Q&A with Mesu Andrews, Author of THE PHAROAH'S DAUGHTER

Fresh Fiction is pleased to host this Q&A with author Mesu Andrews, courtesy of WaterBrook Press. Her novel THE PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER is now available.

Award-winning and celebrated author Mesu Andrews is a master of biblical fiction. Her work is driven by an intense study of Scripture and a careful examination of historical records. The result is always an unforgettable novel that captivates readers and transports them to the heart of the biblical world. Her highly anticipated fifth novel, THE PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER explores the life of the Egyptian woman who drew Moses out of the water and loved him as her own. We sat down with Mesu to learn more about her creative process and her passion for biblical fiction.

What led you to writing and how did you choose biblical fiction?

I was an off-the-charts extrovert and couldn’t sit still long enough to write my name until I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1997 and then in bed for six months in 2002. When I could no longer GO like the Energizer Bunny, it was either write or die of boredom. My heart and passion was Bible study, so that’s what I started writing. But I soon discovered no one cared what a little pastor’s wife from Indiana had to say about the Bible.

A dear friend suggested I write Christian fiction, and I laughed. I was a SERIOUS Bible teacher. I had never even read a Christian novel. Then my friend asked, “Do you think you’re a better teacher than Jesus? Because He used stories (parables) to teach.” So I wrote my first biblical novel, and the rest is history!

Describe your creative process? How do you take an idea and develop it into a full story?

I wish I had a creative process! Each book has evolved differently from idea to completed rough draft, but one thing has remained consistent. I want to be sure the biblical Truths of the characters and story is deeply planted before I begin adding historical fact to the unalterable foundation of God’s Word. I typically research for 3-6 months before I write the first word of the book.

Scripture gives me a skeletal outline of a plot, but I oftentimes find minor characters pop up in historical research. That’s fun. The story begins to write itself as the research (both biblical and historical) unfolds. I have the BEST. JOB. EVER.

Your novels have covered some of the most mysterious women in biblical history, from Dinah to Gomer. What draws you to these characters?

I love these shadowy women because even though we sometimes don’t even know their names, they impact the heroes of our faith in profound ways. Typically, the cultures represented in Scripture were male-driven, so if a woman was mentioned, it meant something—even if she wasn’t mentioned by name. My passion is to expose the deeper message of those little-known women of Scripture. I believe there’s hidden power in their obscurity.

Pop culture is full of various depictions of biblical stories. What do you think about the recently released Hollywood films based on Old Testament characters?

When my aunt heard some folks complaining that the recent film Exodus: Gods and Kings veered from biblical truth, she said, “If you want theology, read your Bible.” She’s a bit of a spitfire (as you can tell), but I think she’s grasped an important truth. Movies, novels, even non-fiction materials are written by fallible men and women who bring their own opinions and prejudices to the creative process.

My purpose in writing a biblical novel is to START my readers on a quest, to stir their curiosity for what the Bible really says. The best compliments I receive are from readers who say my books sent them straight to their Bibles to see what was true and what came from my imagination. If the current wave of Old Testament themed movies sends people to Scripture—or prompts conversations with folks familiar with biblical truth—then glory to God! I believe the Holy Spirit can do sacred things with the unsacred.

Why do you think we are so intrigued by these stories? Why do you think they are worth examining?

I believe we’re intrigued because every human being was created to search for the One who can fill that God-shaped void in our souls. We feel that yearning for love, excitement, belonging, accomplishment—the list goes on, but the fulfillment of every need is found in One alone. These stories reflect an ancient quest for God and describe imperfect heroes who bungle their way to a measure of victory.

Without fully grasping the deeper messages of these Old Testament stories, we can’t fully appreciate the radical Truth of Jesus Christ. Jesus’s birth is merely a child’s bedtime story unless we experience the transformation of David from shepherd to king. The Cross is a brutal requirement of an unfeeling God unless we fully understand the betrayal of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden. These Old Testament stories are worth examining because they are the very breath of eternity, the difference between religion and relationship with the Creator who gave His only Son as a Ransom for our sins. The Old Testament provides the blood for the beating heart of the New Testament.

