I finished my first draft of Sarai the other day! I do not know if the story makes complete sense as I have not yet read it over from the beginning since I began many months ago. My first thought is to reread the whole thing right now, but I decided a break is better. So a break it will be.

As I study to write a biblical novel, I read various sections of Scripture and pray for guidance. Not everything a story needs is found within the primary biblical text. Sometimes other Old Testament or even New Testament books give insight into what went on during those times. I found this true as I wrote about David’s wives and it is true again in telling the story of Abraham and Sarah.

What I didn’t expect as I was nearing the climax of Sarai’s story, was to find a verse that so well explained why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. But God surprises me with verses in His Word all the time. I think He might even enjoy tucking truth into the most unlikely places. Or answer questions later in His Book that we might miss if we don’t read the whole thing.

That happened this week. I opened to Ezekiel a week or so ago and the verses that caught my eye so intrigued me that I decided to start at the beginning. So each morning I’ve been reading a chapter or so, which brought me to chapter 16 a few days ago. The passage is talking about God’s anger with Jerusalem for her many sins, and when we get to verses 48-50 God tells Jerusalem why He destroyed her sister Sodom.

“As I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.”

The NIV puts it this way:

“As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done. ’Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.”

If we only take the story in Genesis 19 as basis for Sodom’s destruction, we would assume it was their sexual sins, which would fall under “detestable things” that caused their downfall. But this list in Ezekiel clearly speaks of far more. It is also interesting to note that haughtiness (pride), excess of food, and prosperous unconcerned ease were at the top of God’s list. Can we in American churches not relate to this? Have we become proud, overfed, and unconcerned with the needs of those less fortunate? Has haughtiness taught us to sit in judgment on others – even on fellow believers? How often have those without Christ looked at His people and seen pride and anger, even hatred for those who are not like them, rather than compassion and concern and love? Where is the joy of the Lord in our lives?

I am saddened and humbled by these verses in Ezekiel, but they are also quite eye-opening as I try to see the things Lot and his wife saw, as I envision what it might have been like to live there. Not so very different from the society I see around me today. But the verses are also a wake-up call to me to take care to watch my own attitude, to pray to keep myself from growing arrogant and self-satisfied and unconcerned with those in need.

I think there is a reason God lists these things in the order in which He does, because when we let ourselves grow proud and overfed and unconcerned, it is that much easier to slip into doing the other things that God detests – things like lying, killing, devising wicked schemes, spreading strife among brothers (Proverbs 6). And of course, the sexual sins Sodom is known for most.

Why did Sodom really fall?

Many reasons, whose details you can read about in Genesis 19. But in truth, their downfall didn’t start with sexual sin. It started with pride.

Selah~

As promised, (though many of you have already seen this if you’re on Facebook or Twitter or checked my books page) but I can now share Bathsheba’s cover with you! Isn’t she gorgeous? I feel like a proud mama bragging on one of her kids. :) Though in truth, the praise goes to Revell for their great cover designs. I could not ask for a better team!

Some people have asked me about how the cover is put together – where do they get the models, etc. I don’t know how all publishers do this, but I’ll try to explain how they’ve handled mine.

When an author’s book moves through the publishing process, she is sent a Titling Questionnaire. In that list of questions, which includes much more than suggested titles, is a question asking for cover design suggestions. This is where my Idea Boards (see earlier blog posts) come in handy because when I make my Idea Boards, I search for photos of my characters. For David’s wives, I searched Google for Jewish actresses.

When I find one who comes close to what I picture, I print it, cut it out, and paste it on my board. I also keep a .jpg file of it on my computer and when that Titling Questionnaire comes through, I paste it in the body of the document.

When the design team starts looking for stock photos for the cover, they have that picture as a guide. Each time they have either found someone very similar, or found a model that fits my character even better than my choice.

As far as I know, models for Michal and Abigail were stock photos with new costumes set in place. For Bathsheba, things were different. At first, I was sent two different poses of a model – stock photos they thought to use. I made a few suggestions on how I would like to see them tweaked and told them which one I liked best. Then I waited. But apparently, those photos didn’t work out to do what they’d hoped, so they started over and I think they chose a live model this time. They sent me preliminary photos, which I thought were stock, but when they said they could pose her differently, lengthen her hair, and make other changes I envisioned, I realized they must be doing an actual photo shoot. I never asked for sure, so don’t quote me on this, but I think so. :) Either that or they did a lot of work in Photoshop!

