Satan’s Challenge (WC 82,000) (Copyright © 2024 Mary Elena Arnaut)

(Subtitle: A Boston Cowboy’s Testament)

Juan Miguel Trestin is a high-tech genius and very wealthy man living a double life. Publicly, he is known for his philanthropy, his business conglomerate, and the fedora he always wears. He purchases the hat from a Barcelona street vendor who, unknowingly to Trestin, saves his life. The media learns that Trestin misses embarking on the “Wondrous Sails” ocean liner that mysteriously explodes during its voyage. Reporters label him the Boston Cowboy in news coverage about the tragedy that kills everyone on board and pursues Trestin for his life’s story.

Secretly, Trestin manages a self-designed network called D1 that monitors world-wide communications and trolls the dark web for criminal activity. D1 detects a nefarious plot to assassinate the G7 leaders, one each day between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Trestin is invited by the criminal to join the plot, but Trestin refuses, only to become a suspected accomplice. He takes on a mission to prevent the murders and apprehend the villain he labels Satan. During his mission, Trestin is challenged not only by the current evil unfolding but also by past and present relationships and people whose lives are now in danger, including his own.

The story reveals the tortured past and vengeful actions of the criminal Jovan Tosoveau. His death threats are transmitted to the G7 leaders forty days in advance to taunt them and to terrorize the world. Tosoveau challenges Trestin to join him or die with the G7. The murder’s first planned assassination is the Canadian Prime Minister on December 25. As Trestin’s extraordinary effort, to stop this satanic villain, begins to unravel and endanger many lives, including himself and his life’s work; he realizes the enormity of his mission and enlists help from multiple sources. He engages the United Nations and leaders from the U.S., Spain, Germany, North Macedonia, and Canada. Several unexpected twists occur during the countdown to Christmas as Trestin is provided resources from the U.S. Navy Seals and international agencies to capture this Satan before anyone dies, but someone always does.

Psychologically complex characters and their incredible technology are entangled in daring intrigue and inevitable tragedy as they traverse many treacherous perils before reaching the end of their agonizing ordeal.

The Alexander Accord (WC 78,000) (Copyright © 2024 Mary Elena Arnaut)

(Subtitle: A Boston Cowboy’s Bloodline)

In his second adventure, Juan Miguel Trestin discovers two adversarial groups – one trying to protect him (The Sarisa) and the other trying to kill him (The Bursa) – and a plot to ignite war in the Balkans. As a descendant of Alexander The Great, The Sarisa want to make Trestin their king to reign over a new Macedonian kingdom; the Bursa want to kill him and resurrect the ancient Byzantine kingdom to be ruled by their terrorist leader.

In his daring attempt to end the regional conflict, Trestin risks his life; and the lives of others close to him; especially his fiancée Teri Yuloff; and his pilot/bodyguard/best friend Ryan Tarnett. When war is imminent, Trestin collaborates with government leaders from the United States, Iceland, Turkey, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia to pursue The Bursa criminal mastermind and his followers.

Before he can forge an agreement for lasting peace, Trestin has to resolve two revelations – who he really is and how to defeat the terrorists. The discovery of his heritage and his actions are met with devastating consequences for his friends and allies before the ordeal ends.

ANNE’S TEACUPS (WC 82,000) (Copyright © 2024 Mary Elena Arnaut)

In ANNE’S TEACUPS, two devoted sisters Anne and Esther are separated in their youth when their father is murdered. Decades later, a surprise reunion ignites their life-long trauma and brings Anne and Esther face to face with the secret about the murder that destroyed their relationship.

To bring their two families together, Anne and Esther must risk revealing the truth of who murdered their father, why, and the coverup that separated them for seven decades.  Their decision will forever forge their family’s legacy.

The story about their lives, and the families they cherish, journeys through heart-breaking and heart-warming events of their human experience.