Matthew Eberz
Philadelphia native Matthew Eberz has always lived at the intersection of fact and fiction. His novels—The Solemn Vow, Lethal Data, and Farewell to Honor—draw from a lifetime of experiences spanning military service, executive leadership, and small-town real estate. Each book is threaded with details rooted in reality, then shaped by imagination into stories that feel authentic and compelling.
A Penn State graduate, Eberz served 17 years on active duty in the U.S. Army, retiring as a major. His career carried him across Germany, England, Chicago, Virginia, California, and North Carolina, culminating in his role as deputy director of the Army’s Artificial Intelligence Center at Fort Monroe. After leaving the military in 1992, he transitioned to civilian life as a technology executive before settling in Highlands, where he built a successful career as a real estate broker.
During his Army years, Eberz began The Solemn Vow, a historical mystery inspired by fragments of real events. While researching World War I Medal of Honor recipient Audie Murphy and records of German prisoners of war at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, he uncovered inconsistencies in government reports and finances. “The numbers didn’t match – the amount of money earned versus what was reported,” Eberz recalls.
That spark of curiosity became a decade-long project weaving conspiracy, betrayal, and courage into a fictional narrative centered on his recurring protagonist, Sam Call. The novel explores a potential conspiracy between American officers and German prisoners trading money for freedom. Originally published in 2000, Eberz withdrew it from circulation, only republishing it recently with renewed confidence. That decision paid off: The Solemn Vow was named a finalist for the 2025 Storytrade Award for Best Mystery–Historical.
“I know it’s not the Pulitzer or the New York Times Best Sellers List, but it’s nice to be recognized,” Eberz says with characteristic modesty.
“The cast of characters has grown with me,” he explains. “Sam begins in the Army, then moves into civilian investigations with colleagues. They’ve become a way for me to reimagine events that, in one way or another, I’ve lived through.”
For Eberz, a father of two daughters and grandfather of four, the reward lies not in accolades but creation itself. “Even if it doesn’t sell, I would still write and publish. It’s a special feeling to work on a novel for years, revising it repeatedly, and in the end hold something that tells a story and, hopefully, provides a moment of literary enjoyment.”
With his fourth novel, tentatively titled Guilty or Scapegoat, already in progress, Eberz continues to transform the facts of his life into fiction that resonates. The Solemn Vow is available on Amazon.
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