Book Recommendation - Voice of the Ancient

 

Connilyn Cossette is one of the best writers in the arena of Biblical historical fiction. With her words, she brings the old testament world to life and pulls the reader to see it through new eyes. Her upcoming novel, Voice of the Ancient, takes place during the time of Samuel, when Israel clamored for a king. I really enjoyed her take on what Israel was like during that time and absolutely adored the characters of Avidan and Keziah. Here's a bit about the book:

As the eldest son of a Levite and a Philistine, Avidan is torn between his duty to his family legacy and the desire for something more. When Ammonites attack the city of Yavash-Gilead, he takes the opportunity to fight with his cousins for the newly crowned King Saul. But when one of the cousins goes missing during the battle, Avidan stays behind to search for him in hopes that he's still alive.

Keziah is the daughter of one of the most powerful clan chiefs in the territory of Manasseh. On the brink of a forced marriage to a loathsome man decades older than her, she has no choice but to run. Dressed as a boy, she takes her horse and heads for the south, hoping to find sanctuary with her mother's family.

Battling to survive the dangers surrounding them, Avidan and Keziah make a pact to travel together. As Keziah's true origins are revealed and Avidan's search for his cousin becomes increasingly futile, they must not only rely on each other to stay alive but learn to trust the true and eternal King of Israel to guide their every step.

With impeccable research and award-winning writing, bestselling author Connilyn Cossette brings to life the first years of King Saul's reign.

As part of the author's facebook group, I was privy to some additional Q&A options. Here's what else I learned!

What drew you to this time period to set a series? 

Since I just fell in love with Eliora and Lukio/Natan’s family in the Covenant House I didn’t want to let them go! And I thought it would be fun to slow down a little in the early King’s period and discover what things must have been like during this transitional period in Israel’s history. 

Who was your favorite character to write and why? 

Hands down, Sarru. (Sorry Avi and Keziah!) I’ve never written a horse into a story before and it was fun to write about a horse with such personality. I kept thinking of Maximus the horse in Rapunzel because he’s my favorite character in that movie too. 

Which character do you most relate to?

I would probably say Avi. I grew up in a Christian home and knew the Lord from an early age but I spent some time in my late teens mucking around trying to do my own thing and following my own desires instead of seeking God’s voice in my decisions. Thankfully, the prayers of my faithful mama and my heavenly Father’s steadfast love helped bring me back from the far country and over time, like Avi, I’ve embraced the calling I have to speak truth through story and help remind the people of God of their true and sacred identity and point those who are lost to the hope found only in surrender to the One True King. 

How do you choose the names of your characters? Does their Hebrew meaning play a part? 

I have a few different resources that I use to find names (websites, Messianic bibles, etc.) and try to select ones that won’t be too difficult for western ears. But yes, a lot of times I will select names based on their meanings. For the ancient Hebrews the meaning of the names were so important and were even changed, like Abraham or Jacob, because of a shift in character or purpose, so I keep that in mind. But sometimes, especially with names of foreigners in my stories I just make them up!

What was the most interesting piece of research you uncovered while researching this book? 

I discovered that many Israelites believed that Yahweh and Asherah were married. There is now archeological evidence of such worship, including idols of both together. Unfortunately, mixing of pagan worship with pure worship of Yahweh has been around for millenia. 

Did anything surprise you as you were writing this story or did anything happen during writing to change the trajectory of this story? 

Well, since I was enduring chemotherapy for much of the time, things got a little convoluted and bogged down in the brain fog I was suffering. It was incredibly frustrating. When I was finished, it was almost like two separate books and all sorts of important connections with plot and character were missed or just a hopeless tangle. It took major, major edits to pick through all the mess and to figure out how to fix those issues so I ended up rewriting at least a third of the book, mostly toward the end. But the Lord sustained me, cleared my mind of chemo-brain, and now I love this story so much! 

What are you hoping readers will glean from this story? 

As usual my goal is always to point readers back to the Word in hopes they will dig in and study it for themselves, especially the Old Testament with an eye toward ways it illuminates the character of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I also hope that they will come away with a desire to listen more closely for the still small voice of the ancient one in every step they take. 

Any fun bits of trivia you'd like to share with my readers about this story/your research/process of writing this one, etc or any behind-the scenes fun? 

My favorite part of researching this book was when I took my kids horseback riding at a local ranch. But of course the horse I was riding had zero interest in going anywhere that day and pretty much trotted a couple times and then just was done. At least my kids got their horses to cooperate! It was a really fun day anyhow and I got absorbed in some great sensory detail for the story! 

Was there any part of this story that ministered to you specifically? 

I think it was just a good reminder of why I do what I do and the unique calling the Lord has on my life to share truth through stories that glorify His name. And it was such a blessing to lean on His strength when I had none during the difficult process of writing this book while undergoing aggressive cancer treatments and to be reminded of his constant, steadfast love. 

For fans of your other books, what references can we expect to past series? 

There are multiple appearances of characters from the Covenant House series since this is a spin-off of Between the Wild Branches. It’s always so fun to revisit old friends! 

What is coming next and when can we expect it? 

Book Two of the King’s Men will release August 20, 2024! I’m not ready to say much about it yet, except I LOVE the hero/heroine pairing in this book. It’s an enemies to lovers with lots of sparks and twisty-turns along the way! What I will say it that it takes place two years after the events of Voice of the Ancient, so we will catch up with the four cousins (well, three of them at least…) after some time has passed and Saul has been king for a couple of years. Stay tuned for more in the coming months!

This book releases August 15, 2023, wherever books are sold. You don't want to miss this one! Anyone who pre-orders will also get a copy of a prequel novella that sets the stage for this series. I found it very helpful. More information on that in the links below.

For more information, check out the following links:

Link to get the prequel novella: https://www.connilyncossette.com/pre-order-gift

Connilyn Cossette's website: https://www.connilyncossette.com/

Voice of the Ancient pinterest page: https://www.pinterest.com/connicossette/voice-of-the-ancient/

Connilyn Cossette's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ConnilynCossette

My full 5-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5247141466