Questions for the author

[tieman55]

1. Did you draw on any extra-Biblical sources for filling in the storyline? For example, did you add in anything from the Babylonian account (Enuma Elish) or the ancient Sumerian cosmology?

2. Have you ever read the Book of Jasher and did you draw on that for filling in the details that, by comparison, were CLEARLY left out of the Biblical account?

Hi
1. No, I have never really read any ancient history or philosophy.
2. No.

[tieman55]

What's your writing process?

Not sure I have a process. I do do a lot of thinking, pretty much non-stop which helps. The idea for this book was me lost in thought, thinking about what the mark of Cain might have been.

One thing I try always to do, is to sleep on it . . . I write very fast, so there are plenty of mistakes, so I will write for a couple hours go back and fix most of the mistakes, then wait a couple days and then usually I have forgotten a lot of what I wrote, as I was busy thinking / writing about other different scenarios. So, there will be many more changes that will need to be made and then it is back to sleep on it and start again in a couple days. After a few re-visits it gets to the point that I first envisioned.

[tieman55]

Dear author, you filled so many gaps. What exactly inspired you?

I was listening to a good friend of mine doing a teaching on Cain and Abel and during his lecture, he mentioned in passing . . . "if anyone has any idea . . . what the mark of Cain was" he would be very interested in just what they thought it might be.

So, I knew/ always have known what the mark of Cain was. Or more accurately said, I thought I knew what the mark of Cain was.

My pastor friend is far more knowledgeable about the Bible than am I, so the obvious question was how did I know?

I researched it, I googled it, I thought about it, I searched my memory, and I have no idea how, why I know/think that I know/ believe that I know what the mark of Cain was.

The more I research it, the more I was convinced that I am right and the more I was convinced that I have literally no idea how I know/ knew. And well, I thought it would make a good story, so I started writing and here I am, LOL

[tieman55]

I would ask the author if he believed that having an in detail account or story of other biblical stories would overall be a good thing or if the level of detail given in scripture has its own advantages.

Great question, not sure. God had a reason, God has reasons why He doesn't fill in the gaps.

I for myself have decided that you or me or any writer to fill in the gaps as possibilities is a just and noble adventure in thought.

There are quite a few people critical of what I have done in Killing Abel, and that is fine. I would only say that after reading countless commentators/ commentaries about the Bible, what I have done is basically the same as they have done. I just chose a different format. A format that in my opinion is more powerful and frankly more honoring to God, as I tell everyone it is FICTION.

The commentators their conclusions are just as fictional as are mine. Only the Bible is the Word of God.

[tieman55]

I would like to ask the author if he sees any risks in the fact that by writing a fictional novel he's mixing the words of the Bible with his imagination? And another question would be: how does he feel about Christian fictive literature overall?

Before I started writing, I gave that question zero thought and or concern. So at first, the answer is no.

Your question has now, come up at least a few times, and with those questions I have had to think through the issue.

My conclusion is that my attempt at explaining the bible is far more enlightening than the countless myriad of biblical commentaries are.

My first brushes with the Bible, at this point in hindsight, were not good. The fact was, I was relying far more on the commentators than the word of God. I have totally reversed field with Killing Abel. My point of view now is that the commentaries are just as much conjecture as is Killing Abel. Only I tell you up front that . . . hey Killing Abel is to a large extent my imagination and thus a work of fiction.

When I began the process, I would have never thought I would say what I am going to say to you now; at this point after weaving together the way points given to us in the Bible, I am far more persuaded that some of the events in Killing Abel, may have actually happened. Not because I was inspired, or that I am brilliant biblical scholar, as I am neither. It is solely because the events in the Bible weaved together easily and flawlessly as I penned Killing Abel. The story literally fell into place. And in no way was Killing Abel preconceived beyond the beginning and the end. It really is the story in the Bible.

If I was to give myself any credit, it would be that God is so real to me, He is not at like some aloof supreme being. I am sorry if that offends you, but to me God is just a good Father. The way God seems to me is the way I portrayed Him in Killing Abel.

[tieman55]

I'd ask:

What inspired this writing?
Are you ready for the bashing you may or may not get from religious and nonreligious persons?

So, I answered what inspired me to write Killing Abel in a different post, so I won't go over that again.

