Terry Roberts

Return to 1920s Appalachia in this thrilling fourth installment of The Stephen Robbins Chronicles, as Robbins and his former lover seek atonement for their past mistakes amid the threatening events surrounding them in the present. In the autumn of 1924, Anna Ulmann arrives in Hot Springs, North Carolina, hoping to be reunited with her former lover, Stephen Robbins. In returning to Hot Springs, she is gambling on the power of forgiveness to somehow reknit the relationship they lost due to her betrayal in New York four years earlier. However, Anna is not the only one from the war years who returns to Hot Springs. Four mysterious German men also arrive on the passenger train, including the enigmatic Siegfried Sonnach, Stephen’s former nemesis. The Germans claim they have come back for a reunion, but their true motives remain ambiguous. When a series of appalling crimes begin to occur in Hot Springs, Stephen begins to wonder if this reunion is hiding something much darker. With a monster roaming the streets and Anna’s reappearance forcing him to confront difficult emotions, Stephen must discover if forgiveness is enough to overcome the effects of past mistakes and present violence. Ultimately, what is the true quality of mercy? Content Warning: This book includes descriptions of sexual assault (off-page). Please read with care. Want more Stephen Robbins? Read more of his story in A Short Time to Stay Here, My Mistress’ Eyes are Raven Black, and The Devil Hath a Pleasing Shape.

Short-listed for Southern Literary Review's Books of the Year 2025 With his customary verve and insight, Terry Roberts' latest novel is an evocative portrait of humankind's capacity for courage, love, and hope as well as folly, and another love ballad to his region of North Carolina. Clinton Salter is the sheriff who never wanted to be sheriff. A World War II veteran and widower, he is elected due to the political machinations of his brother. His new territory is the fabled Madison County, North Carolina—a place of the steepest mountain ridges and most isolated coves and valleys. A place where the seasons matter more than the calendar and the past is as real as the present. When he first takes office, he hopes only to deal with the drunk and disorderly and stolen tractors, but matters quickly accelerate into arson, grave robbing, and murder, and he begins to suspect his own brother’s motives. He finds solace in the friendship of Catherine Metcalf, a lonely high school principal whose husband has been in a coma and dying for years. Their only refuge is Clinton’s farm high in the mountains, where they can retreat from the world. As they seek to create a new life for themselves and the county, political violence and family cruelty threaten to shatter their visions.

Short-listed for Southern Literary Review's Books of the Year 2025 With his customary verve and insight, Terry Roberts' latest novel is an evocative portrait of humankind's capacity for courage, love, and hope as well as folly, and another love ballad to his region of North Carolina. Clinton Salter is the sheriff who never wanted to be sheriff. A World War II veteran and widower, he is elected due to the political machinations of his brother. His new territory is the fabled Madison County, North Carolina—a place of the steepest mountain ridges and most isolated coves and valleys. A place where the seasons matter more than the calendar and the past is as real as the present. When he first takes office, he hopes only to deal with the drunk and disorderly and stolen tractors, but matters quickly accelerate into arson, grave robbing, and murder, and he begins to suspect his own brother’s motives. He finds solace in the friendship of Catherine Metcalf, a lonely high school principal whose husband has been in a coma and dying for years. Their only refuge is Clinton’s farm high in the mountains, where they can retreat from the world. As they seek to create a new life for themselves and the county, political violence and family cruelty threaten to shatter their visions.

Walk the dark halls and threatening streets of 1920s Asheville in this thrilling third installment of The Stephen Robbins Chronicles, as fan-favorite Robbins confronts the dangerous contrast between appearance and reality at the exclusive Grove Park Inn.It’s the autumn of 1924, and Benjamin Loftis has a problem. A college girl is discovered—naked and dead—in one of the finest rooms of his beloved Grove Park Inn. To protect the reputation of this jewel in the crown of North Carolina and all the Southern mountains, Loftis calls in Stephen Robbins, a local man famous in some circles for finding missing people and solving unsolvable crimes.Robbins, now scarred and battered by life’s wars, would rather retreat from the world than dive headfirst into a new mystery. But he agrees to help and is quickly swept into the social hierarchy of Asheville’s complex and harshly stratified society, running head-on into the financial and political elite who control this mountain town—those who want a murderer caught but not necessarily the murderer.With so many socialites focused on reputation over truth, will Robbins be able to find the devil walking among them and bring them to justice? Find out in The Devil Hath a Pleasing Shape, a thrilling noir set against the backdrop of the jazz age in America.Want more Stephen Robbins? Read more of his story in A Short Time to Stay Here and My Mistress’ Eyes are Raven Black.

