STAR SONG - Katheryn Maddox Haddad - One Free Book

Welcome back, Katheryn. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

Television. I am in touch with a couple of different people about turning this book (actually all eight in the series) into a TV series. It can start at Christmas time and end at Easter time.

That’s wonderful. Tell us a little about your family.

My twin brother is easy to tell apart from me because he is the one with the beard. I also have two older sisters. We are all unique.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

I read the end of the book first. When I went to college back in the 1950s, there was no such thing as a degree in journalism, so I had to learn by reading the famous writers. Another thing I began doing was read the first chapter of a book to get myself oriented, then read the last chapter so I knew how it ended, then reading the rest of the chapter to see how the author got me from point A to point C. I love it!

What are you working on right now?

Martyrdom. I began a series called Intrepid Men of God a year ago and it has become so popular, I am spurred on to write a seventh book. It will be Stephen: The Martyr.

What outside interests do you have?

Converting Muslims. I spend half a day each day teaching English over the internet using the Bible as a text book. I have taught some 6,000 so far, mostly in the Middle East, and have written a book entitled Christianity or Islam: The Contrast which could be given to a Muslim without offending them. The first half quotes from the Quran and the Bible on the same subjects without comment. The middle clarifies misinformation Muslims are taught that Christians believe, and the last part is quotes from 100 of my Muslim students who have decided Jesus really was the Son of God and not just a prophet. It ends with “A Letter to our Muslim Friends.”

How do you choose your settings for each book?

Since I write history, much of it is chosen for me. But I do also research other things going on in their world at the time and insert my characters in some of those events. They certainly did not live in a vacuum.

If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

I think Joseph, the father who raised Jesus during such violent times, kept him protected so long, and guided him as he developed his inner understanding of who he was. (Joseph was still alive at Jesus’s Nazareth rejection where they called out, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”)

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

Not to write such long chapters. My first eight novels had chapters averaging twenty pages. I now limit my chapters to ten pages.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

I am 76 years old. Star Song and the other lyrical novels in this 8-book series, They Met Jesus, took me 53 years to write and get published. Most of the time it was in a closet gathering dust. Then one day it became published. And right now, I am in contact with someone in Hollywood about turning the series into a TV series. It is never too late.

What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

a.         Go back and read your favorite book by the most famous author and analyze it.

b.         Be good at grammar and take a short course on Marketing (Terri Main is excellent and does not charge a lot).

c.         Write, write, write. You learn by doing.

Tell us about the featured book.

Come meet the people who met Jesus. You are one of them. Probably you are several of them. Go ahead and struggle with Him as they did. Laugh. Cry. Do mental battle with Him. Emotional battle too. Fight for your faith as they fought. Pause to listen for what you’ve never heard before. Then touch Jesus.

This is the story of faith in the impossible. Hope in the inconceivable. Love for the invincible. It is the dreams of youth, the desperations of infirmity, the hopes of age, and the song of eternity.

Follow the suspense as each person in Jesus’s life comes to terms with who they are, and who Jesus is. Jesus accepts them as they are. But can they accept themselves as they are? More than that, can they accept Jesus as He is?

It is the story of doubts explained away, animosities melted away, misunderstandings cleared away. It is your story and mine. For deep within each of us is everyone who ever met and struggled with Jesus.

BOOK 1, STAR SONG: Mary was too young, Elizabeth too old, Joseph too gullible, the shepherds too smelly, Anna too senile, Simeon too idealistic, Salome too flippant. The wise men should have minded their own business, Zechariah should have accepted he’d never have children, King Herod dared control God, the oriental scholars dared interpret God.

This lyrical novel is available in normal print, large print, and child’s version. At the end of each chapter are life-application questions and primary historical sources.

This unique lyrical novel is in present tense and gives readers a chance to insert themselves into the story and urge the character on. So, when you read those parts, just remember it is you. The book is dedicated “To Everyone Who Has Ever Doubted.”

Please give us the first page of the book.

1—MARY and HEROD

Dayspring Dawning

BC 23

Nazareth, Province of Galilee, Palestine

It is night. It has been night for a long time. Forty years night. Self-rule taken from the country. This time for good. Bitter, bitter night.

Mary has just been born. There is not much gladness. They name her Bitterness. That’s what Mary means.

Since Mary’s mother was a toddler, the country has been ruled by a madman. He killed half of the citizens of Jerusalem in order to take over—many of them right there in the holy temple itself.

 And just two years earlier when Mary’s parents were married, things got worse. One of King Herod’s spies uncovered a plot to assassinate him. He had the would-be perpetrators tortured and executed. The people in turn tortured and executed the spy. Herod in turn tortured some women until they confessed who had killed the spy. Will it never end?

How will such innocence, as that which baby Mary has, ever survive in a world like this?

Baby Mary begins to fuss and cry in her little bed. Her little heart-shaped face contorts, wrinkles form around her eyes, and her little mouth puckers in readiness for an out-and-out wail.

Her mother, hair falling down around her eyes, leans over and picks up her baby. She sits on the well-worn cushions nearby and rocks, hums and dreams of better days for her little one.

Silent night? Holy night?

Sarah only wishes it were. Her eyes grow misty and she looks up as though searching through a blackness.

“God, why aren’t you saving us from all this?” she whispers. God knows and understands. But does he care?

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website: http://inspirationsbykatheryn.com

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1xKBK4B

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/haddad1940/

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

Linkedin: http://bit.ly/28WsEgZ  

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1FR6uaU  

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/28JKX8a  

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/28NjHXGI

Thank you, Katheryn, for sharing this book with us. I am eagerly awaiting my copy of all three of these books, so I can read them. I know my readers will be eager, too.

Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com 

MICHEL: THE FOURTH WISEMAN - Katheryn Maddox Haddad - One Free Book

Welcome back, Katheryn. Why do you write the kind of books you do?

History is the story of everyday people who made it through their life—all the bumps and bruises, all the valleys and mountains, all the glories and sunshine and flowers—made a difference in each others’ lives. I love showing just what the everyday person can accomplish.

Besides when you came to know the Lord, what is the happiest day in your life?

The day I converted my first Muslim to Christ.

How has being published changed your life?

I had been writing for sixty years and putting my books away in a closet to collect dust.  My first book was published three years ago and I have written about thirty since then. It happened months after my husband died. I had so often wondered how widows adjust. I couldn’t imagine that kind of life. It seemed so lonely and purposeless. It has not turned out that way. Every morning I get up and write. And people tell me how much they get out of the books. One lady called me long distance wanting seven copies of my latest book to give her family.

What are you reading right now?

I just finished, The Story Equation by Susan May Warren. I love to get deep inside the heads and lives of my characters, and she opened up yet another way to do that.

What is your current work in progress?

Martyrdom. I just began my research on Stephen: The Martyr. It will be novel 7 of my series “Intrepid Men of God.”  Since beginning that series just a year ago, most of the books have remained in the top ten in their category on Amazon. My novels are all 400-550 pages.

What would be your dream vacation?

Go to Iraq, Iran, and Turkey to see ancient cities. Maybe Egypt, too.  Not interested in seeing Jerusalem because it has been buried under the rubble of so many wars, the streets Jesus walked on are ten feet under the surface.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

I do a lot of research on what was going on in the world of the Persians or Arabs or Hittites or whoever my main character is and where he will be traveling to. I also research specific events. For example, when I wrote Lazarus: The Samaritan who owned a copper mine that collapsed, I read Fifty-Eight about the men in Peru who were buried in a copper mine for fifty-eight days and what it was like for them. When I wrote Paul: The Unstoppable who had been in several ship wrecks, I read The Perfect Storm. 

If you could spend an evening with one person who is currently alive, who would it be and why?

I would spend it with one of my Muslim converts in hiding in Afghanistan.  He has had to take him family and run for his life more than once. Such a courageous man. So courageous. So strong.

What are your hobbies, besides writing and reading?

I spend half a day every day teaching English over the internet using the Bible as a text book.  I have taught some 6,000 Muslims, mostly in the Middle East, and have become converts in hiding in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Somalia, Palestine, and Uzbekistan. They are my heroes!

What is your most difficult writing obstacle, and how do you overcome it?

I don’t think I have any. When I sit down to write, it flows out and my fingers cannot keep up with my thoughts.

What advice would you give to a beginning author?

Write, write, write. Make sure your grammar is good and read a couple books on writing, then stop reading the how-to’s and start writing. You learn best by doing.

Tell us about the featured book.

Michel, much like his Jewish ancestor, Daniel, is an advisor to King Phraattes of the Parthian Empire. He decides to buy the Garden of Eden where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers meet. It is now completely under water and the home of marsh people. He becomes the laughing stock of his friends.

He sacrifices everything to get it—his warrior father, his wife, and his estate. His dream is to replant the Garden of Eden and draw pagans on pilgrimage to it so they will learn about the one true God. Then perhaps God will walk the earth with them in the Garden as he had with Adam and Eve.

He is interrupted by a star that appears for awhile, then disappears. The other magi believe it is a sign a god was born. King Phraattes demands to know the meaning of the star, fearing it is an omen his kingdom will be taken from him.

Michel and his friends travel the world delving into the holy writings of world religions, trying to find the meaning of the star. How Michel hates this interruption.

After a year of searching, they end up in Bethlehem where Michel realizes God has already come and is walking on earth through the boy, Jesus. He goes into a tail spin. He has lost everything to buy Eden. What can he do now?

Please give us the first page of the book.

1 ~ The Announcement

“You can’t just buy the Garden of Eden!”

“Why not?” Michel replies, looking out from the summer palace in Ctesiphon at the Tigris River.

Michel is seated on a marble bench and leaning back on the west balcony wall with his hands behind his head.

“Yes,” Mongol Yasib says, pulling on his wispy gray beard. “Tell us, Dushatra, just why he can’t buy the Garden of Eden.”

“It’s not logical,” Dushatra replies, double checking his own beard to make sure none of the curls have come out in the evening breeze.

“Ha, ha,” Indus Kumar interjects. “Since you, Dushatra, and I still have not found perfection so we can stop being reincarnated, perhaps re-establishing the Garden of Eden with all its perfection will help us on our way.”

“Kumar, don’t go trying to mix my religion with your strange Hinduism,” Dushatra says, standing and pointing his finger at Kumar. “Besides, we know nothing about this garden Michel’s Jews believe in.”

The three friends pause and look back at Michel who has said almost nothing since his announcement.

“You three don’t even believe in the Garden of Eden,” he finally says, still grinning, “so why should you care?”

“To be honest,” old Yasib says, often the spokesman of the old friends, “we hate to see you waste your money.”

“Yes, just how much is this, this garden going to cost?” Dushatra inquires, sitting back down.

“I don’t know yet. But I’ve got people down there trying to find the present owners.”

“Where did you say it is?” Kumar asks, double checking his finely coifed beard that even the king would be proud of.

“Well, it doesn’t really exist any more,” Michel says, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “But it was where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers meet.”

“Ha, ha! He wants to buy a garden that isn’t there,” Yasib announces.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website: http://inspirationsbykatheryn.com

Newsletter:  http://bit.ly/1xKBK4B

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/haddad1940/

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

Linkedin: http://bit.ly/28WsEgZ    

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1FR6uaU   

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/28JKX8a  

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/28NjHXGI  

Thank you, Katheryn, for sharing this book with us.

Readers, leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:

Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

JOSEPH: THE OTHER FATHER - Katheryn Maddox Haddad - One Free Book

Welcome back, Katheryn. Tell us how much of yourself you write into your characters.

In emotional scenes where the character goes through something that challenges his whole being, I put a lot of me in it. I go into slow motion and write each movement of the head, the eyes, the hands the way I think I would react. I also climb inside the character’s head and stir around in their confusion or stubbornness or whatever their mind is trying to comprehend.

What is the quirkiest thing you have ever done?

Invented a man. The first time I drove 3,000 miles by myself, I stuffed my husband’s long-sleeved shirt with newspapers and propped him up in the passenger’s seat. I used a shower dolly stuck in “his” neck to put a ball cap on. He worked pretty good, but he was so big, he was in the way of my passenger-side window and I finally had to do away with my man.

When did you first discover that you were a writer?

Age 10 in 1950. My mother happened to buy a little book of poems at the grocery store (unusual in those days) and I loved it. So I began writing my own poems. That or the following year I showed my teacher my poem about Abraham Lincoln and she asked to borrow it. The following week she handed the newspaper to me and told me to look on page so-and-so. There was my poem. I was published!

Tell us the range of the kinds of books you enjoy reading.

History and mystery. I do not like science-ficition. I cannot pronounce their names and I can never figure out if they are running through a real meadow or someone’s brain.

How do you keep your sanity in our run, run, run world?

That is behind me. I am widowed and get up every morning around 6:00. I send out my morning inspirational thought to some 30,000 people around the world, then settle down to writing. It now takes me about two weeks of researching all day every day, then three weeks to write a 400-page novel. The last part of the day, I teach English over the internet using the Bible as a text book. I have taught some 6,000 Muslims and have converts in hiding in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, Somalia, Palestine, and Uzbekistan. I go to bed around 11:00 and start over again the next morning. Most days are the same except Sundays.

That is awesome, Katheryn. How do you choose your characters’ names?

I write historical novels, so the main characters’ names are already chosen for me. Since I write a lot of the periods 1000 BC to 100 AD, I use online dictionaries of names in various ancient kingdoms.

What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?

Converting Muslims to Christ.

If you were an animal, which one would you be, and why?

