A Christmas Pause

If you hadn't noticed, it's Christmas. There isn't snow on the ground, but the wrapping of too many gifts and the baking of too many goodies and the hustle of shopping for last minute forgotten items tells me the season is really here. Busyness is trying to war with my worship today. I need to remember what this is all about. I need to focus on the entire reason this season is so special. The BEST gift. 

Without this gift, I'd be nothing, have nothing, possess no hope for the future. I'd be swallowed up and eaten alive by anxiety. I'd be no good at all to my family and friends. I'd have nothing to write about.

In Jesus, I have everything. I have peace, anticipation of future promises, strength for today, joy in the simplicity of everything this life can be. 

I'm sharing a scene from my latest biblical fiction novel. I hope it gives you a moment to pause and consider in a new way the age-old message of Christmas. 

EXCERPT FROM MY BROTHER THE KING...

***

“Daughters, come near,” Yosef said weakly from his pallet on the floor. He had been thrashing back and forth all evening. The girls had been huddled in the corner together, watching his face grow white and his desperate breathing become a tell-tale rattle in his chest. They knew death, and they knew their father was close to it.

They came to him and kneeled beside him. Talia buried her head in Yosef’s tunic, crying.

“Save your tears for mourning, little Talia. I want to go to Sheol with the memories of your beautiful smiles.”

“Please don’t go, Abba,” Talia begged as she tried to stop her tears. Her sobs only grew deeper.

“Be silent so I can speak,” Abba said tenderly, lifting a trembling hand to Talia’s cheek. When she quieted, he spoke again. “When I am gone, little lambs, you must do something for me.”

“Anything, Abba,” Hannah leaned over him and squeezed his arm. “Just say the words.”

Yosef smiled at her and reached a hand to smooth back the hair from her face. “Little Hannah. Only eight years on this earth and you wish to be a grown woman. Don’t be in such a hurry. Womanhood will come all too soon.”

“Amen,” Hannah said without thinking. She took his other hand. “May you be there to see me as a woman.”

“I will not be there,” Yosef said decidedly. “I want my daughters to be strong. Help your Ama in her grief.”

They hesitated, exchanging glances, then nodded.

“Whatever happens, you must both follow Yeshue. Not only in matters relating to the family, for he will be the head of this house, but in all things. He is the M’sheekha, and you must follow him.”

Yosef’s voice became urgent, almost as a plea, as the spirit ebbed away behind his warm brown eyes. “I have told your brothers the same.”

“Yes, Abba,” they both said in unison.

“If only I had the time to tell you…” Yosef’s voice faded and Hannah thought he had died. A cold chill spread over her.

“I must speak to Yeshue,” he said suddenly, squeezing their hands with his little remaining strength. “Send in the one they call my son.”

They sprang up from his pallet, crying as they descended the ladder and ran to find Yeshue. Hannah found him in the courtyard, sitting against the wall, his head in his hands. She was not sure if he was praying, or crying, or both.

“Abba asks for you,” she said. He jumped at the sound of her voice, as if he’d been surprised by her voice. Very rarely did anyone surprise Yeshue. He must have been deep in thought.

He stood and motioned for her to come to him. He kissed her head. “Go to your sister, Hannah. She will need you to hold her while she grieves.”

Hannah nodded, a lump in her throat.

“You are a strong one. A brave girl.” He squeezed her shoulders before he went to Yosef.

Instead of going to Talia, Hannah followed Yeshue back into the house. She sat in the doorway and listened to their words. She had to strain her ears to hear Abba’s words over Ama’s sniffling.

“Son, my time has come,” Yosef said. 

Yeshue said nothing. After a moment, he nodded.

“I know we haven’t spoken of it in a long time, but I want to remind you of your birth. Make sure you understand.”

Hannah would have laughed if it had been any other circumstance. Yosef and Maryam had talked often of Yeshue’s birth. Sometimes Hannah wondered if they could speak of anything else.

“I understand, Abba.” Hannah heard Yeshue’s soft answer.

“Ah, let an old man speak his memories,” Yosef chuckled, which made him cough.

