![]() Today, I'm very pleased to welcome author Heather Kaufman to Interviews & Reviews. Heather is the author of multiple books and devotions,praised by Kirkus Reviews for writing “a charming and well-crafted tale.” She delights in highlighting the goodness of God through storytelling. When not reading, writing, or accumulating mounds of books, Heather can be found exploring new parks with her husband and three children near their home in St. Louis, Missouri. Today, Heather is going to talk to us about her latest book Before the King. It is our January Book of the Month and Bethany House Publishers is giving away one print copy to a lucky reader in the U.S.! ![]() Heather, can you please provide a brief summary of Before the King? Before the King immerses readers in the aristocratic world of first-century Judea. Elaborate banquets, social outings to the theater, and luxurious lifestyles are on full display as the nobility pattern their lives after the Hellenized Herodian court. It is from this privileged social circle that Joanna comes. A “daughter of the Sadducees,” she’s learned the hard way that people with power and position must do everything possible to maintain what they have—even if it means breaking their own hearts in the process. After a tragic attack jars Joanna’s previously held beliefs, she’s confronted with a new future that places her even closer to the throne. Will she live forward from this moment authentically? Or will she choose to default to the life of pretense she’s always known? When Joanna encounters the teaching and miraculous healing of Jesus of Nazareth, the cracks that have been forming in her ideology split wide open as the truth He brings pours in. As Joanna embraces the new Kingdom of the Christ and helps fund his mission, she finds herself straddling a divide between a court that mocks Jesus and a discipleship group that views her with suspicion. Joanna must bravely stand for the truth even as she lives with a husband who is reluctant to do the same within their own marriage. What inspired you to write a story set in King Herod’s court? Joanna herself inspired this story. She’s named only twice in Scripture, but both times are illuminating and exciting. First, we see her as financial supporter of Jesus’ ministry in Luke 8:3 and then again as eyewitness to the empty tomb in Luke 24:10. I’ve always found it intriguing that a woman who walked in such close circles to Herod Antipas was an active supporter of Jesus’ ministry. How did she manage it, and was her husband supportive? How was she received by the discipleship group? Joanna crossed every line one could cross in her support of Jesus as she left the court for the dusty road to throw her influence at his feet. And yet we barely even remember her name. What an honor to enter into her story! How did you research the historical context for Before the King? The research for this book was intense. I laughingly told my husband that surely I’ve earned some sort of degree after this experience! I was committed to the hard work, however, because I wanted to understand, to the best of my ability, the historical Joanna. It was an intimidating venture seeing as there’s so little about her in the biblical text. Thankfully, there are years of faithful scholarship from which to pull, and God was so good to direct me to many helpful resources. I’m indebted to Richard Bauckham’s Gospel Women, in which he dedicates a ninety-page chapter to Joanna. His careful scholarship became the bedrock for this book. Likewise, Lynn H. Cohick’s Women in the World of the Earliest Christians was invaluable for fleshing out daily life for women across a variety of socioeconomic spheres and illuminating Joanna as a patroness. And then there was the political background. I read every single word (including the footnotes!) of Harold W. Hoehner’s Herod Antipas: A Contemporary of Jesus Christ. I now know more about Herod Antipas than I ever thought I would know (or care to know!). It was important for me to understand the political waters in which Joanna was swimming so that I might better portray the magnitude of her devotion to Christ. The more I discovered, the more my admiration for this strong woman grew. Truly, we don’t talk about her nearly enough! Your novel touches on themes of family loyalty, arranged marriage, and personal desire. How do these conflicts shape Joanna’s character? Joanna has learned to suppress not only her personal desire but also her sense of justice for the sake of her family’s honor. She comes from a world that frames life in terms of honor and shame, the family over the individual. But what is an individual to do when family values and beliefs go against one’s own convictions? We see this dividing line in Matthew 10:34–36, when Jesus states, “For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother” (ESV). A follower of Jesus must choose him even above family. This is a hard teaching, especially in a collectivist culture. Because Joanna has spent a good portion of her life suppressing her own desires for the sake of appearances, she becomes earnest for the truth. Part of her journey is learning to live authentically with herself and with others, to cling to what is right and true above all else. Can you tell us more about the “dark secret” Joanna’s family harbors? Without giving anything away, I’ll say the secret revolves around Joanna’s sister and raises important issues about sacrificially loving others. Joanna has been taught to seek relationship with those who are “profitable” for one’s own advancement. But what happens when a relationship is seen as a liability rather than an asset? The secret Joanna’s family holds stems from a fear of loss of power and plants the first seeds of disillusionment within Joanna. How does Joanna’s encounter with Herod’s financial minister change her life trajectory? Chuza is a man of “hidden sorrows.” As a Nabatean in Herod’s Jewish court, he straddles a divide that will eventually become precarious after Herod’s divorce from his first wife. Joanna is drawn to his integrity even as she is confused by the strange stipulation of his marriage proposal. Ultimately, it is their union that sets Joanna up to have the financial freedom to support Jesus’ ministry. She will have power and position, but how will she leverage both? Will she hold on tightly to what she has at all cost? Or will she steward her wealth in more honorable ways? How does Joanna’s faith journey evolve throughout the novel? The story opens with a hopeful Joanna who is confident that if she just prays hard and long enough, then God will answer her prayers in the way she wants. As years pass with no answers, however, the faith within Joanna dries up and cracks open “like a stretch of thirsty ground.” She’s come to believe that God is too big and powerful to bother with her. Perhaps He hears the prayers of important men upon whom He chooses to build and lead