Hello, my name is Joseph N. Padilla. Author of the novel, “Adventure the Long Walk, Afterchrist”, now comes “The Nail.” The Nail is my effort to recreate some of the mystery and awe that must have surrounded those souls fortunate enough to have encountered the massage of our savior either during his lifetime or soon after. As the story begins, Joshua Saul is about as low in the social scale as anyone can be. A beggar at the gate called Beautiful in Jerusalem of 48 A.D. He is penniless, homeless, illiterate and, for all practical purposes, without faith. Yet, in the story's final scene, Saul stands preaching to an arena filled with scoffers of God, and in an act of divine inspiration, calls on the Holy Spirit to act so clearly that all within sight are made to believe in the power of Jesus Christ — All through the symbolic power of a simple nine-inch nail. Joshua Saul's life begins it's ascent toward spiritual fulfillment on Golgotha — literally. While resting against an old crucifixion log after burying his mother, he finds embedded in the ground an old nail. Strangely soothed by the. nail, he tucks it away in his girdle. Little does he know the profound changes this simple act will bring. Soon enough miracles of rebirth, healing, and spiritual redemption sprout around Saul. With an open heart and a willing soul, this simple young man is transformed into a vessel for the message of salvation brought to earth by Jesus Christ, and so doing fulfills his destiny. A tail of spiritual growth, adventure, and romance. The Nail opens a new window on the story of Christ and the transformation of his holy presence enacted on even the physical objects that he's come in tough with.
