This is one I've been meaning to write since 2008, but the time was never right. Readers have repeatedly asked me when I am going to tell a story from the perspective of one of the women who followed Yeshua (a valid question, since the series description does say "men and women"), and Seven Demons is that story. Inspired by Luke 8:1-3, this novel explores the life of Maryam Migdalit, more commonly known today as Mary Magdalene.
The Migdalit did not live a PG-rated life, however. At some point during the Dark Ages, a rumor got started that she was a prostitute although there is nothing in the Bible to support that rumor. The Biblical truth is much worse, much more shocking--this is a woman from whom Jesus cast out not one but seven demons. Telling her story is a risk, a huge risk. I strongly suspect some readers will feel that I've broken an unwritten agreement with them when they read this book, especially if they throw it away before getting to Part Three (where Yeshua finally shows up and turns her world upside down...or rightside up, depending on how you look at it).
I don't like unpleasant surprises, and I don't want to spring any on my readers. On the contrary, I want to prepare people for this book release well in advance. I thought I'd have a year or more to do this, but the book is moving along so quickly that I may not have that much time. Here, then, is a first draft of the Author's Note with which I have prefaced Seven Demons:
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I long debated whether or not to write this book. Let the reader be forewarned: the material of which this garment is sewn is not suitable for children of any age. Neither, however, are many parts of the Bible itself. God does not gloss over the faults in his children; there are no hidden skeletons in His closet.
Certain chapters of this book were originally part of Brothers, but the content was so disturbing that it had to be removed. It did not at all fit into the mood crafted in that novel; both Katan and Yisu are possessed of an innocence incompatible with the horrors that Satan delights in inflicting upon the world. Our world is a less innocent one than theirs. In our world, people are entertained by horror.
I do not want this book to be entertaining.
On the other hand, I cannot tell Maryam’s story honestly and still remain innocent. There is nothing—nothing—innocent about demonic possession. In a culture that has denied the reality of such things, dismissing them as mere superstition, medicating them or allowing them to live homeless on the corners of our society—in such a culture as ours, demonic possession has become mere entertainment. I, however, believe it to be the reality for many tormented and discarded souls. In this belief, I am in good company: both Jesus and Paul attest to the reality of demons and, while Paul may have been mistaken, it would be the height of arrogance for me to accuse Jesus of credulity.
For that reason, and many others, I have deviated from the usual format of my storytelling. What happened to Maryam is not the past. It is the present. It is now.
You probably won't see too many blog posts from me for a few months, for this novel is begging to be born. Whether the world will embrace it, leave it to cry on someone's doorstep, or throw it into a dumpster in the middle of the night...this remains to be seen. I am only the midwife.