“If he must,” Yeshue sat down on the stool made by Yosef’s own hands. “I will be glad to listen.”

“You indulge me,” Yosef said, and Yeshue chuckled in response.

“Your mother was the most beautiful girl in town. Have I told you that? Long dark hair, shiny brown eyes full of innocence…”

“You describe every young woman I can think of, Abba,” Yeshue teased him mildly.

 Yosef reached a hand to lightly slap Yeshue’s arm. “You are employed here only as a listener.”

Yeshue nodded and bowed his head in deference.

“I was taken with her from the moment I arrived in town. You know I came from Bethlehem, but our family had come to Nazareth for the wedding of my cousin. We ended up staying for several weeks, and I wanted her for my wife, if her father could be convinced to let her marry an old bachelor.”

“An old bachelor at twenty-four. You wound me. I hadn’t realized at twenty-five I was useless and elderly.”

Yosef wheezed a short laugh. “Well, I seemed an old bachelor to Maryam. She was barely thirteen. But there was something about her. Wisdom beyond her years. She wasn’t flighty or silly as the other young women. She had a peace about her I found very attractive.”

“As you should have.” Yeshue looked at his mother across Yosef’s pallet and nodded.

“I decided not to ask for her, though. Surely she deserved better than a poor carpenter.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“In the end I didn’t need to. Her father’s olive crop was destroyed by flies and they had no money to pay the tax. He would have had to sell her to save the little ones, so I paid the bride price. He asked me to wait a year before I took her to my home because she was so young, and I agreed.

“Not two months after this, Maryam was visited by the angel.”

“Gabriel,” Yeshue said with a nod. Almost like he spoke of an old friend.

“Imagine my shock when she came to me with wild stories of angels and heavenly messages. I pulled her aside to hear what nonsense she had dreamed up. When she told me she was going to have a baby, my blood ran cold.”

Hannah sneaked into the animal shelter underneath the floor. She watched them through a small hole in the floor of the upper story. She knew her parents would make her leave if they knew she was listening to such a conversation. But she was intensely curious about the part of the story no one would speak about when she was around. Her brother Y’hud played nearby, banging on a pot with all his strength. She glared at him, and he gave her a toothy smile.

“You did well to hear her out,” Yeshue said.

“I was like one possessed,” Yosef continued, his voice softer and weaker. “I wanted to rage and find the man who had defiled her. I would give him justice. But she went on about how the baby would be born of the Spirit of Alaha. He would be the M’sheekha.”

“Did you believe her?”

“Yeshue, surely you know every woman who has come to be with child in the last four hundred years has claimed to be carrying the M’sheekha.”

Yeshue smiled. “Ah, but it is true.”

“Well, I marched her right back to her father’s home and left her there, too angry to say a word. Then I paced the rest of the day, trying to decide what to do.”

“You did well not to have her publicly shamed.”

“I did not want to run ahead of Adonai.” Yosef closed his eyes, his words slurring as he tried to gather strength to finish the tale. Yeshue put his hand on the older man’s arm, and the gesture gave Yosef strength to continue.

“I was going to put her away from me without anyone knowing. I wanted her life to be spared, at least. I thought maybe the father was a Roman soldier that had cornered her and taken advantage of her innocence. Maybe she’d come up with the angel story to cover the horror of what had happened.”

“You were a man of integrity, thinking the best of her.”

Yosef shook his head. “A good man would have stood by her and believed her story. Alaha had to send an angel to me before I would accept it.”

“You did, though. You didn’t question after that.”

“No, I didn’t. How could I question the word of Adonai?”

Yosef was quiet for a long time. When Hannah thought maybe he had died, he suddenly spoke again. “I am going to die.”

Hannah expected Yeshue to disagree—to urge Yosef to fight the illness and stay with them. After all, he had eight children and other relatives to care for. What would their family be without him?

“I know.” Hannah heard the catch in Yeshue’s voice and imagined the tears swimming in his eyes.

“You will be head of this house.”

“I understand.”

“Do you have any questions? Do you know what to do for the girls when they come of age? Do you understand how to balance family and the business, and still have time for your studies?”

