Local author Larry W. Boone will hold a book signing for his new book “Relic Revelation” Friday, Oct. 31, from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Vault Art Space and Gathering Place, 111 E. Paul Ave.
The signing will coincide with the Pauls Valley Art Council’s Fifth Friday Art Walk and Boo on the Bricks, also set to take place in downtown Pauls Valley Oct. 31.
“I felt like it was a good opportunity to reach the local community,” Boone said, adding he is excited to share the book – his first – with area residents.
The story is a mystery centered around the passion relics, religious artifacts— including a crown of thorns said to have been worn by Christ during the crucifixion— held in the collections at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
“There are lots of artifacts stored in cathedrals and buildings all over Europe,” Boone said. “Many were acquired during the crusades when relics were brought back to Rome under Emperor Constantine.”
During the French Revolution, Boone said, many were stored at Notre Dame, which became their permanent home.
Boone said the idea for the story in “Relic Revelation” first came to him as he was reading about the passion relics that were saved as the historic Notre Dame Cathedral burned in 2019.
“What happened to those relics? Were they all moved out?” Boone asked. That’s where the fictional part of his mystery begins.
More recently, as he was contemplating how to spend his time after retiring from a lengthy career in construction and real estate appraisal, he decided to pick the story idea back up again and run with it.
Boone said he’s been working on writing the story for the last couple of years, though he didn’t actually set out to write it as a book for publication. He originally planned to just to share the writing with his family, as he had done with a children’s book he wrote previously.
“I just wanted to get the story down on paper for the kids and grandkids,” Boone said. “It just developed into more than that.”
Once it was completed, he submitted the story to Covenant Books and it was accepted for publication. He’s spent the last seven months working through the editing and publishing process.
Boone said writing the story, which spans four countries, required copious amounts of research to get the details right.
He and his wife, Phyllis, have had the opportunity to visit many of the European locales in the book through the years, including Rome and the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which he said was helpful when trying to describe some of the locations used in the story.
As he wrote, Boone said he and Phyllis would often talk through research topics such as foods, people, and names from the different places included in the story.
“It’s been a real education for us. Just research on things like names that are common in a particular area or country, or research on genetics,” he said, explaining that part of the story ties in with the science of genetics.
“What do I know about genetics? Nothing!” he said, chuckling. “I know more now than I used to!”
The book, released Oct. 19, is now available online at booksellers including Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, and it is set for release as an eBook later this year. Boone said he will also have books available for purchase at the Oct. 31 book signing.
