Today's blog guest is author Sheldon Collins. It's been a wild ride for Sheldon lately - his book, The Legend of Valentine, recently became an Amazon best-seller. I asked him how that felt ...
"On January 24, 2025, The Legend of Valentine reached the Amazon bestseller list for Classic Roman Literature — only three days after release. For many authors, that moment would be all celebration. For me, it came three weeks after the Palisades Fire destroyed my home and nearly everything I owned.
At the time, I could barely register the achievement. My days were consumed with relocating my family, replacing the basics, and simply surviving. It wasn’t until months later that the significance of that milestone sank in — and when it did, I was struck by how much my own life seemed to echo the very story I had written.
Valentine, my protagonist, is a soldier of Rome. He’s courageous on the battlefield, but emotionally unmoored — a man who has lost family, lost a true sense of home, and nearly loses his own life. The only anchor he knows is the brotherhood of warriors at his side. What makes his journey powerful isn’t just the clash of empires, but the quieter battles: the movement from emptiness to belonging, from faithless to faithful, from loveless to love-full.
After the fire, I felt some of those same fractures. A house is more than walls; it is a sense of place, of rootedness. Losing that left me feeling adrift, as though the ground itself had shifted. But, like Valentine, I began to see what remains when everything else is stripped away. For him, it was faith and love reborn in the midst of loss. For me, it was the outpouring of community — friends, neighbors, and even strangers showing up with tangible acts of kindness.
What deepened the experience was hearing back from readers. Some wrote to me about the history, others about the love story, still others about the themes of endurance, forgiveness, or faith rediscovered. I realized then that the book wasn’t one-dimensional; I had packed many threads into it, using Rome as the stage to explore truths that still resonate today. There is something in it for everyone to take hold of, because the themes are timeless.
That, to me, has been the real gift. Hitting a bestseller list is meaningful, of course, but the deeper joy is discovering that a story born in another century can meet readers right where they are — just as it met me in the ashes of my own life.
In the end, the lesson is the same for both author and reader: when everything seems lost, love and faith have a way of finding us again.'
Excerpt
They stood facing each other, Rose towering over Bear, her height and poise only deepening his discomfort. With a deep breath, she leaned down to kiss him, her lips hovering close to his as he awkwardly closed his eyes and puckered. But just as their lips were about to touch, Rose pulled back.
“This isn’t right,” she exclaimed as she sat back on the log.
“What is it?” he demanded, his heart now racing at the thought of actually kissing her.
“You’re at a disadvantage,” Rose replied, her gaze lingering on his stature.
“What do you mean?” he asked
“The man I am to wed will likely be taller than me. It makes little sense to practice with somebody of your height,” she explained, her voice tinged with defeat.
Bear’s frustration was evident, but inspiration quickly lit his eyes. Scanning the riverbed, he announced, “I have an idea.” Quickly springing into action, he gathered flat rocks and assembled them into a makeshift platform. With a satisfied grin, he climbed on top, elevating himself slightly above Rose’s height. “There. How’s this?”
Rose’s smile widened at his ingenuity. “Perfect,” she replied, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she stood up and approached him.
As her lips neared him, he leaned down awkwardly while balancing on the rocks, his heart pounding in anticipation. Suddenly, their lips met. The sensation sent a surprising shiver down each of their spines. But as they drew closer, Bear’s balance betrayed him, and he toppled into the river with a startled shriek.
Emerging from the water, soaked and sputtering, he caught Rose doubled over in laughter. “You must work on your balance, Bear!” she teased, her laughter echoing through the forest.
“I will never do that again!” he declared, his pride wounded.
Rose, still chuckling, offered a playful retort: “Yes, you will!”
“No, I will not!”
Rose turned and ran off through the forest toward a meadow, her laughter trailing behind her as she playfully chanted, “Yes, you will! Yes, you will!”
“Wait for me!” he called, pausing briefly to strap on his sandals before resuming his chase. Suddenly, he halted and hid behind a tree, his gaze fixed on a formidable figure advancing across the meadow on horseback. It was Rose’s father—the town’s jailer, a man feared by many and someone Bear instinctively knew to avoid.
“Daughter, the hour has come,” her father declared as he approached Rose and drew her onto his steed. “And how many times must I remind you not to wander off into the forest without permission?”
“Wait.” She hesitated, her gaze darting back toward the forest in search of Bear’s familiar figure, but he was nowhere in sight.
“What is it?” her father pressed, his brow furrowed as he followed her gaze.
“It’s nothing,” Rose replied, lowering her head. She knew better than to reveal her relationship with Bear, wary of her overly protective father’s reaction.
With a gentle kick, her father urged the horse forward, and they departed from the forest.
Hardly able to contain his emotions, Bear stepped out from behind a tree and called out to her: “Rose!”
Unheard by her father, she turned in her saddle and gave Bear a small, heartfelt wave in farewell. Bear waved back, feeling a hollow ache begin to settle in his heart. As the horse picked up speed and galloped away, Rose clutched her father and turned her head forward. A tear rolled down Bear’s cheek as the truth dawned on him—his feelings for Rose ran deeper than friendship. Silently, he had always imagined them growing old together, a future he had never dared voice to his first and only true love.