“I think so,” Yeshue said simply. 

Yosef nodded, visibly relaxing in the quiet confidence of his eldest son. “Don’t misunderstand me. I know you are here for a higher purpose than looking after the poor family of a tekton. You must be about your Father’s business, as you have reminded me.”

The words didn’t make sense to Hannah.

“I will do what I have come to do,” Yeshue promised.

“No man has ever left his family in better care. That I should be so blessed…”

Her father’s voice trailed off, and moments later, she heard the wails of her mother begin. Yeshue gathered his mother in his arms and wept with her.

***

This has been an excerpt from my novel "My Brother the King." I pray it allows your heart space to think and worship this Christmas on the wonder of everything our Savior was - even a simple son and a brother.

MY BROTHER THE KING

MY BROTHER THE KING

Their time is marked by oppression, their home by conflict. Within a humble Nazareth dwelling, four siblings share a secret. Their people pray for a freedom fighter who will shake off their bondage - the great M'sheekha. But he's already here, and he's not who anyone expected. 

Take a journey into the stories of the brothers and sisters of Jesus. Ponder the experience of growing up in the same house as God. Follow him on the road of ministry. Stand back and see him give his life - a ransom for many. 

Even the ones who didn't believe.


Nearly fifteen years ago, I knew I wanted to tell the story of Jesus through a fresh perspective. I didn't realize the long road ahead, and the many tries and failures over the years to get it right.

What my vague original idea became was the story of four Jewish siblings, Ya'achov, Y'hud, Talia and Hannah, sons and daughters of Joseph and Mary of Nazareth. They are as common and poor as the lowest of their time and place, with one exception. Their brother is the promised king.

What would have Jesus's childhood home looked like? Would it be peaceful because Jesus lived there? Perfect? Idyllic?

The more I thought about it, the more research I did into that society, the more certain I was that it couldn't have been that way. Jesus wasn't there to do what his people expected. Jesus wasn't about following the rules. Jesus was radical. And to a lowly Jewish household and community, he stood out too much. The Bible clearly explains that he had enemies ... even in his own family.

So these many years later, I am ready to share their story. I hope it will inspire you to go back to Scripture with your heart engaged, ready to see Jesus for who he was and is. Not so much the wise, compassionate teacher sitting out on the hill, but the revolutionary, bleeding divine blood up the hill of Calvary to buy the freedom of an entire universe.

Let's not think of him as any less than what he really is, even if it scares us, even if it isn't comfortable. Let's meet him at that hill and see what he is able to do in us as a result.

Let us not live in unbelief any longer.

MY BROTHER THE KING is available in print or electronically for your phone, kindle or computer. Please don't forget to leave your review on Amazon. It doesn't have to be long, but the more reviews there are, the easier it will be for potential readers to find it. Find it HERE.

Whiter Than Snow - Coming May 1!

I can't describe how excited I am to share this story with you. This story began with the question "How far could God's love really reach into the darkness of our lives?" and the more practical "What could I do to help people know the Father wants them to come home?"

Kathleen's quest to know who she is leads her on a road that reveals her stubborn nature. She speaks to those of us who have gone too far, who have strayed far from home. We don't think there's a chance our Father will forgive us for the paths we chose and the sin we embraced. We can only fear his rightful judgment.

On the other hand, Joshua whispers to those of us who have known redemption and forgiveness. We find ourselves on a mission to protect ourselves from those who would hurt us with their messy lives. We are determined to arrange our lives to have perfect outcomes, forgetting this world is not our ultimate home.

Essentially, Joshua and Kathleen are the older and younger brother in the story of the Prodigal Son. Is there a way through these stubborn hearts to find answers for the needs of their souls? How far is God willing to go to get us to the place where we are able to see him lavishing his love and blessing on us?

Get ready to be encouraged, wherever you find yourself, by this inspirational historical romance, WHITER THAN SNOW, the sequel to WHERE WE BELONG and the second book in the series "Midwest Maidens." WHITER THAN SNOW is due out May 1 on Amazon for print and kindle.

