Author Behind the Story Blog Series - Lynnette Bonner

 

The more I traverse this road we call "Life," the more I realize how little it is about me. Contrary to the mantras of the selfie society we currently live within, and where Narcissus would stand and clap all day long in appreciation of millions of people who believe as he did, I find myself becoming smaller. Not physically, mind you, although I would welcome a little of that, specifically in the weight department. Not psychologically, for I've never felt more alive than I do these days and have no suicidal ideations whatsoever. Not emotionally, as if I'm about to burst into song from the '70s. Not spiritually, beating my back with a whip, chanting "Woe is me."

I've become what the Bible calls a "slave of Jesus Christ." And He is my Master. 

I know. I know. You're probably asking, "Where does it say we're slaves?" You might even be thinking, "We're called "servants" in many instances, but never slaves, unless you're talking about being a 'slave of righteousness.' But to call ourselves 'slaves' is demeaning, offensive, and downright mean in today's society."

I challenge you to do a word study. Look up the word "kurios" in the Greek New Testament. Sit down with a cup of coffee, because it will take a while. It's used 747 times. It's the word "Lord." And it means someone who has complete dominion over another. A ruler, a master, who is supreme over others. It is a reference to Jesus. It is Him by another title. And when you are this kind of person - a Master - it is understood that you have "slaves." You cannot be the master over nobody. And in the world where Jesus, John, Peter, Paul, and the remaining disciples preached and wrote their epistles, they understood this relationship very well. It became the dominant motif, the dominant metaphor in the New Testament. 

The word "slave" is the word "doulos" in the Greek. It is used over 150 times in its various forms. It is unequivocal in its meaning. It means exactly what you probably think it means. A "slave" is owned by his or her master. A slave has no rights. A slave does not get to choose where he or she wishes to work, like a servant does, by the way. A slave was a tool in the days of the Roman Empire. A master could kill his slaves with no repercussions, no reprisals in the courts, nothing.

When one starts to dive into this study and sees the metaphor come alive and thus explain our true relationship to Jesus and God (if you look at the Septuagint), then verses like "You were chosen" come alive. Verses like "You are not your own. You were bought with a price" come alive. Verses like "You cannot serve two masters" come alive. When you start to look at all the verses describing our relationship with Jesus in this way, then the Bible really starts to make sense. 

Unfortunately, throughout the centuries, translators have translated doulos as "servant." There are six Greek words that can be translated "servant," and doulos was never intended to be one of them. Why? Because a servant "works for someone else." A servant can pick and choose who that employer is. A servant can take his daily wage and go home. A servant can resign and move on to "greener pastures," if HE OR SHE CHOOSES to do so. A slave, on the other hand, does not have those luxuries. A slave is totally dominated and owned by the will of another, i.e., his or her master. This is why Jesus says on more than one occasion things like, "Why do you call me 'Lord,' but you do not do what I command you to do?" That's the language of a master to his slaves. Slaves do not get to choose to be OBEDIENT. If the master chose them from the slave market (the slave market of sin, in this case), then He expects them to be obedient. No questions asked. And as they prove their allegiance, then He calls the "friends" (John 14) and shares His Father's Will with them more and more. 

So why do I bring all this up? I do so because of two reasons. One, as I mentioned before, I am becoming smaller. I am doing so as I become "a slave of Jesus," just like the disciples and the apostles were. They often started their epistles by describing themselves as a slave of Christ. They did not see it as offensive. They embraced it, because it was the best and most complete way to describe their relationship to their Lord and Savior. Even Paul said how we must be able to proclaim "Jesus is Lord," in Romans 10:9. To truly declare that, one MUST be a doulos. He cannot be "Lord" (kurios) if you are not His doulos. (This might explain why the church as a whole has so many issues, particularly in America. We like being obedient when it is convenient to be so...just like a servant.)

