! ! ! NEW RELEASE ! ! !
The Prophetess
Deborah's Story
Daughters Of The Promise Land book 2
by Jill Eileen Smith
Outspoken and fearless, Deborah has faith in God but struggles to see the potential her own life holds. As an Israelite woman, she'll marry, have a family, and seek to teach her children about Adonai--and those tasks seem to be more than enough to occupy her time. But God has another plan for her. Israel has been under the near constant terror of Canaan's armies for twenty years, and now God has called Deborah to deliver her people from this oppression. Will her family understand? Will her people even believe God's calling on her life? And can the menace of Canaan be stopped?
With her trademark impeccable research and her imaginative storytelling, Jill Eileen Smith brings to life the story of Israel's most powerful woman in a novel that is both intriguing and inspiring.
With her trademark impeccable research and her imaginative storytelling, Jill Eileen Smith brings to life the story of Israel's most powerful woman in a novel that is both intriguing and inspiring.
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with
Jill Eileen Smith
#1. What started you on the “Alpine Path” (writing career)?
I was co-teaching a Bible study on King David. When the study ended, I wanted to read a novel on his life, but could not find one that satisfied. So I began to write the book I wanted to read. That eventually (twenty years later) turned into the Wives of King David series.
I was co-teaching a Bible study on King David. When the study ended, I wanted to read a novel on his life, but could not find one that satisfied. So I began to write the book I wanted to read. That eventually (twenty years later) turned into the Wives of King David series.
#2. What drew you to writing Biblical fiction and how do you balance the often scant facts in the Biblical accounts with the storytelling?
Biblical fiction became my favorite genre in the 1970s when I read Two From Galilee, A Love Story of Mary and Joseph by Marjorie Holmes. The Bible became real to me after reading that story, and I read every biblical novel of the 1980s (the height of the genre) that I could find. But then biblical fiction became less popular, as happens with most genres, so my efforts to break in with my own work became nearly impossible until twenty years later. (A lesson to me from the Lord to not give up!)
The scant facts in the biblical accounts can be tricky to fill in. That’s where research and story come together. I learn as much as I can about the particular people of the time period and apply human nature, which doesn’t change, to the fictional characters I may create to flesh out the story.
Biblical fiction became my favorite genre in the 1970s when I read Two From Galilee, A Love Story of Mary and Joseph by Marjorie Holmes. The Bible became real to me after reading that story, and I read every biblical novel of the 1980s (the height of the genre) that I could find. But then biblical fiction became less popular, as happens with most genres, so my efforts to break in with my own work became nearly impossible until twenty years later. (A lesson to me from the Lord to not give up!)
The scant facts in the biblical accounts can be tricky to fill in. That’s where research and story come together. I learn as much as I can about the particular people of the time period and apply human nature, which doesn’t change, to the fictional characters I may create to flesh out the story.
#3. Are you a 'plotter' or a 'pantser'?
Both. I paragraph summarize a story. I cast my characters with images of actors or models as I imagine them to be, and then I write from that summary as I study those pictures. The pictures help me to imagine them better as I’m a visual learner.
Both. I paragraph summarize a story. I cast my characters with images of actors or models as I imagine them to be, and then I write from that summary as I study those pictures. The pictures help me to imagine them better as I’m a visual learner.
#4. How has becoming a published author changed your life?
On the positive side, it has given me work to do – work I dreamed of doing but wondered if I would ever see that dream fulfilled. But God’s perfect timing is indeed perfect. I sold my first series the year I worked myself out of the job of homeschooling mom. And I get to work with some of the nicest people on the planet! I love the people, the work, the readers. Those things are all great!
On the negative side, writing is lonely and stressful. We interact in writer’s groups because we need community and that’s good. Some of my best friends are writers that don’t even live near me. We communicate over Skype or email. But deadlines and multiple book juggling can be stressful and hard on the body because there is so much sitting and computer work. And like many writers I know, I deal with chronic pain issues on a daily basis, so I’m always looking for ways to minimize that and focus on the joy.
On the positive side, it has given me work to do – work I dreamed of doing but wondered if I would ever see that dream fulfilled. But God’s perfect timing is indeed perfect. I sold my first series the year I worked myself out of the job of homeschooling mom. And I get to work with some of the nicest people on the planet! I love the people, the work, the readers. Those things are all great!
On the negative side, writing is lonely and stressful. We interact in writer’s groups because we need community and that’s good. Some of my best friends are writers that don’t even live near me. We communicate over Skype or email. But deadlines and multiple book juggling can be stressful and hard on the body because there is so much sitting and computer work. And like many writers I know, I deal with chronic pain issues on a daily basis, so I’m always looking for ways to minimize that and focus on the joy.
#5. What is the craziest thing you've done in the name of research?
