Intruders

INTRUDERS resulted from a small voice that whispered 'You should write a ghost story.' That was the furthest thing from the author's mind, but the thought kept coming, phantom-like, and so it began. After ruling out a New England setting (at the insistence of the author), Philadelphia became the preferred locale. Once a bit of investigation led to the former Eastern State Penitentiary and related tales, the decision was firmed up and writing began in earnest. The Burke family evolved first, along with their new house, and then a series of strange happenings appeared, eventually finding resolution in a single event based on the real-life experience of two different people known to the author. Entertaining? Yes. Spooky? Indeed. Either way, INTRUDERS is a book that keeps your attention, right up to the very last page. ARLON K. STUBBE is a retired Lutheran clergyperson who served for 41 years as pastor of two congregations in Michigan and one in far-western Pennsylvania. He earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, and his doctoral dissertation is republished in an updated version by CSS Publisihing Co. in Lima, Ohio. Other non-fiction works include a joint effort with Frank R. Morris, a psycho-therapist, on using effective language in preaching, and a smaller book that relates humorous incidents in ministry that either Stubbe himself caused or happened to him. Past member of a creative writing class at Penn State-Shenango Campus, he also wrote op-ed articles for three different newspapers on religious and cultural topics. Prior to retirement in 2007, Stubbe turned to fiction and began writing novels. A few deal with religious themes, but most are contemporary fiction. Several are historical novels -- on the lives of St. John Chrysostom and the Italian violinist Nicolo Paganini. Another work focuses on the issue of gun violence, a trilogy lays out the life experiences of a fictional character named Julie Richards, and a more recent novel tells the Jesus saga through the eyes of the chief servant of the high priest Caiaphas -- MALCHUS' EAR. Now being contemplated is a collection of some of Pr. Stubbe's sermons.