The second reason is why I started this blog so many years ago. To promote other writers, whether my writing career took off or not. I thought it could become a "database of other writers" readers could discover, and in doing so, maybe find a new "favorite" author. Little did I know how God would bless this blog. We are almost at the one hundred thousand hits milestone. Did you hear that? ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND! I am totally blown away at how He has grown this site from its meager beginnings to what it is today. Over the last couple of months, we've seen over three thousand hits alone. That's a 500% increase from the end of last year. And we don't even post as many authors a year as we used to. We used to do one a month. Now we do one a quarter. Yet, God has blessed less with more. That's sounds biblical, doesn't it?

In keeping in step with Him and the purpose of this blog, I want to welcome our next guest to the Florida Front Porch. So, pull up a chair, grab some sweet tea, and welcome a fellow author I have known for years from afar. We "met" as published authors of a now-defunct traditional publisher and have remained "virtual" friends over these years since. She's self-published now, with great success, and is an "information hub" when it comes to that world. She was a guest back in 2019, but I'm sure things have changed since then, right? Please welcome once again, Lynnette Bonner!

Lynnette, we always start off with this question. In fifty words or less, who is Lynnette Bonner? 

I was born and raised in the heart of Africa where my parents were missionaries. Without TV, I spent many joyful hours lost in the depths of a book (even if I had to do it with a flashlight after I was supposed to be asleep at boarding school.) I write spellbinding historical romances full of heart-pounding romantic tension that are uplifting, clean, and wholesome! There are no sex scenes or cussing. Each book includes an inspirational faith thread that brings the reader hope and joy.

Are you married? Single? Have kids? 

I’ve been married for over 32 years. We have four kids and two grandkids. Also a Pomeranian Chihuahua mix and a Ragdoll cat who are more work than the kids ever were!

That was smart. You answered the pet question without answering two questions separately. 

When the words aren’t flowing, what is your favorite comfort food and why? 

Chocolate and coffee. Sadly, the older I get, the less chocolate my waist can handle!

Everybody seems to have a bucket list. Do you? If so, what’s on it? If not, why not? 

I’ve always wanted to visit Australia. Haven’t been able to do that yet. I did recently get to fly in a hot air balloon, and that was awesome! It was something I’d been wanting to do for a long time.

Besides storytelling, what talents do you have? 

I’m a graphic artist who has worked on book cover design since 2012. I’ve worked for many wonderful clients over the years, and several publishers, one of which I’m still working for. I recently had to scale this business way back in order to keep up with writing stories.

Do you have a crazy, interesting, behind-the-scenes story about the publishing world you’d like to tell your readers without boring them to death with industry gobbledygook? 

When I was first pitching books to publishers back in the 1990s, I got rejected by all of them. Through the years, between giving birth to three boys and a girl, I worked on my craft, took writing classes, read all the articles and writing-craft books I could find. In the early 2000s we moved from Idaho to Washington. I was homeschooling three boys and had a toddler, and simply had no time for submitting my book to publishers. I remember praying and telling the Lord, “You gave me that story, and if You want it published, You’re going to have to drop a publisher in my lap.” Christmas of 2006 rolled around and on Christmas Eve of that year, my mom (who is also a writer) sent me an email. She said she’d learned of a new publisher that was just opening their doors and sent me the information. They did not require a (much dreaded) proposal, only a cover letter and the full manuscript. The kids were all in bed, not soundly sleeping, but being good because the next day was Christmas. I sent the publisher an email that night. Honestly, I figured it would be another in a long line of rejections. But six months later I got an email that thrills the heart of any author. “We want to publish your book!” God quite literally dropped that publisher in my lap, which is what gave me the confidence to know that I COULD live this dream that I’d had since Junior High. I’ve been an independent author (not through a publisher) since 2012, but that contract was what gave me the courage to start!

Of all the stories/books you have written, which one is your favorite? And what compelled you to write this story? 

If I had to choose, I would say my stand-alone On the Wings of a Whisper. It took me fifteen years to make sure I had the research on that book right. It is set in Africa starting in 1866, during the time of missionary explorer, David Livingstone.

Tell us about what project you are currently working on. 

