I’ve enjoyed numerous Biblical fiction novels over the years. Besides books by well known authors such as Francine Rivers, Tessa Afshar, and Angela Hunt, I’ve enjoyed reading new authors, too. 

Such is Linda Dindzans. Her debut novel, A Certain Man released last month and is set during the time of Christ. Linda’s unique take on familiar Bible stories offers a fresh look at the people who came face to face with Jesus during his time on earth as the Word made flesh.

This is Book 1 of A Certain Future series.

Biblical Fiction on Standout Stories (dates indicate when featured on blog):

• Defending David — Barbara Britton (March 1, 2022) — The tale of the Ittai the Gittite who aided King David during Absalom’s rebellion. Derived from II Samuel 15-19:8.
• Lioness: Mahlah’s Journey —Barbara Britton (March 8, 2022) — The oldest daughter of Zelophehad summons all her courage to ask Moses for their dead father’s land. Based on Numbers 27.
• The Brother’s Keeper — Tracy Groot (April 12, 2022) — Get a new perspective on Jesus from his family’s point of view, particularly his brother James.
• The Stones of My Accusers — Tracy Groot (April 19, 2022) — Get a closeup view of life in Caesarea Maritima after the resurrection of Jesus. From the perspectives of a harlot, a former zealot, a sister of Jesus, and a Roman—chief secretary to Pontius Pilate.
• Ezekiel’s Song — Naomi Craig (October 4, 2022) — Experience the time of Ezekiel when Judah went into captivity in Babylon. 
• Keeping Christmas; “The Weary World Rejoices” — Naomi Craig (November 29, 2022) — Herod the Great’s palace is abuzz with news of a king born in Bethlehem. A fresh view of Jesus’s birth from the perspective of a scribe in Herod’s palace.
• Hosea’s Heart — Linda Wood Rondeau (June 21, 2022) — A contemporary allegory based on the book of Hosea—clever, witty, and fraught with meaning.
• Up From Dust: Martha’s Story — Heather Kaufman (March 19, 2024) — Journey to Roman-occupied Palestine for a glimpse of Martha and her siblings, Mary and Lazarus, friends of Jesus of Nazareth. 

Blurb

Mara is a young Samaritan beginning to discover her love for Samuel—and his for her. Soon she will be deemed mature enough to marry. Her hopes are dashed when her greedy father brokers a match with the cruel son of the wealthy High Priest of Shechem. When her loathsome betrothed is killed, her beloved Samuel must run for his life. Mara and Samuel struggle to survive and reunite during the treacherous and scandalous times of the Bible under the merciless rule of Rome.

Along the way, they are entangled within the snares of such notable figures as King Herod, Herodias, Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas, and Salome.

The heartrending tales of Mara and Samuel are interwoven with their desperate love story. Before either meets Yeshua the Nazarene face to face. Before He sets the political, religious, and spiritual landscape on fire. And before either Mara or Samuel are immortalized in the gospels.

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My thoughts

This story is so well written, you’d never guess it’s Linda’s debut novel.

If you want a glimpse into the turbulent times in Palestine during the time of Christ, read this compelling story. Living in Shechem in Samaria, Mara and Samuel, a kind woodworker, eagerly anticipate their betrothal, but are prevented by a string of disturbing events. Instead, Mara’s drunken father schemes to marry her to someone else, while Samuel must flee for his life. His only recourse is seeking sanctuary with the evil, ill-tempered Herod Antipas. 

As obstacles pile up, months turn into years. Mara, whose given name was the sweet Tamara—a date palm tree—now identifies more with being Mara—meaning bitter—which, sadly, was her father’s choice name for her all along.

Throughout the tale, effective imagery reflects character moods as well as the  cultural flavor and setting. Just the right amount of foreshadowing unfolds surprising but fitting events. The plot was compelling not just because of the action, but because I cared about these characters as real people. 

Seamlessly woven into the story are actual people from the Biblical narrative: Yosef (Joseph) of Arimathea, John the Baptizer, Herod Antipas, Herodias, her daughter Salome, and others. 

