In case I haven’t told you already, I wrote a book! If I have told you already, I am so sorry to keep harassing you. It’s just that I have been waiting for this moment for almost ten years. I want to make sure that at least my friends, family, and colleagues get the news and feel my burning excitement. I first wrote about Jim Barfield, an arson investigator from Oklahoma, and his Copper Scroll research for a 2009 Jerusalem Post Metro Edition cover story. I spent the next six years quietly documenting every central event of his excavations as they unfolded, and those chronicles now make up my debut book: The Copper Scroll Project. To be honest, this story is so inherently exciting that a monkey could have written this book. I am forever grateful to be that monkey. Published by Morgan James, The Copper Scroll Project tells the story of Barfield’s decade-long quest to uncover Qumran’s secrets―the lost treasures of the Jerusalem temple―and show the world that the Dead Sea Scrolls were merely the tip of the archaeological iceberg. It will be out in paperback wherever you buy books on October 30, but you can pre-order a copy now!
Dear Shelley,
Your book is awesome. It is amazing how right on target Jim Barfield is in his research and insight into the Copper Scroll. Your coverage of his expeditions even as you were coping with the day to day challenges of your pregnancy. I was drawn into the story, enthralled with the details and driven to finish the story with hopes of Jim’s triumph. There were no disappointing chapters, just storytelling at its finest. Thank you for your dedication and perseverance in this wonderful project.
Sincerely,
Together in Yeshua’s Shalom
Rev. Frank Bertrand
(We met at a Rosh HaShanna celebration with Katherine Wang and Eric Teitelman in September)
Rev. Frank! Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement!