{"id":243,"date":"2009-02-18T12:44:20","date_gmt":"2009-02-18T12:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/redletters\/2009\/02\/novels-with-a-conscience.html"},"modified":"2009-02-18T12:44:20","modified_gmt":"2009-02-18T12:44:20","slug":"novels-with-a-conscience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/2009\/02\/novels-with-a-conscience.html","title":{"rendered":"Novels with a Conscience"},"content":{"rendered":"

A taste of Scared.<\/p>\n

My first novel, Scared – A Novel on the Edge of the World,<\/a> releases June 1st. It is available for pre-order right now on Amazon.<\/a> The branding for the series is fantastic! It's classified under a new category for this 3-part series called, "Novels with a Conscience." We're talking about a book tour called, "Nights of Conscience."\"ScaredCover\"<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

I wanted you to have a 'taste' of the book so I thought I would post the prologue on my blog. After the prologue, the first chapter takes a radical turn and I may post that for you as well. Let me know your thoughts!<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

Prologue - Adanna<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

    The last thing I remember before going to sleep last night was the pain in my gut and the question of what I would wear to church<\/span><\/p>\n

this morning. These worries are for nothing, because I have no food and only rags to wear. Today is Easter Sunday. Pastor Walter calls it<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cResurrection Sunday.\u201d A day of hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

    I think about what hope means for the people in my village. I try to imagine them rising up in glory, as Pastor says. But I only see twisted bodies, bones poking out of paper skin. They do not rise.<\/span><\/p>\n

They lie in mounds of yellow dirt. I think of my own body, wasting away because I haven\u2019t eaten for days.   <\/span><\/p>\n

    Sometimes I wonder if the gods don\u2019t like me. Maybe it\u2019s because I am dirty and stained, like old rags. I\u2019ve been told by Pastor and Momma, \u201cEaster means new life.\u201d But our lives never change.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stepping outside my home, a shimmering road unfolds in front of me. It is smooth, like a gift wrapped in gold.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Voices from ahead call out to me, and one foot hurries to catch the other. The sounds are beautiful, like a choir, their voices layered in perfect harmony.<\/span><\/p>\n

    I\u2019ve never felt a road so smooth. It\u2019s like walking on cool water.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The roads I know are brown and rocky.<\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/span>A magical energy flows through every part of me from my feet to my head, refreshing my tired body. How can something so unfamiliar feel like home?<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

    But this place is nothing like home. The horizon blazes beautiful, glowing colors\u2014violet, blue, and amber dance like giddy fairies. The land is on fire with color.<\/span><\/p>\n

    I turn and see rows of trees taller than any I have ever seen. I could swing from their branches. I would write poems about their splendor. The leaves are leaping for joy. The apples hanging from the trees look like red balloons. One could feed me for a week.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Here, people do not pick up moon rocks and die.
<\/span><\/p>\n

    My throat is parched, so I run to the banks of a river. The water is like crystal. It is so perfect I do not want to touch it, but I cannot help myself. I cup my hands and thrust them down to<\/span><\/p>\n

get a drink.<\/span><\/p>\n

    When I pull out my hands, they are no longer brittle and cracked. They appear soft, even glowing. My hands are new.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Thirst spreads from my mouth to every cell in my body.<\/span><\/p>\n

    I jump.<\/span><\/p>\n

    I glide through the water like the colorful fish around me, swimming free. Forgetting I am underwater, I suck in a breath. I expect to choke, but I do not. Taking another breath whisks me out of the water and onto the bank.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The jagged scar on my arm has disappeared. I feel new. Not hungry or sick. Even my scars on the inside seem to be gone. In the distance a marvelous light pulsates, lustrous, pure, and white. What shines so warm and soft?<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cAdanna.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/span>The voice sounds like a thousand mighty rivers, a thundering boom. But I am not afraid.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

    \u201cWho are you? And how do you know my name?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cAdanna. Come closer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

       I move toward an illuminated man. He is sitting in a golden chair. The music of many villages rises from where he sits. Love pours out, giving life to the grass, the trees, and I feel it growing roots in<\/span><\/p>\n

my heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cAre you the ruler of this world?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cI am. This world and many others. I\u2019ve waited a long time to be with you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cI do not know who you are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cI have known you, Adanna,\u201d he chuckles, \u201cfor a very long time. I have watched you grow. I have delighted in seeing you play, and I have rejoiced over how you have matured. My love has always<\/span><\/p>\n

surrounded you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    Maybe he is one of my ancestors.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cI\u2019m not one on your ancestors, but you are one of mine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

   How did he hear me?<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cI do not think I have ever met you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cOh, but you have. Come closer, Adanna. I want to show you something.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    Cautiously, I step forward. He is inviting me with his smile. He stretches out and opens his hand. On it there is writing.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cThat is my name, but how did it get there?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cI put it there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cBut why?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cBecause I have always loved you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cBut I am nothing special.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cAdanna, if you only knew the greatness inside you. You must trust me; I will draw out of you what the world needs to see. Here is your gift. Use it wisely. It will make the way clear for you, and it will<\/span><\/p>\n

save many of your people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    He extends a white scroll made of lamb\u2019s skin and hands it to me. I reach up and receive the scroll.           \u201cThank you, sir. I am most grateful. May I ask who you are?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cYou will know, soon.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cCan I stay here?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cNot now, but the time will come. Just remember this: No matter where you go, I will be there to help you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cWhat is your name?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cWhatever You Need. That is my name.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cI do not understand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    I take the parchment in my hands. I untie a silk ribbon and unroll it.<\/span><\/p>\n

    My eyes open, and the thatched roof of my hut shudders in the wind.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A taste of Scared. My first novel, Scared – A Novel on the Edge of the World, releases June 1st. It is available for pre-order right now on Amazon. The branding for the series is fantastic! It's classified under a new category for this 3-part series called, "Novels with a Conscience." We're talking about a book tour called,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-swaziland"],"yoast_head":"\nNovels with a Conscience - Red Letters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/2009\/02\/novels-with-a-conscience.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Novels with a Conscience - Red Letters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A taste of Scared. My first novel, Scared – A Novel on the Edge of the World, releases June 1st. 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