Posts about Precedent, Covenant of Trust Book 3

Study Tip: Joel

The Minor Prophets are so named not because their messages were any less important or inspired but because their writings were shorter. Often God called them to deliver one specific message and then they went back to their vocation. Some are very familiar like Jonah. Others like Nahum or Zephaniah are not so well known. Over the next several study tips, we'll look at these short books and point out what makes them relevant and worth a closer look.

We know next to nothing about the prophet Joel except his father's name. Scholars have combed through his words looking for clues about where he was from or even when he delivered his message, and they've come up empty-handed. All we know is that a swarm of locusts had destroyed the crops, and now the nation was facing a famine. God prompted Joel to seize this moment of natural disaster and warn of even greater calamity if the people didn't repent.

Joel is only three chapters and easily read in one sitting. It is straightforward with vivid imagery. As you read look for these things:

The locust invasion is described in chapter 1. What is the outlook following this disaster? What actions does Joel call for the people to take?

In the first half of chapter 2 another invasion is described. How is it like the locust invasion? Midway through chapter 2 what action is recommended to prevent a second invasion?

The rest of the book describes God's response to the people's repentance. What do you learn about God from His response?

A key phrase in the book is "The Day of the Lord." To what does it refer? Is there a single "day"? Many times, prophecy has a short term and a longer term fulfillment. Is this the case with the "day of the Lord"?

BONUS: Peter and Paul both quote from Joel. What do they say? Do they give new insight into the prophet's words?

BTW – I used some Scripture from Joel in Precedent. Next week: Amos and Obadiah.

Update: NaNoWriMo, Precedent for Kindle and More

By Paula Wiseman

As of this writing, I have almost three days of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in the bag. So far so good. I'm averaging around 2000 a day, which is better than the 1667 I'll need to make the 50K goal. I need a cushion because I'm pretty sure I won't be writing as much this weekend. (Sleepover with 6 11 year old boys + LSU at Alabama… Enough said.)

Already I've learned some things- I write in 200-400 words bursts. Serious writing = serious munchies. I am compulsive about checking my word count.

Also- Contingency is a FREE download at Smashwords right now. It's available in Kindle and Nook formats. (It's also free on Goodreads. Just click on the "read book" button.)

November 15th – Precedent for Kindle and Nook. (Then I can compulsively check my sales numbers instead of my words count.)

Finally, here's a little – unedited – piece of the novel I'm working on for NaNoWriMo… It's called Sanction. Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, March 10

“All rise.”

It was no less intimidating the second time the judge swept into the courtroom, his black robe swirling behind him. “Please, be seated,” he said, and Shannon Molinsky, her parents and everyone else did just that.

She fixed her eyes on the back of Dylan Snider’s head, several rows ahead of them at the defense table. His black hair was longer than she remembered, and it lay in neat layers. His earring was gone, and in his tailored navy suit he could have passed for a banker or one of the new attorneys at her father’s law firm. Anything but a rapist.

Her brother testified this morning. One of the four girls bringing the charges was a patient of his. “Her injuries were consistent with a sexual assault,” Joel said. Her parents both stiffened with those words. They knew she’d been with Dylan, but that was all they knew.

They protested when she announced she wanted to come to the trial. “I don’t want you anywhere near that punk,” her father said. “He’s bad news.” She didn’t disagree.

“Do you still have feelings for him?” her mother asked. Not those kind of feelings.

She couldn’t blame either one of them, though. Not after last summer. Three weeks after her brother Brad’s murder, she dropped off the face of the earth. Her brilliant plan had been to punish her father. After all, his affair led to Jack, which brought Jack’s grandfather to Brad’s mission downtown, which led to Brad and Jack rushing out onto the streets and a drive-by shooting. Someone … someone had to be responsible for Brad’s death. Not the shooter. Her father. Twisted thinking.

She went to a party at Dylan’s house and was arrested for drinking. Her dad flipped. He wouldn’t let her explain she’d taken one sip of punch after eating a hot pepper. That was it. No, his mind was made up. Case closed.

She went out with Dylan, and he came positively unglued. So she snuck out one Saturday morning, with Dylan’s help. After his “help,” she couldn’t bear to face her parents. It was New Year’s Day when her dad found her and brought her home. Six months later.

“The defense calls Dylan Aaron Snider to the stand.”

