If Jesus was executed as an infant, our world would be much different today.

That is the premise of PK Mags’ novel.

An Islamic terrorist steals a time machine and attempts to kill Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. A CIA operative and his team try to stop him.

The novel is “Time Terror: Defending Jesus” (285 pages; Newman Springs Publishing; paperback $17.21; digital $9.99; 2023) by PK Mags.

“I wanted to create something new and unique. I wondered what would happen if enemies wanted to take out the past and attack our Judeo-Christian ideals,” says author Phil Magliochetti at a Bethlehem restaurant.

“And also, how different technologies would work in a different time frame,” he adds.

Despite the title, this is not a religion-based book such as those in the “Left Behind” series.

Magliochetti describes it as “an action thriller with a sci-fi bent.” And since it involves the birth of Jesus, it is something like a Christmas story.

“I love movies and I have read a lot since I was a kid,” he says, mentioning the original “Planet of the Apes.”

“I thought up this idea 15 years ago and thought, ‘This would make a great movie.’ I should try to write a screenplay. But I didn’t know how. But I read a lot and figured, ‘I could write a book.’

“My writing style is visualized, as if I am watching a movie.”

Magliochetti hopes that the book could be turned into a film someday. He says the result might be something like a cross between “The Terminator” and “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.” The latter film is based on a true story about an attack on a United States military compound in Libya.

‘“Terminator’ is about time travel and trying to take out a savior, while ‘13 Hours’ has military contractors going against a high number of lesser skilled combatants.”

Magliochetti uses the pen name PK Mags because “my real name would take up way too much space on the cover. ‘Mags’ was my nickname in college.”

Magliochetti has been in the insurance business since he graduated from Gettysburg College. In person he seems much more like an easygoing insurance guy than a military operative. Born and raised in Clinton, N.J., he and his wife Melissa moved to Pen Argyl two years ago. The couple has two daughters.

There are built-in contradictions in time-travel stories, questions like: If you went back in time and killed your own grandfather, would you ever be born? Or: If time travel is possible, why hasn’t anyone visited us from the future?

Authors have found ways around this, as Magliochetti does with his fast-paced writing. He also addresses the often ignored language situation. In many films and TV shows, people in past times and different countries somehow speak perfect English. In “Time Terror” a translator who speaks Aramaic travels back in time with the CIA team.

“The characters are realistic in the situations they are in,” says Magliochetti. “Many of them are combinations of people that I know.”

Even so, he says, “It’s easier to write about the villains.” He works for accuracy in weaponry and other areas. “It can take 30 or 40 minutes of research just to write one sentence.”

Magliochetti has finished a sequel and is working on a third book in the series. He uses the same characters traveling to different points in American history.

“Literary Scene” is a column about authors, books and publishing. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com