WOULD YOU LIKE TO WIN 24 AMAZING BIBLICAL FICTION NOVELS PUBLISHED WITH GUIDEPOSTS FICTION? Of course you would! Plus, win additional fiction prizes and so much more when you participate on the Ordinary Women of the Bible Blog Hop.
Welcome to my stop on the Ordinary Women of the Bible Blog Hop! OWB is an exciting series of biblical fiction featuring twenty-four little-known women from the Bible. I was privileged to be invited by the publisher, Guideposts, to write The Dream Weaver’s Bride: Asenath’s Story, which involves Joseph’s Egyptian bride. As an avid reader, I’ve devoured each and every novel within the series! I found each book completely relatable and even life-changing. For my story on Joseph, I studied scripture and spent countless hours researching archeology to bring the ancient world of Egypt to life. Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers happens to be one of my favorite biblical stories. I’m excited to share more of Asenath’s and Joseph’s world with you.
Blog Hop Details: Participating is easy! Just hop over to each of the ten blogs listed here by October 11, read what they’ve written about their books, and write down the keyword in their blog post. The blog hop starts Monday, October 4th at 12:01 AM for you early birds! You don’t need to follow any particular order. When you have all ten keywords, just fill out the entry form. You’ll be entered into a drawing for all twenty-four books in the Ordinary Women of the Bible series, many of them with autographed bookplates. The drawing will be conducted on October 12, so get your entry in before then. Plus, some of the authors are giving away their own goodies, so be sure to read every post!
Now, about my book…
The Dream Weaver’s Bride: Asenath’s Story is the story of Asenath and Joseph described in Genesis 41-48.
As the daughter of the high priest of On, Asenath has a solid vision of her future. Her education with the royal scribe is a luxury not usually afforded to women, and even though she is betrothed to the pharaoh’s half-brother, she has dreams of something more. But every-thing changes when the pharaoh has troubling nightmares that only a prisoner named Joseph can interpret. Suddenly, Asenath finds herself married to this foreigner, who demands that no god but his own be worshipped in his house. Despite her fears, Asenath is touched by Joseph’s kindness and humility, even as he steps into his newfound power.
Can Asenath trust the God of Joseph and forsake her old deities? Can she learn to love this stranger from another land, a stranger with scars from a painful past? As a famine sweeps across Egypt and the surrounding lands, Asenath and Joseph find themselves face-to-face with the men who caused Joesph’s suffering. Can Asenath embrace the power of El Shaddai and help her husband forgive?
What I learned while writing this book: I was blown away with a particular research tidbit. The Priests of On were primarily responsible for the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams! How ironic that Asenath, daughter of the High Priest of On, ended up given in marriage to the only man who could interpret the king’s dreams. Joseph, a Hebrew, had little status with the Egyptians. Only God could arrange a divinely scheduled interview with Pharaoh. Joseph was a former slave and imprisoned because of the false accusations of a spiteful woman. God raised Joseph to become second in command and save Egypt and the surrounding nations from a widespread famine.
I couldn’t help but wonder what Asenath thought of Joseph? Was it difficult to trust Joseph’s God? How did she raise her two sons, who were later included with the Twelve Tribes of Israel? These questions led the way to write The Dream Weaver’s Bride. I’m amazed at how God redeemed Joseph’s terrible situation. Isn’t it encouraging to realize that God can take the broken threads of our lives and mend them into something beautiful?
My Giveaway: I’m giving away ONE autographed copy of The Dream Weaver’s Bride: Asenath’s Story and also ONE Egyptian brain puzzle to test your building skills! To enter the drawing, just leave a comment below. I’ll draw names on October 12 and notify you if I draw your name. If you win the Blog Hop grand prize of all 24 books in the OWB series, you can select another of my books instead. Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter to receive a free novella, No Mountain Too High, and sneak peaks at upcoming projects! My special giveaway is for USA and Canadian residents only.
Other Cool Stuff About this Book:
Curious to see how I envisioned Asenath and Joseph?
Asenath might have been a nobleman’s daughter, possibly even a relative of Pharaoh. Pharaohs often extended the best positions to family and friends in an effort to consolidate power. It’s safe to assume she was young and highly privileged.
Most Egyptians prized their makeup and clothing regardless of wealth or status. Wigs, like the example above, were made of human hair for the wealthy. The poor resorted to wearing animal hair or papyrus wigs. Burials often included makeup utensils since beauty played a religious role.
The editors at Guideposts wished for readers to immediately recognize Joseph on the book cover. A fabulous idea since Asenath’s name isn’t always easily recognized! Hence, Joseph wears his multicolored coat while inspecting the granaries. Viziers would have normally worn fine white linen.
Middle Kingdom Egyptian fashion followed tight lines for the women, not unlike our skinny jean trend. See the above sketch of the sculpture displaying a snug beaded dress. Would you be bold enough to try such a trend?
My Blog Hop Keyword: BROTHER
You can order the series or individual books from Shop Guideposts.
Thanks for stopping by. Now, hop on over to the next stop on the Ordinary Women of the Bible Blog Hop to win the ENTIRE series! Please click HERE.
And for my separate contest of puzzle and book, enter via rafflecopter below.
Enter HERE for a pyramid brain teaser puzzle and an autographed copy of Dream Weaver’s Bride (or one of my other books should you win the grand prize!).
Happy reading, friends!
Asenath Photography by Johnny González of New Creation Studios, art by Jenelle Hovde, priest picture by Pixabay Stock Photos.
thanks for the givaway
You are so welcome! So glad you stopped by :).
Thank you for this awesome giveaway!
Thank you for visiting! So glad you came :).
This looks so interesting!
I’m thrilled you think so! It’s been such a fun project. Thank you for stopping by :).
Thanks for the opportunity to win! The puzzle would be a lot of fun to use in our study of Ancient Egypt and the book sounds great.
Oh yes! We’ve used similar in our ancient Egypt unit :). So much fun! Also, each OWB novel has an illustrated history section full of interesting history. Thanks for stopping by :).
The covers of these books are so pretty!
I think the same :). So glad you like them! Thanks for stopping by.
These sound great!
So glad you think so! I really enjoyed each book :).
So excited about this Blog Hop! I love fictional stories based on the Bible!
I love hearing this :). Biblical fiction happens to be a favorite genre of mine as well. Hope you enjoy and best wishes on the contest!
These look amazing! I cannot wait to read them!!
I’m so glad you think so! I’ve really enjoyed each book :). Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you for your giveaway!! ❤️
You are very welcome! Thank you for stopping by :).
Fascinating info! Thanks for the giveaway!
I’m glad you enjoyed! Thanks for stopping by :).
Love the depiction of Asenath! Visuals are so important to me. 🙂
I’m thrilled you like! I loved the artist’s vision. Thanks for stopping by!
This whole OWB series looks and sounds fantastic! Asenath is definitely one of the lesser-known women of the Bible, and probably not written about as much. Whether I win the giveaway or not, I’m looking forward to reading your story about her.
Oh, I’m so glad the series resonates with you :). I hope you enjoy Asenath! Thanks for stopping by!
Your book sounds very fascinating to me and I’m looking forward to reading it.
You made my day, Stephanie! Thank you so much :). I hope you enjoy! Thank you for stopping by.
Your name is new to me so I’m excited to add a new author to my list of those who wrote in my favorite genre!
Bless you! I hope you enjoy Asenath :). Several of my favorite authors are in this series! So glad to hear Biblical is your favorite genre.
Thank you for having the giveaway!
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by :).