The Lighthouse, Book 4
Contemporary Christian Fiction/Thriller
Date Published: December 26, 2023
Publisher: Besondy Publishing LLC
When Charley Austin Marches to the Wrong Beat, Life Gets Ugly
Twenty-year-old Charley Austin travels a torn and troubled world as the
star drummer and lyricist for the famous Christian rock band, DelivRus. He
has musical gifts and a clear mission from God.
And that mission makes him a big problem for Lucky Zebul.
Zebul implements a sinister and depraved plan to crush the vulnerable rock
star and put an end to the band’s Godly influence in the world.
Against a backdrop of societal upheaval, Road to Nineveh continues the
story of Charley Austin (introduced in Book 3, The Snare) as he, like a
modern-day Jonah, faces the harsh consequences of turning away from
God’s purpose for his life and succumbs to pride and lust.
Follow the gripping, emotionally charged story as Charley performs in the
bright lights with DelivRus across America and Europe, igniting hope and
faith, while off-stage his soul is systematically smothered by the
darkness.
Will the tough love of his parents, band mates, and Mia be enough to bring
him back from a devastating scandal? Will he regain purpose for his life on
a sun-baked Texas ranch, or for redemption, must he make one more trip to
the Lighthouse on the misty Washington coast?
Besondy’s Christian thrillers have been compared to the character
development and emotion found in a Charles Martin novel. Others suggest
Besondy writes as if he is the secret lovechild of C.S. Lewis and Stephen
King. You can decide.
Road to Nineveh will appeal to fans of edgy Christian Thrillers or New
Adult Thrillers.
Road to Nineveh by Charles Besondy received a gold medal in the Christian
Mystery/Thriller category of the 2024 Illumination Book Awards.
Reword to suit.
Part of The Lighthouse series
#1 The Hidden Saboteur
#2 The Chase
#3 The Snare
#4 Road to Nineveh
Read an excerpt below...
About the Author
Charles Besondy is a multi-award-winning author of Christian thrillers and
New Adult Christian thrillers. All his books explore the sometimes raw
spiritual battle for our hearts.
His first novel, The Hidden Saboteur, was published in 2018. He has
self-published four major novels, a novella and a short story within The
Lighthouse series.
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Excerpt from "The Road To Nineveh"
Chapter 73
1
The Austins’ lighthouse home, Reef Bay, Washington, August 5, 2040
He stood in the lantern room surrounded by thick glass windows. The space at the top of the tower
was mostly filled with the decommissioned lantern assembly bolted firmly to the center of the steel
floor. Just enough space existed, about three feet between the circular wall and lantern, to permit
access to the equipment. This space provided an area to stand or sit on the cold metal floor.
From this vantage point, Charley took a moment to look to the south, to the narrow, buoy-marked
entrance of the Reef Bay harbor that lay between two twin cliffs rising seventy-five feet from the
churning waves. To the north, the lawn he had just mowed yesterday spread out like a green carpet to
the windswept trees that bordered the property. Beyond lay the rugged coastline. To the west was
nothing but ocean, a vast gray canvas with splashes of white where the blustering wind blew the wave
tops into white foam.
He turned from the spectacular view. He wasn’t up here to sightsee. Sitting down on the floor,
Charley retrieved a pen from his shirt pocket. Seventeen months ago he sat here with Jerry Levine and
wrote the lyrics to a hit Christian song. Here he was again, paper pad and pen in hand, prepared to write
other lyrics that would become the song that would launch him, once again, onto the world stage.
With eyes closed, he stilled his mind, preparing it for a rush of creative inspiration. Outside the
tower, the whistling wind seemed to be urging him on. Hurrrrry. Hurrrrry.
Time passed. The only words that came to mind, were “Go to Nineveh.”
He scribbled the words on the pad in his lap and studied them. “Go to Nineveh.” What on earth did
that mean? He vaguely remembered that in Biblical times, Nineveh had been a city on the Tigris River.
That’s all he could remember.
Where was he going with this, a single sentence, three words? He closed his eyes again, waiting for
the next line to rush into his brain, but it didn’t. “Go to Nineveh” was stuck in his head, like brain
constipation.
Wind buffeted the tower, making the eerie sound again. Hurrrrry. Hurrrrry.
Maybe he was going about this all wrong. Rather than wait for lyrics to roll through his head as they
used to, he should first think about his objective. What did he want the song to say to the world? He’d
already decided against writing music with Christian themes, so the door was wide open. He was free to
write about anything. He could cut loose. Let it all hang out.
He recalled the night on tour when he ripped open his shirt on stage and played the remaining set
bare-chested. Fans told him later that they loved the act, that it symbolized a passionate submission to
God, a willingness to strip off worldly things to present himself humbly before Jesus.
Actually, the motivation, what the fans believed to be an expression of submission and surrender,
was nothing more than a jealousy-fueled gesture aimed at stirring up the crowd and drawing attention
to himself, away from the stately Jerry Levine, the band’s frontman and leader.
The adrenaline rush he had felt when the audience roared in response was incredible.
There was the answer. The purpose of his new music would be to encourage unbridled physical
expression. His music would celebrate life free from the norms that society and religion imposes on
people.
He was beginning to get excited now. The purpose of this song, the big vision for his band, was
coming into focus.
Hurrrrry. Hurrrrry, the wind sounded.
He scratched a line through the words on his pad: “Go to Nineveh.” He was ready to seize other
phrases and sentences now, to tame and shape them to deliver powerful sensual experiences. He would
become, through his music, a guru of pleasure—a leader of physical expression and experimentation.
Visions of what his stage performances could be excited him. As a trademark, should he tear off his
shirt every night? A name for the band popped into his head and he scribbled it on the pad: “Ripped
Open.” It was missing something. He wrote on another line, “Charley Austin and the Ripped Open
Band.”
He smiled. He was on a roll. Now, with a vision established, he could settle down to write the first
hit song. Charley closed his eyes and waited.
Random thoughts and images flew through his head like a fireworks display, but it was all mental
noise, nothing even close to a lyric. He just needed to be patient. He settled with his back against the
lantern and waited.
Thirty minutes passed; the paper pad was empty except for the band name ideas and the words he
had struck through: “Go to Nineveh.”
What was going on? Lyrics had always come to him easily. He could write lyrics for a complete song
in half an hour. His skill had amazed Jerry and the other members of DelivRus. So, why wasn’t it
happening now? Could his song writing have been a fluke, a one-time thing?
He closed his eyes again to concentrate. Time passed.
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