Book Description: Lt. Colonel Christopher Jordan Haldane wasn't expecting to get caught up in a turf war when he headed off to Italy. What began as negotiating a shady mining deal turns into a bitter struggle between the Illuminati and the Grail Guardians over a steam-powered castle. Hidden deep inside this formidable caste, the Villa D'Amici, is forbidden knowledge and peculiar devices. As Haldane begins having out-of-body experiences, he must solve the Villa D'Amici's riddle and save an alluring lady before dark forces take over both the castle and his mind.
Author's Inspiration: Part conspiracy theory, part spoof, part metaphysical exploration, I started writing this series to play with ideas and archetypes. It began as a Jungian exploration of Anima/Animus archetypes, but then went weird. The introduction of Steampunk elements brought in considerations of the limits of science and human knowledge. For me, it was a fun way to approach some serious existential themes, while being simultaneously irreverent.