It's amazing to me how long an author can work on a story, get to know her characters, spend quiet but exhilarating moments with them until a story has been crafted . . . but still not know that story the way they come to know it when others join with the story and make it their own.

I don't know if there's a more artistic way to say it, but this new process of taking something that was private and making it something that belongs to the world has been both terrifying and one of the best experiences of my life. (Terrifying in that I've received threats promising to egg my house if the story did not end up the way the reader hoped!)

This book was released a month ago, but it needed a few tweaks. I can now say, with relative confidence, that it is free of typos, that the cover art is what we envisioned, and that I am ready to continue in the wonderful and amazing process of discovering the readers for whom God intended this story be written.

Check it out. You don't need to worry that it's one of "those" self-published books. You're dealing with a perfectionist who found a perfectionist editor, who spent plenty of time researching the art of publishing and with much time on her knees in preparation. If you like Christian historical romance, and if you like interesting protagonists that tend to fall in love with flawed, but equally interesting men, and if you like that love story to point to a deeper love story that every one of us is in the process of either avoiding or building with our Savior, then this book is for you. If you like twists and turns and not exactly knowing what might happen on the next page, this book is for you. If you like all of this with a reminder of the beauty of the Gospel, it's for you.

So check it out. And spread the word. And let me know what you think.

Find it here!

Where We Belong is available now in print!

Where We Belong is available in print or Kindle
amazon.com

I'll let you in on a little secret, Where We Belong is available TODAY in print! (Official release is September 1, 2015.) You can order your copy today for 12.99 or preorder your Kindle version for 4.99.

Enjoy!

Reforming Christian Fiction

I've started calling myself an "outside-the-box" author of Christian historical romance. But what does that mean? And why does it matter?

I recently wrote this post asking the question "Are you reading the wrong Christian fiction?" and I was encouraged by the response it received on Facebook. Maybe I'm not the only one standing alone on my soapbox, and there are more of you out there who are dissatisfied with the state of our stories.

Recently I read the blog post of a nineteen-year-old young woman who claimed she had stopped reading Christian fiction, especially romances, and one of the reasons she cited was that they were often blatantly inappropriate.

While I believe it is important for women to find the genre best suited to them, and what a nineteen-year-old and a woman in mid-life might think appropriate are two different things, she has a point. Any fiction that causes women to be dissatisfied with their husband (or their vision of what a husband might someday be) because of the "perfect" image of a hero in a romance, is not appropriate and should be avoided. But what the young woman doesn't realize is that there are some pretty complicated reasons why this is happening, and changing things is not going to be an easy, overnight process. But she's right about one thing.

We HAVE to stop buying or even just reading fiction that doesn't measure up to the standards we should have for our literature.

I say this with trepidation as an author, because I know I am putting myself on notice. It is one of my passions to pass along this commitment of reform to other authors. I can see that some of the authors I used to enjoy have "sold out" under the pressure of the demands of traditional agents and publishers. I know by my dealings with some of the people on the inside that it really doesn't matter what kind of writer a person is. If they aren't willing to cave to the formula expected (that will make money), they have no future in traditional publishing.

I believe we are on the edge of a new way of doing things. I firmly believe that agents and publishers have readers wrong. They are convinced that what we want as readers is what we are getting, because that's how they are making money. But I don't think it's necessarily the truth anymore.

Right now, this new way of doing things and thinking about Christian fiction is largely unorganized and haphazard. But it's time for us to roll up our sleeves and get to it. So what is a practical place to start for all of us as readers? For me, and others like me, as authors?

What I promise as a reader of Christian fiction:

I promise to be thoughtful in my reading choices, to raise my standards to those that bring me closer to Christ, and to have a voice in this reforming process happening right now.

This means we promise to stop reading or buying books that don't change us. That contain fairy-tale notions of romance that give us unrealistic expectations of our own lives. We agree that literature is critical to our thought-developing process, and important to our state of being. We promise to be open to new ideas, new genres, new authors and new ways of obtaining our stories.

We promise to find the authors that are writing with their whole heart and ability, for the glory of God, and help them get the word out, because they are doing it all themselves and cannot hope to succeed without the aid of readers.

