About the Author

A storyteller shaped by family, faith, and the stories we carry

I’m Rob Verkon. I have always been drawn to the stories that live beneath the surface of our everyday lives—the family histories we inherit, the choices that define us, the hardships that test us, and the moments when we discover how much more we share than separates us.

My path as a writer has never been a straight line. It has been a long conversation between the ideas that first moved me, the responsibilities of family, the lessons life has taught, and the stories that continued to wait for me.

A story passed from one generation to the next

By the Dawn’s Early Light began when I was twenty-one. My Uncle Jerry, who shared a gift for writing, had dreamed of writing the next great American novel. Life took him in another direction, as it often does, and the story he cared about eventually passed to me. I was drawn to our family’s immigrant history, but also to the parallels I saw in the journeys of other people seeking safety, opportunity, and a better future.

By the time I was twenty-one or twenty-two, I had completed a rough draft and saved it on a 3.5-inch floppy disk. I even imagined using the pen name Spencer J. Foreman. Then life took its turn. I married, became a father to four children, and the daily work of living, raising a family, and providing for them rightly took priority. The years passed, and the original disk was eventually lost.

When I returned to the novel decades later, I reconstructed much of it from memory and used the research tools and historical records now available to confirm and deepen the story. What began as a young man’s writing project became a thirty-five-year journey. I chose to publish under my own name, because the story—and the journey that brought it here—are part of who I am.

Why I write

Honor His House came from a conviction that children deserve encouragement to care for all of themselves: their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. We speak often about physical health, but the mind and spirit need care and nurturing, too. Writing that book helped me see how stories can open meaningful conversations and encourage us to become more thoughtful stewards of the lives we have been given.

That experience brought me back to By the Dawn’s Early Light and gave me the resolve to finish it. I regret that my mother, who passed away two years ago, could not see the completed book. I am grateful to share it with my Aunt Carol, and to carry forward the memories and stories of family members who helped shape it.

Other stories have waited patiently, too. The idea for The Mantle first came to me about fifteen years ago, as a modern Robin Hood story about taking from those who profit from addiction and giving people struggling with its consequences a chance at recovery. It is a story close to my heart because of the way addiction affects not only individuals, but the families who love them.

The Dragonfly Diaries arrived in a dream about ten years ago. Its blend of Christian faith, fantasy, imagination, and the search for purpose speaks to the part of me that loves asking “what if?” and following an idea into a world of its own.

The threads that connect the stories

Across different genres and generations, my writing returns to the same questions: What do we owe our families and one another? What does faith ask of us? How does legacy shape who we become? How can we find common ground when our experiences seem so different? What might change if we offered one another more grace?

I write about family, legacy, faith, courage, justice, mercy, and the complicated choices that make us human. My hope is not to give readers easy answers, but to offer stories that stay with them—stories that encourage reflection, compassion, and a deeper appreciation for the lives we share.

Thank you for taking the time to visit, read, and become part of this journey.