I'm so excited to bring our next guest on The Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction! Heather Kaufman's new release entitled On Living Stone is the third book in the Women of the Way series, and I believe it will be a blessing to all our readers!
PT: Welcome, Heather! First let the readers know from
what region you hail. Northeast,
Southeast, Midwest, South, or Southwest?
HK: I’m from the Midwest where the weather is forever fickle!
PT: Me too! Just survived 14 inches of snow and now
it is 50 degrees, LOL. Gotta love that! What lured you to writing and what
genre do you write in?
HK: There’s something about escaping into the world
of story that has always compelled me. From a young age, I enjoyed reading, and
in middle school I set my heart on becoming a novelist. I love playing with
words and creating stories that transport and captivate readers. I also love
studying the Bible. Now I write in the Biblical fiction genre which allows me
to marry my two loves—story and the Word. It’s been so transformative to
imaginatively place myself in biblical events . . . to slow down and linger in
ways I hadn’t before.
PT: Wow, great niche for you! Could you tell us what
you want to impart to your readers through your books?
HK: I hope to invite readers to linger with me in
the pages of Scripture. It can be easy to gloss over names we’ve read a
thousand times, but there’s so much value in slowing down and placing ourselves
in those first-century disciples’ shoes. There’s also great value in studying
the Gospels through a cultural lens. When we do so, we’ll find that Jesus is
even more beautiful than we can imagine. I hope readers are invited into deeper
intimacy with Jesus and find themselves picking up their Bibles with renewed
excitement.
PT: That’s a worthy goal. Now, give us your
typical day/work time/devotion time, etc.
HK: I have three elementary age kiddos, so I wake up
before they do to enjoy my time in the Word. After the morning rush of getting
them off to school, I sit myself down to write in the morning when I’m
freshest. After lunch, I transition to other tasks such as crafting social
media posts, my author newsletter, emails, etc. Before picking the kids up for
school, I squeeze in some Pilates. And, of course, there’s all the normal,
every day, endless tasks of laundry, grocery shopping, and cleaning! This is
the first year all three of my kids are in school full-time. Most of my Women of the Way series was written in the margins—naptimes, preschool mornings,
evenings, etc. It’s been an amazing transition to have more daytime hours for
my work!
PT: Do you have a Bible verse that currently
inspires you?
HK: Ephesians 2:20 has become especially meaningful
this past year, and it served as inspiration for my latest book, On Living Stone. Leading up to this
verse, Paul is discussing the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile in Christ and
culminates with the message of a unified dwelling that is built upon the
“foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the
chief cornerstone” (NIV). I love this picture of the Church. There’s so much
that can divide us, so much that feels shaky and uncertain in this world. But
Christ is stability and in Him we have unity! What a beautiful picture and a
taste of what heaven will be like.
PT: Yes, having Christ Jesus as our cornerstone helps us face all kinds of trials. I love that reminder. I’d like to find out some of your favorite things! First of all, Coffee, tea, water or other?
HK: I enjoy dark roast coffee in the mornings with
oat milk creamer and maple syrup as a sweetener. In the afternoons, I enjoy
herbal tea.
PT: Cat or dog?
HK: I’m allergic to cats, so I’m fully in camp
“dog.” I had a golden retriever growing up, and my husband and I adopted a Jack
Russell mix soon after we got married. He was a great family dog for many years
and lived a long and loved life.
PT: City or country?
HK: I get a little disoriented in cities, which is
funny because I live near St. Louis and my husband works downtown! If we go into
the city as a family, I make him drive. So, I’m going with country for this
one.
PT: Favorite color?
HK: I love earth tones—dark greens, browns, rusty
oranges, and lighter neutrals.
PT: Favorite weather?
HK: I love springtime! The weather is still mild and
the promise of new life is everywhere. Unlike the colder months where I just
want to hibernate and do nothing, I get so energized in the spring and begin
tackling a bunch of new projects. Now, whether I follow through with all of
them or not is another thing!
PT: Favorite T-shirt (or other favorite)
HK: I have an old T-shirt from Well-Watered Women
with the Fruit of the Spirit represented as flowers. Not only is it beautiful
and comfy but it’s just the right amount of baggy. It’s pretty worn at this
point, but I’ll never part with it!
PT: Love those favorites! Next is my favorite
prompt. Tell 5 things about Heather Kaufman that have nothing to do with
writing.
HK: 1) I grew up as a military brat and moved all
over the U.S. although never oversees. The Midwest, however, feels like home
since my dad retired here and I did both my undergraduate and graduate degrees
here.
2) I’m half Italian. My paternal grandmother was
born in Italy and in 2005, I had the opportunity to travel to Italy with her—an
experience I will never forget!
3) I will pick savory food over sweets any day!
4) I’m the
oldest of six, and my youngest brother is still in college. There’s sixteen
years between us.
5) My favorite holiday is Easter. There’s less
commercialism surrounding it than Christmas, but it’s still filled with fun
family traditions, and it takes place in my favorite season—Spring! Especially
after writing my Women of the Way series, Christ’s resurrection is just so
precious. I find myself filled with anticipation leading up to this holiday!
PT: Let’s center on your amazing books. How did you
conceive the idea of your series Women of the Way and how you selected Martha,
Joanna, and Salome?
HK: The first book in the series, Up from Dust:Martha’s Story, came to me back in 2016 during an Easter sermon. I was struck
by a deep admiration for Martha as she encounters Christ in John 11. Her
brother is four days dead, she is personally disappointed in Jesus, and yet she
gives one of the strongest confessions of Christ as Messiah in the Gospels! I
knew right then that I wanted to write her fictional backstory, tracing how she
transformed from a woman wrapped up in worry to a woman of strong faith.
