Why Biblical Fiction?

Mesu Andrews' latest Biblical fiction title, Love in a Broken Vessel, is the third book she has written set in Bible times. 

Love Amid the Ashes, her first, is based on the story of Job, not necessarily the first subject who might spring to mind for a novel.  Her second, Love's Sacred Song, followed a year later and tells the story of the young King Solomon, and Arielah, a young girl promised to him as a 'treaty bride'.

Love in a Broken Vessel revisits a several-times-retold story: That of Hosea and Gomer.  When marrying Hosea becomes her only means of escape from a life of abuse, Gomer does what she’s good at - she survives. Can Hosea’s love for God and God’s love for Israel restore Gomer’s broken spirit?
Here is a sample chapter.

Mesu likes writing books based on Old Testament stories and characters, and says they're the result of her own struggles to understand biblical figures.  She looks for stories which she has found difficult or confusing, and works through them until she becomes 'settled in my own spirit with what I believe those stories say'.  She researches the historical backgrounds and Biblical records carefully to create stories which are believable, and yet which remain true to the Bible narrative.  Mesu herself says that her stories are "history, yes, and spiritual insight, yes, but it's all because I think it is necessary for a Christian to understand the Old Testament for them to understand the New Testament."

Her readers clearly appreciate this focus and level of attention to detail:

"Set at the time when Solomon ascended to the throne, I found this book extremely interesting. From a religious point of view, it definitely made me want to explore Ecclesiastes a bit more. ...I loved the personal tale that was told of at least one wife offered to him, by a desperate father who was actually bartering for the freedom of his beloved daughter. ...I enjoyed the sense of place that the author brought to this novel."
Alice Collins, A GoodBookStall review (UK) - for the full review see here. On Love's Sacred Song.
 
"Mesu, thank you for your books! As manager of a Christian book store here in the UK, it's taken quite some time for the local people to take to American Christian fiction, and your books break that hesitancy! Great plots (of course), characters, and deep spirituality, emotions, thoughts and creativity. I can always sell what I believe in, and these books DO sell, with customers coming for more. Personally though I just love your well-written, richly descriptive and attention-grabbing books. You give insight into what's a well-known and skimmed-over Bible story and bring them to real life. MORE, please, Mesu!”
 
“Andrews’s research shines through on every page as she delves deeply into the cultural, historical, and biblical records to create this fascinating and multilayered tale.”
CBA Retailers + Resources on Love Amid the Ashes
 
“Andrews weaves a beautiful tale and takes readers to an ancient Jerusalem rich with history and customs and a culture that struggles to follow the one true God. This novel is well researched and well told.”-RT Book Reviews, 4½ stars, on Love’s Sacred Song

Biblical fiction is a small category, but it is a strong one with enthusiastic readers.  Personally, when I read a novel about the time of the crucifixion, it resulted in my thinking completely differently about what it would probably have been like for Jesus' followers in the days between his death and his resurrection.  We often skim straight from one to the other, so I'd never really thought much about the bit in the middle.  That one book made a difference to how I read the Bible. 

Mesu's books do the same.

All three of Mesu's books are available in the UK through all Christian bookshops, and online, in both print and ebook form.