Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt Stop #10

Mesu AndrewsFeatured Articles 26 Comments

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt!

If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all the stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!

  • The hunt BEGINS on 6/15 at noon MST with Stop #1 at LisaTawnBergren.com.
  • Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
  • There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 6/18 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
  • Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at the final stop, back on Lisa’s site. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

Welcome to My Site!

Have you wondered where my name, Mesu, came from? It’s a nickname because I couldn’t say my complicated given name as a toddler: Maralasu. (Isn’t my mama creative? That’s her with me in the pic.)

I’m a spiritual mutt who grew up with a Charismatic mama, Quaker daddy, and Pilgrim Holiness grandparents. By age sixteen, I rebelled against family and God–instead seeking Southern Comfort in Jack Daniels.

All that changed when an old high school friend proved the Bible was a single story–a Love Letter from God to me personally. He introduced me to Jesus Christ through Genesis 3:15 (along with John 3:16), which is why I’m so passionate about bringing the Old Testament to life! My newest release, In Feast or Famine, tells Joseph’s story–one of the Old Testament characters that foreshadows Jesus’ New Testament appearance!

Book Description

After four-year-old Asenath’s mother is murdered by Egypt’s foreign rulers, the child is raised to be a priestess by her overprotective father—high priest of Egypt’s sun god. For fifteen years, Asenath is sequestered in the upper levels of Ra’s temple, convinced it is her destiny to heal the land by becoming queen to the next Egyptian pharaoh. But when Egypt’s foreign king instead gives her as a bride to the newly appointed vizier—a Hebrew named Joseph—her entire world is shaken.

Beyond the walls of her tower, Asenath discovers treachery, deceit, and conspiracy that force her to redefine her destiny and weigh where her true loyalties lie. Can she still trust the gods of Egypt? Or is Elohim, the foreign God of her husband, the one who will heal her nation during the feast and famine to come?

So, Let’s “Monkey Around” In Egypt!

If you’ve read my previous novels, Miriam or Isaiah’s Legacy, you know I love to include animals in the stories. So, when I noticed a monkey in an Egyptian tomb relief, you’d better believe I immediately started researching the role they played in ancient Egypt!

History of Monkeys in Egypt

To write compelling biblical fiction, I try to include accurate historical fact that supports the Bible’s absolute  TRUTH.

Guenons on Egyptian ship 26.3.354-4_fig

From the Met Collection: Open Access and public domain.

This Egyptian art was dated during the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2051-2000 B.C.). You’ll see a monkey or two in wealthy households about three hundred years BEFORE my research timeline places Joseph in Egypt. Both royals and nobility kept pet monkeys (baboons as well) for amusement and as status symbols. CLICK HERE to read more about the purpose and prestige of owning a monkey in ancient Egypt.

A Biblical Rapunzel

Eric Kilby from Somerville, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Have you ever wondered WHY Pharaoh chose Asenath to become Joseph’s wife (Gen. 41:45)? Why the daughter of Potiphera–the high priest of Ra’s temple at On? Have you ever pondered how Joseph FELT–as a faithful Yahweh follower–about marrying a pagan priestess?

An ancient document, Joseph and Asenath, written sometime between 200 B.C. and 200 A.D.–which was itself “biblical fiction”–gave me insight into Joseph and Asenath’s first meeting, courtship, marriage, and added some wild tales about Joseph’s reunion with his family. I borrowed the most fascinating component, which told of Asenath’s father, Potiphera, sequestering her in a tower during her childhood–like a biblical Rapunzel! His gift of a pet monkey named, Jendayi, was part of her consolation and training to become a capable mother, learning to care for another living soul.

Here’s Your Critical Stop #10 Info:

You can click on the links below to purchase In Feast or Famine:

Clue to Write Down: of time,

Link to Stop #11: CLICK HERE to proceed to Suzanne Woods Fisher’s site!

BUT WAIT! Want Your Very Own Jendayi plushy?

Jendayi - In Feast or Famine

All you have to do is sign up to get my monthly newsletter or note that you’re already a subscriber. Additional points for those who follow me as an author on BookBub, Facebook, or Instagram!

Enter the contest through the Rafflecopter widget below! 

Contest open to continental USA residents only (sorry, due to shipping costs).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comments 26

  1. Your book sounds fascinating , I love the sound of it and the cover is Stunning! Thank you for the chance of this so very cute Jendayi Stuffy.

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  2. Pingback: Summer Scavenger Hunt Overview - Lisa Tawn Bergren

  3. Loved “In Feast or Famine”! The way you weaved the characters together was great. Also loved the way you describe the scenes as if I was actually there watching it play out in front of me.

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  4. I would love to read this story. Esther and Joseph’s stories in the Old Testament of the Bible are my favorites.

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  5. I love the depth of your writing. I just finished Isaiah’s Legacy, and I’m ready for another. Many blessings,

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  7. Thank you, Mesu!
    I haven’t read any of your books yet…I must!
    I love biblical fiction stories.
    What a joy to read about your conversion story. God is good!

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      I’m so glad you stopped by, Laura! Be sure to download the free prequel! You can see if you enjoy my style of writing before you commit to buying a book. Keep in touch! Biblical fiction is so fun to write, but the Bible is my passion!

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  10. What a beautiful name you have. Your mother was very creative. I love your nickname too. Have I ever told you how much I love your historical fact finds. I am no longer amazed at what you find but eagerly look for what your latest find will teach me.
    I am glad that God continued to pursue you and draw you back to himself. I have often quoted to parents “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. ” Time and again I have found that children of christian parents will wander from God but they usually come back again.
    Love this Scavenger Hunt – I have so many new authors to find books to read, but I still have my favourites.

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      Thanks so much, sweet friend, for your encouraging words. You’re so right about raising up our children and trusting God to work in their hearts to choose Him. Though not all return, many do, and for that I’m so grateful! And I’m so glad you’ve found new authors to bless with your encouragement in this scavenger hunt!

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