Michael a. Ponzio

Children of the Middle SeaIn the year 1282, after their daring heroics in the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers, Esmeray with her sailing skills and Bastone with his crossbow, liberating Sicily, the couple find a haven on the island of Favignana. But the War of the Sicilian Vespers reignites, dragging them into their prior roles as spies. Finding strength in each other, they once more join the patriots to rid the Angevins from Sicily. They return to their sanctuary on the island of Favignana, a few miles off the coast of Sicily. Esmeray gives birth to a daughter. On the island, they lead a calm life as fishermen and sharing the welcome challenge of raising their adventurous daughter, Aspasia. Bastone also works in a vineyard, enjoying working on the land.Esmeray and Bastone, however, long for the open sea. Esmeray becomes captain of a Sicilian trading ship. Their daughter sails with her parents and works as a cabin boy and learns sailing skills from the crew. The couple open a trading post in the Hafsid Kingdom, sailing a trade route between Sicily and Bejaia, North Africa. Their daughter makes friends with Italian and Muslim children and learns about new cultures. On one of their trade runs, they survive a battle with Pisan pirates. The girl seems to enjoy the wide variety of experiences, but Esmeray wonders if it is the best home for their daughter. Their family bonds grow stronger with each crisis as they overcome storms, pirates, and deadly threats from rival traders. Then once again, the never-ending War of the Sicilian Vespers shatters their ship is captured by invading fleets on a trade run to Sicily. They want to join the Sicilian patriots to defend their adopted homeland again, but they also have a daughter to protect. Do they fight or pursue new horizons?The Mediterranean Sea, its name derived from the Latin words medius and terra, "sea in the middle of the earth" is a crucible, a mixing pot of people and cultures, the cradle of many civilizations, giving birth to the novel Children of the Middle Sea, the second volume of the Lover of the Sea series, joining the first volume, Lantern Across the Sea.

In 1279, thirteen years before Marco Polo returns from China, Ponzio Bastone, a Genoese crossbowman, wrote his will, giving a basketful of macaroni to his heirs. A copy of the will was filed in the city archives of Genoa. Lantern Across the Sea is the story of Bastone who sets out on a trading expedition across the Mediterranean during the thirteenth century. He departs Genoa, arranged to be married to a woman of the most powerful family in the city, but on the voyage becomes enthralled with Esmeray, the daughter of a Greek fisherman. As he travels across the expansive Genoese trading empire, Bastone conceals his prime aim midst the commercial venture. Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily, is massing his fleets, proclaiming he will lead a crusade to free Jerusalem from the Muslims, hiding his real goal of attacking Christian Constantinople. At each port of call, Bastone secretly meets with powerful state leaders from Constantinople to Sicily to Spain, as a part of the conspiracy to thwart the king's attack. Bastone and Esmeray, amid a chaotic and dangerous world of pirates, assassins, slave traders, and hostile family prejudice, must together prevent a history-changing catastrophe.

The Davis family, descendants of the first colonists of Killingworth, Connecticut, had divided their farm among each new generation. By the American Revolution there was barely enough acreage to survive. Thousands of New Englanders, including Daniel Davis's family, were affected by "Genesee Fever", emigrating to settle in western New York. In 1799, Daniel Davis purchased land on the New York frontier and returned with his family and friends. He married, raised a family, while clearing land to farm in the community known as Ganson's Settlement (LeRoy, NY). In 1801, his passion for military leadership was recognized when the local militia elected him as lieutenant. He was rapidly promoted for his steadiness and bravery. During the War of 1812, with the threat of invasion by the British and their Mohawk allies, he was appointed as Brigadier General.In the early years of the war, faith in the militia had been lost when many had refused to cross the border to reinforce U.S. Army troops. Finally, in 1814, Daniel Davis's brigade was called up, granting him his turn to fight. He was determined to make up for the militia's poor showing, declaring that "he would show the British and the world that the militia dare fight."

Pons, born to a noble family in the south of France in 1075, is given to the Church at the age of four. He becomes a Benedictine monk and thrives in the monastery as a devotee of the Order's rules, working, praying, and studying. Reaching adulthood, he falls in love with Primavera, a woman in the nearby village, but the Church's renewed enforcement of celibacy endangers their relationship. It is a lawless time when people of the land are threatened with violence as they cultivate their fields or travel on pilgrimage. The monks are compelled to become warriors, defending themselves with farm tools and walking staves. Pons is elected as Abbot of Cluny Monastery. He is torn amidst his sense of duty as the powerful leader of Cluny, rivaling the Pope, his love for Primavera, and the calling to join the crusade to save Jerusalem. Pons of Melgueil was the abbot of the powerful and influential Benedictine monastery at Cluny, France, from 1109 to 1124. At the time, Cluny administered hundreds of satellite monasteries in Europe and had influence over a greater number of clergy than the Pope himself. As abbot, Pons made commendable progress in the construction of the Cluny basilica, which became the world's largest church. He inherited financial difficulties, but he campaigned and successfully procured valuable donations of property for the Benedictine Order and obtained sacred relics to increase the number of pilgrims visiting Cluny. Historical sources also reveal he was an excellent negotiator and his participation in major councils was beneficial to the Church1. In contrast, other sources called him secular-minded, contentious, and short tempered2.Controversy began when Pons tried to return the lifestyle of the Cluniac monks to the austere ways advocated by Saint Benedict, the founder of their monastic order3. The monks of Cluny had become lax and contested a return to a strong work ethic. In retaliation they alleged that Pons was wasting the monastery's resources. This was, in fact, the opposite of his initiatives. The local bishops and nobles were jealous of Cluny's privileges and wealth4 and joined the conflict.Did Pons maintain the leadership of Christendom in western Europe achieved by previous abbots of Cluny, or did he drag the monastery further into decline? Read Warriors and Monks: Pons, Abbot of Cluny and make your own judgment.

