I confess, I never planned to write biblical fiction. Some time during the six (yes, count ‘em—six!) years that it took for Demon to sell, I scribbled a first-person page of Eve as an old woman, preparing to tell her story. I don’t know why I did this, I just remember hearing her voice very clearly in my head.

And then I put the page in a drawer and forgot about it. Fast forward a few years. My agent is negotiating the sale of Demon and my new editor wants to know what else I have. Flummoxed, I yank open my drawer and pull out the frayed notebook page that would eventually become the prologue to Havah.

At the time, I was just ecstatic to have a book deal. I signed the contract, edited Demon, and then sat down to write Havah.

The next days and weeks were spent in a fit of hair-pulling as I realized what I’d gotten myself into—the kinds of questions I now needed to find theologically and historically plausible answers for. (Where was Eden? How does a snake talk? What was that fruit, anyway? Where did they go after exile? Did they ever try to go back? How did they learn the basic skills to survive? What did Eve think the first time she saw one of her own babies? What was Cain's mark? And where in the world was Nod??)

My initial search became a panicked dig for answers, an obsessive collecting of commentaries, textbooks, and archaeologists. Lecture transcripts, DVDs, and volumes of books littered my floor as I plagued academics and theologians with my questions. (Warren Wiersbe wrote me back: “You said you only had a FEW questions!”)

I’m asked a lot about research, about how to bring biblical characters to life. I have no elegant answers, only the following advice: 

1. Ask the questions—all of them, even if they sound stupid. Be exacting, and go there. You’ll find that readers appreciate—even with a sense of relief—that you, too, have wondered the same things they have.

2. Do your homework. Readers of biblical fiction enjoy the genre because it provides context for a character or story important to their faith. But you have to earn trust through thorough historical, biblical and theological research. Even if a reader doesn’t agree with a choice you made, I find they will respect you if you have done the work and can back up your decision. To this day, I have no idea what the mark of Cain was, or how old Judas was when he joined Jesus’ ministry. But I can tell you why I went with the story decisions I did.

3. Let your research inform your characters and their motivations. A first Century Jewish man had different ideas about what freedom or salvation meant than we do today. A nation living under Roman occupation has very different daily and religious concerns than we do as free, modern people today. Build your context, and then slip into their shoes. Experience the world as they did, and let that inform your characters and story.

4. Find yourself in your protagonist. We all have hopes, struggles, and wounds. We all spend our lives searching for answers, meaning, and fulfillment. At some point in the writing of Iscariot, I realized I wasn’t just telling Judas’ story… I was also telling my own. His decisions were and are also mine. At some level, we are all the same. 

5. Tell the truth. If something’s not pretty, don’t shield us from it. If your character is struggling, let us go through the trenches with her. Don’t give easy answers—they rarely exist in real life. We don’t have to agree with a character’s decision, but we need to understand exactly why that decision made sense at the time. 

6. Give us detail. What color is the Galilean countryside? How do those oil lamps work? What are the other ethnic influences of your setting? America isn’t populated or influenced by a single ethnic group—neither was the landscape of the Levant. That said, avoid history lessons or long exposition. Readers can get that from other types of books.

7. Check for anachronisms—enlist help in this area from people who know the time period. Check language, clothing, tools, food, the political situation, foreign influences on your setting, the New York Times Bestselling Author most recent history of the period that set the stage for your novel. There are a lot of amateur biblical historians out there, and you’ll hear from them if you get one of these wrong.

8. Don’t lose sight of the story. By the time I had over-written Iscariot by about 140,000 words (I wish that number was a typo) I realized that in my pursuit of every fascinating historical or theological detail I had come across, that I had obscured the emotional impact of the story itself. Research is the foundation of your credibility. But make no mistake: even readers who love learning the context of a biblical story are reading to be moved. Retain enough detail to make your novel ring with authenticity, but keep your eye on the point and emotional impact of the story.

Biblical fiction is a beautiful genre. A chance for those of us who grew up  watching Bible stories play out on flannel graph boards to actually experience them. To find complex aspects of ourselves in the characters or setting that informs our faith. Biblical fiction also requires a lot of extra work. Give it due diligence. Your readers will thank you.

Tosca Lee is a New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels. Her books have been translated into seventeen languages and optioned for TV and film and have won numerous awards including two International Book Awards and ECPA Book of the Year. She teaches on the faculty of Drexel University’s MFA program and serves on the board of International Thriller Writers’ Board of Directors. To learn more about Tosca, please visit:  www.toscalee.com
 

Dragged by a horse galloping down a dirt path almost cut my life short. In a six-week coma, my life hung by a thread. God traveled with me, and I learned I had a purpose.

Years later, I would make a difference with word pictures. My journey to recovery prompted my dream to make a difference. Recovery became a necessity, failure, not an option. I vowed never to give up on myself, thus the people I intended to help along their road to recovery. The will to give back from the challenges I faced stays with me to this day.

