"The Terrible Ones of the Lord" is Taylor s third book. He Is in the process of submitting his fourth and is now working on his fifth.

"Each one is a different project," Taylor said.

A concern for youth was his reason for writing this book. "Specifically the youth that seem lost in today's world - that they didn't t have a clear focus on life," Taylor said. "I think youth feel powerless. Especially when they get out into the real world and start seeing what they can't make a difference in."

Taylor s latest novel is about a group of teenagers who become disillusioned by the violence and insecurity of the 1990's as well as by the hypocrisy of many adults around them and fall prey to an East Los Angeles gang. The high school students eventually make a discovery that allows them to change the history of the world to a future where all people are at war and the only hope of safety is in the realization of a legendary city that only they have the power to create.

"It's a unique title," Taylor said of "The Terrible Ones of the Lord."

"One thinks of the word terrible as horrible, but in reality what this terrible means is putting fear into those who would try to destroy the world with their avarice, greed and their search for power," he said.

Taylor has worked with teenagers for more than 25 years as a high school teacher. As a math and science teacher and a religious youth leader, Taylor holds an experienced perspective on the lives of troubled teens. By writing fictional books, Taylor hopes to inspire youths to believe in themselves through the power of faith.

He is a math and science consultant for the Kings County Office of Education's beginning teacher network. "Education is my second career; my first is medical research," he said. "Writing is a hobby."

His book is available at more than 25,000 bookstores and online at http://www.1stbooks.com . A book signing will be from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 4 at B Dalton in the Hanford Mall.

The reporter can be reached at bswarm@sentinelnews.net