I’m still revising my manuscript to meet my March 15 deadline. I’m also reading as time permits. Currently, I’m ready a TOTALLY GREAT BOOK by Linda Goodnight! I’ll be sure to blog about it once I’ve finished reading it!
Everybody in my household is now healthy, so that’s a blessing!
A Demon-Possessed Man Healed
Luke 8:26-39 NEW KING JAMES VERSION
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed. 37 Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
This is a powerful scripture. Everytime I read this, it stays in my mind for a long time. It kind of reminds me of a Peretti novel. I could imagine Frank Peretti or Ted Dekker doing a biblical fiction piece on this demon possessed man.
Plus, the fact that Jesus made those evil spirits to come out of the demon-possessed man, and then allowed them to go into the swine, thus causing the swine to drown in the water, just proves what God can do.
I can’t imagine being possessed by a legion of demons, so much so that one can’t even live among society, but up in the tombs, separated from others….
Just makes me stop and think, and be a little afraid, but to come to appreciate God’s power…
“I’m an avid fan of Christian fiction, both as a writer and a reader. I am pleased that it has grown to include titles that are topping the most prestigious best seller lists in America. As a Christian and lover of fiction, I believe it’s time this genre came into its own, and have a strong desire to contribute to it.”
~SHARON SOUZA
About Sharon:
Sharon and her husband Rick have been married 36 years. They live in northern California, and have three children and 6 grandchildren. Rick travels the world building churches, Bible schools and orphanages. Sharon travels with him on occasion, but while Rick lives the adventure, Sharon is more than happy to create her own through fiction.
AN INTERVIEW WITH SHARON K. SOUZA
Author of Every Good and Perfect Gift
1 . Your debut novel Every Good & Perfect Gift recently released from Nav Press. Can you tell us a little about the book?
DeeDee and Gabby have been friends since the sixth grade, when headstrong and courageous DeeDee began mapping out their lives. But after twenty years with her husband DeeDee changes her plan. Nearing forty years old, she wants a baby – now! Two years of infertility, prayers, and outrageous behavior finally results in the birth of DeeDee’s demand.
Gabby is present for all of it, noting the increasingly strange behavior of her lifelong friend after the baby’s birth. Then comes a diagnosis that threatens to shatter their world. Gabby must find the strength and faith to carry DeeDee and herself through the dark unknown, but is she up for it?
2. What inspired you to write Every Good & Perfect Gift?
I wanted to write a book about a “Jonathan and David” type friendship between two women, knowing that I was ultimately going to tell the story of a young woman who is diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s. I have a close friend who, at the age of 42, began to exhibit many of the symptoms portrayed in the book. Since completing the book I’ve learned that another close friend has been diagnosed with EOA. What are the odds?
In determining what course the friendship between Gabby and DeeDee would take, I asked myself: What is the greatest way one woman can express friendship to another? The answer: By helping her have a child if she’s unable to, which one character is willing to do if it comes to that.
3. You’ve incorporated two major issues in Every Good & Perfect Gift: infertility and Early Onset Alzheimer’s. Why not focus on one or the other? Why both?
The theme of Gift is extraordinary friendship. The foundation for the friendship is established between the characters in their childhood, tested through the issue of infertility, and exemplified through catastrophic illness. Infertility was the catalyst to get to that level of friendship expressed because of the illness. One character’s growth was accomplished because of infertility, while the other character’s growth came as a result of the Alzheimer’s.
4. Why did you use humor to tell a story with such serious issues?
It’s exactly because the issues are so serious that I chose humor to tell the story. Our life experiences are heavy enough without adding to them as we read for pleasure. That’s not to say there aren’t serious moments in the book, but hopefully the reader is buoyed by the lighter sections, rather than overloaded with the weightier ones.
5. What are your feelings about egg donation and other modern solutions that help women overcome infertility?
There are some things I might not personally opt for, but infertility was never an issue with me. If it had been I might have been willing to try anything. As it stands, I’m not opposed to in vitro fertilization or sperm donation, things of that nature. I don’t find anything in Scripture that would cause me to be against it.
