Snark & Sensibility

PLEASE WELCOME

PAULA K. PARKER

TO

FICTION FRIDAY

IF I PERISH: A Queen’s Sacrifice The Story Behind Writing the Novel

By Paula K. Parker

Two years ago, I was having tea with my friend Tracy Sugg. Tracy is an amazing painter and sculptress and we frequently talk about our creative projects.

I had just released my biblical novel, THE CARPENTER AND HIS BRIDE, and Tracy asked, “What is your next novel going to be about?”

I told her I was thinking about Ruth, as it was one of my favorite Bible stories.

                       “You should write about Esther,” Tracy said.

“Tracy, I am not a fan of Esther’s story. Yes, it’s in the Bible, but it is so sad. Hadassah was an orphan with only one living relative; her cousin Mordecai. Against her will, she—along with countless other beautiful maidens—were taken into the harem of Xerxes, King of the Persian Empire. Mordecai told her not to reveal her name or family. Hamen got mad at Mordecai and decided to kill not only Mordecai, but all the Jews. The only positive thing about the story was she was instrumental in saving her people.”

                                 Tracy smiled. “Pray about it.”

I agreed I would pray about it. So I prayed, read the Book of Esther, and wrote down several questions I had about the story.

1. Why did King Xerxes take his nobles, military leaders, and officials on a 180-day tour of his Empire, ending with a seven-day banquet?

2. Why did Queen Vashti refuse to come when Xerxes sent for her?

3. Why did Xerxes’ advisors suggest he bring in all the beautiful maidens to his harem to select a new queen?

4. Why did Mordecai tell Hadassah/Esther not to reveal her real name or background?

5. Did the Persians hate the Jews?

6. If Esther had not revealed her family, why was Mordecai allowed to talk with her after she was in the palace?

7. What did Esther do that caused Xerxes to choose her to be his queen?

8. Why did Xerxes listen to Haman and permit him to destroy the Jews?

With these first questions, I began reading about Esther, Xerxes, Mordecai, Haman, and the Persian Empire. I read the Book of Esther—along with all the accompanying notes—in The Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible and The Archaeological Study Bible. I read about the Persian (Achaemenid) Empire in The New Illustrated Bible Manners and Customs. I read articles on scholarly websites—biblical, secular, Jewish, and Islamic—to learn more about the people, culture, and history of the Persian Empire and the events in the Book of Esther.

I learned things that—in my 60 years of being a Christian—had never heard from a sermon, a devotional book, or even in one of my Bible classes during my years attending a Christian university. One reason was many of these things have only been recently discovered. I found answers to some of my questions. I found things that suggested answers to the other questions. I came up with more questions.

As I prayed, as I read the Book of Esther, and as I researched, ideas for a story were birthed. I organized all my research and thoughts and began writing IF I PERISH. I continued researching as I wrote.

Some of the things I learned from my research.

The Persians didn’t hate the Jews. Cyrus the Great—who overthrew the Babylonian Empire freed the Jews and established the Achaemenid Empire—is mentioned by the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah as being the Lord’s servant who would free His people and help to rebuild Jerusalem.

The Persians were the most religiously tolerant empire of their time. They believed if the people were allowed to worship their own god, they would be loyal citizens of the Empire. The Persians worshipped a pantheon of gods, with their main god being Ahura-Mazda. (Yes, the car was named after that god.) The Persians believed Ahura-Mazda was the god of all truth and light. In an empire where capital punishment was quite common, the number one capital crime—punishable by a long and painful death—was lying.

The most important woman in the Persian Empire was not the king’s wife; it was his mother. The Queen Mother was one of the king’s most trusted advisors and would act as his regent when he was away from the palace.

Xerxes’ 180-day tour ended in Susa—one of the Empire’s four capitals—during the 5-day Norooz celebration—the Persian New Year—which is March 23-28 in the Georgian calendar and Nisan 1-5 in the Jewish calendar.

The Persian Empire was a group of 127 satrapies or territories, each one overseen by powerful governors. Two satrapies, Greece and Egypt, had rebelled against King Darius I, Xerxes’s father. After Darius died, Xerxes used the 180-day tour to show the might and wealth of the Persian Empire to raise the money and military power from the satrapies so that he might deal with these rebellions.

