I’m so excited to have debut author Mesu Andrews on my blog today with a an interview for the Revell Blog Tour of her novel Love Amid The Ashes! Let’s all give her a warm welcome…..
What made you decide to write Love Amid The Ashes?
Because of other contracted works at the time, Revell needed to postpone publication on my originally submitted manuscript for three years. So they offered me the opportunity to write one of the future projects listed on my proposal. I’d always wondered about the identity of Job’s wife, and I was startled to discover the differing opinions on her complex character. From the moment I began researching, I was hooked!
What was the research for this book like?
The scriptural Book of Job is quite controversial, a boiling pot of contention among theologians, few of them agreeing on any point in its forty-two chapters. Time period, location of Uz, Job’s family ties, the length and depth of his true suffering, even its merit to be included in Scripture…all these were points of contention that I needed to research, pray and decide how to present the biblical Truth within the historical context of men’s opinions. My husband’s colleague, Dr. Karl Kutz, Chairman of Biblical Languages at Multnomah Bible College, studied Job for his doctoral dissertation and helped immensely. He warned me not to make too many assumptions but also helped me sift through data and arrive at conclusions that I feel are not only biblically sound but also historically accurate. I’ve included an “Author’s Note” in the back of the book that describes my research in more detail.
This is your debut novel. Do you plan to make this into a series of sorts or write more stand alones like it?
Ummm, yes to all. Ha! My second novel, Love’s Sacred Song, releases in March 2012 (Revell) and is the long-awaited original manuscript I presented in 2008. It’s based on the Song of Solomon, a story of King Solomon’s early reign and the love of a shepherd girl that shaped both his character and his nation. It stands alone, as does Love Amid the Ashes, and yet I hope to write more Old Testament novels woven together by the theme of finding God’s Love in Old Testament stories. So often folks think of God’s wrath of judgment in the Old Testament and His love in the New Testament. My passion is to unveil examples of God’s astonishing love in some of the Old Testament stories.
About how long did it take you to write this kind of novel?
It took almost a year to research and write Love Amid the Ashes and then another six-eight months to get it to print. The novels I’m working on now may take longer because they cover a larger time span.
What’s in the makings for future works by you???
I’m hoping to move into the timeframe of prophets and kings. I love to choose men that are somewhat famous (or infamous) and then highlight the women in the background of their lives—bring the ladies out of the shadows. It’s my greatest joy to find those obscure passages of Scripture and fit them together like a puzzle, showing God’s Word to be one grand story, rather than 66 disjointed books. The Living Word is such and adventure! I love to play the guide!
Thank you, Molly! Please let me know if anything is unclear or you’d like me to expand on anything. Blessings as you continue to serve the Lord!
