Answers to BRAVE FB LIVE Questions

 

On October 1, 2024, Hubby Roy and I had so much fun celebrating the release of Brave: The Story of Ahinoam with the FB LIVE BRAVE BASH! For those who joined us that night or watched the live video later, thank you so much for your fun comments and fabulous questions!

Below are some of the questions y’all submitted for me to answer, and I’ve held off answering them on the post so more people can see them here on my blog. We can never really guess at FB’s algorithms or how many people will see those answers. I know around five thousand folks get to see my blogs and newsletters, so here we go with the answers to each of your questions:

Becky Hartsfield Asked:

“With the intertwining of a lot of Biblical history, has that part of the process become less intense with the writing of each new book?”

My Answer:

Yes, a lot of the basic research for various biblical time periods is transferrable to other stories. I’ve written stories set in every time period of the Old Testament except the Flood and before: the Patriarchs (The Reluctant Rival, Beauty’s Surrender, Love Amid the Ashes, Potiphar’s Wife, & In Feast or Famine), Moses & the conquest (The Pharaoh’s Daughter & Miriam), the monarchy (Love’s Sacred Song, Love in a Broken Vessel, In the Shadow of Jezebel, Isaiah’s Daughter, Isaiah’s Legacy, The Brides of King David series), and the Exile (Of Fire and Lions, By the Waters of Babylon).

Though each time period has many similarities, there’s still plenty to research for each individual story. Locations are always a bit different. Characters’ family, dwellings, food, clothing, daily tasks, etc. can all add some fun new research and may also shed deeper meaning on Scripture’s Truth. That’s what I love about God’s Word. Though its Truth absolutely never changes, because it’s the Living Word, I find something new in it each time I read a passage that I’ve read dozens—or even hundreds—of times.

Alyssa Ross Asked:

“My question is, how do you keep each story and characters straight if you are doing edits on one, while plotting another, plus keeping Brave well enough in your head to promote it and talk about it?”

My Answer:

My only explanation for that is God’s faithfulness! Seriously, I can’t remember what I had last night for dinner. It’s a lot like having children. My sister has ten, and my daughter has six. But they started out with just one, then another, then another, and another. So it is with books and releases. When I started out with Love Amid the Ashes, it got my full attention. I had already written the second novel, Love’s Sacred Song, so I could focus on edits, and I didn’t have a contract for the next book—yet.

As my contracts continued to come, my ability to juggle more books grew as did my familiarity with the publishing business. A new author might not be able to do all three tasks—release, edits, plotting—at the same time. Granted, it’s tough even for us old birds! But it’s a privilege that I feel grateful for each and every day!

Chad/Heidi Olszewski Asked:

“Are there audio versions that I can listen to in my car while taxi driving my kids?”

My Answer:

Yes! I’m so grateful that ALL my full-length novels are available on audio and one of my short-story collections. I have two other short-story collections that have not yet been read into audio format because they’re such a quick read.

Brittany Elswick Asked:

“What was the most interesting bit of research you came across when researching for this book?”

My Answer:

I’m such a research nerd, so I LOVE this question. Because I’d never done a lot of research on David’s family, I was fascinated by King David’s backstory. Scripture tells us his father’s name was Jesse, who was a descendant of Boaz and Ruth, the Moabitess whose story is written in the biblical book labeled with her name (Ruth 4:17). The Bible also mentions that David had seven brothers in 1 Sam. 16:10 but only lists six brothers in 1 Chron. 2:13-15. In vs. 16-17 of that same chapter, we learn that David had two sisters: Zeruiah and Abigal–some biblical translations insert a “i,” making her name, Abigail (not Nabal’s widow, Abigail).

Abigal married an Ishmaelite named Jether and gave birth to a son, Amasa, who later served as one of David’s Mighty Men. In 2 Sam. 17:25, we learn that Abigal was the daughter of Nahash, and she was the sister of Zeruiah. Who was Nahash? I thought she was the daughter of Jesse! This question sent me to Bible commentaries and rabbinic literature for answers. As usual, scholars disagree on the answer, which means I can choose to make the historical records line up with the biblical Truth in a fictional story that supports the WHOLE COUNSEL of Scripture.

I chose to adopt the Jewish records on this one, established through millennia of oral tradition, while also using Scripture to interpret Scripture. In 1 Samuel 11, a man named Nahash, King of the Ammonites attacked Israel, Saul called every tribe of Israel to join in battle against them. It could have been during this battle that Jesse’s wife—named in Jewish legend as “Nitzevet”—was taken captive by King Nahash and made his concubine. OH MY GOODNESS! Is that not the most interesting piece of research you’ve heard on David ben Jesse! There’s more, but you’ll find it within the story of Brave: The Story of Ahinoam!

Emily Shanahan Asked:

“Mesu Andrews, what’s your favorite part of the writing process? Roy, what is your favorite part of helping Mesu with the research process as a retired Bible professor?”

My Answer:

My favorite part is research and editing. I’ve often shared about my love of research, but here’s why I love editing. Since I didn’t grow up dreaming of being an author, imagining stories doesn’t come naturally for me. Actually, I never did much dreaming and imagining as a kid—or as an adult—so writing that first draft of a story that happened 3000-4000 years ago doesn’t come easily. My love for fiction is connected to my love for God’s Word.

If you’ve read any of my Bible studies, you know that they all focus on putting myself in the shoes of whoever wrote the biblical passage we’re studying together. So, that’s how I write a novel’s first draft. I do enough research to live in the characters’ shoes and walk with them through every scene, every word. After writing a few paragraphs (or a full chapter), I go back and use the “read aloud” feature on Microsoft Word to hear how my words sound without imposing my inflection on them. Listening to a mechanical voice helps present the raw words, and if they sound decent with no-frills-Fanny reading, it passes inspection.