I’m currently writing a series that starts in Independence, MO, and then continues on the Oregon Trail. I’m loving it! History and romance are my favorite things!

What’s the craziest thing you have ever done? 

That might be a toss up between eating crazy foods like fried flying ants, escargot, or sea turtle and going up in a hot air balloon, depending on what your fears are. 😊

I have a hard time eating vegetables. Flying ants? Snails? Sea turtle? I'll pass. 

When you are looking for a book to read, what are the things that are important to you? 

I love suspense, romance, and history. If it has one of those elements, chances are it will catch my interest. The cover does have to be well done (If the author doesn’t care about the cover, then chances are the writing is also not strong—not always, of course! But this is a truth I’ve noticed over the years.) I tend to read more contemporary romantic suspense verses historical romance like I write. I think that’s because it gives my brain a break from my own genre.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about you, or anything we didn’t
cover? 

Thank you for having me! I’m glad to share a little about myself with your readers. As a pastor’s wife, and entrepreneur who wears too many hats, I don’t do blog posts very often, but Kevin and I go way back to that first publisher I mentioned above. So it’s been fun to chat with you all today!

Thank you, Lynnette, for taking time to connect with our readers. I know they appreciate it.

Dear Readers, if you want to get to know more about Lynnette's writing, you can find her at the media outlets below:

Lynnette's Website: www.lynnettebonner.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lynnettebonner 

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@lynnettebonner

Until Next Time,

Kevin

The Author Behind the Story Blog Series - Lynnette Bonner

As we near the end of 2019, I am reminded that it wasn't too long ago when we were worried about the dreaded Y2K. Remember that? The world's computer systems were going to crash because some programmers at Microsoft apparently went to sleep at the wheel and didn't think their product (the most widely used computer operating system on the planet at the time) wasn't going to sell or be used in the new millennium.

Now, here we are, holding tiny computers in our hands called smartphones, which have more computing power than both of the Voyager satellites.

Chew on that one for a few.

As time moves on, things definitely change, and that brings us to our next guest on the Florida front porch, Lynnette Bonner! Lynnette and I go way back. We both have the distinction of having our debut novels published by the same, now defunct, publisher. Good times. However, one thing I have learned through it all is this: If that publisher had one thing going for it, they could find good talent from the pool of new authors. :-)

Welcome, Lynnette! As it is the ABTS tradition, we start of by asking the guest to give us a quick bio. In fifty words or less, who is Lynnette Bonner? 

I was born and raised in the country of Malawi, Africa, just south of the equator. I spent my early years running through crisp savannah grasses with my native friends, and then at the age of eight went off to a boarding school three thousand miles from home. When I graduated from that school, I traded the serenade of cicadas and sunshine for that of traffic and rain in the Seattle area where I still live. (Today was sunny! Whoop! Whoop!) 

Have you ever been sleepless in Seattle? :-)

Before you ever got a notion of becoming a writer/author, how old were you, and what were you doing in that time of your life?

Growing up overseas as I did, we didn’t have TV—or even electricity in some of the places we lived. So I spent a lot of time reading. I credit this foundation to the love of story that eventually led me to write my own books.

Are you married? Single? Have kids?

I met my husband in Bible college. He is a pastor. We have four children, all but one of whom have flown our crazy coop. 

I’m going to give you a shotgun list of favorites. List your favorite in each category and then tell us in one sentence why it is your favorite.

Favorite Song of All-Time: Right now it’s probably "Chain Breaker" by Zach Williams

Favorite Non-Fiction Book (other than your own & besides the Bible): Dare I confess that I rarely read non-fiction? Um… the Power of a Praying ___ series was good. I read Wife a few years back.

Favorite Bible Verse: I could list several, but I’m not sure I’d quantify them as “favorite." I feel all the Bible is equally important. I do love the book of James. (Maybe because after trying to follow some of Paul’s sentences, the book of James is so easy to understand. ;)

Favorite Movie: The Last of the Mohicans – Daniel Day Lewis version.

Favorite Actor or Actress: Maybe I’m just not a person who easily chooses favorites. I admire a lot of actors and actresses for different reasons. Too many to list here.

