Connilyn Cossette is one of my top Biblical fiction go-to authors. This book is just another example of "why". This book is the 2nd in The Covenant House series, but can be read as a stand-alone (though I would recommend reading in order if you're going to read both of them). This book, while not focused on actual events of the Bible (those happened in the last story) includes some of the background and historical and cultural context of the time of Samuel. References to Samson's destruction of the Philistine arena are also included in this story. This story is very redemptive in nature and in addition to strong character development, includes several plot-lines that keep you turning pages. This is one I'd strongly recommend!
In addition, if you pre-order, you can get 8 bonus chapters that fit in with this story, but technically take place during the previous book, To Dwell Among Cedars. These bonus chapters should not be read without having read the first book as they contain spoilers, but I believe they really amplify this story as well!
As part of the launch team, I was invited to participate in a Q&A session. Here are some takeaways from that:
This series is a duology, what made you decide to only write two
books this time?
I was really intrigued with telling the
story of two siblings and how their journeys intertwined to form one whole
story that was satisfying both to myself and to my readers. Of course I usually
fall in love with secondary characters along the way and wish I could tell
their stories too, and the Covenant House was no exception. There is one
character in particular in Between the Wild Branches that my beta readers
wanted to know more about. So who knows, maybe in the future I’ll have the
chance to expand that storyline a bit! The great thing is that my next series
is a spin-off and readers will get to meet my next four heroes in BTWB, so keep
your eyes peeled as you read, especially near the end!
What drew you to this period in history to place a series?
When I had the opportunity to go to
Israel a few years ago we traveled right through the Beth Shemesh valley, where
the ruins of that town are just off the highway. And when our tour guide
mentioned that this area was near where Samson lived and was also the exact
place where the Philistines returned the Ark of the Covenant after they stole
it in 1 Samuel. That day, I had a distinct vision of that ark bumping along on
the road with two curious children following after it and decided that I needed
to tell their story. Fortunately for me, at the same time I was
plotting/researching the Covenant House series, scientists were proving from
DNA evidence gathered in a Philistine graveyard that these enigmatic people
actually came from Crete just like the Bible says they did. This new
information gave me lots of fodder for book material and made my imagination
spin like mad about the culture of the Philistines, which most likely was rooted
in the Minoan and/or Mycenean people during the Bronze Age. They were certainly
not simple shepherds and farmers like the Hebrew people were at that time and
likely worshipped the precursors to the Greek gods we all know, so I had lots
of fun contrasting the two opposing cultures and religious systems. There are
still a lot of unknowns with the Philistines and we don’t have a handle on
their language or writing system yet but I suspect more will come to light in
the future that will continue to prove the Bible historically accurate.
This series has underlying themes of adoption, why is this a special
topic for you?
Well, for starters, I am an adoptee
myself. I was adopted at birth and grew up knowing that my adoption was a
special thing and what a loving choice my young birthmother made to place me in
a stable, two-parent home. When I was twenty-two I actually got to meet my
birth mom, after stumbling across a web posting way back in the early days of
the internet, and have since gotten to know both her and my half-siblings. My
brother, too, was adopted from Korea when he was four and I am also the mother
of two adopted-at-birth children myself. So adoption is such a precious theme
in my own life that it just naturally spills into my stories. And our adoption
into the family of God through the sacrifice of Jesus is, of course, the most
beautiful story there is, so there are shades of that built into Eliora and
Lukio’s union with the Hebrew family that take them in and introduce them to
covenant life. Of course, adoption is a precious thing and full of beauty but
it is also rooted in loss, so I do not shy away from some of the challenges and
questions that adoptees face, such as: Who am I? Where do I belong? How do I
define my past and how does it affect my future? Or what if I’d never been
separated from my family of origin? Eliora and Lukio struggle through these
questions in different ways and I found great satisfaction in working through
their healing and self-acceptance, since their journeys at times mirror my own,
my brother’s, and those of my children.
Who was your favorite character to write/explore?
Lukio for sure. I’ve never had a
character’s voice come to me so easily. He is strong and yet vulnerable. He is
flawed, yet honorable. And he loves fiercely, so much that he would gladly
sacrifice everything for those who have his heart. I also have a very soft spot
for both a certain animal and a young boy who show up along the way, but I
don’t want to give out any spoilers, so I’ll just be quiet now.
What was the most interesting piece of research you found? Even if it
didn’t make the books!
I found out that archeologists have
found dice from that area of the world, usually made of wood or bone, that were
used for all sorts of games, including board games, and for gambling or
divination. The dice even have the exact same number of sides and dots that our
modern ones do. We tend to forget that ancient people were just people, they
played games and had fun and goofed around and made jokes just like we do, so it’s
always fun for me to incorporate those sorts of things in my stories. Those
dice were my inspiration for the special sheep-knuckles that Lukio carries
about in a pouch around his neck and uses with his little street-urchin gang.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on my next
series, which is a spin-off of The Covenant House series. I just couldn’t let
go of this family but was also inspired to move out of the Judges time-period
and into the Kings era. So the first book, releasing in 2022, begins with the
crowning of King Saul and follows four cousins who run off to fight for the new
king of Israel—although things certainly don’t go as the young men plan and one
of them disappears, which leads them on their own adventures in a turbulent
time when Israel was struggling to find its place among the nations around them
along with its identity as people of Yahweh. I can’t wait to explore these new
characters and biblical events! And the best part of a spin-off is that we get
to spend more time with some of the characters we’ve come to love. We haven’t
seen the last of Ronen, Eliora, Lukio, or Shoshana! I also have an upcoming
project that I am super excited about but for now is a secret, so stay tuned!
Between the Wild Branches releases on July 6, 2021, wherever books are sold. In order to get the 8 bonus chapters, you do need to pre-order in advance of July 6th (and it's worthwhile to do so!). For more information, check out the following links:
Connilyn Cossette's website:https://www.connilyncossette.com/
Connilyn Cossette's facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/ConnilynCossette
My full 5-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3615393299
Link to obtain bonus chapters with proof of pre-order: https://www.connilyncossette.com/btwb-pre-order-gift?utm_campaign=9fbc384b-7a0c-4d23-a206-a45b1d8657be&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&cid=11b7b6b6-571c-4191-9c17-0bd14a2260e7