What I promise as an author of Christian fiction:

I promise to write with my whole heart and all my ability, for the glory of Christ.

This means, ultimately, I promise not to write what pleases me, or what pleases other people, but what pleases Christ. I promise to edit carefully, with every resource, perspective and tool I can reasonably obtain. I promise not to let a book reach your hands before I have prayed over it and prayed for you, its readers. I promise first to have sculpted and shaped it, listened carefully to the perspective of other knowledgeable writers and readers, and changed what must be changed.

It doesn't mean you won't find a typo or two, or an awkward sentence here or there. I don't have all the resources of traditional publishing to ensure a perfect look and feel. But I will use my perfectionist tendencies to make sure you don't regret buying a book I have written. (Or getting it free on kindle once in awhile!) :)

This doesn't mean it will be written in the same style as the traditionally published books. After all, that's the point of reform. I consider very deeply what readers want, but it is not my highest authority. Sometimes we don't know what we want until we get it. And we don't all respond to the same things. From me, you will usually get something that pushes the edges of genres. I love romance, and I love historical, but not at the expense of a bit of mystery, adventure and maybe even a sprinkling of supernatural.

I love authors who look at things in a more detailed way, leaning in and focusing a bit more on any given scene. I want to explore what the characters might be thinking and feeling as they move through the story. This is one of the reasons I didn't fit in the traditionally published world, because the demand of the mysterious masses is that authors rush through a story as efficiently as possible so that everyone can be on their way. Don't get me wrong, I know we're all busy! I keep our shorter attention spans in mind when I write, and I try not to waste words. But I am searching for readers who would love to open the box with me and climb out to see the possibilities. I'm writing for the curious, for the imaginative, for the thinkers and feelers, and for the explorers. That person that sits for an hour staring at a painting, trying to unlock every secret, and who hates to get up and leave when the art museum closes? That's the reader I'm looking for.

My promise also doesn't mean that you will always agree with everything I write in a story. If you did, it wouldn't be much of a book. The purpose of art is to help us see different perspectives. To make us a little uncomfortable as we consider something we wouldn't have considered on our own. (Think about how disturbing a picture some of the Bible's stories paint for us!) A writer's job is to tell a story that communicates something - some idea important to understanding the nature of God or the nature of man. But I will make it my goal to present possibly bigger ideas in entertaining and fun ways.

I hope this post has inspired both readers and authors of Christian fiction. I hope we can all move toward a better place in order that we can all have a bigger impact for Christ.

What about you? What are you reading? What are you writing? What authors come to mind when you think about these things?

Are You Reading the Wrong Christian Fiction?

Recently, I was listening to a group of women discuss fiction. Christian fiction, specifically. Being an author of Christian historical romance, my ears perked up. The general consensus? They had a hard time reading romance novels, not because they didn't enjoy reading fiction, but because the stories and specifically the male protagonist caused them feelings of dissatisfaction in their own relationships.

It struck me as odd, because I don't think that way. If anything, the hero in a well-told romance causes me to see the good in my husband. It makes me feel closer to him.

I learned long ago my personality type is rare, so maybe it's because I'm weird. But I tend to think, since problems with Christian fiction seemed common to all of the women who were talking, that it's something with an easier fix. 

I think women are reading the wrong books. I think the faults in the publishing world have caused an unproductive catch-22. Somehow we got into the mode of buying the books that are thrown in our faces. Who has time to scour the bookshelves for something more meaningful? Maybe the general public doesn't know more meaningful is there. But somehow, the popular books have became generalized, syrupy, cookie-cutter copies of a what a story is meant to be.

I observe. I've looked at the books on the shelf. I've listened to women talk about authors they like. I've considered every bit of insider advice I've received from agents and editors. I've come to a conclusion. There's something wrong with what's in demand.