Ridden a camel. Actually, our trip to Israel in 2008, right after I sold my first series, was the best research ever. I loved that trip and look at the pictures my husband took (over 1300!) nearly every week, sometimes daily. When I got the chance to take a short camel ride, I wanted the experience just so I could be more authentic with how it felt when I write about camels in my stories. I just wish the ride could have been longer! (It was fun!)
Ridden a camel. Actually, our trip to Israel in 2008, right after I sold my first series, was the best research ever. I loved that trip and look at the pictures my husband took (over 1300!) nearly every week, sometimes daily. When I got the chance to take a short camel ride, I wanted the experience just so I could be more authentic with how it felt when I write about camels in my stories. I just wish the ride could have been longer! (It was fun!)
#6. What do you hope your readers will take away with them when they read your books?
I hope they fall in love with the people, then look back at the Scripture for what it says actually happened, and see God in the stories. My themes reflect grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, and other things told over and over again in Scripture. I want readers to know Jesus, to come away and be able to say they understand Scripture a little better or better yet, they now have a desire to read the Word for themselves. God longs for relationship with us, and I hope my books provide a glimpse of that and create that longing in readers for God.
I hope they fall in love with the people, then look back at the Scripture for what it says actually happened, and see God in the stories. My themes reflect grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, and other things told over and over again in Scripture. I want readers to know Jesus, to come away and be able to say they understand Scripture a little better or better yet, they now have a desire to read the Word for themselves. God longs for relationship with us, and I hope my books provide a glimpse of that and create that longing in readers for God.
#7. Tell us something funny, sad, embarrassing, whatever, that happened in your writing life.
OR
#7. Tell us one random fact about you.
I can’t think of a good answer to your first question, so – one random fact…
Here’s a little bit of my family history:
My mom is 100% German, so I’m 50% German. I’m actually 3rd generation American on my mom’s side as both sets of my maternal grandparents came over on the boat from Germany probably in the mid to late 1800s.
Anyway, my mom met my dad whose last name was Smith and they married. So her only sister said, “Then I’m going to marry a Jones.” And she did! (Smith and Jones were pretty common in that day.)
But then, years later I met my husband Randy, whose last name was Smith! When we went to get our marriage license, the lady looked at us several times and said, “Are you sure you’re not related?” Apparently she feared we were first cousins or something (I believe it is illegal to marry a first cousin.) We assured her we were not related. And in truth we couldn’t be, because though my dad was a Smith, his dad was adopted by the Smiths. So I was never really a blood Smith at all.
OR
#7. Tell us one random fact about you.
I can’t think of a good answer to your first question, so – one random fact…
Here’s a little bit of my family history:
My mom is 100% German, so I’m 50% German. I’m actually 3rd generation American on my mom’s side as both sets of my maternal grandparents came over on the boat from Germany probably in the mid to late 1800s.
Anyway, my mom met my dad whose last name was Smith and they married. So her only sister said, “Then I’m going to marry a Jones.” And she did! (Smith and Jones were pretty common in that day.)
But then, years later I met my husband Randy, whose last name was Smith! When we went to get our marriage license, the lady looked at us several times and said, “Are you sure you’re not related?” Apparently she feared we were first cousins or something (I believe it is illegal to marry a first cousin.) We assured her we were not related. And in truth we couldn’t be, because though my dad was a Smith, his dad was adopted by the Smiths. So I was never really a blood Smith at all.
Bonus. Share with us a thought, Bible verse, whatever is on your mind/heart.
Prayer has become my lifeblood this past year. In November 2015, God gave me this verse:
Prayer has become my lifeblood this past year. In November 2015, God gave me this verse:
Last year I felt defeated on so many levels, but then I began a gratitude journal (after reading Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts. After I had written my own one thousand things to be grateful for, I felt a stirring within me to see the movie the War Room and then read the book Fervent by Pricilla Shirer. These two things have changed how I view my purpose. Prayer matters. God listens when we are praying with humble surrendered hearts. And honestly, I think spending time in prayer and praising Him is one of the best things we can do. Who knew that joy and praise are linked? But they truly are.
We are here to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. He wants us to know Him, and there is SO much to know! In a thousand lifetimes we will never exhaust our ability to know Him. Even with eternity ahead of us, getting to know Him now is so much better than waiting for that day. Prayer and Bible study are my ways of spending time with Him and loving Him more. I hope to instill that desire in others because if ever we needed God, it’s now.
We are here to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. He wants us to know Him, and there is SO much to know! In a thousand lifetimes we will never exhaust our ability to know Him. Even with eternity ahead of us, getting to know Him now is so much better than waiting for that day. Prayer and Bible study are my ways of spending time with Him and loving Him more. I hope to instill that desire in others because if ever we needed God, it’s now.
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Jill Eileen Smith
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Jill Eileen Smith is the author of the bestselling The Crimson Cord and the Wives of King David series, along with the Wives of the Patriarchs, Daughters of the Promised Land, and The Loves of King Solomon series. Her research has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times.
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Bible verse image is of the the Western Wall in Jerusalem
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