17.1.13

News of Upcoming Book: Judith

Many know how the story of Judith ends.  Widowed before her 20th birthday, Judith has created a life for herself in the small Jewish town of Bethulia.  She depends on her friend and maidservant, Abra, her wise, elderly friend Naomi, and the women of her household.  The Assyrian army, a terror of the ancient world, led by General Holofernes, places Bethulia under siege.  The town magistrate and elders want to surrender, but Judith with her strong faith, has other ideas.  Like David slaying the giant, Judith protects her people against overwhelming odds and superior strength.  She transforms from a humble woman to a heroine.

This much awaited historical fiction work is already receiving praise, coast to coast, and even across the pond.  It's in its final preparations to be published by Pearlsong Press, a publishing company in Nashville Tennessee.  The book is based on the Apocryphal story of Judith, who slane Holofernes. Unfortunately and irritatingly, the Book of Judith had so little about her, so with the support of the Kentucky Foundation for Women, I researched and wrote the historical novel from the perspective of Judith.   I'm honored to have come to know her in the way I meet and share any character's story.

There is tremendous significance for the painting that will serve as the cover of the book.   The particular painting, and there are many depicting Judith, hangs in Florence Italy's Uffizzi, among the museums of  il Polo Museale della citta di Firenze.  It's by Artemisia Gentilechi, an Italian Baroque painter, today considered one of the most accomplished painters in the generation after Caravaggio.  Gentilechi was a rape survivor, and was tortured during her rapist's trial where they tried to get her to confess that she had been her rapist's lover. As a rare female painter of her time, her talent, strength and conviction made acquiring the rights to this particular painting of Judith poignant for the cover of the novel.

Some of my loyal readers may notice that several entries by my sister have been removed.  I have decided to not be defined by my medical condition and status.  For the friends and family who continue to stand by me in my path to recovery after suffering a stroke May 2012, my deepest gratitude.