Hi There
Welcome back to my old readers and greetings to all of you who are new to my work. Things have changed a bit for me in the last few years, both career-wise and personally, and I am so very happy to have found a home with Christian publisher Thomas Nelson, who have asked me to write biblical romances for them. This new website has been designed to let all of you know exactly what I am doing and what kind of books you can expect to see from me in the future.
Within one of the Old Testament’s most famous battles lies one of its most tender love stories.
Hidden within the battle of Jericho is the story of Rahab, a beautiful and brave young Canaanite woman who aided the Israelites by hanging a piece of scarlet cord from a window. This act of faith changed her life by placing her in the genealogy of Christ.
Rahab is the beautiful youngest daughter of a Canaanite farmer, taken to Jericho for the pagan New Year celebration so that her father can find her a wealthy spouse. Sala is the only son of an Israelite merchant, in Jericho as a spy for Joshua’s army. Their love would have been destined for heartache, were it not ordained by God.
When Rahab finds favor with the king, and is to become his ritual bride, she abandons the pagan gods who have abandoned her and pleads with the One True God of Israelites for deliverance. With her prayer answered, she vows to deliver Jericho to Joshua, risking her life to do so.
Motivated by love and empowered by a new faith, Rahab saves her family and secures her future as one of the most important women in the Bible.
THIS SCARLET CORD will be out in June from Thomas Nelson in both trade paper and e-book form.
The first book is A RELUCTANT QUEEN, The Love Story of Queen Esther which is based on the Old Testament story. If you remember, Esther was the Jewish girl who married the Great King of Persia and saved her people from what today we would call a holocaust. My book is about Esther and Ahasuerus, the king she marries, who surprise themselves by falling deeply in love with each other. It is, however, not a love that can run an easy course. Esther is wracked by guilt that she has lied to her husband about who she is (he does not know she is a Jew), and the evil Haman is plotting the scheme that will force Esther to reveal herself in order to save her people. It’s a great love story and I enjoyed writing it enormously.
Meanwhile, please browse around my website and if you have any questions or thoughts, do let me know.
Joan
