Pastor Gross is a native of New Orleans, a city whose early 20th century charm and idiosyncrasies he attempts to preserve in these pages, a New Orleans no longer retrievable since Katrina. He is a Lutheran pastor who served parishes for forty years before retiring in 2008. His last 29 years of active ministry he served at Christ Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Ohio. He has intense interest in historical subjects, religion, and culture. This is reflected in this book by inventing new generations of dynasties that have actually become extinct. He likes to immerse his readers in the period he is presenting. He has earned the B.A. from Valparaiso University (1964), the Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis (B. Div.1968, later upgraded to M.Div.), and Master of Theology from the same institution (S.T.M. 1974). He is a widower with two children and two grandchildren. He writes poetry, especially metrical Psalms. This is his first venture into fiction