Meet Brock and Bodie Thoene

What makes a good story? Bodie Thoene certainly knows the answer: "A really good antagonist, somebody who is opposing the right, somebody who stands for the right, a romantic interest, and you have to have a great historical setting in which people are fighting against impossible odds. Sometimes they win and sometimes they don't. But that's what makes great stories." (Dallas Morning News, January 1998)

Brock and Bodie Thoene have been writing great stories for 15 years. They've written 30 novels, sold more than 6.5 million copies, and have won seven ECPA Gold Medallion Awards, 5 Campus Life Book of the Year awards, and 3 Best Fiction/Author awards from the Writer's Foundation of America. Among their top series' sellers are The Shiloh Legacy, The Zion Covenant, The Zion Chronicles, and The Saga of the Sierras. Stand-alone titles include bestsellers The Twilight of Courage, a World War II drama, and the heartfelt Shiloh Autumn, based on the lives of Bodie's own grandparents during the Great Depression. Brock and Bodie have also written The Galway Chronicles, set in Ireland in the 1840s. The Thoene's recent work is The Zion Legacy, and First Light, the first book in their new series, the A.D. Chronicles.

All of their books reflect Brock and Bodie's love for historical places. "We look for what Winston Churchill called 'the hinges of history'," says Brock. "Small events that determine the sequence of how things turn out. In all of history, you can't separate faith from people's lives in the midst of great destruction. Faith in God gets all of us through." The Thoenes feel that readers need "examples of people who have fought and won." They say their books are popular because they offer people hope.

Bodie's writing background -- from being a screenwriter for John Wayne's film production company to writing for U.S. News & World Report and The Saturday Evening Post -- and Brock's degrees in history and education combine to produce tautly written, historically accurate novels. For each book, their individual roles are clearly defined. Brock handles the meticulous research and plot development. Bodie weaves the story's magic and brings the facts to life. Though the Thoenes make their stateside home in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, part of their research includes living in the places they write about. The couple spends six months each year in Europe, based in London, traveling to various countries as necessary. Brock says, "We love history. We love interviewing people. We love finding out about lives long before our own. Even if we weren't writing, we would still be doing the kind of research and travel we're doing."

Brock and Bodie Thoene have been married for almost 30 years and are the parents of Rachel, Jake, and Luke. Their sons are also writers, collaborating on a series of Sherlock Holmes-based mystery books for young teens, The Baker Street Brigade. The fourth book in that series, The Thundering Underground, has just been published. "I really think my parents are the reason we got the writing bug," says Jake. "I can remember from the time I was seven . . . everyone talking stories over dinner."

Updated May 2003.