I'm picky about my fiction. I will only read something that is unique, and something that resonates. Most of the time I can tell whether it's worth reading by page 50. (Sometimes the first paragraph reveals all you need.) I want characters thoughtfully developed and intricately designed, as near to real people as you can get. I want a plot to surprise me, intrigue me, make me mad, make me think, and make me see something in myself I didn't know I needed to take a good hard look at. Authors such as Francine Rivers and Lynn Austin have this down. I know whatever book they come up with I will not regret picking up. This is why, years ago when my calling was new, I asked God to make me a writer like those two women.

The problem for readers is the catch-22 of "same old, same old" books on the shelf, but it's also due to the extreme pressure on writers. Authors put countless hours of emotionally draining effort into their stories. They are rewarded with, if they are very fortunate, around a dollar for every book sold. (Generally, this number is fewer than 5,000 total.) Mid-list authors (most of the authors out there) get very little attention even if they manage to snag an agent or publisher. They do most of their marketing work, try to please by the standards set before them, and generally, as I have observed, their unique voice fades away. They are not able to devote the time to their books required for something to be special, to mean something to a reader on an intellectual or spiritual level.

It's why I decided to Indie-publish. I don't think I can accomplish what God has called me to do with sales statistics in control of what the stories say. Popular books with lots of marketing, unless they come with a name tag like Francine Rivers or Lynn Austin, don't tend to be books that will change your life. And the whole point of art is to change our perspective and our thinking.

So how is this practical for the average Christian wife and mom or hardworking career woman with no time to read, but a desire to do so anyway? How do you find books that are worth the sacrifice you make for them? How do you decide before you begin if an author will be able to surprise you and make you think, and will avoid giving you false perceptions of what your reality should be?

Here are a few practical things I do when I'm looking for something new to read:

1. Skip the author who publishes more than 1 book a year. 

I just can't think of any authors who have started to over-publish (though I can understand why they would considering the little money they make off of any one book) who have been presenting masterpieces. Personally, it would be impossible for me to have more than one book ready in a year's time. Stories with meaning HAVE to cure. There's no way around it.

One caveat! If the author is new, they may have been working on several projects for years, so in the first year of self-publishing, an author might have more than one ready. I mean here that I suggest you generally skip the author that is an established, published author and has been for years, and is coming out with 2 or 3 books a year. In my reading experience, it's just not a great sign.

2. Read the descriptions on the back cover.

Did you know the author writes that description? It's his or her way of telling you what to expect from the book without giving the story away. It's a delicate process that takes FOREVER to write, believe me, so don't just grab a book because everyone else is reading it. Read that description and ask yourself if it grabs you and appeals to your interests. If you can't get through the description, you probably shouldn't read the book.

3. Trust an author you like, but pay attention over time.

I'm ultra-loyal to an author who has taken me on a memorable journey. But unfortunately, sometimes authors seem to only have one good story in them. Or they start giving into the pressures of publishing and lose their special voice. If you notice the stories aren't what they used to be, don't be afraid to move on.

4. Look for the hidden gems.

This is tricky and can be time-consuming, because as flawed as traditional publishing is, independent authors are hard to find in the murky waters of all the badly-written books available due to the ease of self-publishing. You have to be willing to take a chance on someone you've never heard of. If you read on a Kindle, look for authors that offer a sample for free, because as I said before, you can usually tell in the first paragraph. Between that back-cover description, the first page or so, and checking to see how often an author is putting out a book, you can get a pretty good idea of what the story will be like. 

5. If you find an author who is worthy of it, it is ESSENTIAL that you do a few things that will take you five or ten minutes but mean everything to the author.

> Do a (positive) review on Amazon.(I say positive because there's never a reason to slam someone's art. Your opinion might not be someone else's. If you don't have anything nice to say about it or more than three stars to give it, just let it go. You don't realize how critical these reviews can be.)

> Share the link on social media. 

> Let that poor, (quite literally!) struggling author know that his or her words made a difference, because that is what any true author is really hoping to accomplish.

What about you? How do you find great books and new authors? Do you know of any lesser known gems you'd like to share in the comments? Support your Indie authors!

You can also follow my Book Love board on Pinterest. I only pin books that have been worth the time to read, and I include all genres. Here's the link: Pinterest: Book Love

Get reading!