” They never signed peace treaties. It’s estimated that only three to six-hundred people remained alive, but those were “The Undefeated!”

Now, of course, the Seminole Hardrock restaurants and casinos are doing great. They just had a pow-wow at the Broward location, bringing in tribes with cultural events and wonderful shops from indigenous tribes across the country!

Neither the Miccosuki nor the Seminole were recognized by the government until the 1950s!

And that’s, of course, why I also have a character who is a Native America working in these books! He loved his home, his ancestry—and forensic science and computers.

I have loved working on these books, with “The Reaper Follows” now out, and, as I said earlier, a stand-alone as well as the final Four Horsemen book. 

I hope that if you read Reaper of any or all of the others, you’ll enjoy my take on fictional events that have a whisper of reality within them! Thank you!

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