After the pose was taken, I got to see the cover again only without the palace in the background. That’s when the design artist does his magic. When the final cover was sent to me, I was ecstatic. I thought Michal was awesome! And when they did Abigail, I loved it just as much. But Bathsheba – wow! I hope my design team stays the same for all my books. They do fantastic work!

Now I hope the quality of the story fits the cover. :) I love this book and hope my readers will fall in love with David and his wives, will see them in a fresh light, and realize God’s love and mercy evident on every page. The book releases March 1, 2011. The website pages on The Wives of King David website will be available in November 2010 where you can read a sample chapter and download Bible study and Book Club questions – and I’ll be working on a Facebook page too.

In the meantime, you can pre-order the book on Amazon, which means as soon as it is available, they will ship it. Sometimes they get the book sooner than it’s scheduled release. To all my readers – thank you for your patience. And thanks for letting me share this journey with you!

Every now and then, I get this strange feeling inside. It’s not a physical hunger, though I would say I crave something. It’s more like missing someone. Like when too many days go by and I haven’t had more than a few minutes to talk to my kids–I want more. I crave time with them, to hear their voices, to listen to their ideas, to hear what has been happening in their lives. The feeling I get is similar only on a spiritual level – a craving for time with God.

There is something amazing that happens in my spirit when I pick up my Bible and read a whole book or several chapters at once, stopping to ponder a word or a verse or a phrase. It’s not the quantity of the material read that matters, but the time taken. It’s when God becomes a priority, a desire, someone I want to spend time with.

I’ve heard it said that even Christians today are fairly illiterate when it comes to the Bible. And I know lots of people who either don’t read the Bible and know they should (producing guilt) or they read it out of obligation. When has any relationship ever lasted that was based on guilt or obligation? We don’t treat our best friends that way. Hopefully, we don’t treat our families that way either. People we care about are people we want to spend time with.

When I haven’t talked to my mom in a few days, I miss hearing her voice. If my husband was out of town on business, I’d want a phone call at least once a day. When I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to my closest friends in a while, I feel the absence.

Sometimes I wonder why people come and go from our lives. Was I negligent in caring about their needs? Did I focus too much on myself? Or was the issue theirs alone and had nothing to do with me? Not everyone we meet will want to become close friends. We can’t make people like us.

But the great thing is, God already likes us – and loves us in spite of ourselves. He created us for a relationship with Him and then with other people. That longing I feel to spend time with Him, comes from my inner being, and is something He placed inside each one of us. But it’s up to us to feed the craving.

Sometimes we fill those cravings with the wrong things. If my body craves something salty and I usually feed it French fries, then when I need salt, it will probably think French fries. If I satisfy my sweet tooth with chocolate, I might develop a chocolate craving. (Not such a bad idea.) And if I fill my life with busyness instead of quiet times with God, my heart will seek to stay busy to fill the craving. What my heart needs isn’t more stuff to do, but rather someone to share that stuff with.

We all long for love, but then tend to forget that love is who God is. We crave love because we crave God. To know Him means we have to spend time with Him, to desire Him. Not out of guilt or obligation. But because we want to be with Him, as He longs to be with us.

Do you feel it? Do you sense the craving in your soul for God? If not, just ask Him to give it to you. The Psalmist tells us: “Delight in the Lord and He’ll give you the desires of your heart.” Most especially when that desire is Him.

Selah~

June is my imaginary deadline to finish my first draft of Sarai. I’m getting close! Today Hagar had Ishmael, which puts me one scene away from the end of part three. I’m at 84,000 words with less than 10,000 to go. So barring any unforeseen distractions (of which there are many) I hope to finish by the end of June.

But distractions popped up several times this past week, and my to-do list keeps growing instead of shrinking. Someone did not get the memo that I want to take July off! The rest of the windows were put in on Thursday and they look great! Except for the fact that now we have to fill, sand, prime, and paint the frames of each one. And since Randy has plans to paint his Mustang this summer, the job of window painting falls to me. But that’s okay. I’ve decided one window a day – or one window over two days should allow me to finish by the end of June, yes? I did one window (a small one) today, so hopefully, I’ll be able to stay on track.

Yesterday we celebrated my mom’s birthday (a little early). Ryan and I made her a cheesecake, her favorite dessert. Family gathered together and we had a good time sharing stories and laughing together.

