Tag: Mesu Andrews

World Book Day

As it is World Book Day, I wanted to finally get back to posting some book recommendations, based on what I have been reading recently. It has been far too long, and the list I’ve put here is just a tiny reflection of the books that have touched me in the last couple of years. Nevertheless, they are well worth a look.

Love, Interrupted by Simon Thomas

This was the book I was reading as I sat next to my mum while she took her ten-day journey to heaven. I read it at all hours of night and day, as we took it in turns to sit with, and care for, mum. Simon’s loss was unexpected, quick and heart breaking and he pulls no punches with his honesty about what life was like for him and his son in the first year after his wife died. The writing is raw, for which I am truly grateful – we need more books like this. 

A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser

This is my current read, which I started while staying down with my dad just after mum died. It is a man’s honest experience of a freak car collision that caused the death of his wife, mother and daughter. He and their other children survived. Since then, he has wrestled with what happened, and with his faith, but has come to the conclusion that loss gives us a chance for our souls to grow. When I was looking for books about grief this was one that was recommended by many and I can see why. There is much to challenge and stretch, but it is also like having a companion for my grief journey.

The Promise is His Presence 
by Glenna Marshall

I read this book last year, but have just been putting together an interview with Glenna for Woman Alive (and with so much material there may be a blog too!) After facing infertility, chronic pain and huge hurt as her and her husband ministered to a new church, God took Glenna on a journey of discovering that, when it comes down to it, his presence truly is all that matters. Again, a really challenging, but equally life-changing book.

Embraced by Lysa Terkeurst

I am using this devotional each day. The entries are quite short and easy-to-read but, so far, most of them have really spoken to me, as Lysa shares honestly and openly about her own struggles. There are 100 devotions that cover all sorts of everyday issues, inviting us to see how God longs for an intimacy in our relationships with him – wanting to embrace us with his loving arms.

Isaiah’s Legacy by Mesu Andrews

I love Mesu’s writing and was eagerly anticipating receiving this book. I saved it for when I knew I’d have a few days when I could devour it – and was quickly drawn into the story. It actually deals with a lot of darkness and sin from an ugly time in the story of God’s people, so be warned. But there is grace and redemption too…

The enduring draw of biblical fiction

Last week we heard from UK author Chris Aslan, about his experiences writing biblical fiction. It is an interesting and popular genre, and one that, while it has seen changes over the years, still draws readers around the world.

I had some other interesting comments on biblical fiction from my research for the recent article I wrote for Premier Christianity magazine (see the end of this article for more info on that), which means I’ve decided to focus on biblical fiction for another week. This gives you the chance to hear from a couple of other authors (this time from the US) about their experiences.

Historically, Christian fiction came from America and tended to focus on historical and biblical retellings. This sort of fiction was huge in the 1980s and 90s. And then Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker began producing ‘end times’ fiction, which, again, became enormously popular. More recently, Amish fiction has sat in the top spot in America for a good few decades.

Interestingly, Mesu Andrews, who writes biblical fiction, was told back in the 2000s by Christian publishers that ‘Christians don’t buy biblical fiction anymore. But there were many biblical novels published in the general market, so I began reading them – and was horrified at what was done to God’s truth. From that moment forward, my goal has been to keep truly biblical fiction alive through Christian authors’ hands. However, I’d love to see it cross over into the general market with powerful writing and complex story lines.

‘I signed a contract with Revell (a division of Baker Publishing) in 2008 soon after they acquired Jill Eileen Smith’s first biblical series, The Wives of King David. Hers was the breakthrough series that brought back a new wave of fabulous biblical fiction. Moody Publishers acquired Tessa Afshar’s Pearl in the Sand. NavPress published Tosca Lee’s Havah. 

‘A few years later, Angela Hunt returned to the genre, and Bethany House (a division of Baker Publishing) acquired Connilyn Cossette to join the ranks of top-notch authors. The floodgates of well-researched, engaging biblical novels has burst open, and readers are ravenous for it. It’s definitely an exciting time for everyone who loves God’s Word!

‘I generally choose stories about lesser-known female characters or try to write from a unique perspective on a familiar story. My debut novel, Love Amid the Ashes, places Jacob’s raped daughter Dinah with the Bible’s champion sufferer, Job. And my most recent release [Of Fire and Lions] explores the familiar character of Daniel through the eyes of his fictional wife. 

‘Only through intense research and a deep reverence for the truth of God’s Word do I make these story decisions, and then I offer explanations for those decisions in an Author’s Note at the end of my books. My main goal in writing biblical fiction is always to drive readers to the truth of the Bible. Fiction is a dream, but God’s truth offers real life.’

Tessa Afshar believes that the stories within the Bible hold a fascination that draws people in. She told me: ‘The people who inhabit the world of the Bible have managed to capture our hearts for thousands of years. In spite of the fact that their world is, in many ways, alien to us, their stories still captivate us. Most of these characters are flawed men and women through whom God fulfills his purposes.  In my experience, all of us struggle with various wounds. Soul wounds. Biblical stories show us how, in God’s hands, a broken person can live a healed and healing life. Our souls hunger for that truth regardless of the century we live in.’

As a reader, this is a genre that I have discovered in recent years – and I am thoroughly enjoying the books I have read by such thoughtful and innovative authors as Mesu, Tessa and Chris. If you have a particular title that you would recommend, do add a comment to this post – it would be great to help each other find good reads (and will encourage the authors too!).

If you want to read the article on Christian Fiction that appeared in November’s issue of Premier Christianity you can request a free copy here. It will be available for request until November 25.