When you independently publish a book, you can only pray for promotion like this. I received an incredible bit of news today. The Sower of Black Field was a featured book review on Our Sunday Visitor’s website (www.osvnews.com). This is
The awards count for The Sower of Black Field is now in double-digit territory. The novel has won ten top awards! Last week The Sower won top prize for religious fiction in the 2025 Indie Reader Discovery Awards. I have
Learn more about Fr. Viktor’s early life, and the “story behind the story”—how the Koch family discovered this nearly-forgotten episode in our family history. On May 28th, my father Gary and I were invited to conduct a Zoom presentation for
Schwarzenfeld had one thing that most German towns did not—a bona fide American who could smash the propaganda machine and set the record straight. “The Allied forces were gradually winning the day and they could not come quick enough for
The following story goes to show how interconnected we all are, and how one person and an act of kindness can help change the course of history. The woman in this photo is Frau Paula Dirrigl, posing with her husband
The photo for this post conveys a remarkable story of oppression and resistance. Eighty-four years ago in 1941, Nazi authorities evicted Fr. Viktor and his brethren from their monastery in Schwarzenfeld. They expected him to leave town—and return home to
In the beginning, I thought I was writing a faith story. I never realized that oppression would end up being such a prominent part of the narrative. This time 80 years ago, Joe Koch, Fr. Viktor’s nephew, was an American
Imagine this message being preached in Nazi Germany. That blows my mind. A little over a century ago in 1922, Fr. Viktor arrived in Germany to open monasteries and sow the seeds of his religious order, the Passionists. He succeeded
April 2025 marks the 80-year anniversary of true events that inspired The Sower of Black Field. Join me as I reflect upon the journey that has shaped my life—and that of my family. One of my favorite reflections on history
It’s official—over 1,000 copies of The Sower of Black Field have been sold online since its launch in April 2024. (The vast majority of online sales occurred since I relaunched the book in January 2025 with the help of The