As far as bashing from religious/churches is something that yes, I have considered those possibilities.
It hasn't come up yet, if the book ever makes it big, well perhaps those in the "deep church" will swing at some low hanging fruit like me. It would be quite the complement for that to happen, as it would be a testament to the success of Killing Abel.

PS,
So far, the best thing for me out of writing Killing Abel have been reading the reviews. For anyone who enjoy's writing as I do, it never ceases to amaze me, just how I write one thing, that means something special to me and another reader comes along and reads that same text and they come out with a totally different meaning, than the one I intended LOL . . . and almost always they have a good point to be made.

Words have a sphere of meaning, and you will never know the vast sphere of meaning, that the words you pen have on people. . . you will NEVER know. and that is an overwhelming good thing that I feel for my work in Killing Abel. Good words like the ones in the bible always return with a profit!

[Laura Lee]

1. Did you draw on any extra-Biblical sources for filling in the storyline? For example, did you add in anything from the Babylonian account (Enuma Elish) or the ancient Sumerian cosmology?

2. Have you ever read the Book of Jasher and did you draw on that for filling in the details that, by comparison, were CLEARLY left out of the Biblical account?

Hi
1. No, I have never really read any ancient history or philosophy.
2. No.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

[tieman55]

?
Why do you think they had twelve daughters?

Cain killed Abel.

Cain didn't kill Adam. Is that clear enough? (Just kidding)

So, in my opinion Cain could not have been the "first born" but he is clearly the "first male child". Had Cain been born first, and then Abel second, both men would have become "men" with no women but Eve available. I am a man and the sexual desire that God put in me and all men is at times extremely overbearing and would have cause conflict between Cain and Adam not Cain and Abel.

The bible records basically no women being born, only Eve being created. And then, the Bible tells us that "with the help of the Lord" she conceived and bore cain. This is the only time in the Bible that a child is born a name. So maybe it was not a name? Indeed it probably was not. It was a process that Eve learned with the help of the Lord to conceive a male child. The number 12 was somewhat arbitrary but 13 is the number of rebellion so, I pick it out to be Cains position in history.

[tieman55]

I would like to ask if he intends to write sequels to this one?

So there are basically more things in the Bible that absolutely crystal clear yet no one knows either one, that I have have plenty of material on to write about and may do so.

1. A story about Abraham. It would be called the first born. The story of Abraham and his "only son" quoting God, is the reason we have wars in the middle east, yet no one knows it. Why this is the case, I can't say, but it without any doubt is true and would be good for all faiths to reflect on, after all we are all sons of Abraham!

2. The story of Babel. There are countless reasons why wars are started but there is only one reason that war exist. The name of this book would be The undoing of Babel, which is being done as we speak. Think about it, today you can get software that will listen to any language and you will hear it in your language. God is extremely wise and was forced into doing what He did at Babel, but no one knows why He did it and it would make a great story to tell.

[tieman55]

Since there is an issue raised about the title of the book. I would love to know the authors thought while chosing the title.

So, I liked Bill Orielly's books in his killing series. So that seemed to fit.

After the book took shape it became clear that the overarching theme of the book are the consequences of Cain killing his brother, the first murder.

Before I starting writing the book I was like 99 percent of Christians who put the fall of man as the pivot point for's God decision to flood the earth. But as I wrote Killing Abel, it became clear that the first murder, and just as important, Adam's response to that murder, were far in away the turning events that led to God's decision to start over with Noah.

All sins are only the same in that they separate us form God, but other than that murder is far worse than eating from the tree of knowledge.

[Dee_Robert]

I'd ask:

What inspired this writing?
Are you ready for the bashing you may or may not get from religious and nonreligious persons?

So, I answered what inspired me to write Killing Abel in a different post, so I won't go over that again.

As far as bashing from religious/churches is something that yes, I have considered those possibilities.
It hasn't come up yet, if the book ever makes it big, well perhaps those in the "deep church" will swing at some low hanging fruit like me. It would be quite the complement for that to happen, as it would be a testament to the success of Killing Abel.

PS,
So far, the best thing for me out of writing Killing Abel have been reading the reviews. For anyone who enjoy's writing as I do, it never ceases to amaze me, just how I write one thing, that means something special to me and another reader comes along and reads that same text and they come out with a totally different meaning, than the one I intended LOL . . . and almost always they have a good point to be made.