Eleventh century France is a patchwork of independent domains. In the north, William the Duke of Normandy rivals the King of France. In the south, the Count of Toulouse continues the Pons' family tradition in governing the region. Amid the powers is the Duchy of Aquitaine, where Lord Pons rules his barony in County Saintonge. The era is the height of Norman expansion. These former pagan Vikings, now Christian and French-speaking and having carved out kingdoms in southern Italy and Sicily, turn their conquering spirit toward England. Duke William is planning to invade and seize his claim to the crown. He obtains the Pope's blessing and calls for knights from across Europe to join his crusade. Past his prime, Lord Pons bestows the leadership of his barony to the eldest of his five sons. His four younger sons must find their own fortune elsewhere and they join Duke William's invasion to fight in the Battle of Hastings. The brothers' surname, FitzPons, is a patronym. They are the Sons of Pons.1066 Sons of Pons: In the Wake of the Conqueror is one of three novels in the Warriors and Monks series, but the story is complete in itself and can be read alone. However, characters of the novels are connected across generations.

Ramon Pons, a devout knight in the year 924, thrives in his role maintaining the fealty of County Toulouse's vassals, by diplomacy or if necessary, by combat. When his father, the count, passes away, Ramon has little time to grieve or to fulfill his dying father's request to found a monastery in honor of their ancestor, Saint Pons of Cimiez. Ramon is coerced by the ruler of a close ally to marry his daughter. After he puts down a rebellion of vassal states, he is ordered to Paris by the King of the Franks to answer to their claims of transgressions. Then external dangers interfere with Ramon's obligations of raising a family and establishing the monastery. The Saracens raid the coasts, and armies of Hungarian horse archers invade his domains. Ramon struggles to govern Toulouse and continue his family's legacy.Ramon Pons: Count of Toulouse is one of three novels in the Warriors and Monks series, but the story is complete in itself and can be read alone. The main characters of the novels, however, are connected across generations.

The Fighting Saints of Rome On the back streets of Rome in 235 AD, Pontianus, the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, is forced to defend himself and fight street battles with the followers of the anti-pope, Hippolytus. As a youth Pontianus had used his shepherd's staff to fend off wolves in the foothills of the Alps, but now he is reluctant to fight fellow Christians. He is married, as were St. Peter and several early popes. His wife, Maria grew up on the dangerous streets and does not let her husband fight alone. Maria is just as strong minded in her faith and is one of many women in early Christianity who were leaders in the Church of Rome.Among Pontianus's faithful disciples is Pontius Marcellus, the son of a Roman Senator. Marcellus converts the Roman Emperor Philippus and many other notable Roman citizens to Christianity. He gives his possessions to the poor and devotes himself to good works.In Sicily, a fisherman sells his catch in Catania and exults in spreading the Good News at the fish market and the chariot races. His name is also Pontius.And in North Africa, both Deacon Pontius and Cyprianus, the Bishop of Carthage, are sent into exile when they refuse to pray to the emperor.The novel is a story about these men, all canonized as saints in the Catholic Church for their faith and sacrifices. From laymen and laywomen to deacons and deaconesses and to the Pope, they all fought for their truths. They were the fighting saints of Rome.For each novel in the Lover of the Sea series, the story is complete and can be read alone. However, characters of the novels are connected across generations.

President Trump claims he supports the middle class. How will his policies affect the American Republic? Could history repeat itself? Julius Caesar claimed he supported and was loved by the common people, but his unbridled ego led to the end of the Roman Republic. Follow the ordeals of Aquila, a Roman Tribune elected by the common people, and his struggle against the dictatorship of Caesar. Although Pontius Pilate is known for his role in the Bible, less known are the historical characters who shared the surname Pontius and are portrayed in a series of historical fiction novels called Lover of the Sea. The first novel in the collection, Pontius Aquila: Eagle of the Republic, takes place during Julius Caesar's bid for power, generations before the birth of Pontius Pilate. As a young man, Lucius Pontius Aquila falls in love with Cicero's daughter. After a brilliant military career, he is elected as Tribune of the Plebeians. Aquila, a fervent supporter of the Roman republic, joins in the plot to assassinate Caesar.