ABOUT "THE BOY WHO CLOSED THE SKY"
James 5:17 “Elijah was a normal person like the rest of us.”
What inspired me to write The Boy Who Closed the Sky?
In 2016, I became fascinated with Obadiah, Ahab, Elijah, and Elisha.
After reading Kings and Chronicles three times that June, I remembered James 5:17 “Elijah was a normal person like the rest of us.”
How would that work? To show myself, I opened my laptop and wrote.
How did the Lord encourage me?
I posted chapters on a blog. Comments from friends and family encouraged me to keep going.
My wife paused whenever she heard, “I need you to listen to this paragraph.”
My archaeologist cousin researched everything from iron age headscarves and cooking utensils to chariots and hoof boots.
American Christian Fiction Writers coached:
-“Delete that comma?”
-“Could a boy this young use that kind of phrasing?”
-“Dave, pineapples were unknown in the Middle East during the iron age.”
What did I learn about the Lord during my writing journey?
I learned critiques from the Lord’s friends are gold.
On Mt. Horeb, the Lord told Elijah that Elisha would replace him. Yet after he threw his cloak over Elisha, the Bible says Elisha followed him and became his servant.
So which part of the Bible was right? Replace or Serve?
Sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, I opted for Replace and left Elisha out of the story until the final chapters.
A writer of fun, logic-defying romances, asked, “Why isn’t Elisha following Elijah?”
When I told her, she replied something like, “If you leave him out, readers could think you didn’t do your research.”
I grit my teeth. Research? Hey! Elisha can’t both replace and follow. So I helped him make up his mind.
But her comment wouldn’t go away. A couple of weeks later, I fiddled with those chapters and let Elijah keep his “replace” idea while Elisha followed and tried to serve him. The resulting conflict gives those chapters a ton of fun which I would have missed if not for a critic of gold.
By Author David Parks
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