THE CARPENTER AND HIS BRIDE

THE CARPENTER AND HIS BRIDE
Friday, September 22, 2023 by PAULA K.PARKER

Categories: Friday's Fiction / GUEST AUTHORS

PLEASE WELCOME

PAULA K. PARKER

FICTION FRIDAY

THE AUTHOR’S STORY

WRAPPING BIBLICAL CHARACTERS IN SKIN AND BONE

As a child in the 1960s, I was familiar with Bible stories. I went to church each Sunday and Vacation Bible School each summer. My family watched The Ten Commandments, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and The Robe every Easter season. While I read the Bible—mostly during Sunday School or VBS—it wasn’t until I checked out Lloyd C. Douglas’ novel, The Robe, from my church’s library that I first discovered biblical novels. The way Douglas painted the first century and brought the characters to life sparked my interest and imagination.

After reading that book, I checked out his novel, The Big Fisherman. This was the first time I read a novel where the viewpoint character was a real person from the Bible.

In the years that followed, I have read many biblical novels. Most of them are well-written and some, like The Big Fisherman, have a real person from the Bible as a viewpoint character. Other novels have a person from the Bible as a secondary character who knew, or encountered, the viewpoint character.

Beyond novels, music sparks my imagination. My first biblical novel, BEAUTY UNVEILED, was inspired by the song “Because I Am,” written and recorded by the Contemporary Christian Music duo Harvest—Jerry Williams and Ed Kerr—in 1982. With rich vocals and sweeping music, the song related the dialogue between Mary and Jesus outside the tomb of Lazarus.

As I listened to this epic song, the story resonated within me. I could see Mary falling at the feet of Jesus, crying out her grief for the loss of a beloved brother, and Jesus reminding her of, ‘all the words that I have said.’ Over the years, whenever I read the story of the raising of Lazarus in the Bible, I would remember that song.

After I signed the book contract for BEAUTY UNVEILED, one of the first things I did was to pull out the album—yes, I still have it on vinyl—and listen to that song. Even with the skips and scratches of a decades-old record album, the song was just as powerful as the first time I heard it. Every day before I began working on the manuscript for my novel, I would listen to that song.

Because of Douglas’ novel, The Big Fisherman, and the song, “Because I Am,” I was determined to portray Mary, Martha, and Lazarus as real people in BEAUTY UNVEILED. That determination became the standard for all my biblical novels.

But I had questions.

I was raised in a Protestant church. I was taught everyone should avoid being like Martha, fretting over a meal, and be more like Mary, sitting at Jesus’s feet. After Jesus received Martha’s message that Lazarus was sick, no one had explained why Jesus waited before returning to Bethany. The teachings and sermons I listened to also suggested that, before the Resurrection and Ascension, everyone knew exactly who Jesus was.

But did they really, I wondered?

When I read stories in the Bible, I wonder about how or why the people said or did certain things. How did Noah gather the animals into the ark? Why would Rebekah and Isaac favor one son over the other? Why did Balak not run screaming in terror when the donkey spoke to him? What did Peter think when he stepped out of the boat and began walking on the water? How could Mary afford perfume that cost a year’s wages? What was it like to see Lazarus come out of his tomb or watch Jesus ascend into the clouds? What was it like for Mary to be told by the angel Gabriel that she would be the mother of God’s Son? What was it like for Joseph to be visited by Gabriel in his dreams?

Perhaps because of their “moment in time” nature, the people in these Bible stories are often viewed and taught as iconic figures on a stained-glass window. David was a courageous young boy. Solomon was the wisest of all. Peter was brash and impulsive. Judas was a traitor. Martha fretted over a meal while Mary sat peacefully at Jesus’s feet. Mary and Joseph had no problems with the angel’s announcements to them. People misunderstood who Jesus of Nazareth truly was.

But these people were more than a boy with five stones; a man with a floating zoo; parents who played favorites; a disciple who acted before thinking; a woman with an expensive bottle of cologne; the earthly mother and father of the Son of God, or people following Jesus the Messiah. These people had flaws and strengths, likes and dislikes, favorite foods, hopes and fears, pride, and insecurities.

Just like us.

One reason I am drawn to writing biblical novels is that, for me, when I view these people as simple humans and when I research their time period and culture, the Bible stories come alive; and I glimpse possible answers to some of my questions.

In all my biblical novels, my goal is to take these people out of the stained-glass windows, wrap them in skin and bone, and tell their stories. In my novels, I delve into research of the Bible, the culture, and the history. There are things I discovered during my research I had never heard before; some were quite eye-opening. While my novels are works of fiction, I am determined to be historically, culturally, and biblically respectful. The one thing I will not do is write Jesus as a viewpoint character; I would never presume to know the mind of God.

Because of the information I discovered while researching for my Sisters of Lazarus trilogy and THE CARPENTER AND HIS BRIDE, some of my beliefs from childhood have changed. The results are included in my biblical novels. If you would like to learn more about some of the research I used for different aspects of my biblical novels, visit my website: www.paulakparker.com. Under the “Resources and Reviews” tab on the drop-down menu, there is a page for “Biblical Fiction Glossary, Useful Information, and Research.”

ABOUT THE CARPENTER AND HIS BRIDE

This tale begins before the birth of the child named Jesus. The Carpenter and His Bride offers a beautiful, stirring-at times surprising-account of the love story between Joseph and Mary as they walk the journey of complete obedience to God’s plan of salvation for humanity through His Son.

Joseph is a carpenter, but more than that, he is an artisan who is called upon to work on the construction in nearby Zippori, one of Herod’s capital cities. Mary is a demure young woman with a quiet spirit and a yearning toward all things beautiful and artistic. Each is drawn to the other’s servant heart until they both realize that their gentle friendship has grown beyond simple affection into full-fledged love.

ABOUT PAULA K. PARKER

Paula K. Parker is a freelance writer living near Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband Mike, who is also a writer. Paula writes books, articles, plays, reviews, curriculum, and inspirational devotionals. Her Sisters of Lazarus trilogy, BEAUTY UNVEILED, GLORY REVEALED, and GRACE EXTENDED, reached multiple best-seller charts on Amazon. Her most recent release, THE CARPENTER AND HIS BRIDE; The Birth of Hope, also reached multiple best-seller charts on Amazon and also won the Bronze Medal from the Inscriptions Christian Book Awards.

Autographed copies of these books are available on Paula’s webstore: https://paulakparker.com/autographed-copies/

BUY LINK (AMAZON):https://www.amazon.com/Carpenter-His-Bride-Birth-Hope-ebook/dp/B0BBSK49YJ/

Website: paulakparker.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulaKParkerAuthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paula.k.parker.author/?hl=en

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4641688.Paula_K_Parker

Share This Blog: