I saw something funny on Facebook recently. The writer said (I’m paraphrasing) that her book contains no ex-boyfriend suddenly showing up from the past, no finding old letters and no old mansion for sale, or words to that effect. I laughed when I read it because so many of the book descriptions I read  are about those very things. Maybe there are readers who enjoy those books, but when I choose a book, I like one that takes me to parts unknown, tugs at my emotions and leaves me thinking about the characters long after I’ve reached THE END. So because I love to read those books, I try to write similar ones.

In Part 1 of this topic, I said there were many reasons to read In The Wilderness, Book 2 of the Egypt series, and the first reason I gave was:

No graphic scenes of sexual abuse

But before we get to that, here’s a short synopsis of the book:

When Marva accidentally kills her father while trying to protect her younger sister June from him, she anticipates a new beginning far from “Egypt” where they once lived. But her new life is not what she envisioned. The strain of trying to elude the detective who suspects her of the murder, cope with her rebellious younger sister and hold down her job in a man’s domain drive her to drink. When Cicely, her former teacher, intervenes and leads the girls to Christ, Marva finds some measure of peace, but guilt over her crime and the desire to save June from disgrace force her to contemplate suicide. Fortunately, a serious accident derails her plans, and both Marva and June discover their true calling – to serve God, and others, with all their heart and with all their strength.

Many people, myself included, are turned off by scenes of a child’s body being violated. I have started reading many books – some quite popular – and have put them down at the first hint of abuse. The content of In The Wilderness and its prequel Coming Out of Egypt focuses on the psychological effects of the abuse. The stories are clean and wholesome, but suspenseful. Marva and June occasionally reflect on how much their father hurt them, but for the most part, they confine  those painful memories to the back burner of their minds.

And speaking of graphic scenes, I believe the most graphic is in the beginning when Marva and June dispose of their father’s body.

Thunder rolled again, and Marva swallowed against the tightness in her throat. Summoning all her strength, she pulled. This time the body gave and slid over the smooth linoleum floor. Beads of perspiration ran down her face and fell on the dead man’s khaki pants. Once Marva got to the door, she had no choice but to let his head drop the one step to the ground outside.

Senses alert, she stopped and listened. The storage door still rattled and the wind rustled through the leaves like whispering ghosts. A shiver ran through her. It was unlikely that hunters, or any of their father’s laborers, would come through their property on a night like this, but one never knew. With June sticking to her like a shadow, they took the familiar path down the slope leading to the river. Swish-swish went the corpse as Marva dragged her father’s lifeless body over the carpet of dry leaves.

Notice, there’s no blood and gore, neither do I show how the murder took place. This, I believe, leaves the reader to wonder what is going on, how did all of this happen. This is not a crime or murder novel even though murder is involved.

You can get a further glimpse into Book 1 – Coming Out of Egypt by clicking on the form below. You will get to read the first five chapters so you can decide if you want to buy the book. Or if you have already decided you want to buy the book, click here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FNJ5EIU 

http://authl.it/ B01FNJ5EIU

Prefer print? http://amzn.to/2qCJsQA

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The statistics are overwhelming, the facts disturbing, the reality frightening. What am I talking about? I’m talking about child sexual abuse – a topic that is whispered about at best, shunned at worst.
Look at some of these statistics: provided by Darkness to Light

One in ten children will be sexually abused before the age of eighteen. Notice I said children – boys are as much at risk as girls are.

90% of child sexual abuse victims know their abuser.

Child sexual abuse increases the chances of a child dropping out of school.

Only 4 – 8% of reports of child sexual abuse are fabricated.

Use of alcohol and drugs can be indicators of child abuse

However, there is hope. Parents, teachers, pastors, everyone needs to be able to recognize the signs of sexual abuse in their charges and know what to do when they see these signs. That is why I wrote this novel Coming Out of Egypt: to create an awareness of what still remains hidden in too many instances and grows in the dark like a fungus until it has spread and poisoned the whole system.

Why a novel? Why not a self-help, non- fiction book? Because many victims may shun the idea of reading a book that puts them under a microscope and makes them feel like a statistic. A novel like Coming Out of Egypt presents fully- fleshed out characters with whom the reader can identify and who can help her understand why she feels and acts the way she does.

