EDIT: The Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt is over (10/28), and the winners have been contacted. The winner for my extra-bonus-giveaway for a copy of WHERE THE FIRE FALLS is Arletta Bouton! Congratulations, Arletta!
Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’re just joining us, the hunt begins at Lisa Bergren’s website, with Stop #1. If you complete the loop of 26 stops, writing down the clue on each author’s site, you can enter to win all 25 books as well as Amazon gift cards, an iPad and more!
Without further ado, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to my guest for the Scavenger Hunt, Angela Hunt.
I had the pleasure of meeting Angela a few years ago at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. Not only was I fascinated by her extensive biblical knowledge, I was inspired by how she selflessly mentored aspiring writers. And do you know what sealed the deal for me? She spends her free time photographing shelter dogs to help them find loving homes. Doesn’t that sound like someone you want to know?
Here’s Angela’s professional bio: Angela Hunt is the author of more than 140 books for children and adults. You can read all about her work and play at www.angelahuntbooks.com.
And the summary of her latest book, Jerusalem’s Queen:
Born in the small village of Modein, a town made famous by the warrior Maccabees, Salome Alexandra knows better than to harbor grand dreams for her future. She pales in comparison to her beautiful older sister, and though she learns to read at an early age, girls are not valued for their intellectual ability. But when her father and sister are killed, John Hyrcanus, a distant relative, invites Salome and her mother to live with his family in Jerusalem, where her thirst for knowledge is noticed and indulged.
You can purchase her book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook.com, or your local bookstore.
And here’s her EXCLUSIVE content that you’ll only find in this hunt!
My next book is called JERUSALEM’S QUEEN, and it’s about Salome Alexandra? Never heard of her? Neither had I until one of my professors mentioned her.
Let’s pretend you’re a reporter and I’m in town to talk about the book. Our conversation might go like this:
Q. I must confess, I’d never heard of Salome Alexandra, Queen of Jerusalem, before encountering your book. Who was she?
A. I’d never heard of her, either, until one of my theology professors mentioned her. Not much information is available on her, and what little information there is often contradicts itself. For instance, most Jewish history books say that she was the widow of Judah Aristobulus, who then married his brother, Alexander Jannaeus, but that couldn’t be possible because the high priest had to marry a virgin. And we know that Judah Aristobulus married Salina, not Salome. Most people assume they were one and the same, but they were not.
Q. What made this woman worthy of a book? What did she do that was so unusual?
A. She was a good queen, and honestly followed God. Her husband, Alexander Jannaeus, was high priest and king, and he was horrible. He had purges, he crucified hundreds of Law-following Pharisees and made his victims watch their families being murdered, he kept concubines—in short, he was not a righteous man. But Salome Alexandra was a righteous woman, and after her husband died she reigned in his place and cleaned things up. She made sure girls were educated as well as boys, she changed the way marriage contracts were negotiated (so women were provided for), and she blessed her people. The Jews said the years of her reign were golden years, when God blessed Judea.
Q. Why didn’t those golden years continue after her death?
A. Because she had two sons—one who was like her, the other very much like her husband. The wild one attacked her heir right after her death, and their bloody war caused the Romans to invade, establishing, in the long run, Roman rule. Judea became a Roman province, the Romans named Herod king, and the last kings from the Hasmonean dynasty were killed.
Q. What surprised you most as you researched this period? What was it, fifty years before Christ’s birth?
A. Salome Alexandra died in 67 B.C., and the thing I found most fascinating was that many of the Jews of that time professed a real interest in studying Bible prophecy. The Torah scholars had a sense that one epoch had concluded with the return from Babylonian exile, and a new one was about to begin. The Essenes, in particular, were looking for a messiah—or two, since they saw clear signs that God was getting ready to send a king and a high priest. They were looking for Christ, but they hadn’t quite figured out that the king/priest would be one person, and that God would send him as a tiny baby who was born to die . . . so we might be born again.
Q. Why should a modern Christian care about a Jewish queen? 
A. Because we Christians have been adopted by God into His chosen family, and our Messiah was Jewish! Studying the four hundred years between the Old and New Testaments—the intertestamental period—will help you better understand the situation of the Gospels. And Salome Alexandra is a fascinating woman! I think you’ll enjoy learning about her as much as I did.
JERUSALEM’S QUEEN releases on November 6th, from Bethany House Publishers.
Thanks for stopping by on the hunt! Before you go, make sure you WRITE DOWN THIS CLUE:
Secret Word: were
Got it down?? Great! Your next stop is #6, Angela Hunt’s site. And if you get lost, a complete list of the loop with links can be found on Lisa Bergren’s website.
I know you’re excited to get on with the Scavenger Hunt, but before you go . . .
As a special thank-you for dropping by my blog, I’m offering my own giveaway of a copy of my newest book, Where the Fire Falls: A Vintage National Parks Novel. You’ll find the entry form below. Good luck!
And Happy Reading!
