Sunday, February 17, 2008

My Project

I mentioned my project in the last post, so I suppose I should introduce it for the benefit of those who don't already know.

As I've already admitted to writing fiction, I can boil that down to historical fiction. My current book is Ben Amittai: First Call, which is based upon 2 Kngs 14:25 and centers on the minor prophet Jonah ben Amittai. It's a novella that introduces the full series on Jonah, A Prophet's Tale, the first volume of which I hope to have out this year.

First Call is a story about Jonah receiving his first call to prophecy. According to 2 Kngs 14:25--which carries the first mention of Jonah in the Bible--God promised to restore the land to Israel. Well, let's let God speak for himself:

23In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years...25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher. 26For the LORD saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter, for there was none left, bond or free, and there was none to help Israel. 27 But the LORD had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. (2 Kings 14:23, 25-27 [ESV])

How Jonah delivered that message of restoration is the story line of Ben Amittai: First Call. He and his lifelong friend, Elihu ben Barak--a renown Israelite warrior--travel to Samaria to deliver the message. There is peril and intrigue along the way, as well as inner turmoil as an unsure Jonah deals with his call to prophecy. They arrive in Samaria just as an assassination attempt is made on the newly crowned Jeroboam. How they gain entry to the court and audience with the kings is...well, you'll just have to read it to find out. If you're interested, click the below picture to see where to get it.

Hope you'll take the trip with Jonah and Elihu. And I hope you enjoy it!







1 comment:

the mccann clan said...

Can't wait to read the first volume in A Prophet's Tale! So we'll have to wait til later this year, huh? Maybe a special, second-daughter could have sneak-peak reading privileges? ;o) If not, I suppose I'll have to be content to wait along-side the rest of the world.