In my new release, The Rubicon, not one but two of my characters will face defining moments. One will fall. One will rise.
To cross the Rubicon is to cross the point of no return. In life, one bad decision alone does not usually lead an individual to their Rubicon. Rather, a series of decisions over time leads a person to one pivotal moment where the consequences of a choice or action will alter their lives forever.
If you know my work, you know that I write 20th Century fiction from the German perspective. What sets it apart from other World War Two fiction is that my protagonists are not Allied heroes, brave resisters, or innocent victims of the Nazis. Regardless of their personal convictions, the men in my stories find themselves caught up in the Zeitgeist, and in some cases, actively serving the regime itself.
The story of my lead protagonist Jakob Schmidt begins long before we meet him in The Rubicon. As a child, he was devoted to God, church, and family. All those details can be found in my novel The Prodigal Sons, but you don’t need to read it to catch up with Jakob as The Rubicon opens in 1934.
In this scene, Jakob has just returned to his barracks following the events of the Night of Long Knives. For a quick refresher in history, this was not a pogrom or an action against other “undesireables.” Rather, it was an event in which the Nazi Party turned on its own members. As a young SS man, Jakob was responsible for killing dozens of men in the rival SA (“Brownshirts”).
Though his crimes prey on his mind, he is also well on his way to an exciting career. He learns to feign pride in his accomplishments and smooth over the rough spots with alcohol and women. But one day, his estranged wife Emmy appears, expressing the hope of rekindling their love and sharing a life together. Reuniting with her would mean leaving behind an attractive career opportunity, taking a job that is beneath him, and living a double life…
Then again, she always had made him weak in the knees.
By the second half of the book, war has descended on Europe. When he learns that Emmy is gravely ill, he rushes home from the Front. There, he discovers a letter from someone he had warned long ago with these words:
“You stay away from my wife.” Suddenly, new life is breathed onto old embers of jealousy.
Years of alcohol abuse and a growing psychosis has loosened Jakob’s grip on reality. Repeated acts of violence makes it easier to react violently even when violence is unnecessary. Suddenly, he is willing to go AWOL just to avenge an imagined infidelity.
Rather than an enemy’s bullet, it is this that will determine whether he lives or dies out on the Eastern Front.
As a child, Jakob had loved God deeply, yet choice after choice led him far away from those innocent beginnings. For a while, he experienced success and pleasure, and even settled into a peaceful and fulfilling home life. Yet underneath, his soul raged against the Lord, blaming Him for every bad thing that had happened in his life.
The thing I love most is that God never left Jake. God’s plan wasn’t thwarted when Jakob did everything he could to cut God out of his life. It may sound far-fetched to a reader who doesn’t subscribe to the faith that I do, but I choose to believe Matthew 18:12, which tells us that God will stop at nothing to seek the one who is lost.
Next time, we’ll talk about another character who faces his pivotal moment in The Rubicon. I hope you’ll join me then!
Germany, 1935.
Jakob Schmidt joined the SS for the pride and prestige of the uniform. Now, all of Berlin lies before him, from career prospects to beautiful women who would like nothing more than to spend an evening in his company. Yet beneath the façade he carries moral injuries he wants no one to see.
Emma Vogel-Schmidt recently exchanged wedding vows with the young man she has loved since childhood. Now she finds herself estranged from him and full of regret. Jakob has given himself wholly to a regime she despises, but she wonders: did she allow politics to sever her from the love of her life?
She finds a lifeline in Christian Richter, Jakob’s former hero and mentor. A faithful friend who is hiding his own secrets, Christian devises a plot to reunite the young couple, and in so doing resolves to face his own demons.
While Jakob and Emma enjoy three years of wedded bliss, Christian finds a new identity as an officer in the swelling ranks of the German army. Will their joy withstand the devastation of war, or will they each be pushed past the breaking point?
Purchase The Rubicon here:
About Aubrey Taylor:
As a child, Aubrey spent countless hours creating characters and writing stories. This ended around age sixteen when music, friends and part-time jobs began to fill her time. After that came college, work, marriage, and children. It wasn’t until the world was beginning to come out of the COVID pandemic that God led her back to her love for writing, coupled with a passion she’d always had for history. It was time to start a new adventure!
Aubrey is the author of the German-perspective 20th Century fiction series, Gott Mit Uns. She lives in Upstate New York with her husband and three children. When she’s not writing or taking care of her home and family, she enjoys singing and dancing with friends from a German choir and a Bavarian folk dancing group. She is also a lover of Jesus Christ, The Holy Bible, history, tea, and cats!