Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Four Mothers, One Father, Twelve Sons

                                                               Carlene Havel

Hi Everyone!

Gay N. Lewis here, and I am happy to introduce you to a fellow Texan, Carlen Havel. Carlene lives in San Antonio, and I’m in the Houston area. We’ve been friends for about fourteen years, but we’ve yet to meet face to face. We visit on the phone, email and social media. Carlene Havel writes Christian-themed romances and historical novels, often with co-author, Sharon Faucheux. Carlene has lived in Turkey, Republic of the Philippines, and numerous US states. Before becoming an author, she worked in human resources and software development.

As of this date, Carlene has eighteen active books. She and her mother, Billie Houston, co-authored four of them, and fellow author, Sharon Faucheux collaborated on five others. Carlene has been published by traditional publishers, and now she is self-published.

Let’s find out more from Carlene. Tell us how you organize your advertising. What sort of records do you keep?

Carlene: I’ve always been a fan of Microsoft Excel. My marketing workbook consists of several spreadsheets that track ad history for each book to include ad site, date, price, and the number of books sold through the campaign.  I also chart Kindle Unlimited expiration dates and miscellaneous data such as the number of pages in each book. It’s helpful to be able to see all of this information at once and to be able to sort by various factors. At the end of each month, I compile a spreadsheet containing stats for each book, number sold, pages read, amounts earned; expenditures during the month, such as advertising, copyright, isbn purchase, etc., and amounts paid to editors and a virtual assistant. These really come in handy when I do the taxes for my LLC.

Gay: You and Sharon Faucheux write together.  What happens if you disagree about a plot or a twist?

 

Carlene: Sharon and I have a very workable division of labor. I do most of the plotting, while Sharon specializes in historical research. That line gets blurry at times, but so far, we have been able to talk through any disagreement to find a solution we’re both happy with.

Gay: Both you and Sharon do a lot of research, do you both attend a lot of Bible studies?

Carlene: I love attending women’s Bible studies. I occasionally facilitate discussions, but I’m no teacher. Nor is Sharon. She’s more inclined to hole up with a stack of books and not be seen until she’s finished reading.

Gay: Have you ever tried cooking some of the dishes the people ate in the OT?

Carlene: I gave up cooking a few years ago, when my husband took over the kitchen. He does the meal planning, grocery shopping, and food preparation. My only job is cleaning up the kitchen. We eat a lot better than we ever did when I was the family chef!

Gay: Let’s talk about your book, Mother’s of a Nation. I love the title. How did you come up with it?

 

Carlene: I wish I could answer that question, but I don’t know how titles get into my mind any more than I understand where book concepts come from. Sometimes when I’m doing something unrelated to writing, an idea overtakes me. The shower is one of my favorite think tanks. It might be a title, a scene, or a line of dialogue I fall in love with. The idea just appears, and from it the rest of a book takes shape.

Gay: The story of Jacob’s wives in the Bible blows my mind. Which of the sisters did you feel the most sorry for?

Carlene: I felt some sadness for all four of the women who bore Jacob’s children. Their situation was difficult, made worse by each woman’s own human failings. We are so blessed to live in a time and place where we are valued for more than our ability to give birth.

Gay: Which sister did you like the most?

Carlene: I didn’t know this when I started writing the book, but Leah turned out to be my favorite character. She was so loyal and so dedicated to being a good mother. She never allowed Jacob’s favoritism to make her bitter. I admired how Leah soldiered on unselfishly, regardless of the circumstances.

 

Gay: Which maidservant did you like the most?

 

I felt sorry for Bilhah’s tragic life, but my heart is drawn to Zilpah. She was optimistic, kind, and always looked for the best in others.


Gay: In the book, all four women are related. Zilpah was Leah’s maidservant and Bilhah was Rachel’s maidservant. These servants were given to the ladies by their father. How did you determine all four women might have had the same father?

 

Carlene: There’s a whole body of Jewish lore, tradition, and history, known as rabbinical literature. The notion that Laban fathered the two maidservants came from those writings. We know from the Bible that a handmaiden could be the surrogate mother of children that would belong to her mistress, as Hagar was for Sarah. It may or may not be true that Bilhah and Zilpah were Rachel and Leah’s half-sisters, but it is possible. I thought the family tie added an interesting layer to the relationships among Jacob’s women. 

Gay:  All four women called Jacob “husband.” Even though the handmaidens never married Jacob.  I can’t imagine sharing my husband with another woman. Do you think it was hard for these four women?  I can’t imagine giving my husband to another woman.

Carlene: I’m right there with you, Gay. I’m not willing to share my husband with another woman! Ancient traditions were vastly different from ours. Women were viewed more as possessions than as individual human beings, which is still prevalent in some places in our “moden” world. Jesus did a great deal to elevate the status of women.

Gay: Do you think Jacob would have ever said to the women, “This is enough. Don’t offer me anymore women.”

 

Carlene: It would have been his duty to give his wives the opportunity to bear children. It does appear he carried out his assignment with enthusiasm.

Gay: I’m sure he did! Do you think Jacob loved each of the four?

Carlene: Our concept of marriage is based on love. Theirs was based on family strength and honor. I believe the New Testament admonition for a man to love his wife the way Christ loves His church was a radical idea for that time.  In the context of that difference, I believe Jacob did love the four women who gave him children, for that reason if no other.

Gay: Not counting Joseph, which son was your favorite?

 

Carlene: I like Judah’s character. He seemed to me to be more compassionate than his brothers. All of the sons were imperfect, but Judah took responsibility for his sin instead of trying to shift blame onto Tamar.

 

Gay: Genesis records the death of Rachel and Leah, but it doesn’t mention the deaths other two women, but in your book, they all die. How did you come up with their final words? I also love that Zilpah, the surviving “wife” was accepted by the family as Jacob’s companion.

Carlene: The death of each woman felt like a natural way to close out her part of the narrative. As for final words, I tried to put myself in each character’s place, thinking what she would have wanted to say.

Thanks Carlene for visiting with us. This is a wonderful new take on an old story.

Carlene plans to give someone a $10 Amazon gift certificate, so

 please leave a comment! Names are drawn for the winner.

Carlene on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlene.havel

Book: Mother's of a Nation

Carlene's email: CHAVEL@satx.rr.com