A few months ago I tried acrylic nails. I’d never done anything like that before, and since I tend to pick at my nails when I’m stuck trying to create a scene writing, I figured this would be a good thing. What I didn’t know then, I wish I had. Apparently, fake nails can weaken your natural nail, and in my case, it made some of them paper thin. I don’t know for sure yet, but am planning to let them fall off as they grow out and hope they heal quickly. I love how they look and enjoyed the pampering, but the cost to pocketbook and health of the nails is more than I realized. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing for those who want them, just that I wish I’d known the side effects from the start. I should have done more research ahead of time.

The other night we had a beautiful sunset, and I snapped this picture with my cell phone camera looking through one of our upstairs windows. God knows how to paint such beautiful pictures.

Lots of deadlines await me this week, hoping to finish them all by the end of the month. After I finish the first draft of Sarai, I hope to take a break from most writing commitments during the month of July. Galleys for Bathsheba should be arriving soon after, or perhaps during that month, and it will be nice to be caught up on everything else when it comes. Of course, I say that now, but something always comes up to change that. One can hope. Even writers need a vacation, yes?

This past week week was crazy, and at times felt overwhelming, but some weeks are like that. Today, to start a new week, I spilled tea on myself during a church service. Never had that happen before – the top popped off when I picked it up after resting it between my knees. Won’t do that again! Fortunately, it didn’t spill much and there was no damage or lingering stains. I’m grateful for that!

The rest of the day proved better. I accomplished some things after church and got to chat with one son and a dear friend over Skype. A new week awaits. Looking forward to what God has in store.

Selah~

It’s been a while since I posted some new favorite recent reads, but these are some books you will not want to miss. I’ll start backwards with the one I just finished by my friend Deb Raney. Deb’s latest book is the first in her Hanover Falls Series titled Almost Forever. Here’s the back cover copy:

Unearthing a lost memory may cause her to lose everything she holds dear. but could it also set her free?

Volunteer Bryn Hennesey was there at the Grove Street Homeless Shelter the night five heroic firefighters died at the scene. Among them was her husband, Adam.

Now a terrifying absence of memory has her wondering if she might, in some way, be responsible. Garrett Edmonds’ wife, Molly, was the only female firefighter to perish in the blaze. He was supposed to protect the woman he loved.now she’s the one who’s died a hero. How can he go on in the face of such unbearable loss? And what started the fire that destroyed the dreams and futures of so many? Investigators are stumped. But someone knows the answer..

When I put this book down, I kept thinking about it, and still think about it since. Then I read the first chapter teaser for the second book in the series and can’t wait to keep going with these characters! No fair to make us wait! But, I know we can only write so fast. :) Highly recommended!

Another one I loved was by author Siri Mithchell titled She Walks in Beauty. Here’s the back-cover copy:

For a young society woman seeking a favorable marriage, so much depends on her social season debut. Clara Carter has been given one goal: secure the affections of the city’s most eligible bachelor. Debuting means plenty of work–there are corsets to be fitted, dances to master, manners to perfect. Her training soon pays off, however, as celebrity’s spotlight turns Clara into a society-page darling. Yet Clara soon wonders if this is the life she really wants. Especially when she learns her best friend has also set her sights on Franklin De Vries. When a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is and gossip backlash turns ugly, Clara realizes it’s not just her marriage at stake–the future of her family depends on how she plays the game.

I love historicals and this era has always intrigued me. Fascinating history. You will live vicariously through these beloved characters. Loved the story! Also highly recommended!

Lastly, is author Julie Klassen’s third book titled The Silent Governess. Another historical that swept me back in time and put me there. Here’s the copy:

Believing herself guilty of a crime, Olivia Keene flees her home, eventually stumbling upon a grand estate where an elaborate celebration is in progress. But all is not as joyous as it seems.

Lord Bradley has just learned a terrible secret, which, if exposed, will change his life forever. When he glimpses a figure on the grounds, he fears a spy or thief has overheard his devastating news. He is stunned to discover the intruder is a scrap of a woman with her throat badly injured. Fearing she will spread his secret, he gives the girl a post and confines her to his estate. As Olivia and Lord Bradley’s secrets catch up with them, will their hidden pasts ruin their hope of finding love?

Julie Klassen has become one of my favorite authors. Loved this one too! Highly recommended!

Don’t you love the covers on these books? I heard some discussion recently about what makes a bestseller. One suggested great titles sell books. That’s probably true. But great covers win out over titles as far as I’m concerned. Titles might come second or third. They are certainly important. But the back copy and the cover design matter most to me. Then if I like what I see, I’ll pick up the book. If I love the story, I’ll promote it on the quality of the story and the writing. But the cover is what first draws me in.

How about you? What draws you to pick a book up off the shelf? Email me and let me know. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

Shalom~