Scotland is occupied; Scottish resistance is crushed.Eighteen-year-old James Douglas can only watch as the Scottish freedom fighter, William Wallace, is hanged, drawn, and quartered. But even under the heel of a brutal English conqueror, the Scots may still have one hope for freedom: the rightful King of the Scots, Robert the Bruce. James swears fealty to the man he believes can lead the fight against English tyranny.

The Bruce is soon a fugitive, king only in name. The woman James loves is captured and imprisoned. Yet James believes their cause is not lost. He blazes a path in blood and violence, cunning and ruthlessness as he leads a guerrilla war to restore Scotland’s freedom. James knows if he is captured he will share Wallace’s fate, but what he truly fears is that he has become as merciless as the conqueror he fights.

A HIGHLY CAFFEINATED THRILLER SET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

Nic Callahan Gonzales has it easy, selling a little pot, making more than a little money — until one hot summer night he gets busted.

Underage, he gets off with community service, and starts work in a Cuban coffee shop. But his wages and tips won’t pay off his drug-dealing debts, and when Nic pulls too many espresso shots for himself, then brings a gun instead of money to his last payoff, things take a big turn for the worse.

Now, Nic must come up with the money. It’s not going to be easy — and it’s going to hurt.

My name is William Kensey. I have a wife and two great kids. Until very recently, I was a well-respected and financially successful trial attorney.

I was also a man who was comfortable with his religion. I preferred it served at arm’s length from the pulpit on Sunday morning. And would rather not discuss it the rest of the week.

The circumstances that led me to write A HIGHER COURT changed all that. The entire experience was both bizarre and unavoidable. You see, I was summoned to serve as a juror in an improbable trial — a trial to determine whether God exists.

I know.

You think that sounds ludicrous. I did, too . . . until the trial began.

Witnesses buried me under mountains of scientific evidence. My own eyes forced me to confront the reality of extreme human suffering. God seemed less and less relevant — even absent — as the trial progressed.

At the close of the trial, I had to render my verdict — “God” or “No God.” Affirm a new and deeper faith in a Creator, or confess the triumph of science.

A HIGHER COURT is the story of how I discovered my ultimate truth. If your mind is open, you can join me in this journey of self-discovery. Come along. You won’t be sorry.