Her mother reached out, but Shannon quickly withdrew her hand. Her mother couldn’t know how cold and suddenly clammy her hands were. Instead, Shannon folded her hands in her lap, catching a glimpse of her father’s scowl. Just wait ’til he starts talking, Dad.

With puppy dog eyes, Dylan spun a sad tale about pawing, desperate girls pushing themselves on him, threatening to tell everyone he’d raped them if he didn’t give in. Shannon’s folded hands became clenched fists. Lies. All of it. Lies. Relayed in that same soft, mellow voice he’d used on her.

“Oh no sir,” he said to his lawyer. “I never gave her any reason to think that I was interested in a sexual relationship.”

That was the only thing he was interested in. Shannon crossed her legs tightly. He was going to talk his way out of this. The jury, all paying rapt attention, were buying his version. He would walk out of here scot-free after raping four girls. If they didn’t get justice, neither would she.

Finally, Dylan looked across the courtroom directly at her. “I never hurt anyone. I never took advantage of anyone. I never violated anyone’s boundaries. I never asked anyone to do anything they weren’t completely comfortable with. Never.”

White rage exploded in Shannon’s head, and with total disregard for the courtroom, for the jury, for her parents, she leapt to her feet, and pointed a finger at Dylan Snider’s heart. “He’s lying! He’s a rapist! HE RAPED ME!”

Friday Update: Precedent Release

By Paula Wiseman

Precedent cover Just a few quick notes –

Precedent officially releases tomorrow. Woo-hoo! The last time I checked Amazon (Friday morning) this listing was still processing, and listed as a pre-order. However, Barnes&Noble had things ready by Wednesday and they are offering the paperback at a special price of $10.04. If paperback is your format, your might want to check out B&N.

(If you've connected with me on Facebook, you knew all this stuff. Sorry for the repeats.)

Kindle & Nook – Ebooks will follow soon but I don't have an exact date. Stay tuned.

Covenant of Trust Book 4: Sanction – I've started the draft, actually wrote the first chapter this week and Chuck… he made me cry. So plan on more light fluffy stuff from the Molinskys 😉

This story focuses on Shannon's journey moving from a life lived under a penalty to a life Accepted in the Beloved as she struggles to accept the grace she's received. Bobbi will get a break of sorts while Chuck has to shoulder the emotional burden more. For a story I never intended to write, it sure seems like it was planned from the beginning.

Thanks for reading, for recommending, for reviewing and for your kind encouragement! What a blessing you are to me!

About Precedent

By Paula Wiseman

Precedent was a difficult book to write. Bobbi spends most of the book in a very dark place emotionally and it drained me to be there with her. So why write a book that pours so much on my characters after they've been through such difficulties in the first two books?

The idea of exploring a "curse" on Chuck was too good to pass up. Questions like– Do our sins, and the judgment for them follow us? The consequences certainly do, but don't forgiveness and judgment have to be mutually exclusive? Are the sins of the fathers visited on the children in this age of grace?

I know people who seem to have disaster after disaster befall them. Plus, Bobbi and Chuck have to draw on some of the same lessons they've already learned, (and learned the hard way). Bobbi struggles to trust God again. Chuck has to grasp that he's been forgiven.

Things come in threes. Bobbi and Chuck go through three seasons of successively more intense testing and refinement. Jesus went through three major temptations during His time in the wilderness. If you've been around long enough, I'd guess you can point to three seasons of refinement in your own life.

Watch for some of the same themes from Contingency and Indemnity to weave themselves through Precedent, especially the ideas of trust and betrayal. (No, Chuck does NOT cheat again. EVER.)

Don't worry– there's a happy ending, maybe not neat and tidy, but close enough to a happily ever after.

At the Proofreaders

By Paula Wiseman

This past Tuesday, June 21st, I finished my last round of edits and sent the draft of Precedent to my super proofreaders. Once their eagle eyes give it the once-over, the draft goes to the editor.

Previously it took 3-4 weeks for the editor to go through it. After that, I'll get the draft back for the FINAL edit. Once that's done, it's layout and production time. At this rate, the final book will be here before we know it!

Joel and a Patient

By Paula Wiseman

This scene existed SOLELY to set up a book I may never write. And the mother is WAY too calm. (It was a first draft. That's the way it goes.) Soooo… it's here and not in Precedent. Besides, I can't have any characters names Cullen after Twilight.

Tuesday, December 16

“I hate this part of my job,” Joel Molinsky thought to himself as he scanned a set of test results, before slipping them in the patient’s file. Turning to Janet Newton, the nurse he worked with most often, he asked, “Brandi’s here, isn’t she?”