Words have a sphere of meaning, and you will never know the vast sphere of meaning, that the words you pen have on people. . . you will NEVER know. and that is an overwhelming good thing that I feel for my work in Killing Abel. Good words like the ones in the bible always return with a profit!

This is absolutely true. Sometimes our words are interpreted in ways we didn't mean them.
Thank you for carefully answering my questions.

[Joseph_ngaruiya]

I would like to know how long has the story been on their mind? Why did they choose now to write it?

This must have taken the author quite some time. I would also like to get an answer to your question.

[Kirsi Cultrera]

I would like to ask the author if he sees any risks in the fact that by writing a fictional novel he's mixing the words of the Bible with his imagination? And another question would be: how does he feel about Christian fictive literature overall?

Before I started writing, I gave that question zero thought and or concern. So at first, the answer is no.

Your question has now, come up at least a few times, and with those questions I have had to think through the issue.

My conclusion is that my attempt at explaining the bible is far more enlightening than the countless myriad of biblical commentaries are.

My first brushes with the Bible, at this point in hindsight, were not good. The fact was, I was relying far more on the commentators than the word of God. I have totally reversed field with Killing Abel. My point of view now is that the commentaries are just as much conjecture as is Killing Abel. Only I tell you up front that . . . hey Killing Abel is to a large extent my imagination and thus a work of fiction.

When I began the process, I would have never thought I would say what I am going to say to you now; at this point after weaving together the way points given to us in the Bible, I am far more persuaded that some of the events in Killing Abel, may have actually happened. Not because I was inspired, or that I am brilliant biblical scholar, as I am neither. It is solely because the events in the Bible weaved together easily and flawlessly as I penned Killing Abel. The story literally fell into place. And in no way was Killing Abel preconceived beyond the beginning and the end. It really is the story in the Bible.

If I was to give myself any credit, it would be that God is so real to me, He is not at like some aloof supreme being. I am sorry if that offends you, but to me God is just a good Father. The way God seems to me is the way I portrayed Him in Killing Abel.

Hey, thanks so much for answering my questions The truth is that I love Christian fiction (that is, when it is well-written, of course). I keep on pondering with this question because I know there are people out there who don't read critically when it comes to Christian books, but instead take everything that is written as an absolute truth. So cool that I could just once hear the thoughts of someone who writes Christian fiction!

[tieman55]

1. Did you draw on any extra-Biblical sources for filling in the storyline? For example, did you add in anything from the Babylonian account (Enuma Elish) or the ancient Sumerian cosmology?

2. Have you ever read the Book of Jasher and did you draw on that for filling in the details that, by comparison, were CLEARLY left out of the Biblical account?

Hi
1. No, I have never really read any ancient history or philosophy.
2. No.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

My pleasure

[tieman55]

I'd ask:

What inspired this writing?
Are you ready for the bashing you may or may not get from religious and nonreligious persons?

So, I answered what inspired me to write Killing Abel in a different post, so I won't go over that again.

As far as bashing from religious/churches is something that yes, I have considered those possibilities.
It hasn't come up yet, if the book ever makes it big, well perhaps those in the "deep church" will swing at some low hanging fruit like me. It would be quite the complement for that to happen, as it would be a testament to the success of Killing Abel.

PS,
So far, the best thing for me out of writing Killing Abel have been reading the reviews. For anyone who enjoy's writing as I do, it never ceases to amaze me, just how I write one thing, that means something special to me and another reader comes along and reads that same text and they come out with a totally different meaning, than the one I intended LOL . . . and almost always they have a good point to be made.

Words have a sphere of meaning, and you will never know the vast sphere of meaning, that the words you pen have on people. . . you will NEVER know. and that is an overwhelming good thing that I feel for my work in Killing Abel. Good words like the ones in the bible always return with a profit!

This is absolutely true. Sometimes our words are interpreted in ways we didn't mean them.
Thank you for carefully answering my questions.

Can I ask you a question? I see C.S. Lewis is a favorite of yours. He was a great man and author. But my view of God is, to some extent different than that of the great Lewis, I am wondering if your view of God is in any way different than that of Lewis? And if so, would you mind sharing just a bit of those distinctions?