To be a Christian in 1st century Ephesus, under Roman rule, is dangerous.
The arena awaits, a background threat… one that candidates for baptism are reminded of. The decision might cost them their lives. All it takes is the refusal to burn a pinch of incense and declare that Emperor Domitian is lord and god, and Roman ire declares they are subversive, rebels.
It is 92 AD, and the Apostle John still
lives! The sect that the Jewish authorities had
hoped would die following the crucifixion of their leader, had not happened.
What had
happened was the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple that was (dare I say
it) almost like an idol to the Jews of the time. Many of those early followers
of the ‘Way’, later to be called ‘Christians’ in a derogatory term, had fled
under the persecution from the Jews. With the destruction of the temple and
Jerusalem, came the Diaspora and Jews joined their fellow Jews in various
cities around the Roman Empire.
Using biblical principles I worked out that
John, the apostle, would have been married. Working out his age in 92 AD was
relatively simple, so calculating the age of any children, and their children
was again worked out using the knowledge of when Jewish men married. The
daughters were married off far earlier, often soon after puberty, but men had to
be mature, settled, and able to support a wife and family.
Thus, although the Apostle John is a key
figure in the series of books, he is not the main character. Readers have
identified Benjamin, the great-grandson I ‘gave’ John, as the ‘hero’ of the
series.
Hold the Faith, the first in the series, is
the first in print, although all three are available as eBooks. Book four is
‘resting’ in draft, but starting to urge me to ‘get on with it’. So do a few
fans who have followed the family and the brethren through the trials of living
in ‘occupied territory’.
I chose Ephesus for the location as most of
the evidence pointed that way. There is a friend who would not buy the book
because her pet theory (which I did consider) was that John had gone to
England. Historically, I could not find enough evidence to support that.
As a child I loved history as a class
subject, and as a young person, I devoured books on the Tudors, some of the
French ancestry, Scottish history and a long series on the Popes. The Medici
and Borgia families fascinated me.
Never would it have occurred to me that I
would be writing Christian, historical fiction. I wrote manuals to help my
computer classes. But when listening to a detailed Bible study on the gospel of
John, I wondered. “Could that be true?” and so started a long trail of
research, which does become addictive.
What I found were the people and the times
that these folks in the Bible… who had been just stories until then. I found
out what it was like living under Roman rule, being hated by Jews, Romans and
pagans. They were people. It seems I succeeded in showing that because I have
emails and reviews saying that. There is a time to stop a series though, and
that will come at the end of book five. Book four is written, book five is thoughts,
ideas, promptings. In the meantime book one is now in print – on sale in the US
but the ‘official’ Australian launch is in May.
I consulted many versions of the Bible,
Josephus (a former Pharisee, and prone to exaggeration by many commentators).
Lionel Casson’s ‘Travels in the Ancient World’ was amusing in parts. I
subscribe to Biblical Archeological research newsletters and Biblical History
newsletters. Suetonius gives insights into the Roman emperors he writes about,
as well as various Roman festivals and everything Roman. I have a shelf full of
books and hard drives with gigabytes of research – oh, and I recently found
another valuable newsletter… Ancient History Encyclopedia.
Susan M. B. Preston
# # #
About the Author
Susan Preston is someone you will usually find at her desk behind her computer, researching and writing her fiction books set in the 1st century AD. Originally from the historic town of Peebles in the Scottish borders, she grew up surrounded by history. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined she would write a historical fiction series on early Christianity. It was when a church girls club needed a leader, that Susan stepped forward took on the role, and delved into the stories in the Bible. The ‘leap’ to full-length fiction novels was born from an, “I wonder if that’s true’ moment, and a vast amount of research… which she admits is addictive. Now there are three books in the Apostle John series, a fourth ‘resting’ in second draft, and a fifth… more than likely. Find out more at
susanprestonauthor.com and follow Susan on Twitter
@SPrestonPerth
Weina Dai Randel was born and raised in China. Her passion for history compels her to share classical Chinese literature, tales of Chinese dynasties, and stories of Chinese historical figures with American readers. Weina received an M.A. in English from Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas, where she was inspired to write about Empress Wu of China when she took a class in Asian American literature. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Writer's Garret in Dallas. The Moon in the Palace is her first novel. Find out more T Weina's website http://www.weinarandel.com/ and find her on Facebook and Twitter @WeinaRandel.