Favorite TV Show: Any police procedural with a little romance.

Favorite Novel (other than your own): Silk by Linda Chaikin

Favorite Author (other than you): Again, too many to list. No one really stands above the rest.

Favorite Sport: Do people really have favorites of all these things? ;) I like all kinds. I’ll say, any sport my kid is playing in. But I love football, basketball, soccer. Just not baseball. I’d almost rather watch paint dry than watch baseball.

Favorite Team (Can be any sport, any level): Seattle Seahawks. Seattle Sounders. Golden State Warriors

Favorite Subject in School Growing Up: PE :)

Favorite Subject Now: Art

Favorite Teacher in School: I loved many of my teachers. Mr. Bannister, my Junior English teacher was awesome.

Favorite Time of the Year: Summer

Favorite Place to Vacation: What’s a vacation? ;) Um… San Juan Islands, WA.

Favorite Drink: Vanilla Coke

Favorite Food: Steak and tortellini with Alfredo sauce all over it. Lima beans on the side.

Of all the stories/books you have written, which one is your favorite? And what compelled you to write this story?

This one is pretty easy for me to answer, actually. While I love all my characters, I think RyAnne from my Sonnets of the Spice Isle series, holds a special place in my heart. That story takes place in Africa, where I grew up. The historical research into that era was heartbreaking. And I was blessed to be able to shine light on such a tragic time in the world’s history. Readers can learn more about that series here: https://www.lynnettebonner.com/books/historical-fiction/sonnets-of-the-spice-isle/

Do you ever receive negative reviews from readers? If so, how do you respond when you see them?

Most of my negative reviews have to do with that fact that there’s “too much Christianity / religion in this book.” And I’m okay with that. :)

Tell us about your writing day. How do you go about writing?

In addition to being a writer, I’m a graphic designer. I mostly do book covers for others. You can find my site here: www.indiecoverdesign.com. So many days I’m working on a project for a client. But that works well for me because I’m more of an evening writer. At the very least, a late afternoon writer. So I do graphics in the morning and writing in the afternoon and evenings, around my daughters sports schedule. Both my husband and I try to make it to every game she’s in.

If you had one person you could meet (think outside the Bible here) and could spend as much time as you wanted with that individual, who would it be? 

I think I would pick author Francine Rivers. I think she could teach me a lot about how to be a better storyteller.

If you had one person you could meet (think ONLY Bible characters here) and could spend as much time as you wanted with that individual, who would it be besides Jesus? 

Difficult question… I think I’d love to get to know Mary the mother of Jesus. She was willing to be used by God in an amazing way that changed the course of the world, but made her seem like a crazy liar to those around her. What a sacrifice. She had to watch her firstborn son die a horrific death. At one point she became a widow. She had a hard life. Yet, I’m sure she would say it was worth it. I’m sure she could teach me a lot.

When you are looking for a book to read, what are the things that are important to you? 

A great cover. Interesting story with a good dose of realism but humor is always welcome. I’m a big fiction reader.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about you, or anything we didn’t cover? 

If readers would like to try out my writing, they can sign up for my newsletter and get a free contemporary romance novella. It is about a short-term mission trip to Malawi, Africa, the country I was born and raised in. www.lynnettebonner.com/newsletter.

Awesome, Lynnette. Are there any other places readers can go to get to know you better and check out your writing? 

Website: www.lynnettebonner.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorlynnettebonner

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lynnette-bonner

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3016386.Lynnette_Bonner

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lynnettebonner/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorlynnettebonner/

Lynnette, it's been a pleasure having you on our blog as a guest author! May God bless your writing ministry and book design business.

Dear reader, thanks for stopping by! From our home to yours, may God richly bless you and yours this Christmas season.