6. What are your feelings about a couple’s decision to intentionally not have children?
Again, that wasn’t my experience. I had three babies in quick succession and would not have done anything differently. But not every adult is cut out to be a parent. If an individual or couple realizes that they aren’t equipped for parenthood, or if they feel their lives are full as they are, I don’t’ believe it’s a sin not to have children. In fact, I think it’s wise. That’s not to say a person’s feelings may not change in time, like it did for DeeDee. Then it’s up to the couple to make the choice that’s right for them.
7. What do you want your readers to take away from this book?
I spent several years in my early adulthood without a close friend. When the first one came into my life, I realized what I had missed and truly saw her as a gift from the Lord. But beyond that, I’ve experienced the truth of Proverbs 18:24: “. . . there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” In her darkest moments, Gabby learned that the Lord reaches out to us in compassion, spanning the gap between our need and His provision. That’s been the case in my life over and over.
8. Do you base any of your characters on real people?
The concept of the story was based on a real situation in regards to the Early Onset Alzheimer’s. But the characters are not based on real people. I do typically use people I know/have known and then take their personality traits/quirks to extremes–almost like a caricature–in order to make the character as interesting as possible. Almost always my daughters will recognize something of themselves in my make-believe world. It makes for fun conversation.
9. If the characters are primarily fictional, what about the setting? Is that someplace known to you?
I actually wrote the entire story in a fictional setting, without ever naming it. I just placed the town in the San Joaquin valley. My editor suggested I nail down the location, even a fictitious one. As we talked back and forth, I decided to use my real “home town” of Lodi. I grew up in the Sacramento area, but have lived in or around Lodi since my husband and I got married. There’s some debate about whether or not “our” Lodi is the subject of the 1969 Credence Clearwater Revival song, “Stuck in Lodi.” Right or wrong, I choose to think it is. But not for a minute do I feel stuck. I love Lodi.
10. What is your purpose in writing inspirational fiction?
I’ve had well-meaning friends ask why I write fiction at all. If I want to share the Gospel, why not write “the truth.” Two answers come to mind. First, that “burning fire shut up in my bones” (Jer. 20:9) finds its release in fiction. Second, when Jesus wanted to get a heavenly truth across, He didn’t deliver a three-point sermon. He told stories. My desire in writing inspirational fiction is that women who read my books will find them easy to share with other women who haven’t yet come into relationship with Jesus, and that those women will be directed to the One who loves them with an everlasting love.
Thanks for being on my blog today, Sharon! I’ve enjoyed this interview!
The Healing Place by Leigh Bale
Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Steeple Hill (December 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373874626
ISBN-13: 978-0373874620
From Amazon.com:
Book Description
A Father Desperate To Save His Daughter
Dr. Emma Shields had to help him. Mark Williams had come to the gifted physician to heal his sick little girl. But Emma had suffered her own loss….
Driven by the death of her son, Emma was determined to make Mark’s daughter well. The devoted single father had come to her in his time of need and she couldn’t let him down. Nor could she forget what they’d once shared…. Now they faced new challenges. Together could they create a new place of faith, hope and love?
This book dealt with a very emotional subject: cancer in children. Dr. Emma Shields is still grieving over the death of her young son, Brian, and she lives a cold, somewhat emotionless life. Her employees call her the “ogre” since she is a stern and unfair boss. She bans her practice to pediatric cancer patients because she doesn’t want to relive the horror of losing a young child again.
Mark Williams was Emma’s old boyfriend in high school. Mark dumped Emma for the popular and beautiful cheerleader, Denise, and he married Denise and they had Angie. Mark used to be a conceited high school jock who just wanted to get ahead financially and socially, which is why he married Denise: because of her business connections. However, after Mark has Angie, he changes, and after he gets saved, he changes even more and discovers how empty and meaningless his ambitions were before he accepted Christ.
Emma has forsaken Christ since Brian’s death. Her ex-husband blames her for Brian’s death, and Emma accepts the blame, wondering if she could have used other treatment methods to save her son from the deadly cancer. Her son’s death finally ends her failing marriage and Emma is left alone to deal with her grief.