Walk the dark halls and threatening streets of 1920s Asheville in this thrilling third installment of The Stephen Robbins Chronicles, as fan-favorite Robbins confronts the dangerous contrast between appearance and reality at the exclusive Grove Park Inn.It’s the autumn of 1924, and Benjamin Loftis has a problem. A college girl is discovered—naked and dead—in one of the finest rooms of his beloved Grove Park Inn. To protect the reputation of this jewel in the crown of North Carolina and all the Southern mountains, Loftis calls in Stephen Robbins, a local man famous in some circles for finding missing people and solving unsolvable crimes.Robbins, now scarred and battered by life’s wars, would rather retreat from the world than dive headfirst into a new mystery. But he agrees to help and is quickly swept into the social hierarchy of Asheville’s complex and harshly stratified society, running head-on into the financial and political elite who control this mountain town—those who want a murderer caught but not necessarily the murderer.With so many socialites focused on reputation over truth, will Robbins be able to find the devil walking among them and bring them to justice? Find out in The Devil Hath a Pleasing Shape, a thrilling noir set against the backdrop of the jazz age in America.Want more Stephen Robbins? Read more of his story in A Short Time to Stay Here and My Mistress’ Eyes are Raven Black.

“When I’m dead and buried . . . you get the hell out of here . . . Make a life somewhere else . . . a life that I can’t even imagine.” Jo Salter, a woman from the North Carolina mountains, sets about constructing a new life for herself in Asheville in the wake of her mother’s death. A life that no one—including her mother—could have imagined. Jo has a gift. She is a mathematical prodigy—a woman who sees and thinks in numbers. She secures a job as a teller at Central Bank & Trust, where she recreates herself as a modern woman and rises through the professional ranks. While working at the bank, Jo becomes fascinated by Levi Arrowood, the dark and mysterious manager of the Sky Club, an infamous speakeasy and jazz club on the mountainside above town. When the Great Depression brings Central Bank & Trust down in a seismic crash, Jo is forced to find a new home and job. She finds both at the Sky Club, where she strikes a partnership with the alluring Arrowood as she is drawn deeper into a glamorous and precarious life of bootlegging, jazz, and love.The Sky Club is the story of money, greed, and life after the crash from the eyes of one remarkable woman as she creates her own imagined life.

“When I’m dead and buried . . . you get the hell out of here . . . Make a life somewhere else . . . a life that I can’t even imagine.” Jo Salter, a woman from the North Carolina mountains, sets about constructing a new life for herself in Asheville in the wake of her mother’s death. A life that no one—including her mother—could have imagined. Jo has a gift. She is a mathematical prodigy—a woman who sees and thinks in numbers. She secures a job as a teller at Central Bank & Trust, where she recreates herself as a modern woman and rises through the professional ranks. While working at the bank, Jo becomes fascinated by Levi Arrowood, the dark and mysterious manager of the Sky Club, an infamous speakeasy and jazz club on the mountainside above town. When the Great Depression brings Central Bank & Trust down in a seismic crash, Jo is forced to find a new home and job. She finds both at the Sky Club, where she strikes a partnership with the alluring Arrowood as she is drawn deeper into a glamorous and precarious life of bootlegging, jazz, and love.The Sky Club is the story of money, greed, and life after the crash from the eyes of one remarkable woman as she creates her own imagined life.

Winner of the 2022 ThrillerFest Award for Best Original Paperback Novel"[An] impressive historical thriller." —Publishers WeeklyEllis Island, 1920.New York Harbor's immigration and public health authorities are slowly recovering from the war years when a young, pregnant Irish woman disappears from the Isolation Hospital on Ellis Island.Stephen Robbins, a specialist in finding missing persons, is assigned the case. Yet when he arrives at the isolation hospital, he discovers an inexplicable string of deaths and disappearances among immigrant patients...and a staff that seems to be hiding a chilling secret. Stephen finds an ally in Lucy Paul, an undercover nurse who is also investigating the mysterious incidents. Together, they begin to unearth a horrifying conspiracy masked beneath the hospital's charitable exterior. As Stephen and Lucy get closer to the truth and each other, they are swept directly into the danger haunting Ellis Island and become the next targets.Amidst growing racial tensions in the wake of World War I, My Mistress’ Eyes are Raven Black explores the disturbing lengths to which people will go to protect racial purity and condemn those they fear.

