September 2011

Would I Change the Ending?
September 30, 2011 | 0 comments

Would I change the ending?

A number of readers want to know why I stripped Angel at the end of the story.  There is a simple answer to this and a more complex one.  The simple answer is I wanted Angel to be like Eve before she offered the fruit to Adam, naked and right with God.  When I accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, I entered into a relationship with God that was like the one in the Garden.  I entered into a personal relationship.  I could walk with Him and talk with Him and hear His quiet voice through Scripture.

The more complex answer is Angel was shedding all the things that had happened to her, the events that had encased her heart in stone.  She was casting off the past, the influence of others who had betrayed and used her, her helplessness, her anger, pain, stubbornness, her fear of giving any part of herself—especially the core of her being--to anyone.  She had to strip all that away layer by layer....

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Do I know any Michael Hoseas?
September 23, 2011 | 0 comments

My husband became a Michael Hosea.  In a sense, so did I.  Neither of us were Christians when we married, and we struggled.  We had very high highs and very low lows.  Think of a roller coaster ride and you get some idea.  We were on the edge of divorce when I found a church that showed me Jesus.  Soon after, Rick met Him, too.  Rick and I were baptized on the same day.  Things began to change from that time forward.  We’ve been married 41 years and each year is a blessing.  We can look back and see how God has changed us from the inside out and grown us up.  We both have our quirks, of course.  Rick said he never imagined he would be married to an older woman who wears glasses and snores.  And I never thought he’d still be wearing Levis and OP-style shorts. We spend a lot of time laughing together.

Rick is an early riser.  He awakens me with kisses and coffee.  We have both read and re-read the One...

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Redeeming Love's Most Difficult Section
September 16, 2011 | 0 comments

When I first started writing Redeeming Love, I thought about beginning the book when Angel was already a prostitute living in a brothel in Pair-a-Dice.  I realized quickly that readers would not empathize with Angel unless they knew her back story and how she came to be so blind and stubbornly resistant to the love being offered.

The first rendition of the Child of Darkness section evoked no real feeling, no horror or sympathy.  Why?  Because I didn’t want to feel what she felt.  I didn’t want to go where she had been taken against her will.  Still, I sent this soft version of Angel’s back story to a writer-friend I admire.  She asked me if my church was getting in the way of my writing in my usual style.  It was a startling question and the answer was a definite no.  I’d received nothing but encouragement from my new Christian friends.  She told me bluntly that I was holding back and telling the story rather than showing...

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Reader Response to Redeeming Love
September 9, 2011 | 0 comments

When I’m asked what responses I’ve received from readers, I am always cautious in answering.  For one thing, many of the letters I’ve received are extremely personal and come from wells of pain and suffering. 

I’ve had letters from men and women who have experienced all manner of abuse.  Some events happened during childhood, others continue to experience suffering in their marriages and relationships.  Some readers identify with Michael, suffering over the infidelity of a beloved spouse.  Others identify with Angel and her horrifying childhood. 

I’ve received letters from prostitutes, incest survivors, rape victims, battered wives, faithful, loving husbands married to an Angel, men and women in prison where they’re facing their past and crying out to God for answers.  I’ve also received letters from counselors and facilities that offer help or a place of safety and healing. 

In every case, I know that God has made...

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