Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Jill Eileen Smith & The Prince and the Prodigal

Please join me in welcoming Jill Eileen Smith to the blog today to chat about a few of her favorite reads and her new Biblical fiction novel, The Prince and the Prodigal!

THE PRINCE AND THE PRODIGAL by Jill Eileen Smith
GENRE: Inspirational Biblical Fiction
PUBLISHER: Revell
RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2022
PAGES: 368

Joseph is the pampered favorite son of the patriarch Jacob. His older brothers, deeply resentful of his status in the family, take advantage of the chance to get rid of him, selling him to slave traders and deceiving their father about his fate. It seems like their troubles are over. But for Joseph and older brother Judah, they are just beginning.

While Joseph is accused of rape and imprisoned, Judah attempts to flee the memory of his complicity in the betrayal of his younger brother. After decades apart, the brothers will come face-to-face in a stunning role reversal that sees Joseph in a position of great power while Judah begs for mercy. Will forgiveness or vengeance win the day?

Bestselling and award-winning author Jill Eileen Smith brings her considerable research and imaginative skills to bear in this vivid retelling of one of the most popular stories found in Scripture–a story of jealousy, betrayal, and a reconciliation that only God could bring about.

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a few of my favorite reads

by Jill Eileen Smith, author of The Prince and The Prodigal

I think I learned to love reading when I watched my mom holding a book in one hand and stirring something on the stove with the other. I’m not sure at what age I was introduced to books, but I came to love the way story took me to new places and gave me adventures I could never have had on my own.

As a child I loved the Misty horse stories. Stormy, Misty’s Foal comes to mind. I moved on to Little Women and a child’s version of Pilgrim’s Progress. Little Women is still one of my favorite stories and when I was first introduced to Louisa May Alcott’s writings, I found many more titles she had written and devoured them.

In my teen years, you could catch me reading Christian romances by Grace Livingston Hill. But it was a biblical novel, Two from Galilee by Marjorie Holmes that truly touched my heart. Her writing introduced me to the people of the Bible in a new way and I fell in love with Scripture. I went on to read every biblical novel I could find. Lois Henderson became one of my favorite authors in that genre at the time.

My favorites today? Strangely enough, most of the books I read now are non-fiction. I still read for pleasure and escape, but I read mostly to grow and learn in areas where I struggle. Life is full of struggles, yes? I’ve found many different books to teach me more about forgiveness, prayer, who God is, not giving up, who I am in Christ, and so much more.

But, of course, I still love fiction! I would say Francine Rivers’ Mark of the Lion series was one of my favorites. I read them to my sons when we homeschooled. I also loved Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise McGraw. It’s a young adult novel set in ancient Egypt, but it’s so well written that I’ve read it at least three times.

The Bible remains my favorite read because it gives life in every word. But I’m grateful to the hundreds of authors who have helped shape my life. It was a booklet, My Heart Christ’s Home, that led me to faith in Jesus as my Lord and Savior at the tender age of eight. How could I not love reading after that?

Every life tells a story, and we are all telling stories with the way we live. I learned to love writing mine down in fictional settings through one other person in my life—my grandmother. While my mom read as she cooked, my grandma brought out her pictures and told me stories about each one. I loved those times with her, though I didn’t know at the time that she was shaping me to become a storyteller as well.

So, some of my favorite reads are not written with pen and ink. Some of the best stories are the ones people tell us, or the memories evoked when we look into the faces of loved ones captured in photos. It’s great when someone can take the time to write those memories down for all to share. Listening to those who have gone before us contains so many unwritten stories. If we let them, books and those verbal stories can change our lives.

Jill Eileen Smith is the bestselling and award-winning author of the biblical fiction series The Wives of King David, Wives of the Patriarchs, and Daughters of the Promised Land, as well as The Heart of a King, Star of Persia: Esther’s Story, and Miriam’s Song. She is also the author of the nonfiction books When Life Doesn’t Match Your Dreams and She Walked Before Us. Her research into the lives of biblical women has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times. Jill lives with her family in southeast Michigan. Learn more at www.jilleileensmith.com.

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Revell is offering a print copy of The Prince and the Prodigal by Jill Eileen Smith to TWO of my readers! (US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What makes you want to read The Prince and the Prodigal by Jill Eileen Smith? Do you share any of her fave reads?