Winner of the 2022 ThrillerFest Award for Best Original Paperback Novel"[An] impressive historical thriller." —Publishers WeeklyEllis Island, 1920.New York Harbor's immigration and public health authorities are slowly recovering from the war years when a young, pregnant Irish woman disappears from the Isolation Hospital on Ellis Island.Stephen Robbins, a specialist in finding missing persons, is assigned the case. Yet when he arrives at the isolation hospital, he discovers an inexplicable string of deaths and disappearances among immigrant patients...and a staff that seems to be hiding a chilling secret. Stephen finds an ally in Lucy Paul, an undercover nurse who is also investigating the mysterious incidents. Together, they begin to unearth a horrifying conspiracy masked beneath the hospital's charitable exterior. As Stephen and Lucy get closer to the truth and each other, they are swept directly into the danger haunting Ellis Island and become the next targets.Amidst growing racial tensions in the wake of World War I, My Mistress’ Eyes are Raven Black explores the disturbing lengths to which people will go to protect racial purity and condemn those they fear.

Who will thrive in the year 2050? The New Smart is a riveting study of the kinds of minds that will succeed in the 21st century. As it turns out, the key ingredient for all aspects of life is not traditional IQ but creativity. In Dr. Terry Roberts’ newest book he presents readers with a 21st century exploration into intelligence and creativity. The New Smart argues that the old notion of intelligence as a static quotient has ceased to mean much of value. Being smart, especially as it’s related to test scores and school grades, has less and less to do with success in contemporary life. Both these words and the ideas they represent are worn out. Our new age demands something much more fluid, much more resilient—much more creative. In this book, we ask who will thrive in the future? And by reframing the question, we arrive at the following profile of successful creators: • They will blend multiple intelligences in a way that might be described as synthetic or even symphonic • They will be ambitious and focused without being self-obsessed • They will value asynchrony and even seek it out • They will use their own marginality to generate novel perspective and new work • They will exhibit a steadfast resilience in all phases of life • They will be measured by what they produce over the course of their lives, not by any static notion of capacity or quotient The New Smart asks how we re-train ourselves and educate our children for a life that demands such creativity. It provides a clear roadmap away from standardized schools producing standardized minds and describes in detail why creative is The New Smart.

Who will thrive in the year 2050? The New Smart is a riveting study of the kinds of minds that will succeed in the 21st century. As it turns out, the key ingredient for all aspects of life is not traditional IQ but creativity. In Dr. Terry Roberts’ newest book he presents readers with a 21st century exploration into intelligence and creativity. The New Smart argues that the old notion of intelligence as a static quotient has ceased to mean much of value. Being smart, especially as it’s related to test scores and school grades, has less and less to do with success in contemporary life. Both these words and the ideas they represent are worn out. Our new age demands something much more fluid, much more resilient—much more creative. In this book, we ask who will thrive in the future? And by reframing the question, we arrive at the following profile of successful creators: • They will blend multiple intelligences in a way that might be described as synthetic or even symphonic • They will be ambitious and focused without being self-obsessed • They will value asynchrony and even seek it out • They will use their own marginality to generate novel perspective and new work • They will exhibit a steadfast resilience in all phases of life • They will be measured by what they produce over the course of their lives, not by any static notion of capacity or quotient The New Smart asks how we re-train ourselves and educate our children for a life that demands such creativity. It provides a clear roadmap away from standardized schools producing standardized minds and describes in detail why creative is The New Smart.

The racial divide running through America involves ethnic, cultural, historical, and political differences. That divide also affects the Church in America, which remains 93 percent monocultural. Although multi-ethnic congregations represent a growing trend, they face the challenges of racial, cultural, and political tensions that could undermine their unity. Congregations that successfully navigate these challenges carry the potential to help heal the nation's racial divisions.Beyond Reconciliation can help members of multi-racial churches move beyond mere reconciliation to experience authentic biblical fellowship, or koinonia. This book honestly examines the differences that divide us and points the way to bridges of understanding. Above all, it boldly issues the call to interracial koinonia.Beyond Reconciliation is the curriculum companion to the author's book Journey to Koinonia: An Interracial Small Group Experience, which outlines a six-week, small group encounter designed to help believers experience biblical fellowship across the racial divide.

