"Lions In the Desert" Is In Its First Proof Stage

I have for a long time been interested in the lives of those early Christian men and women who are known as the "Desert Fathers". They were the first ever Christian hermits and monks, and the very first was a long-lived man by the name of Paul of Thebes. As I learned more about his life I felt inspired to write a work of historical fiction that took into account his historical and geographical environment. "Anba Bola" ('Saint Paul' in Arabic) left his home and wealth at a very early age and under the threat of persecution in 250 A. D. He was led by God to seek refuge in the wilderness of the Eastern Egyptian Mountains. There he lived out his life, spending most of those years in a special, secret haven where God supplied his needs. He spent a long life in prayer and (mostly) solitude, finally dying at the age of 113. We know little enough of his life, so I attempt through my knowledge of the history of those times to fill in the gaps with a variety of adventures. I hope to complete this by late April or early May. In ancient iconography Paul ("Bola") is shown wearing a tunic of plaited palm fronds, and often with a raven near at hand and the date palm (from which he obtained food). See below.