The twelve months of beauty treatments Esther—along with the other new women in the harem—took place during the time Xerxes was away with the Persian Army fighting the Greeks.

Haman was the Hazarpatish or “Commander of the Thousand,” the Head of the King’s elite personal bodyguard. No one could enter the king’s presence without the Hazarpatish’s permission. Haman later became the King’s Cup Bearer—which was not just a throwaway servant to taste potentially poisoned food or drink—but the king’s closest and most trusted advisor.

Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah were contemporaries. Several biblical scholars believe Esther was instrumental in Nehemiah becoming the Cup Bearer to King Artaxerxes, Xerxes’ first-born son, and her stepson.

After two years of research and writing, what started as eight questions ended up as a 344-page novel. I wove much of the information I learned into the novel. I populated the story with historical people and made-up characters. I used the storyline from the Book of Esther as a guideline and filled in details from my research or my imagination. As with all my biblical novels, in writing IF I PERISH, I strove to be historically, culturally, and biblically respectful. However, as I remind people; in the end, this is a work of fiction.

Three weeks before IF I PERISH was released, I learned the novel had been accepted as a Pulitzer Prize nominee.

I now tell everyone that I love the story of Queen Esther.

MORE ABOUT IF I PERISH

She was an orphan.
She was an outcast
She was the queen of the most powerful empire the world had ever seen.
And she was born...
For such a time as this.

A bold new retelling of the story of Esther, by Pulitzer Prize nominee Paula K. Parker.

Hadassah was born into a loving, wealthy Jewish family in the Persian Empire's capital city of Susa. But before she even comes of age her world is swept away by events over which she has no control. Her parents murdered, she is left with only one living relative, her much older cousin, Mordecai, who shelters her as his own daughter. Just when life regains a semblance of normality, on the eve of her betrothal, she is taken against her will into the King's harem, where she assumes a new name and is admonished to never speak of her family or heritage.

Over the course of a year, she has become an orphan and an outcast. Yet even here she is destined to serve the purposes of God. As Mordecai prophesied, she was born for such a time as this.

ABOUT PAULA K. PARKER

Paula K. Parker is an internationally acclaimed writer and Pulitzer Prize nominee living near Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband Mike, who is also a writer. Paula writes books, articles, plays, reviews, curriculum, and inspirational devotionals.

Her biblical novel, IF I PERISH; A Queen’s Sacrifice reached multiple best-selling charts on Amazon and was nominated for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. Her other biblical novels include THE CARPENTER AND HIS BRIDE; THE BIRTH OF HOPE, and her Sisters of Lazarus trilogy, BEAUTY UNVEILED, GLORY REVEALED, and GRACE EXTENDED.

Her stage adaptations of Jane Austen's PRIDE & PREJUDICE, SENSE & SENSIBILITY, and EMMA have been produced in theaters across the United States as well as internationally.

When not writing, she spends her days hanging with her hubby, visiting with their five grown children, their three sons-in-law, their eight grandbabies, restoring their vintage home, working in their garden, learning Italian, and playing the harp.

Where to connect with Paula K. Parker

Links for Paula K. Parker

Website: https://linktr.ee/paulakparker

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

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

Links to purchase IF I PERISH: A Queen’s Sacrifice

Autographed copies from Paula K. Parker

https://paulakparker.com/autographed-copies/

Hardback, paperback, and ebook

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1962218236?tag=wordcraftspre-20

Apple iBook: https://books.apple.com/us/book/if-i-perish/id6503261274

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-perish-paula-k-parker/1146367961?

Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/If-Perish/Paula-K-Parker/9781962218238?id=9255507763715

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/if-i-perish-1?

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-i-perish-paula-k-parker/1145654605?

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1570223

MY REVIEW

*****

This is a book for the ages. The author keeps the reader engaged through her imaginative filling in the blanks from the Biblical story. Like the author, I had many questions about Esther’s journey from an orphan to a queen. Through extensive history, the author brings the story to life. I recommend this book to all readers, even if you’re not a fan of historical fiction. You will identify with Esther’s struggles, as she begins to see God’s hand in all that she has endured. It is a profound story of faith that is challenged by surrounding conflict with a way of worship.