Jedidiah Robbins is a man on a crusade. From town to town, his Gospel train rides the rails of 1920s Appalachia, spreading the Good News with his daughter and a loyal group of roustabouts in tow. But Jedidiah’s traveling revival company has a secret: in addition to offering the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it also delivers spirits of another kind. Prohibition is in full swing, but The Sword of the Lord train keeps the speakeasies in the towns it visits in business by providing the best that mountain stills have to offer. While beyond the gaze of federal agents, the operation eventually runs afoul of an overzealous small town sheriff and a corrupt judge, setting in motion a series of events that could land them all in chains. Told with haunting lyricism, this is the story of a preacher full of contradictions, a man for whom the way is never straight and narrow. It bends like the river, a river that leads him in the paths of a different brand of righteousness—and perhaps even to salvation.

Jedidiah Robbins is a man on a crusade. From town to town, his Gospel train rides the rails of 1920s Appalachia, spreading the Good News with his daughter and a loyal group of roustabouts in tow. But Jedidiah’s traveling revival company has a secret: in addition to offering the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it also delivers spirits of another kind. Prohibition is in full swing, but The Sword of the Lord train keeps the speakeasies in the towns it visits in business by providing the best that mountain stills have to offer. While beyond the gaze of federal agents, the operation eventually runs afoul of an overzealous small town sheriff and a corrupt judge, setting in motion a series of events that could land them all in chains. Told with haunting lyricism, this is the story of a preacher full of contradictions, a man for whom the way is never straight and narrow. It bends like the river, a river that leads him in the paths of a different brand of righteousness—and perhaps even to salvation.

With sample lesson plans, student assessment forms (with rubrics), and other practical materials, this book shows how the principles of the Paideia Program can result in student learning and understanding.

The summer of 1917 should have been a summer like any other. Stephen Robbins should have been doing the same thing he'd been doing for years past. As a young boy he'd fled his life in a secluded mountain cove and risen through the ranks to become the manager of the South's finest resort, the elegant Mountain Park Hotel. By all rights, he should have spent this summer as host to some of the wealthiest gentry on the East Coast. Hans Ruser, German Commodore of the world's largest and most luxurious cruise liner, Vaderland, should have been sailing yet again with his elite passengers to the far corners of the world. And Anna Ulmann, captivating and beautiful, should have been at home in her New York mansion planning yet another lavish dinner party for her famous husband and his rich and powerful friends. She should have idled away her spare time by taking perfectly staged photographic portraits of the very same people. But war will change everything that should have been in that summer of 1917— the U.S. enters WWI and the Mountain Park Hotel is pressed into service as an internment camp for over 2,000 German nationals, including Ruser and his men. This sudden collision of lives and cultures in the small town of Hot Springs, North Carolina is both frightening and exhilarating. And the unlikely alliance that forms between Hans Ruser and Stephen Robbins will force each to decide just how far they are willing to go to keep peace in the beautiful and isolated mountains. Feisty Anna Ulmann, seeking to assert her independence in a male-dominated world, mysteriously flees south to devote her life to documentary photography. When she steps off the train at the Hot Springs depot one sultry summer day, she could not have imagined the passionate journey that will result when she matches wits with Stephen Robbins. Haunted by demons both past and present, they will face heartbreaking tragedy. Yet together they will discover the true meaning of imprisonment and escape.

The summer of 1917 should have been a summer like any other. Stephen Robbins should have been doing the same thing he'd been doing for years past. As a young boy he'd fled his life in a secluded mountain cove and risen through the ranks to become the manager of the South's finest resort, the elegant Mountain Park Hotel. By all rights, he should have spent this summer as host to some of the wealthiest gentry on the East Coast. Hans Ruser, German Commodore of the world's largest and most luxurious cruise liner, Vaderland, should have been sailing yet again with his elite passengers to the far corners of the world. And Anna Ulmann, captivating and beautiful, should have been at home in her New York mansion planning yet another lavish dinner party for her famous husband and his rich and powerful friends. She should have idled away her spare time by taking perfectly staged photographic portraits of the very same people. But war will change everything that should have been in that summer of 1917— the U.S. enters WWI and the Mountain Park Hotel is pressed into service as an internment camp for over 2,000 German nationals, including Ruser and his men. This sudden collision of lives and cultures in the small town of Hot Springs, North Carolina is both frightening and exhilarating. And the unlikely alliance that forms between Hans Ruser and Stephen Robbins will force each to decide just how far they are willing to go to keep peace in the beautiful and isolated mountains. Feisty Anna Ulmann, seeking to assert her independence in a male-dominated world, mysteriously flees south to devote her life to documentary photography. When she steps off the train at the Hot Springs depot one sultry summer day, she could not have imagined the passionate journey that will result when she matches wits with Stephen Robbins. Haunted by demons both past and present, they will face heartbreaking tragedy. Yet together they will discover the true meaning of imprisonment and escape.

