GIVEAWAY Crown of the Warrior King By Henry O. Arnold

About the Book

Book: Crown of the Warrior King

Author: Henry O. Arnold

Genre: Biblical Fiction

Release date: December 1, 2021

The desire of Israel…

the first to wear the crown is the warrior king

For decades the nation of Israel had no rest from her enemies. The people cried out, “Give us a king to lead us, to go out before us, to fight our battles.” And Yahweh hears the cries of the chosen. He plucks a king out of the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes—Saul, son of a herdsman. The prophet Samuel anoints him as Israel’s first warrior king.

Under the banner of the wolf, the symbol of his tribe, Saul rises to prominence, winning the hearts and minds of the people of Israel with his success on the battlefield and benevolent leadership.

But when the nation of Israel cries out, “For the love of Israel. For the glory of Yahweh. For the honor of the king,” the praises of the people turn the humble heart of the warrior king into one filled with pride—a pride that has fatal consequences.

In this tale of triumph and tribulation, deepest love and burning rivalries, the new epoch is given a voice…and it is a Song of Prophets and Kings.

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About the Author

Henry O. Arnold has co-authored a work of fiction, Hometown Favorite, with Bill Barton, and nonfiction, KABUL24, with Ben Pearson. He also co-wrote and produced with Steve Taylor (director) and Ben Pearson the film The Second Chance starring Michael W. Smith, the screenplay for the authorized film documentary on evangelist Billy Graham, God’s Ambassador, and the documentary film KABUL24, based on the book which is the story of western and Afghani hostages held captive by the Taliban for 105 days. He lives on a farm in Tennessee with his lovely wife Kay. They have two beautiful daughters married to two handsome men with three above-average grandchildren. For more information please visit: http://www.henryoarnold.com

AND NOW AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR

1. How much of your personality goes into your stories?

Every aspect of my personality infuses these stories and characters. I am fully human, and so I am challenged to express those qualities in all character’s: male and female, good and bad, honorable and dishonorable. I want the reader to see themselves in these characters and stories and to be true to that, I must be honest and reveal about myself and how I personally relate to these people.

2. Do you enjoying writing stand-alone stories or series? And Why?

I love the series because it allows me the freedom to “run a marathon” in the literary sense. Trust me, I’m not a marathon runner in the literal sense. I always knew The Song of Prophets and Kings would be written as a series. This choice can be problematic because while the author and publisher want to see a successful book, there is no guarantee. You hope that the readership will be there in the initial launch of that first volume, and you really hope that as the author, you have captured the imagination and the heart of the reader, and that they will continue throughout the journey of each successive volume.

3. Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?

This is a great question. I feel I get hijacked all the time by my characters. That is why I have learned to hold on to my characters with a very light touch. This is a big part of the joy of writing stories. I must pay close attention to the details of the scene and what choices the characters need to make or thoughts/words they much convey.

I believe this comes in part with my training as an actor. When doing a theatrical production, I might have an idea of what my character must do or say, but I also need to pay close attention to what the other characters are doing and saying, which informs me and gives me the freedom to respond. I use the same process to create my literary characters.

4. Your favorite thing about writing?

The “aloneness” of it. Yes, I’m also an actor and quite comfortable on stage, but I’ve discovered my introvert-self and quite like that part of my humanity.

5. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

It is not so much a surprise, but a hope realized. I wanted to go deeper in the biblical context of these stories, not just to learn the culture of ancient Israel and the other nations, but to see the deep connection between God and creation. More specifically, the redemptive aspect of God’s relationship to Israel and for the rest of humanity. I love imagining how important it was say, for Samuel to write down and protect the ancient scrolls that recorded the history of Israel to that point. He saw it as something that must be preserved and protected. We are beneficiaries of his and all the biblical writers’ efforts to record and preserve God’s Word.

6. If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

You are not as smart or talented as you think you are.

7. If you had one piece of advice for new writers, what would it be?

Read. Read. Read. Look. Look. Look. Write. Write. Write.

More from Henry

After the golden age of theatre in the Greek and Roman times, the theatre went dark, very dark as in Dark Ages, and for centuries it was thus. But it was the church that brought the theatre back to life by staging passion plays on biblical subjects. Since most people could not read at the time, it was a great way to tell the folks some Bible stories. The world has certainly improved its literacy skills since then. The delight I have in reading and writing stories from the Bible or on biblical themes has been with me for a long time.

When I formulated the concept of retelling the stories of the first three kings of Israel and matching them with the leading prophets of that age, the title of the series, The Song of Prophets and Kings, was a perfect match for the biblical/historical fiction genre. The first volume in this series, A Voice Within the Flame, was released last year and features the life of the prophet Samuel up to and including the anointing and coronation of Saul as the first king of Israel. Now it is time for the second volume, Crown of the Warrior King. This second novel picks up where the last one left off.

Whether the reader or listener is familiar with the biblical stories or not, I have written these novels in such a way that makes these ancient stories come to life in the modern world. When the reader/listener dives into stories that are 3,000 years old, it will be surprising how we all can see ourselves in these characters.

These are biblical stories that I grew up with and have read and studied all my life. It is a joy to get to share them with you in this series, The Song of Prophets and Kings.