In the height of a hot, bright summer, Anna’s past is coming for her with a familiar stride that puts her heart in her throat…
Q. What were your goals writing Trapped!?
My goals in writing Trapped! are really the goals for the entire series, Hidden Faces: Portraits of Nameless Women in the Gospels. I have felt through the years that many women feel of no worth in the Kingdom because they have sinned greatly or the circumstances of life beat them down or illness defeated them. Each of the women in the series—the adulterous woman, the woman at the well, the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet and the woman with the issue of blood—all dealt with serious circumstances of life. They felt ashamed or unworthy or guilty. But an encounter with Jesus reversed their lives which resulted in some our most loved and seminal accounts in the Gospels. The goal is one of encouragement for women who feel “nameless” in the Kingdom that Jesus sees them and knows them and an encounter with Him can put them on the path to their destinies.
Q. What can you tell us about the protagonist in your novel?
I think I would have liked Anna. She was a vivacious girl who loved life and spoke her own mind in an era and culture where it was not acceptable for women to do so. Like many young girls today, she thought she knew what was best for her life and threw off the shackles of tradition and parental guidance to go her own way. She was a young woman who truly did not mean to become involved in adultery. She was not a prostitute or a hardened woman. She was a betrothed virgin who became “trapped” by her heart and emotions and found herself in a situation she never intended to be in because of her poor choices.
Q. What do you want the reader to take away after reading Trapped!?
As a retired pastor who has counseled so many women in this situation, I believe most never intended for the involvement to go as far as adultery. They are not victims, but because they chose to go against what they knew was right and made unrighteous decisions, they too become trapped. I want the reader to realize there is always forgiveness available in Jesus when one turns to him in true repentance. The theme of this little novella is forgiveness.
Q. What first made you take the leap from “reader” to “author”?
This particular book had been on my heart for over 30 years. (But of course I’m much too young for that …) I have always loved the written word as I grew up in a family of newspaper editors, owners and authors. However, I never sought to become a published author until I started speaking professionally. I was told then that I needed to be published. So I thought I would like to try.
Q. Many authors have all kinds of ideas for stories jockeying for their attention—how do you choose which story to write?
The one that won’t let me sleep at night.