The annual Utmost Christian Writers Poetry Contest due date is five days away—February 28th (entries must be post-marked by that date). I know this is a legitimate contest, as I've won prizes in it in past years (for "Baptism" in 2004, for "Wisdom of the Scarecrow" in 2006, for "Converting to Childhood" in 2007). PRIZES… Continue reading Contest due date looming
Journey by Angela Elwell Hunt My rating: 5 of 5 stars Suspicion and jealousy cause a rift between Yosef's sons Efrayim and Menashe when grandfather Yakov speaks a firstborn blessing over second-born Efrayim in Angela Hunt's biblical fiction Journey. This schism is magnified by their dissimilar personalities. Menashe is serious, brooding, and intense while Efrayim… Continue reading Journey by Angela Hunt (review)
Leah “…bury me with my fathers…. There they buried Abraham and Sarah…Isaac and Rebekah…and there I buried Leah” - Jacob in Genesis 49:29-31 The morning after Jacob lay with me even my weak eyes saw his anger. When I give him a son he will love me. Even my weak eyes saw his joy at… Continue reading Leah
'Valentine's Day' in my novel Destiny's Hands comes on the day the Israelites celebrate their final defeat of the Egyptians after they cross the Red Sea. In the story Moses leads in a celebration dance and main character Bezalel joins in. Then he looks on as Miriam leads the women in their part of the… Continue reading Love at first sight?
Do you read biblical fiction, that is fiction based on the stories in the Bible? Maybe you write it. The most common way of writing such a story is to fictionalize the Bible characters, perhaps create a few new ones, and tell the story in all its imagined detail but still set in the time… Continue reading Biblical fiction—adaptations
In the article "Fifty Shades of the Good Book" Christianity Today writer Sarah Zylstra reports that having the Bible available as an e-book has boosted Bible sales and reading. This is especially true in places where Bibles are hard to get or there is a stigma attached to going into a Christian bookstore, like Muslim… Continue reading The B-I-B-L-eBook
It's February and time for another writing prompt. With Valentine's Day quickly approaching let's explore love! The Bible is full of love stories. Isaac found his love, Rebekah, through a marriage arranged by his dad (Genesis 24:1-67). Jacob knew whom he loved, but found his cagey father-in-law knew better, at least in the how to… Continue reading February prompt: love is in the air
fog penetrates cold through jackets bites into boots and gloves grips bones greedy for more breathes on windows slips under doors muffles traffic’s roar with cotton batting drivers grope through the tulle maneuver cautious past blurred landscapes strain to see crimson pinpricks ahead standards looming green, yellow, red weakens under distant globe like consciousness after… Continue reading fog
I'm totally excited about a new TV mini-series scheduled to be broadcast on the History Channel, starting March 3! The Bible Series was produced by Roma Downey ("Touched by an Angel") and Mark Burnett (producer of "Survivor," "Celebrity Apprentice" etc.), with music by Hans Zimmer. I just saw the two of them interviewed on 100… Continue reading The Bible Series coming to a TV near you!
Michael: A Novel (Wives of King David) by Jill Eileen Smith is a fictional retelling of the story of King David’s first wife Michal—the daughter of Saul. Smith follows Michal from the time she is a teenager cowering under the rages of her demonically possessed father, to middle age when her scorn at David’s exuberant… Continue reading Michal: A Novel by Jill Eileen Smith (review)
Violet Nesdoly 