VIDALIA — Lost prophecy, Satanic persecution and the tenuous balance between good and evil in the universe — those are just a few of the elements of a recently published book by a Monterey author.

Though he first wrote it in 1993, Tom Louviere only recently self-published his book “Sword of Michael” through Blackleg publishing.

The story, which Louviere said was “pretty much a horror story with biblical overtones,” was inspired by the Dead Sea Scrolls and people from his life, he said.

“In my story, an archeologist finds lost manuscripts telling about Lucifer’s fall from heaven,” Louviere said. “It says that there is a sword placed at the gate of heaven, and if it is removed it becomes the age of the devil and all organized religion ends.”

The book tells of a scenario in which the sword can be removed and an emissary from hell begins to mess with the main character, Christy, in an effort to bring the prophecy to completion.

“She goes through hell on earth, but she keeps her faith throughout the whole ordeal,” Louviere said. “In the end, good wins over evil.”

A self-described “kind of crazy little guy,” Louviere has written four novels and a collection of short stories, due out in June.

People sometimes seem surprised when they find out he’s a writer, he said.

“I work in a hardware store, so people react and say, “Man, I didn’t know you had it in you,” Louviere said.

Louviere has a Web site for “Sword of Michael” at www.swordofmichael.com.