Linda integrates Biblical facts and situations with her imagination filling in the gaps of characters’ lives and plausible motives. It could have happened this way. The author is faithful to Scripture. Though Jesus sometimes speaks words apart from the Biblical context, he acts in accordance with His character. 

Above all, this is a love story of two kinds: of a man for a woman, and, even more importantly, of God for His people.

Join me for some Q & A with Linda Dindzans.

Questions about A Certain Man

What was your inspiration for writing A Certain Man? 

Linda: In the Old Testament whenever the phrase certain man is used, it refers to a specific person. Some Bible scholars suggest  that the phrase “a certain man” signaled the listeners  that Jesus that was speaking of a real person and a story based in truth, rather than a mere parable that illustrated a teaching point. And don’t we all love books, movies, and teaching “based on a true story.”

You stick close to Scripture in your novel but have plenty to fill in with your imagination. So how did you decide what Samuel’s and Mara’s backstories would be?

Linda: I am a “pants-er” and though I started with an idea of who Samuel and Mara would be, and how their faith journeys would develop, the middle portion came to me mostly organically. 

At first, the book was way too long. The Biblical fiction genre, like many others, has become much shorter. With the next book, I will plan a bit more, but still want to leave room to be surprised and  creative as I write.

In contemporary fiction, we can easily distinguish characters’ personalities—not just by character traits but by personal opinions, preferences, habits, clothing, and other things related to our particular culture (eats junk food, has to have her cappuccino every morning, loves cats, afraid of making left turns, plays tennis, always wears fashion boots, is a night owl, wears black, etc.) How do you decide how to distinguish Biblical characters from each other when it doesn’t seem like they had as much variety and choices in their daily lives?

Linda: Wow! You hit the nail on the head for one of the major issues for Biblical fiction writers. I did try to give them unique occupations with individual marks of their craftsmanship, unique  physical characteristics, unique possessions, and different personalities and reactions to stress.

What concerns did you have about using Jesus as a character? How did you approach this?

Linda: Another great question. I did not want to add to or change any teaching of Jesus, but I did not want Him to be a flat cardboard character either. When Jesus is “onstage” in the Bible and an incident is recounted, I did not want to add to His words. So, I “filled the gaps” in the narrative with what the characters were thinking. 

Additionally, He sometimes communicated as a still, small voice in the character’s head. I believe this helps suggest a subtext that explains why the gospel narrative at times seems to jump from one topic to the next.

When Jesus is “offstage”––for example, the gospel text says Jesus stayed in Samaria for two days––then the door is open and fair game for fictional events. But I tried to keep true to what Jesus taught in other places and how He behaved as not only God with us, but Man––the new Adam–– among us. 

Critique partners and editors, well versed in the Bible, also helped assure that I did not sacrifice scripture for story.

Besides studying the Biblical text, what other research did you do? Which tools or reference books came in handy for understanding the culture of that time?

Linda: There are 5 shelves of books above my desk. I have read Josephus, books on Herodias, the Herodians, the Samaritans, beasts of the Bible, food of the Bible, and everyday life. There is a cultural backgrounds study Bible that has great commentaries. Rose publishers puts out a series of books of Biblical timelines, maps, charts. 

I also read other well written and researched Biblical fiction. Those authors have done their research. And of course there are a wealth of online academic resources.

Have you ever been to Israel?

Linda: Yes! In April of 2019, my husband and I traveled with a group led by Jonathan Cahn, a messianic rabbi. He brought so much of the Old Testament foreshadowing , Jewish symbolism, the meanings of original text and fulfillment of patterns, that others of us miss. 

For instance, the word for house is “beth” and the word for bread is “lechem”. So, Bethlehem the birthplace of Jesus  literally means “House of the Bread.” And is He not our Bread of Life?

Archeology and history help us dig into the past, both literally and figuratively, but it’s impossible to know everything. Which cultural details (vs story details) did you have to fill in with your imagination?