“Yes, in room seven,” the nurse answered, pointing to the exam room.

“This one may take a few extra minutes,” he said.

“You need some back-up?”

“I might, after I drop this bomb,” he said holding up the patient file. He took a deep breath, with his hand on the exam room doorknob, then he swung the door open. Fifteen-year-old Brandi Cullen and her mother seemed to snap to attention. “Brandi, how are you doing today?”

“I’m okay,” the girl answered. Brandi was an average teenager in every sense of the word. Nothing about her grades, her looks, or her demeanor would cause her to stand out in a crowd. Today she was dressed in an over-sized sweatshirt, with her light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and her nails recently chewed down almost to the quick. “What did you find out?” Her mother, seated next to her, leaned forward.

“Several things,” Joel said. He pulled up a stool to sit on and laid the folder open on the counter. “This is going to be tough to hear for both of you, but I need you to listen to all of it.” He turned and looked Brandi in the eyes. “You tested positive for three sexually transmitted diseases.” Mrs. Cullen gasped and Brandi dropped her eyes. “Brandi, keep listening to me. Two of them we can treat and get rid of.”

“What about the third one?” Mrs. Cullen asked.

“It’s viral. It will never go away. We can only treat the symptoms.”

“A virus? Like AIDS?” Brandi asked, her eyes wide with panic.

“It’s not AIDS, and it won’t kill you. It’ll mess with your life, though, and it will impact your marriage someday.”

“Married? How can I get married now?” The teenager started to cry. “I’m ruined.”

“You’re not ruined,” her mother said, gently, taking her daughter’s hand.

“Brandi, keep listening. I’m not through talking to you. Tell me about your boyfriend.”

“Well, he’s nineteen… He’s in college.”

“What about girlfriends? Has he had a lot of them?”

“I’m sure. He’s really cute.” She sat up a little straighter.

“How’d you meet him?” Joel asked.

“Online, one of those friend of a friend deals.”

“Did any of your friends date him before you?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because she probably has the same things you have, and she needs to see a doctor. This guy needs to, too.”

“I can’t tell him this!” Brandi protested. “He’ll dump me!”

“Maybe not. How long have you been dating him?”

“Three months.”

“And how long before you had sex with him? I mean real sex.”

“About three weeks.”

Joel shook his head. “How did he convince you?”

“He said that’s what people do when they love each other.”

“Do you love him?”

Brandi glanced at her mother, then looked away. “No,” she said quietly.

“Then why did you…?” her mother began.

“I didn’t really want to… He just… I don’t know.” Brandi wiped a tear away. “This is embarrassing.”

“I’m sure it is,” Joel said softly. He watched Brandi’s eyes dart back and forth, waiting until she looked at him again. “Brandi, did he rape you?”

“I don’t think so. He just…” Brandi paused and stared off across the room once again. She pulled the sleeves of her shirt down over her hands, then she sighed. “Yeah… he did.” Mrs. Cullen knelt down in front of Brandi and hugged her tightly, both of them crying quietly.

Joel made a note on her chart, and said a silent prayer for the teenager. “Mrs. Cullen, do you want me to get a police officer in here?”

“You can do that?”

“Yes ma’am,” Joel said. “Brandi, this is going to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, but you need to go after this guy. He’s a slime and he doesn’t love you. He took advantage of you, but you can stop him from hurting anyone else. You’ve got solid testimony and you have a doctor who will go to court and back you up.”

“You’d do that?”

“You bet. Don’t let him get away with this.” He took a prescription pad down, and began writing, filling out four slips altogether. “These two are antibiotics,” he said handing her the first two slips. “This one we’ll talk more about in just a second.” He handed her the third slip, and held the last one up. “This one, give to the girls out front. When do you get out for Christmas?”

“Thursday’s our last day.”

“Nope,” Joel said. “It was yesterday.” He handed her the last slip. “They’ll write you an official doctor’s note. I think you need some time to absorb all this.” He flipped the folder closed. “I’m going to go call one of the police officers we work with. You’ll like her. She’s not as scary as I am.” He smiled at Brandi. “Then I’ll come back and we’ll talk more about this diagnosis and the treatments.”

“Thanks,” Brandi said. “You’re not scary. You made it easier to talk about.”

“You need to tell that to my wife,” Joel said with a grin as he opened the exam room door. “She says I’m really scary.”