Roy’s favorite part of helping Mesu?

(This is Mesu answering because I couldn’t catch Roy to get his answer…) His only part of helping these days is a very crucial aspect: proofreading! He’s a huge reason that my newsletters and blog posts (and books) are so clean (thank you, Honey).

He not only finds my typos, but he also catches extra spaces before paragraphs or between words. He also finds typos after my book manuscripts have been through all the publisher’s proofreaders! I’m very happy I married that guy–even before I knew he’d be the best proofreader in the world. LOL! 😆

Katie Combes Asked:

“Was there one thing you wanted to add into the book Brave, but it didn’t make the final edits?”

My Answer:

My characters tend to have emotional swings without much building up or calming down. One of my editors used to say, “I need an onramp (or an offramp) to help me feel that character’s BIG emotion!” So, some of the things that were cut from my story were mostly those BIG EMOTIONS that would have seemed out of place. I think I had Ahinoam throwing a dagger at Abigail the first day they met. Ummm, probably not good. How does their relationship recover from that?

Lisa Dorsey Asked:

“Since Ahinoam’s name precedes that of Abigail more often than not in Scripture, it has been suggested that David married Ahinoam before he married Abigail. Do you portray Ahinoam as David’s first or second wife and why?”

My Answer:

I do make Ahinoam the first wife, and I actually believe there’s biblical foundation for it. In 1 Sam. 25:42-43, David has asked Abigail to marry him, she gets on a donkey (attended by her five female servants—which David didn’t invite, BTW), and then v. 43 says, “David HAD ALSO MARRIED Ahinoam of Jezreel…” (EMPHASIS added). Using past tense there, “had also,” says to me David and Ahinoam were already married. I LOVE all those little-bitty words in the Bible that can just slap us with a revelation!

Jeanette R Durkin Asked:

“How do you cross-reference for information?”

My Answer:

Sometimes I do it on purpose by using the footnotes and cross-referenced Scriptures in the study notes of my Bibles. I use a Jewish Study Bible (the Tanakh), which gives me study notes from the Jewish perspective as well. Sometimes I stumble onto a Scripture that relates to another passage I’m using. For instance, I’m reading the Psalms of David for my quiet time with Jesus while I’m writing the stories in the series, King David’s Brides. While reading Psalm 59 one morning—entitled, “When Saul had sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him,” which correlates with the story in 1 Sam. 19:11-12, I discovered the Psalm expanded on the story in 1 Samuel!

Psa. 59:6, 14 says, “They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.” What?! The 1 Samuel passage makes it seem like Saul sent his men one night, and BOOM! Michal lowered David out of the window to escape. Psalm 59 gives us a fuller picture—that maybe they both knew the assassins were prowling for more than that one night. I didn’t put anything in the book about it, but it was a little wink from my quiet time with Jesus that He could give me information from anywhere in His Word if I simply remained faithful to come with an open heart every single day.

Katie Combes Asked:

“During your research, who have you found to be your favorite of David’s wives to research?”

My Answer:

Since I’ve written all of these women before (in short stories published back in 2021 on Patreon.com—no longer available), I know a little about their stories before digging in fully to their research. I’ve really enjoyed them all, but to be honest, Ahinoam is my very favorite. I LOVE that she throws daggers and is so SASSY! Probably my second favorite is the last book: Worthy. It will feature David’s last TWO wives in Hebron: Abital and Eglah.

Abital and Eglah are minor characters throughout the series, and pointing them out now is sort of a spoiler, but if you read the Bible…you’ll know why it’s a spoiler anyway. I LOVE their friendship and the way their story ties up the story of these six women who form the foundation of David’s household while he reigns in Hebron. He’s very humble and completely devoted to his family and to Yahweh—before he and his men conquer Jerusalem. *Yikes!*

Betsy Stevens Asked:

“Are any of your books appropriate for a 10-year-old girl?”

My Answer:

Unfortunately, I must say no to this question. Although my friend and fellow author, Jenelle Hovde, is a homeschool mom who has incorporated several of my books into her Bible history courses with her middle school and high school kids. Much of it depends on the parents standards and if you plan to read along with the younger readers. My books provide LOTS of conversation opportunities–as does the Bible–on real-life topics.

I just atteded a one-day intensive seminar on writing for children and would love to explore the possibly of writing middle-grade or YA (young-adult) graphic novels. We’ll see what God has in store. Stay tuned through my newsletter, since that’s where I share those personal adventures. You can subscribe here (to receive one email per month—usually): https://mesuandrews.com/#newsletter 

Betsy Stevens Asked:

“Mesu… I’d love to begin reading your books…give me a map…not sure where to start? I’ve googled… and feel overwhelmed … so haven’t jumped in yet…”

My Answer:

Thanks for asking! Of course, while everyone is talking about BRAVE, it’s a great place to start so you can get in on all the fun conversations! You can also check out my website which lists My Books In Order (both in order of publication and in biblical chronological order—on the small chart): https://mesuandrews.com/books-in-order/. You can also download a printable listing of ALL BOOKS BY SERIES at this link: https://mesuandrews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/2024-updated-My-Books-bibliography-ma-edit.pdf.

Where you start really depends on what you’re in the mood for or where you are in your personal Bible study. I like to correspond my personal quiet time with the novel I’m writing (and others I’m reading for endorsement). If you like to read LOTS of books, you can honestly just take your pick. Most of the books in a series can be read as stand alone, but the ones I’d suggest you read in order are: The Pharaoh’s Daughter, then Miriam; Love in a Broken Vessel, Isaiah’s Daughter, then Isaiah’s Legacy; Potiphar’s Wife, then In Feast or Famine. As I said, however, each book can be read and understood on its own. Happy reading!

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