While fighting my way through school, writing papers and projects provided not only an escape from a cruel world for a challenged child, but also gave me pleasure. I remember how I enjoyed learning. The idea of writing a book to help others in similar situations took root. Throughout my four years of college, I published a poem, excelled, and completed an internship in the marketing department of a corporation. This experience, working with professionals and gaining added marketing knowledge boosted my confidence to develop a plan for marketing my book venture.

The next decade and beyond, facts and memories for my first book found themselves on paper and shelved. My husband and I discussed children since my clock was ticking. Given a second chance, we chose adoption. The accounts of both our adoptions, both unique, found themselves on paper as a creative non-fiction story. I wrote this story as a keepsake for our children, and soon my words turned into something more. I felt a calling to share our difficult and heart-wrenching journey, from the beginning to the end with multiple bumps along the way.

Maybe our troublesome situations, and the way we handled them, would help other adoptive parents. Like many moms, I took advantage of nap times and school hours to write and later contact publishers. After many submissions and rejection letters, I self-published. While writing my second book, the creative non-fiction story of a child left for dead, I continued to use my marketing background to market my books, social media, speaking engagements, book signings, even radio interviews, etc. This soon became overwhelming, and not enough. I filed and shelved my work again.

Continuing to write from personal experience as my son and daughter matured, I published a few e-books about additional life events. Besides two tumultuous decades, I dealt with divorce toward the end. It took another ten years to recover from anger and discover beauty again, leading to where I find myself today, blossoming from my shell.

Yes, I believe things happen for a reason. Recently, I rekindled my dream of writing a book. Researching how to make it reality this time took center stage, and by chance, a friend invited me to join her at her writers’ group. I found an instant connection among like-minded women. Alas, my writing journey continues, with a light in the distance. Maybe my dream, helping people in similar situations will become a reality. 

“God is not unjust; I will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you helped his people and continue to help them” (Hebrews 6).

Ines A Hatch, an upcoming author with her first creative non-fiction story, an account of her life with TBI. Hatch relays the struggle, pain, and anguish growing up with physical and mental disabilities.  Her long road to recovery with disabilities and challenges, was met with her strength, determination and perseverance. Hatch knows the stress of living with challenges and disabilities, the toll it takes on a person every day. As spokesperson for the new Giving Back to Those Who Served program, Hatch provides encouragement, support, and hope for challenged individuals, veterans and their families. This author enjoys family time, reading, animal rescue and spending time with her cat.

She is a member of the Maggie Valley Word Weavers Group.

Tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the work you have received from the Lord” (Col 4:17 NIV).

Is the Lord trying to tell me something? 

Yes! 

Archippus was an early Christian believer, mentioned here and in Philemon 1:2 and referred to as a “fellow soldier.” Other than this, we have no other mention of him in the Bible. Tradition tells us he was one of the 72 disciples appointed by Jesus in Luke 10:1 or we can trust the Apostolic Constitutions revealing Archippus as the first bishop of Laodicea. Sadly, that church was neither hot nor cold (Rev. 3:15). Many believe Archippus was stoned to death. 

Somehow, I identify with Archippus. I have written enough material to publish three or four books, but they’re filed away in boxes or filed in three ring binders. Occasionally the Lord’s love letter is a push in the right direction. 

So I pause to ponder.

How many farmers plow their fields only to leave them unseeded?
Does a cook spend precious time preparing a meal only to throw it away?
What carpenter builds a bookcase and then leaves it half finished?
Who writes books only to hide them in a drawer? 

Suddenly, I’m aware of the truth: incomplete work haunts, nags and frustrates. 

Am I the only one with this problem?

I begin to see, in my imagination, the celebration of the farmer sowing the seed and reaping a harvest. I watch the cook prepare and serve the best meal for his friends and family. The carpenter finishes that bookshelf and fills it with welcoming books. 

So, I went to my office, removed that article, those workbooks, and even the Bible Study, getting them ready to launch. I want to finish what I’ve started. 

Is it my imagination or is there a whisper in the air, “Well done, My good and faithful servant?”

So, if you’re feeling a little Archippus, then join me in this prayer:

Father God, Creator of heaven and earth, please create in me the desire to finish what you’ve sent me to do. I apologize for procrastinating and doubting myself. Help me trust you’ve given me the skills and abilities needed for the job. Keep me from listening to other voices and not yours. Lord, lean in and breathe life into this work so that together we might delight in it. Thank you so much. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Christine Malkemes is a retired Army Officer and Vietnam Era Vet (Women’s Army Corps). She a wife, mother, grandmother, and teaching pastor credentialed with the Assemblies of God.  Her community on line, is Sister Disciples at https://www.christinemalkemes.com  She participates in an online group, page 12, facilitator: Anna Miller