Linda: It is impossible to know everything or sometimes even to know what you do not know, but a writer can only do their best. I went to the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. when they had a whole floor exhibit on The Samaritans. I could not find much specifically about the life of the Samaritans at the time of Jesus as it differed from the Jews, so I relied on information and traditions that have been passed down orally. Samaria was an area of many mixed cultures and outside influences.

I did find a list of the High Priests of Samaria. Joachim was mentioned as in office at the time of Jesus birth, but by the time Jesus is crucified, the next priest is named Jonathan. I could not find any other information. So, Book Two will require a switch of High Priest.

How do you want A Certain Man to resonate with your readers?

Linda: This book is  a story of redemption and restoration. For some a journey to faith. It is my hope that readers will be transported back to the time of Jesus and come to view Him in a new light, to consider His claims and what it must have been like to inhabit His times. To confront the question, If I had met Jesus face-to-face, would I have been a believer? What would have been my roadblock? What would have convinced me?

Questions about writing

Which books and/or authors have most inspired you in your writing journey?

Linda: First I was a reader. Of course, Biblical fiction books––everything from Ben Hur, The Robe, Quo Vadis––which I read as a child and teenager. Later, the works of Francine Rivers, the many series by Brock and Bodie Thoene. And most recently the works of  Mesu Andrews and Angela Hunt inspired me to write.

Share a little about your novel writing process, and how long it took to complete this  book. 

Linda: I retired from medicine to write fiction almost twelve years ago. Since that time,  I have realized that the pursuit of excellent writing skills must never end. This book replaced a project that had grown into a trilogy and gotten completely out of control. I set it aside but will someday return to it. 

A Certain Man was approximately two and a half years in the writing, but of course at least 9 more months to publication.

What’s next for you as an author? Please share something about a current project or the direction you want to go.

What’s next is learning all the “side skills” needed––social media, marketing, continue craft courses. Some teaching/speaking.

The next projects are Book 2: A Certain Mercy, and Book 3: A Certain Refuge cannot be afterthoughts.

Is there any writing advice you wish you had known ten years ago?

Linda: Get the story down, keep moving. As a new writer I got so hung up on editing to perfection each segment. Many of these segments were deleted later. I believe this happened because I did not have the confidence that I could “fix it” to the level I wanted to write. I now can write and if I come to a spot that I know needs a facial reaction or a visceral that I can’t come up with, I just type FACE FIX or VISCERAL FIX. Then I can search the word FIX and go back easily.

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Back to Laura . . . On a different note . . . 

If you like dual timeline fiction, you might enjoy my novel, A Hundred Magical Reasons. This story spotlights L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, his friendship with a young girl, and his impact through the decades. Set in Holland, Michigan, this novel alternates between 1980 and the early 1900s. Read more and watch the book trailer here. The story won a Scrivenings Press novel contest last fall and will be published by them in January 2025!

If you like small town/rural stories about family dynamics and secrets, you might enjoy my re-launched novel All That Is Hidden. Set near North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains in 1968, the story spotlights the bond of family and the connections of a tight-knit community. Northern exploitation threatens as a father’s hidden past catches up to him and tests family ties. Learn more and watch the trailer here.

All That Is Hidden awards:

• Winner of the Artisan Book Reviews Book Excellence Award
• Semifinalist in Serious Writer’s Book of the Decade contest

I invite you to join my monthly newsletter for writing updates, freebies, and giveaways. Sign up and I’ll send you a free gift: www.StandoutStoriesNewsletter.com

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Linda Dindzans Bio 

Linda Dindzans, M.D. is a writer with the heart of a healer who offers readers stories of redemption and restoration. Though her compelling characters inhabit the treacherous times of the Bible, Linda believes there is nothing new under the sun. The struggles of her characters still speak to hearts today. For more information, check out her Facebook page and her website. 

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Join me next time for a visit with author Kathryn Springer.

Meanwhile, have you read A Certain Man or other Biblical fiction? Is there a certain Biblical time period you’d like to read more about? Answer in the comments below.

Ever reading,

Laura

Sign up for my monthly newsletter and receive the prequel for All That Is Hidden: www.StandoutStoriesNewsletter.com