Winner of the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Prize. A new Southern gothic thriller from the winner of the 2012 Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction. In the Summer of 1866, Jacob Ballard, a former Union soldier and spy, is dispatched by the War Department in Washington City to infiltrate the isolated North Carolina mountain community where he was born and find the serial killer responsible for the deaths of Union veterans. Based on true events, That Bright Land is the story of a violent and fragile nation in the wake of the Civil War and a man who must exorcise his own savage demons while tracking down another.

Winner of the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Prize. A new Southern gothic thriller from the winner of the 2012 Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction. In the Summer of 1866, Jacob Ballard, a former Union soldier and spy, is dispatched by the War Department in Washington City to infiltrate the isolated North Carolina mountain community where he was born and find the serial killer responsible for the deaths of Union veterans. Based on true events, That Bright Land is the story of a violent and fragile nation in the wake of the Civil War and a man who must exorcise his own savage demons while tracking down another.

"Leadership change can be one of the most painful or fulfilling experiences a leader can encounter. In Passing the Baton, Dr. Terry Roberts helps us through this process. It is by far the best document I have read on this subject. A must read." Pastor Tommy Barnett, Founder of Los Angeles and Phoenix Dream Centers"Passing the Baton, by Dr. Terry Roberts, is long overdue. This concise, user-friendly manual will provide a pastor or church board a strategy to give guidance in one of the major changes that every church will face in its lifetime, a pastoral transition." -- Rev. Victor Smith, Superintendent, South Carolina District Assemblies of God"This book is a must-read for all ministry leaders who wish to steward their calling, ministry and organization with excellence. Terry Roberts tackles the tough issues of pastoral transition and offers a clear guide to navigating this - potentially turbulent - season of leadership with a high degree of excellence and confidence. Passing the Baton of leadership to the emerging generation of ministry leaders can be navigated with assurance and conviction when we apply the wisdom of this book to a season of transition. I know this book will have a great impact among ministry leaders." -- Dr. Kent Ingle, President, Southeastern University, Lakeland, Florida"Passing the Baton is probably the most practical and helpful book I've read in quite some time. Your work is excellent and is very helpful to me as I work through plans at Christian Life."Dr. Stephen Chitty, Lead Pastor, Christian Life Church, Columbia, South Carolina"Upon receiving Dr. Terry Roberts' book, Passing the Baton, I recommended it to the president and four other regional directors of Open Bible Churches. Its concise and relevant writing makes it a 'must read' for every leader interested in finding the right successor in leadership transition." -- Dr. Jim Beaird, Executive Director, Southeast Region, Open Bible Churches"Thousands of churches have suffered greatly from well-meaning, but mismanaged, pastoral transition. What often seems the best way to select a new pastor can lead to deep conflict, resentment, and a loss of effective ministry. Dr. Terry Roberts has used extensive research in conjunction with a lifetime of ministry leadership experience to lay out a clear and healthy model for church transition that is an essential tool for those on both sides of the interview table. I highly encourage church boards, denominational leaders, and pastors to carefully read and follow Roberts' approach detailed in this excellent book." -- Dr. Alan Ehler, Dean, College of Christian Ministries and Religion, Southeastern University, Lakeland, Florida"Passing the Baton: Planning for Pastoral Transition is such a fine work for local church boards, pulpit committees, and congregational insights. It represents a perfect resource for churches whose methods for seeking spiritual leadership for their pulpits, as well as top tier posts, need clarifying and finding a wise focus for searching out these often times elusive leaders. Any congregation and its internal leadership who embrace its message] will have, at its root, the makings of a Holy Spirit led direction. Terry Roberts has brought that message into sharp focus in this book. He has thought it through, and for those who read it and take it to heart, their lives will be forever changed as a result." -- Rev. T. Ray Rachels, Executive Presbyter, General Council of the Assemblies of God"In Passing the Baton, Dr. Terry Roberts provides an invaluable and practical guide for pastors and congregations as they face the inevitable need to plan for transition in their pastoral leadership. I strongly and highly recommend it as a resource." Alonzo Johnson, Ph.D., Superintendent, Church of God in Christ, South Carolina Jurisdiction