The story inspires hope. At the beginning of the story, the characters’ situation appears hopeless. Marva and her sister are orphans. Their mother died a year before the story began, and now their father is dead, and they are trying to cover their tracks and elude the police. They have little money and dare not tell the only relative they know that Marva just killed their father while trying to protect June from his abuse.

The journey out of Egypt is fraught with difficulties and trials, but by the end of the story, Marva has a job, June is in school and they are pretty well settled. But Marva’s crime still hangs like a noose over her head. Will she find the love and forgiveness she craves or the punishment she deserves?

Want to know more about the story? Sign up on the form below to receive a free preview and other updates. I know you will be blessed.

Now on preorder for just .99c until it is released: In The Wilderness, the second book in the Egypt trilogy. See what happens to Marva and June after they have “come out of Egypt.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072WB8N25

Today, I am pleased to publish this guest post by Dr. Jay D. Roberts, a medical doctor and author of  Break The Chains, a memoir.  If you have ever read any of my blog posts, you know that I’m always encouraging writers, and myself, never to give up on your dreams. Here, Dr. Roberts shows us how he eventually overcame his fears and moved past rejection to achieve his dream.

Enjoy!

It started two decades ago in Palm Springs with my some of my friends – Harold Robbins knew some of my story and told me to write a book. I didn’t. A few years later, Sonny Bono told me I needed to tell my story. I didn’t. That same year, Sidney Sheldon echoed their sentiments. I still didn’t.

How could I? I can’t write. English was my least favorite subject in school.

Years later, for some strange reason I thought of my friends years ago encouraging me to write. I’d like to think they were screaming at me from heaven.

So I wrote, a memoir. It was awful. Read like an emotionless scientific paper.

So I stopped.

A couple of years later I thought about writing again. But this time a light bulb had gone off in my head- to become a doctor I had studied hard. To write I needed to do the same.

So I bought books on the craft of writing, lots of them, and read each one, several times.

I wrote and dug deep for the core of my story, as I had learned from my studying.

What I unburied was too painful. So I stopped writing for several months, maybe a year.

I prayed and began to attend writing conferences. At The Taos Summer Writing Conference, God sent me my first writing angel, Minrose. He knew I needed more help, so he blessed me with Julie. I listened to my mentors and applied myself. Wrote and re-wrote. I had entered the world of revisions.

I read a diverse collection of books to see how other authors had applied the art of writing in their stories.

I traveled, went back to the Philippines for forty days and nights (no intent to relate to Moses), to revitalize my senses and enrich my story.

More revisions followed- oh, the torture and necessity of revisions! But nothing compared to the rejections of my queries.

I became numb to being told- “Great story, but not a fit for us at this time.”

But I did not expect two cruel rejections.

One was from a senior editor at a major publishing house in NYC who had asked me to bring my manuscript. I can still remember her words, “I will not even touch your manuscript. Even if you could write, which you can’t because you are a doctor, nobody will buy your book because you are a nobody.”

The other was from an agent at a Christian Writing Conference who wanted to represent me. Her words ripped into my heart. “I’m sorry. I really love your story, but I can’t represent you. I didn’t realize that you were Catholic. The publishers I deal with will not work with Catholics.”

God wasn’t through yet. He sent me my third angel, Joan.

More revisions.

Prayers blanketed me from family and friends.

Then one miraculous day, Joan found my book a home with Tate Publishing.

God bless Dr. Richard Tate for believing in my story and all of the staff at Tate for their help in making my book a reality.

I am now learning the necessity of patience during the production process.

I look forward to the day this year that my book will be set out into the world. I pray that all can be set free.

So, here’s to all the “nobody writers.” Keep your dreams alive, write, rewrite, submit and resubmit. Let no one dowse your flame. Believe and you shall receive!

 Break the Chains can be purchased at

AMAZON / B&N / TATE PUBLISHING

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• Break The Chains by Dr. Jay D Roberts, MD
• Guest Post: My Writing Adventure by Jay D. Roberts, MD