When the Wood Is Dry: I. Call of the Innocent

"Sometimes we must suffer if we are to save souls."

Jesus' words echo in a recurring dream to Lali Russo, a seventeen-year-old Catholic school girl.

Lali wakes and asks, "Why that dream again?"

Two thousand years ago, the scourged and bloody form of a man who claimed to be God carried the wood on which he would be crucified. Coming upon some distraught women, He says, "Women of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but for yourselves and your children. For if these things are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

The novel, When the Wood Is Dry by Joseph Cillo, Jr. attempts to answer this question.

When the Wood Is Dry will be published in three parts: I. Call of the Innocent; II. Crucifixion, and III. Resurrection. In I. Call of the Innocent, Lali is called to walk a path of suffering that she struggles to understand. Praying at an abortion clinic, she encounters the pregnant girlfriend of a notorious gang leader. She confronts the girl's boyfriend, the ruthless Ralo as he sharpens his machete. "This is none of business, little girl."

As the subtitle, An Edgy Catholic Thriller suggests, When the Wood Is Dry is Edgy - Intended only for mature audiences, Catholic - includes overtly Catholic religious imagery and perspectives, and Thrilling - "full of twists and turns, action and heart-wrenching moments," as one reader commented.

Some readers who may love the first and third parts may find the second part too intense, so we are recommending that such readers read I, Call of the Innocent, then skip the second part and read the synopsis included in III Resurrection. More daring readers can journey with Lali in II. Crucifixion, but only with the sternest warning.

"The storyline is like nothing I've ever read before. "

"...a chilling, unpredictable, fascinating story which I couldn't put down."

"...a well thought out, complex story with strong, diverse characters and a unique concept. The story was easy to read and follow. Full of twists and turns, action and heart-wrenching moments."