What life lessons can we draw from THE PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER? How can we apply her story to our own?

I learned so much from THE PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER as I wrote. I learned that though children seem resilient, they are indeed quite fragile. Their little hearts and minds soak up their environment like sponges, clinging to the positive strokes they receive but also storing up all the negative reinforcements heaped on their heads. We must be cautious with our little ones. Treat them with care, with respect, with love.

I learned that fear can make us blind, stupid, deceitful, and weak. Fear can change us at the very core of our being. But fear is also the most fertile soil for faith. It’s in the darkest pit of fear that faith shines brightest, and one step taken in faith surpasses a mile tip-toed in fear.

I also learned that evangelism should be done with respect. When I ask others to turn their backs on life-long beliefs (whether it be atheism or other religions), it’s a life-changing decision that will alter their eternity. Yes, it’s for their good. Yes, it’s a joyous occasion if they receive Jesus as their Savior and enter into eternal life, but it’s not an easy choice to turn their backs on a life-time of false belief or unbelief. I must respect the transition and respect the enormity of the decision that’s been made.

What do you say to readers who have never considered entering the world of biblical fiction?

I would first ask them Why? If they’re stalwart contemporary romance readers or dislike historical fiction in general, I would encourage them to read a biblical novel in conjunction with a Bible study to bring to life the practical side of their education. If they struggle with the idea of biblical novels in general—as some have said they “add to” Scripture—I would ask them to consider the most effective sermons they’ve heard from their pastors.

I remember a Scripture passage best when my pastor gives the congregation cultural context and background information on the particular text. If we’re studying one of Paul’s letters, it helps me to know where Paul was when he wrote the letter. What were the circumstances that prompted the letter? These things are historical fact, but what if my pastor suggests an emotion or gives additional context not found in history books? Isn’t he in effect fictionalizing the passage to make it more memorable?

It’s good to remember that Jesus told stories while teaching the multitudes. If a pastor makes Paul a real person with real emotions and real needs, won’t we remember him better? This may sound crazy, but biblical fiction strives to make biblical characters and their stories feel more real. Sometimes we view the Bible as a manual, but it’s more like a love letter. It’s a God-breathed chronicle of God-inspired stories for us to drink in. He is the great Story-teller, and I believe He applauds a carefully-told story from those who love His Word.

About THE PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER

“You will be called Anippe, daughter of the Nile. Do you like it?” Without waiting for a reply, she pulls me into her squishy, round tummy for a hug.

I’m trying not to cry. Pharaoh’s daughters don’t cry.

When we make our way down the tiled hall, I try to stop at ummi Kiya’s chamber. I know her spirit has flown yet I long for one more moment. Amenia pushes me past so I keep walking and don’t look back.

Like the waters of the Nile, I will flow. Anippe has grown up in the shadows of Egypt’s good god Pharaoh, aware that Anubis, god of the afterlife, may take her or her siblings at any moment. She watched him snatch her mother and infant brother during childbirth, a moment which awakens in her a terrible dread of ever bearing a child. Now she is to be become the bride of Sebak, a kind but quick-tempered Captain of Pharaoh Tut’s army. In order to provide Sebak the heir he deserves and yet protect herself from the underworld gods, Anippe must launch a series of deceptions, even involving the Hebrew midwives—women ordered by Tut to drown the sons of their own people in the Nile.

When she finds a baby floating in a basket on the great river, Anippe believes Egypt’s gods have answered her pleas, entrenching her more deeply in deception and placing her and her son Mehy, whom handmaiden Miriam calls Moses, in mortal danger.

As bloodshed and savage politics shift the balance of power in Egypt, the gods reveal their fickle natures and Anippe wonders if her son, a boy of Hebrew blood, could one day become king. Or does the god of her Hebrew servants, the one they call El Shaddai, have a different plan—for them all? -