Obedience
V
G Kilgore
Genre: Historical Fiction,
Biblical fiction
Date of Publication: 4/22/17
ISBN: 154634330X
ASIN: B072B5BNSG
Number of pages: 352
Word Count: 65,000
Tagline: My father is a righteous
man but I am just a man…who loves a woman
Book Description:
Ham is a man of passion and
questions. He's adored his wife, Lita, since he first saw her draped in her
father's fishing nets and threatened to leave with her if his father, Noah,
didn't allow the marriage. She becomes his greatest comfort when Ham is at odds
with his father and brothers.
When Noah claims their God has
commanded him to build an Ark to escape a devastating flood, Ham worries about
the construction stripping the land and the community's ridicule of the family.
He and Lita draw closer together as outsiders. They're shocked when the rains
come and the entire family is forced into the Ark, along with the animals that
appeared.
Confinement and uncertainty of
fate amongst the refugees exaggerate normal family tension, rivalries and
forbidden love. On land, they reject efforts to reestablish traditions, feeling
independent and invincible, as those chosen by their God to survive and thrive.
But for Ham, there's tragedy and more doubt.
Noah warns him he must yield his
will, lest there be even graver consequences. Ham can't imagine anything worse
and careens down the path that forever links him with depravity and harsh
judgment.
Book
Trailer: https://youtu.be/FrvZEI8TW2s
Excerpt:
The small
caravan wended its way from the site of the Ark and family home to the fishing
village down the hill and to the shore.
Ham squinted
into the early morning sunlight and noted again how barren the land was. This
path used to cut through a large meadow, embroidered by great trees in the
distance and a riot of color from the yellow and green grasses and its mixed
bouquet of wildflowers. Now it was brown, rocky and rutted.
He walked beside
the small, shaggy burro carrying his wife, Lita, ensuring the animal did not
step in the ruts or holes in its path. Its burden was his joy.
He smiled up at
her and she returned it, placing a hand on the side of his face. On previous
jaunts that might have signaled to him that they should detour across the
meadow for a tryst amongst the trees, but there were no more love nests on the
stark plain, nor were they alone.
"Little
Brother," Japheth called back to him, "if you can stop staring at
your woman, we have plans to make." At the foot of the hill, the air
carried a hint of the ocean and sound changed, volatile waves winning out over
the chirping birds of the fields for dominance.
Lita felt the
familiar surge throughout her body as she neared her natural habitat. The sea
stretched before her like mother's arms, opened wide to welcome back a
wandering child. She closed her eyes and licked her lips for the salty taste of
home.
She felt Ham's
calloused hands on her own as he passed her mount's tether to her and looked
into his winking grin. "I will see you back at home," he said with
the combination of promise and hope that made her feel so adored. She smiled in
answer and continued riding straight with Namaah’s serving maid, Sar, whom Ham
had insisted escort Lita, because the barren land was not as safe as a rich and
fertile one had been. He knew the women were friends and it was not a trial for
them to travel together. They both had knives and knew how to use them. He and
Japheth diverged left to the village.
A frisky breeze
traveling before them blew into the open tents and caused the tops to billow
out, resembling mushroom caps, as they approached the market center.
"Let us
stop in here for a moment," Japheth suggested, his eyes swaying
uncontrollably to the wooden cottage on their right, from which came raucous
laughter and the heady aroma of burning plants. From the open doorway could be
seen men sitting in a circle, in the middle of which were small sticks and
pebbles and piles of coins.
Ham shook his
head and attempted to pull his brother away from the gamblers. "There is
only trouble for you in that place. Remember last time?"
"Japheth!"
called a feminine voice from the trouble house. He stopped and turned. A woman
leaned against the doorway, her loose robe barely draping her shoulders or
covering her feet. Rings sparkled on her toes and on the finger she crooked to
beckon Noah's notorious son. He shrugged off Ham's hold on him and headed back
to the den of sin.
"Japheth!"
Ham shouted futilely. Their father's favorite and closest resemblance turned,
walking backwards to the door where the woman and gamers awaited him.
"You know
me, Little Brother," he sang out with his mischievous smile and tortoise
shell eyes twinkling. "I can resist everything but temptation. I will meet
you at the silver monger’s."
Ham threw up his
arms in disgust and continued to the vendors' tents, following the smell of
sweet spices and increasingly rare flowers, to choose some oils as a present
for Lita.
***
In the home of
her parents she made one more entreaty for them to join in the Ark project.
"Noah is a
fool," her father, Eliakim, said laughing. "What does a farmer know
of building a boat? I live on the water. There is no sign of the great rain
that he predicts."
She looked out
the narrow window of the small beach hut to view the greyness of the sea. The
meager sun seemed to dull on its surface, like slate, rather than reflecting
off of it, as she had always known, to make the water a dazzling jewel. Something
was changing. Whether it was the prediction of her father-in-law or just nature
reacting to the stripping of the land, as Ham suspected, things were different.
"Please,
Father," she cajoled, helping her mother serve him his mid-day meal of
fish and bread, "Come back with me. Help finish the boat. I cannot bear
the thought of what might happen to you and Mother."
Eliakim smiled
and placed his hand on the top of her head. "Nothing will happen to us, my
dear daughter. When everyone sees how much they have given up to Noah, how
little food they have from the land, they will all turn to me for my
catch." The smile graduated to a self-satisfied chuckle. "Then we
shall see which father allowed his child to marry beneath her house."
***
Ham lowered his
head, thoughts of Lita bringing warmth to him, as the Ark became visible with
the day's last light. As much as he had resented it over the years, its
appearance represented home, family, wife. He hastened his step, eager to see
her.
"Think of
it," Japheth reminded him. "Your one act of defying our father's
wishes gave you her. What might you have if you did it more often?"
Ham grinned. It
was impossible to stay angry at his brother. He threw his arm around him to
hurry them back to the Ark and the thatch cottage where their women waited.
Behind them,
thieves lay in wait for victims...marketers prepared their wares for the next
sale...carousers sinned and families settled in for the night. None knew they
were doomed.
About
the Author:
V. G. Kilgore's father suggested
she write a bible story about family, though the finished product wasn't
exactly what he had in mind. She consulted biblical and rabbinical texts and
people of different religions about Ark legends and teachings, in writing a
hopefully entertaining and thought-provoking story.
A former reporter and state
bureaucrat, she spends her days at the pool, on her laptop or on the road, and
as far away from a desk as possible.
She lives in an empty nest in
Kentucky with her husband and pit bull and claims four children and three
grands.
Thanks for spotlight, Kelina
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