I would be a new-born animal of any kind. These little guys poke their noses into more things out of insatiable curiosity. They seem to fear nothing because they do not yet have the sense to fear.

What is your favorite food?

Applesauce or yogurt.

What is the problem with writing that was your greatest roadblock, and how did you overcome it?

Oh, my. I never had a roadblock to writing. What I need to write next is always there in my head. My fingers cannot keep up.

Tell us about the featured book.

Imagine being told by God to guard His Son in a violent world until he is grown.

How does Joseph choose a city in strange Egypt to hide 2-year-old Jesus from Herod’s spies? Does he dare take 4-year-old Jesus to the temple where Herod’s son slaughters thousands?

How can Joseph protect Jesus with all the skirmishes and killing on roads everywhere by those vying to take over as king?

In what ways does Joseph handle the persecution in Nazareth by people who could count and knew Mary was pregnant before marrying Joseph?

What does Joseph do with Jesus in Nazareth, just three miles from Sepphoris, hotbed of zealot protesters, when Rome burns the city and crucifies 2000?

How Joseph teach Jesus to be a skilled carpenter in sometimes dangerous situations, and avoid being mauled in the mountains when they cut trees for lumber?

How many times, when Jesus was in danger did Joseph cry out, “God, help me protect our Son!”?

(NOTE: A year before Jesus’ death when he was rejected in Nazareth, they said, “Isn’t this the son of the carpenter?” In present tense.)

Please give us a peek inside your book.

Joseph reaches over and picks up four-year-old Jesus so Mary can crawl inside the tent and sleep before resuming their trip out of Egypt. 

He looks down at the innocent boy and cradles him in his big arms as he walks over to a nearby boulder. He sits and watches the boy in his slumber, taking smooth, even breaths.

“Oh, my son, my son,” Joseph says softly. “What is ahead for you where we are going? Will others rise up and try to kill you?”

He sways back and forth and looks up at the stars.

“What awaits you there, little boy? What challenges? How long will you be able to stay happy and carefree? How long will you be able to laugh easily and chase the squirrels and wiggle your little toes?”

He stares at an especially bright star and sways still.

“I feel so inadequate, Father. I do not think I will ever understand why you chose me. Help me. Never leave me. You promised you never would. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed.”

Silence as he watches Jesus’ little chest rise and fall, and his breathing come easy and soft and gentle.

“It is going to be dangerous for him again, I fear. Oh, I know you said King Herod is dead. But now the fight for power begins as people rise up to take his place. Will little Jesus be in on that fight? Don’t let him be, Father. He is still too young. Oh, I realize you know that. But, I have to talk to someone and explain what I am feeling.”

He looks off into the darkness.

“How will he do it? How will he rise up to be the beloved divine king of the world? I do not understand. But I do not guess I need to understand.” Joseph pauses momentarily, looking down at Jesus’ lovely little face.

“Does he know yet? That he is your words on earth? Sometimes I think he senses it, the way he is with animals—even the little ants and crickets and butterflies. He really loves them. Sometimes I think he feels he needs to protect them.”

Joseph rocks little Jesus awhile, then stands and walks in a large circle. He hums. Sometimes he draws the little boy close to his chest as though trying to protect him from the whole evil world, then goes back to rocking him.

“Sleep on, my little boy. Sleep and dream and grow up to be as good and innocent as you are now.”

Joseph sits back down and leans against the same boulder. He leans his head back and hums a song of strong tenderness. Then it is dawn.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

Website: http://inspirationsbykatheryn.com

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1xKBK4B

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/haddad1940/

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

Linkedin: http://bit.ly/28WsEgZ

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1FR6uaU  

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/28JKX8a  

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/28NjHXGI

Thank you, Katheryn, for sharing this book with us. I have always been interested in Joseph.

Readers, here are links to the book. By using one when you order, you help support this blog.
Joseph: The Other Father (Intrepid Men of God) (Volume 5) - Paperback
Joseph: The Other Father (Intrepid Men of God Book 5) - Kindle

Leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the book. You must follow these instructions to be in the drawing. Please tell us where you live, at least the state or territory or country if outside North America. (Comments containing links may be subject to removal by blog owner.)

Void where prohibited; the odds of winning depend on the number of entrants. Entering the giveaway is considered a confirmation of eligibility on behalf of the enterer in accord with these rules and any pertaining local/federal/international laws.

The only notification you’ll receive is the winner post on this blog. So be sure to check back a week from Saturday to see if you won. You will have 4 weeks from the posting of the winners to claim your book.

If you’re reading this on Goodreads, Google+, Feedblitz, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Amazon, please come to the blog to leave your comment if you want to be included in the drawing. Here’s a link:
Http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com