I’ve given hints and little tidbits about my next release, By the Waters of Babylon (BTWOB), but it’s finally time to share with my newsletter faithful a little more detail about this EXCITING story!
The novella uses Psalm 137 as its foundation for the story, pulling supplemental plot from passages in 2 Kings 24-25, 2 Chronicles 36, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Proverbs.
I just finished the first draft last week, and I love the three main characters: Merari, Idan, and Azat. You may notice that none of the three names are biblical characters, which is a departure for me. Rather than focusing on any single biblical character, this book uses BIBLICAL EVENTS to drive the plot through Scripture.
2 Reasons for Change
Writer Reason
Writing a novella is different than writing a full-length novel. Because it’s 1/4 – 1/3 the length, I must create a single, riveting plot rather than several intense subplots. Biblical characters’ lives are already scripted in the biblical story, but I can create unlimited plot twists with characters from my imagination caught up in the TRUE events in Israel’s history.
Bible Study Reason
The second reason I’ve written BTWOB as an event-main-character novella is to familiarize y’all with the Fall of Jerusalem and the grueling 800-mile journey to Babylon. I don’t spend any time on these two important events in my February 2019 story of Daniel (Of Fire and Lions, WaterBrook/Multnomah), so this novella is great preparation.
But don’t worry! BTWOB doesn’t focus on pain and suffering. It’s a gripping love story and an overwhelming glimpse of Yahweh as a loving Father, redeeming His children after meting out the severe discipline He’d warned them about for centuries.
Exciting Times A-Comin’
Here’s a little trivia for you: Can you name the kings between Hezekiah and Zedekiah (the last king of Judah)? Did you know that Judah actually endured three exiles to Babylon? The first one in 605 B.C. was when Daniel, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego) were taken. The second exile in 597 B.C. removed over ten thousand artisans and skilled soldiers from Judah.
It’s the final exile in 586 B.C. that we hear of most, when the Temple and the whole city was razed and burned. This is the one—and these are the two main events—that will open your eyes and your hearts to what Judah endured at the hands of Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar. I believe you will fall in love with Merari, our heroine, and by the end of the story, you’ll know more about the mercenary warriors who fought for Babylon than you ever imagined possible!
Tweet-A-Licious!
- BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON, (8/1/18 release) uses biblical events, rather than biblical main characters, to drive the plot.
- Because a novella is 1/4 the length, it must have a single, riveting plot rather than several intense subplots.
Today’s Question:
- What novellas have you read? What were the plusses and minuses of reading shorter-length stories?
