The Writing Process - a novel idea

It's a long one. One that I am learning to patient with. The idea came to me about a year and a half ago. I asked the Lord for a novel idea.

An obscure history lesson came to mind. The Gunfight at Hyde Park in Newton, Kansas.

 

My hometown was wild and wooly. Historical fiction / romance sells. I'm gonna try it.

I've finished my first draft and I'm in revisions before I submit to publishers. My former writing mentor from Christian Writer's Guild, Sandra Byrd, is helping me with it. I appreciate her, and my other mentors from CWG. Currently, I'm taking the Craftsman class - XI with DiAnn Mills as my mentor.

What are you passionate about today? For me - it's God, family/friends, chocolate, and writing. :-)

 

The Hidden Flame by Janette Oke & Davis Bunn

I hadn’t read the first book in the series, but they tell you what you need to know. I love Christian historical fiction, and this book got my interest, and kept it. I believe that the time period was very difficult, and tension-filled, as the book was on many counts. But it was also a book weaving the Bible and its events into it.

It is shortly after the Holy Spirit has fallen in the book of Acts. The Christian community grows by leaps and bounds every day.

Abigail’s friends have just gotten married and they have to leave Jerusalem immediately or suffer the consequences. That leaves Abigail and her brother alone in the Christian community. Jacob wants to be a soldier, but he doesn’t realize what that means. Two men, a Roman, and a Jew, are both captivated by Abigail’s stunning beauty.

All the attitudes of the people of the day, the traditional Jewish attitudes, the Roman attitudes, and how the new believers themselves felt about what was going on. The new “church” is taking care of the widows and orphans. Abigail helps out with this ministry and becomes attached to Stephen. We know that relationship, though short, is a solid one. The Jewish man however, doesn’t take rejection well, and conspires to halt the spread of this new sect of Judaism.

The backdrop is Jerusalem. The drama, the miracles, and signs and wonders are all there to be enjoyed and inspired by. The pageantry of the brutal Roman gladiators is also present. There is enough food for thought to keep one’s mind actively engaged in the story.

I liked it.