the nation of Israel, but His care certainly doesn’t extend to one woman. Joanna’s sister, however, clings to belief in a present and loving God despite her own difficult situation. In watching her sister’s staunch faith, Joanna’s own is challenged, and after tragedy strikes and Joanna experiences the miraculous protection of God, she must decide if she will give herself over to Him or remain closed off in disbelief. Joanna’s faith will be further challenged as she encounters the followers of Jesus and longs to emulate the authentic and committed life they represent. She comes to realize that faith is not dependent upon receiving specific answers at a certain time. No, faith is founded upon a Person. The story closes with a Joanna who has learned this startling truth—that God is not far off. Rather, He is as near and real as our own breath. The story explores the tension between aristocratic life and religious belief. How do you balance these elements in your narrative? I depict Joanna as coming from a Sadducean family. The lay nobility of Jesus’ day consisted mainly of Sadducees, people of wealth and influence, many of whom were aristocratic priests. In general, the Sadducees were compliant with Rome and its representatives, for this allowed them to retain their economic and religious power. Their cooperation with Rome set them starkly apart from other sects, as did their theology. Unlike the Pharisees, Sadducees did not believe in an afterlife or in a spiritual realm. They represent a small, elite segment of the population—but they’re also the ones who hold the most power and authority. In depicting this aristocratic family, I chose to place them in situations where they are repeatedly confronted with potential holes in their ideology. In teasing out their responses to such events, we see the doubt lying just beneath the surface. Perhaps unwavering commitment to the Herodian dynasty comes with moral compromises that, in the end, are not worth making. Can you elaborate on the “perilous path” Joanna treads between the court, the believers, and her husband? From some of the disciples’ perspective, specifically Simon the Zealot, Joanna represents everything wrong in Jewish society: exploitation of the poor, who are overtaxed to support lavish court life; a traitorous compliance with Rome; and a flagrant disregard for Jewish customs. From the Herodian court’s perspective, Joanna could be seen as both traitorous and dangerous as she follows a teacher preaching a new kingdom. Such language could potentially incite the interest of Rome, and the last thing the court wants is the delicate balance of power to be shaken. For her husband, Joanna could represent a liability. Chuza himself is caught between the Nabatean and Herodian courts, and the last thing he needs is for his loyalty to be questioned. Dare Joanna hold fast to the truth in the epicenter of such tension? What do you hope readers will take away from Joanna’s story? We are always living coram Deo, before the face of God, which means that we never experience one moment apart from His presence. Wherever we go, God goes first. Through fire, storm, and valley, God goes first. There is nowhere we can go and nothing we can walk through where God has not already been and where His presence is not sustaining us. Because He is present, we can be brave, standing firm—not in our own strength, but in His. How do you approach the task of “highlighting the goodness of God through storytelling”? When I write, I aim to authentically portray two foundational elements: the difficulty of life and the faithfulness of God. I tend to throw my characters into the emotional deep end because I think this honors the human experience. We all shoulder external and internal pressures that leave us dog-paddling in the deep, whole seasons where we question our stamina to endure one more moment. I hope to do justice to those struggles we all face—the secret doubts, hidden hurts, bitter thoughts. But then I seek to gently tip the reader’s chin up. Like a whisper in the ear that says, “You’re not alone. God sees you there in the struggle and does not condemn you. He is in the deep end with you.” God is the buoying presence that turns despair into hope, weakness into strength, and chaos into calm. This isn’t a sermon tied up with a storytelling bow. This is real life. When challenges come, where will we run to for stability? May the answer always be to the goodness of God, who is with us in the deep. What are you working on next? Currently, I’m working on Book 3 in the WOMEN OF THE WAY series. This one has a special place in my heart because I don’t believe anyone has written a story on this woman before. When we think of her, it’s usually in a cursory manner. In slowing down to consider what she must have gone through, I’m overwhelmed! Be prepared to leave Herod’s court far behind and ramble along the shores of Lake Gennesaret. This woman received a profound privilege and offered a great sacrifice. I can’t wait for readers to experience her story! Well, now I'm really curious! How can readers connect with you? Readers can connect with me online at HMKStories.com and sign up for my newsletter, which I’ve dubbed the Stories & Sundries MiniMag. When they sign up, they’ll receive a free devotional entitled Bottled Tears: 5 Times God Heard the Heart-Cry of a Woman. I’m also on socials as @HMKstories and love engaging with readers, especially on Instagram and Facebook. Thank you, Heather! And now, Dear Readers, if you would like to win a copy of Before the King and you live in the U.S., simply fill out the form below! The winner will be contacted via email and announced here. Failure to respond to your win after one week, will result in a new winner being chosen. This giveaway ends January 30, 2025. Congratulations to Wanda E. You have won a copy of Before the King. Watch for our email!![]() Joanna's wealthy family aspires to Herod's inner circle, but when her father's esteemed position in the Sepphoris Sanhedrin is threatened, her family harbors a dark secret. Entangled in the complexities of aristocratic life and an impending arranged marriage, Joanna is caught between her own desires and maintaining appearances. When tragedy strikes, Joanna grapples with a new future that challenges her sense of duty and hope for love. Years later, Joanna is forever changed when a rabbi comes preaching a new kingdom and healing the sick. As she contributes to his ministry, Joanna treads a perilous path between a court that mocks Jesus of Nazareth, disciples who view her with suspicion, and a husband who guards his own secrets. With pressure increasing on all sides, Joanna must decide where her allegiances lie and protect her relationship to the Christ, whose message is as compelling as it is dangerous. Leave a Reply. |
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1/23/2025
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