Until next time,

Kevin

Deadly Research Can Be So Uplifting (A Seriously Write Blog)

I wrote a series of articles several years ago when 30 Days Hath Revenge originally came out. It was a quick history of The Plague. It covered The Justinian Plague of 542 A.D., The Black Death, or Black Plague, in the 14th century, and the Third Great Plague of the 17th century. There were other, more recent outbreaks, too, which I discussed, like The Barbary Plague in San Francisco during the early 1900s, and smaller outbreaks in Chandigarh, India (1994) and in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa (2003).

As I researched for my book, I became fascinated by a portion of Old testament scripture I had read numerous times in the past, but it was an author who specialized in germ warfare who pointed out to me what I had missed.

In 1 Samuel 5:1-7:1, we have the story of the Ark of God being captured by the Philistines. They take the Ark back home and place it in the temple of Dagon in the city of Ashdod. At first, the Lord God sends a little message to the Philistines by causing the image of Dagon to fall on its face. The priests of the pagan temple, finding their god on the ground that next morning, picked up the image and put it back in its place.

(As an aside, how much does this look like us? God knocks down an image we tend to worship, and we, like the priests, pick it up, dust it off, and continue to live our lives in the same fashion, missing the inherent warning? Hmmm…Now, back to our story.)

So, the Lord God does it again. When the image of Dagon fell a second time the very next morning, the head and hands also broke off. They were found lying on the threshold of the temple. A very symbolic act by the Lord God to denote His dominion and power over the pagan god. Problem is, neither the priests nor the people of Ashdod got the message. You would think they would have put two and two together and thought to themselves, “Hey, we didn’t have this problem until the Ark of God arrived.” But, they didn’t. So, God proceeded to Plan B.

(One more aside: This, by the way, shows how merciful God is. He could have just gone ahead and enacted Plan B, but He tried to get their attention by other means first. This is often how God operates. Unfortunately, we often miss the earlier messages and only see the bad ones that follow, like the people of Ashdod. Then, we have the audacity to criticize God and ask why He is so vicious, so uncaring, and so malevolent in His ways. “Why does He allow bad things to happen to good people?” Had we listened the first time, He wouldn’t have to enact Plan B. Hmmm… Now, back to our story.)

In verse six and following, it says the Lord God’s hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod, and He inflicted them with “tumors.” In the Septuagint and Latin Vulgate, they add this line (NIV): “And rats appeared in their land, and death and destruction were throughout the city.”

That’s when the priests and people of Ashdod finally figured it out. Oh, it’s the Ark… So, they called for a meeting and decided to move the Ark. To Ekron. Duh. Now, two cities were infected because God did not stop the affliction in Ashdod. Verse 9 says the people in Ekron were also infected with “tumors.” In the Septuagint, it adds: “in the groin.”

The Bubonic Plague was referred to by that name because of the buboes (in the Biblical account = tumors) which appear under the arms and in the groin area. Lymph nodes swell with a mixture of the bacteria, both alive and dead, and puss (hence the stories about the “stench” and “smell of death” often recorded by historians).

In 1 Samuel 6, seven months passed before the Philistines called a major conference. Seven months of the plague devastating five major cities of the kingdom. Such is sin. It causes great suffering and stubbornness. So, when the conferees arrived and discussed the situation, they decided the Ark of God must be sent back to Israel. They also decided a guilt offering be sent with it: five golden tumors and five golden rats, to symbolize the affliction, and one for each ruler of the five major cities of Philistia (vv. 1-18). They finally got it.

Historians believe that this account in 1 Samuel is the first recorded account of a bubonic plague. There may have been other outbreaks in biblical times, too. They just didn’t get recorded.

What can we take away from this? It’s interesting how God uses the effects of sin (in this case, war, pride, and disease) to “preach a sermon,” of sorts (cf. Romans 1:19). In one of the worst accounts in recorded history, it started with one little microscopic bacteria and a flea. But that’s how sin operates. One seemingly small incident, decision, or choice against the laws of God, even by those who seem religiously devout, hatches in one individual and spreads throughout that person’s body, who in turn, comes in contact with another and another.

And the rest, they say, is history.

If only we would listen to the first message, we’d never have to experience God’s Plan B.

To see this article on the Seriously Write website, click on the following link: HERE!