Terry Brown, an English instructor at Chattanooga State Community College, has joined the ranks of author with the premiere of his novel, City of Refuge, a book he refers to as an “alternative American history.”
With more than 20 years experience, including work in the newspaper industry and teaching at Chattanooga State, Mr. Brown wanted to find a way to combine his love for religious studies and all things humanities. “The idea came to me for this work after doing a Bible study on the cities of refuge in the Old Testament,” shares Mr. Brown. “I wrote this work because I was in my final semester of graduate school and thought an Introduction to the novel class would be fun,” he adds.
Much like the assignments he gives to his own students, this class forced Mr. Brown to put words to paper. The premise of City of Refuge centers around the foundations of society being shaken as it experiences a major paradigm shift from a Constitutional Republic to an Absolute Monarchy governed by the ancient principle of lex talionis or "an eye for an eye justice." One man, Hermes Speaks, wrestles with his own demons and a lack of empathy in regards to his binary construct of justice and mercy. The character must learn to balance these opposites if he wants to succeed in the City of Refuge.
Following five revisions and some patient friends, Mr. Brown decided, “enough was enough.” The result was City of Refuge, available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Books and Xlibras publishing.
Dayton Site Director Jerry Hendrix works closely with Mr. Brown when planning his academic schedules each semester. “Terry is the foundation that I base my Dayton schedule upon each semester, and a solid rock he definitely is for our Dayton student body,” says Mr. Hendrix.
Mr. Brown, a Bryan College graduate earning a bachelor’s in Bible and liberal arts, went on to earn a ThM in pastoral leadership from Dallas Theological Seminary and a master’s in English from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Now a full-time instructor at Chattanooga State’s Dayton site, he has taught classes for the College since 2001. Mr. Brown enjoys the outdoors, travel and teaching. He lives in Dayton with his wife Rebecca and their seven children.