Words on Wednesday: A Short Reading List

  i found the author Diana Wallis Taylor in my Ruth project (which is actually coming along - though it may be 6 months behind schedule by the time you see the posts!).

  Taylor writes interesting stories.  Here i am only looking at her Biblical ones, though she has written roughly as many contemporary ones.  She tries to find an overlooked aspect of the woman she's writing about, a new way to look at a possibly misunderstood woman.

•   Her first Biblical novel, Journey to the Well, was published in 2011.  She said it was 25 years in the writing, and draws on her own life experiences.  It is the one i just finished.
•   In 2011, she published her second, Martha, A Novel. 
•  2013 saw the publication of both Claudia: Wife of Pontius Pilate, and  
• Ruth: Mother of Kings, the book which introduced me to her.

  i have found all enjoyable.  i hadn't known Claudia was so well-referenced in secular history, as contrasted with her single appearance in the Bible (Matthew 27:19).  Her portraits are believable and well-researched, not stepping beyond the bounds of adhering to/not contradicting the text of Scripture.  (There is a sense in which you cannot "adhere to" a short text when you are writing a 200+ page novel!)
  And, while i'm probably not the one to appraise her skill, it looks to me like she's improving as a writer as she continues to write.
  Looking over her list, i see there's one of her Biblical novels, Mary Magdalene, that i haven't found yet, as well as excitedly looking forward to the publication ofher newest, Mary: Chosen of God, expected September 1.

The Ruth Project, and others from my spring 2016 reading list
My Interview with Diana Wallis Taylor