Initially, I was going to write a trilogy on the siblings: Martha, Lazarus, and
Mary. When Bethany House showed interest, they suggested pivoting and doing
female followers of Christ. I was instantly intrigued by the idea and knew that
if I was going to do this, it would be the “lesser-known” women surrounding
Jesus. I relished the challenge of digging into women who haven’t been
portrayed as much in fiction. Joanna’s name came right away, since I’ve always
wondered what her discipleship looked like since her husband was so close to
Herod Antipas. Salome’s name came next because I’ve always had empathy for this
mother who longed for her boys to remain close to Jesus’ side.
PT: Talk about your newest book On Living Stone.
Every stone sings as it finds its purpose. This is
the lesson restless Salome learns from her father as she grows up by the Sea of
Galilee. Known as the wild girl with the quick tongue, Salome is determined to
silence the critics who claim she has no future. An unexpected romance and the
gift of two sons, James and John, leave her hopeful and resolved to prove
herself as a mother.
Salome’s dreams are challenged, however, when her
sons answer the call to follow Jesus of Nazareth. As James and John are drawn
deeper into Jesus’ Ministry, opposition to his message intensifies, leaving
Salome with a choice. Can her family continue down the path of discipleship,
when it might cost them everything? With threat abounding, Salome must confront
her fears, even as she discovers her own worth in the most unexpected rabbi.
A journey of faith unfolds in this New
Testament-inspired story of Salome, mother of Jesus’ apostles James and John.
This compelling biblical fiction book explores themes of family, sacrifice,
courage, and redemption, making it a stirring read for fans of The Chosen, Francine
Rivers, Tessa Afshar, and Angela Hunt.
YYY
HK: On LivingStone is the story of Salome, the mother of the Sons of Thunder—the
Apostles James and John. In keeping with the format of my first two books, I
structure the story in a Part One / Part Two. Part One gives us the “before
picture” as Salome falls in love and has her sons. We walk with her through
grief and joy and get a peek into what forms her as a person. Part Two gives us
the “after picture,” moving forward in time to when Jesus comes on the scene
and changes everything. It was such a unique perspective to explore—viewing
Jesus’ ministry through the eyes of a mother watching her sons being formed
into pillars of his Church!
PT: Oh, gracious! I can’t wait to read it! How
involved is the historical/Biblical research for each of these books?
HK: The research has been incredibly involved!
Before and during the writing of Up from Dust, I read books on how to approach the Bible through a cultural lens,
what daily life looked like at the time of Jesus, commentaries on key biblical
passages, and even some Christian living books that touched upon Martha. When I
began writing Before the King, it was
like starting all over again with the research because Joanna came from a much
different background than Martha. I studied the politics of the time,
especially in regards to Herod Antipas, and did research on the lifestyles of
the affluent, city life, and Sadducean beliefs. For On Living Stone, I was able to draw upon a lot of my previous
research and had built up a decent library by that time. My reading mainly
revolved around studying the twelve apostles, reading all four Gospels
chronologically, and diving into the fishing industry. So much goes into
writing biblical fiction because not only are you trying to get the facts
straight and stay true to Scripture, but there’s also a theological
underpinning to the story that needs to remain sturdy, strong, and true. I
cover each of my books with tears and prayers!
PT: I’ll be honest, I’ve read Up from Dust and it was so, so good. So good! (Readers don’t miss
this one!) I have your next book Before the King which I can’t wait to dive into. Your books were the first I’ve
ever read in Biblical fiction. So, my questions is, how do you construct your
stories along with subplots around actual Biblical characters?
HK: Because my heroines are real women from the
Bible, I begin with what we know of them from Scripture and then ask myself how
they came by those characteristics. For example, with Martha, we see her
wrapped up in worry. Christ gently observes that she is “worried and upset
about many things” (Luke 10:41 NIV). And so, I imaginatively wondered what
“things” Martha carried in her heart that weighed her down. What formed her
into the Martha we see in Scripture?
With Joanna we see a brave woman who dares to
support Jesus’ ministry even though she comes from a sphere where this was
surely dangerous. I wondered how she came by that bravery. What happened in her
life that made her desirous for truth and willing to risk her position for what
she believed in? With Salome we see a determined mother who will do anything
for her sons. She needs to learn to let go of her vision of the future and
submit her plans to Christ. What might make this tricky for her? What
background might she have had that informed her character and made surrender
difficult? Part One in each story is an exploration of my heroine’s formative
years so that hopefully, by the time we get to Part Two and some of those known
events from Scripture, they land a little differently because we’ve walked so
closely with this heroine and now experience those biblical events like we’re
standing right there.
PT: Will there be more books in your Women of theWay series or are you heading in a new direction? If so, what Bible characters are next?
HK: On LivingStone concludes the Women of the Way series, but I’ve signed a two-book
contract with Bethany House for a new series! This new duology will still be
New Testament era biblical fiction but will take place in Samaria and include
more fictional characters as well as a male POV. The bulk of the first book
occurs before Jesus’ ministry and the second will coincide with His ministry.
Both stories will hopefully serve to highlight the Samaritans—a group of people
it can be easy to overlook and yet a group of people Jesus was very intentional
in reaching. The first book is scheduled to release August of 2027, so there
will be a bit of a wait, but I’m hoping readers find it worth that wait!
PT: I am absolutely sure it will be worth the wait!
Thank you so much for joining us on the Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction,
Heather.
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