Mark now breezes back into Emma’s life because he needs her help. His daughter is dying of an inoperable brain tumor, and Emma is recommended as the best doctor to save Mark’s child. Emma is torn. She is drawn to the child, but has decided not to care for children since the death of her son. She finally decides to provide treatment to the child, and as she grows closer to Mark and Angie, she manages to find the faith she’s forsaken.
I thought this book was a good emotional read. However, you might need a box of tissues as you enjoy this story!
I am pleased to host Delia Latham on my blog today!
Who is Delia Latham?
I’m a Christian wife, married to a Pentecostal minister. My husband is the assistant pastor at our church, and I’m involved in the music ministry. I play piano and sing. I have four grown children and four beautiful, absolutely perfect granchildren – no, really, they are! We all live in Bakersfield, California. I was born here and have resided in or around this desert town my entire life.
What books are on your nightstand right now?
Too many. I write reviews, so there’s always plenty of reading material in my room. Right now, I’m looking at Rainbow’s End by Irene Hannon, Veil of Fire by Marlo Schalesky, Abandoned Identity by Tamara Tilley – that’s just a few of the unread books. I just finished Loving Liza Jane by Sharlene MacLaren and – a little detour from the usual – The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz.
Your novel, Goldeneyes, is scheduled for release March 30. What is it about?
It’s a historical romance about a depression-era man who does something horrible to satisy his alcohol addiction, and the ripple effect his action causes in the lives of two families over twenty years later.
What inspired you to write Goldeneyes?
I grew up in Weedpatch, the little farming community where Part One of Goldeneyes is set. I’ve always wanted to write something using that location as a backdrop. This story has been brewing in my mind for several years, but it was hard for me to get past the reality of Weedpatch in my own life and get on with turning it into a fictional tale. I prayed a lot! Once God gave me the go-ahead, He also gave me the inspiration, and I’m very pleased with the completed product.
Where do you get your ideas?
Ahhh … the question every writer gets asked most often – and for me, quite possibly the hardest, because I’m not always sure. Sometimes I get ideas from little snippets of history; a few of my stories are major exaggerations of tiny occurrences in my own life or the lives of people I know; and sometimes I sit down to write with absolutely no idea what I’m going to write about. Oddly enough, those are the times I usually wind up being happiest with the results, maybe because I’m most open for God to take my writing wherever He wants to.
So you don’t always plot or outline your book before you write?
How’d you guess? No, I write like I do most other things in my life – totally off the cuff. I’m what the writing community refers to as a SOTP: Seat-of-the-pants writer.
Which authors have most influenced your own writing?
Too many to possibly mention here! As a child, I devoured just about every book I could get my hands on: Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, the Bobbsey Twins – even the Hardy Boys; I wasn’t gender specific as to reading material. As I got older, I graduated to romance and found Grace Livingston Hill, Barbara Cartland, Emilie Loring, and oh, yes – I discovered Harlequin Romance (oh, my!). Now some of my favorite writers are Joy Fielding, Lori Wick, Lori Copeland … the list goes on for miles. My favorite book of all time is Swan Song, by Robert McCammon – rather surprising for an inspirational author, I know, but it’s a beautifully written epic account of good vs. evil. Unforgettable!
What other projects are you currently working on?
My current work-in-progress is surprising me by actually creating a connection between my debut novel and Goldeneyes, which I wasn’t expecting at all. I’ve also just completed something completely new – at least for me. While it’s still Christian romance, it will fit more easily into the Chick Lit genre, bringing in a touch more humor and lightheartedness than is in my other works.
Visit me at my website: www.delialatham.com
My blog: www.themelodywithin.blogspot.com
Goldeneyes Back Cover Text:
A man’s eyes are the windows to his soul … if he has one.
Deep in the darkness of a Depression-era night, a man addicted to alcohol sells something precious to obtain it. His vile action impacts the lives of two entire families, and it will be over two decades before the horrible wrong begins to be made right again.
Two young women – strangers to each other – unknowingly enmeshed in a Pandora’s Box of secrets that could prevent them from finding happiness with the men they love. Two adoring mothers who know more than they are willing to say. A newsman with a story he cannot tell. What is their connection, and who is the golden-eyed stranger who moves in the shadows of their broken lives?
I was happy to have you on my blog today, Delia! Your books sounds great!