What do you do when your life’s work lies in ashes at your feet? When your heart and body are broken and your faith shattered? Disillusioned, grief-stricken and feeling abandoned by the God he once trusted, Brother Silas runs. He sets out on a lonely journey, not knowing where the path will take him, determined to distance himself from his painful past. But Silas cannot escape the Love that will not let him go. Through the unexpected kindness of strangers, and a series of inexplicable events, Silas’ heart begins to heal. Then an unlikely reunion puts him back on the path to rediscovering who he really is. Will Silas find where he truly belongs or will he remain a stranger forever? Genre: Christian Historical Fiction Release date: November 22, 2024 Click here to get your copy! |
Interview with Joy
All my books are inspired by my own faith journey. I went through a really difficult season where I had what you might call a crisis of faith. God wasn’t answering my cries for help, He seemed distant and uninterested. He wasn’t of course, and He gently drew me back to Himself. I wanted to take my main character on a similar journey to the one I went on. Brother Silas had appeared in a previous book as a minor character. He was trying to keep a small failing abbey going. My book starts with the abbey being destroyed and Silas running from his faith.
It took about 5 months to write this book. I started it in November 2023 but then had to take a break from it as life circumstances took over. I finished the first draft in early April, but the editing process took time after that,
That it is OK to question God, He can take it. He understands when we can’t make sense of why bad things happen. He doesn’t always answer our prayers in the way we expect Him to, or speak to us in the way we are used to hearing Him, but He loves us and never gives up pursuing our hearts.
I am a wife, mother to two grown children, and grandmother to two small children. I love being a grandparent! It is the joy of my life to help care for my grandkids. I love dogs and have a Jack Russell terrier cross who is fun to live with. I live by the sea and have a panoramic view of the ocean and Welsh mountains from my house windows. I love to read, crochet, bake and watch my husband garden! Most of my closest friends are now writers and I help head up a community for Christian Writers in the UK, which we call Kingdom Story Writers.
I live with a chronic condition that came on suddenly 11 years ago. It changed my life and has been difficult to live with. I would love to be healed from it. But then if I hadn’t had gone through that, there would be no books…
More from Joy
Some years ago now my life was forever changed when I became unexpectedly ill, from what was later diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue. Months of being able to do very little turned into years. Years where I lost much including my job and career, experiences with my children which I will never get back, and my role in ministry. Through this time I questioned all that I had known of God. I had followed Jesus all my life but when things got really tough it felt like He had abandoned me. I didn’t know if I could trust Him any more, if He really cared, if all that I had once believed was actually true. Over time God pursued me, revealing His love for me in unexpected ways, using others to display Himself, helping me to rediscover my faith and choose to trust Him again.
In writing my books I wanted to tell my own story, but through the fictional lives of characters living centuries ago. The Healing, my first novel, told my story of healing and redemption, and no-one was more surprised than I when the book was published. But God had given me a gift to write and He wasn’t finished with one book. The Stranger is actually my fourth novel and the most personal in many ways. The central character has to navigate what it feels like to question his faith in the face of devastating disappointment. I think this is something that many Christians can equate with. The story follows him as he tries to turn his back on his God, and discovers that God does not give up the pursuit of those He loves. It is my story. God pursued me and would not let me go. He is the lover of my soul and has proved faithful. I want my books to carry hope, and to glorify Him.
I love the Word of God. It has been my place of comfort and strength through tough times. My books are littered with scriptural truth, and I make no apologies for that. It is the truth, and believing in the truth, that sets us free.
It's Time For A Giveaway!
a $35 Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of the book!!
Blog Stops
Vicky Sluiter, January 11 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 12
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, January 13 (Author Interview)
Simple Harvest Reads, January 14 (Author Interview)
For the Love of Literature, January 15 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, January 16
Tell Tale Book Reviews, January 17 (Author Interview)
Locks, Hooks and Books, January 18
Blossoms and Blessings, January 19 (Author Interview)
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 20
Artistic Nobody, January 21 (Author Interview)
Stories By Gina, January 22 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, January 22
Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, January 23 (Author Interview)
Leslie’s Library Escape, January 23