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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

What Happens When a Woman’s Passion for the Word Meets Her Love of Story?

by Chautona Havig · Leave a Comment

Mesu Andrews has a new release and it's a doozy. What could have motivated a woman like Potiphar's wife to make such an accusation? via @chautonahavig

Biblical fiction can be a sticky wicket, but one beautiful thing it has going is providing cultural context to familiar stories. It can also offer reasons that people may have acted as they did. Its very strength in making us familiar with things its original audience already understood can also be a means to blurring the lines between fact and fiction. Great authors know how to throw a “what if” scenario into the mix and leave us digging deeper into Scripture to understand what the Lord is teaching us in His Word, and isn’t that the main point? Listen in as Mesu Andrews and I tackle my issues with Biblical fiction and see why it is such an important genre in Christian fiction.

Mesu Andrews

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

What Happens When a Woman’s Passion for the Word Meets Her Love of Story?

I’ve always been honest about my concerns with Biblical fiction, but as I chatted with Mesu (we didn’t have time to discuss it), I realized it really is the same issue as with all Christian fiction–allowing creativity and recognizing the ways different people understand the same passages while holding fast to Biblical truth. In Biblical fiction, it’s more overt. If an author tries to say that David was a twelve-year-old girl, we’re going to have problems. If another book shows the possibility of Paul having been married as M.D. House talked about in Episode 133, well that’s something we don’t actually know. How that’s done makes all the difference.

Mesu Andrews has a deep love and passion for the Word that shines whenever you talk to her, and this interview was no exception. She lets us peek into her writing process that starts pretty generically (Hello, Google!) before digging deep into more academic sources. She made it very clear that every Biblical fact mentioned in the Bible never changes in her stories. However, she does look at cultural and traditional aspects of life at the time and asks those wonderful “what if?” questions.

Why write about someone like Potiphar’s wife?

Because women often prefer reading about women, Mesu looks at familiar stories like that of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife from an unfamiliar angle. Of course, you can read all the spoilers by going straight to the Bible, but I have to admit that I’m fascinated to see where this book takes us.

Finally, we discussed a few authors and the kinds of Biblical fiction they write. From concepts to deep dives, Old Testament to New, these authors have carved out niches for themselves. I know you’ll find something you need to check out. Me, I’m going to be reading Potiphar’s Wife soon and seeing what Mesu Andrews has for us.

Potiphar's WifePotiphar’s Wife by Mesu Andrews

One of the Bible’s most notorious women longs for a love she cannot have in this captivating novel from the award-winning author of Isaiah’s Legacy.

“Mesu Andrews yet again proves her mastery of weaving a rich and powerful biblical story!”—Roseanna M. White, author of A Portrait of Loyalty

Before she is Potiphar’s wife, Zuleika is the daughter of a king and the wife of a prince. She rules the isle of Crete alongside her mother in the absence of their seafaring husbands. But when tragedy nearly destroys Crete, Zuleika must sacrifice her future to save the Minoan people she loves.

Zuleika’s father believes his robust trade with Egypt will ensure Pharaoh’s obligation to marry his daughter, including a bride price hefty enough to save Crete. But Pharaoh refuses and gives her instead to Potiphar, the captain of his bodyguards: a crusty bachelor twice her age, who would rather have a new horse than a Minoan wife.

Abandoned by her father, rejected by Pharaoh, and humiliated by Potiphar’s indifference, Zuleika yearns for the homeland she adores. In the political hotbed of Egypt’s foreign dynasty, her obsession to return to Crete spirals into deception. When she betrays Joseph—her Hebrew servant with the face and body of the gods—she discovers only one love is worth risking everything.

You can find out more about Mesu Andrews on her WEBSITE.

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
byChautona Havig

I had a chat with actor and author Henry O. Arnold a while back, and boy did we have a lot of fun. His Song of Prophets and Kings series features the advent of Israel’s kings from Samuel’s birth through David hiding from Saul (so far) and onward. Listen in as we chat about his most recent release, The Singer of Israel.

 

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

What Made David Such a Man after God’s Heart?

I think this series will show us. I love that Henry O. Arnold started back at Samuel’s story to prepare us for the story of arguably the most influential king of Israel. Yes, Solomon was the wisest and richest, but David offered something that Solomon didn’t have. He was an average guy—a shepherd, no less—chosen by God to lead his country.

In a sense, it’s kind of the ancient Jewish version of a poor, everyday guy growing up to become President of the United States. If you know what I mean.

This five-book series is available as an eBook, in print, and as an audiobook, too! Henry read a snippet of it to us, and boy you get a feel for his love of Scripture and God’s people as he reads.

And if that wasn’t enough, he even gave us a hint of his upcoming Christian suspense/thriller “series. He says he has two books planned for sure, so… at least a duology, but maybe we can talk him into a trilogy at least? Get those odd numbers and everything?

The Singer of Israel by Henry O. Arnold

A singer’s voice inspires a troubled nation…A shepherd’s courage vanquishes a giant

The last official act of the prophet of Yahweh was to secretly anoint a replacement for the king of Israel who has been brought low by an unbalanced mind. The great prophet of Israel lives in fear of the wrath of the king. Then out of the hills of Bethlehem emerges the last-born son of a family of shepherds to become the unforeseen hero of Israel.

When David sings of the glory of Yahweh, this shepherd wins the hearts of the royal family and restores King Saul’s troubled mind. But when the singer/shepherd defeats the champion of the Philistines in single combat, David becomes forever known as “the giant slayer.” Saul quickly sees that David is now a threat to his kingdom and secretly plots to have him killed.

David may be the champion of the people of Israel, but he must live under the constant threat of Saul’s wrath until he is finally forced to flee for his life.

The Singer of Israel is a tale of triumph and tribulation, deepest love, and burning rivalries; the new epoch is given a voice…and it is The Song of Prophets and Kings.

You can learn more about Henry on this WEBSITE.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

  • Apple 
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  • Google Play
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  • and more!
Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
March 24, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 214: A Chat about After the Shadows with Amanda Cabot
March 21, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 213: A Chat about Daughter of Eden with Jill Eileen Smith
March 17, 2023
Chautona Havig
Episode 212: A Chat about Code Name Edelweiss with Stephanie Landsem
February 28, 2023
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Episode 211: A Chat with Lynn H. Blackburn about Under Fire
February 24, 2023
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Episode 210: A Chat with Jennifer Deibel about The Maid of Ballymacool
February 21, 2023
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Episode 209: A Chat with Tracie Peterson about Remember Me
February 17, 2023
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Episode 208: A Chat with Author, Hallie Lee
February 14, 2023
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Episode 207: A Chat with Daniella Rushton about Portal Fantasy
February 10, 2023
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Episode 206: A Chat with Lisa Phillips about Her New Spin-off Series
February 7, 2023
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