What inspired you to write this book? This question (or its relative, “Why did you write this book?”) is one of your best opportunities to sell your book.
Purest Mercy was inspired by three interconnected aspects of my journey. These include my own and others’ extensive medical histories; the prominence of Jesus’ healing ministry throughout the Gospels; and the profound closeness of Jesus and other individuals throughout history to the Divine.
I grew up with a very rare, genetically-based liver disease, in the 1970s and ‘80s, which resulted in my being in and out of hospitals a number of times, before finally receiving a liver transplant in 1989, at the age of sixteen. The transplant was an event that both saved my life and resulted in a wide variety of additional medical issues in the years since. In and through my own experience, and in getting to know others who have known extensive medical challenges, the longing for healing and for miracles, for hope and for transformation, as reflected in Jesus’ healing ministry, has come through again and again.
The healing aspects of Jesus’ ministry, meanwhile, have largely been glossed over in our day and age. I spent six years in seminary, obtaining my Masters of Divinity degree in preparation for ministry, and never came across one theologian who has developed a systematic theology based on Jesus’ healing power. In a way, this is understandable: Jesus’ healing miracles took place instantaneously, whereas the miracles that modern medical science makes possible happen in long, difficult stages when they even happen at all. Yet, healing was at the very heart of Jesus’ ministry, healing miracles happened again and again throughout the Gospels, and therefore this vital part of the story deserves our especial attention.
Then there is the closeness, the devoted love, that Jesus shared with God, and which others throughout history, including St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Avila, Billy Graham, and Rich Mullins have shared with the Divine. This is a love and devotion so deep, so profound, that it touched and enriched everything they did, thereby blessing the lives of all those whom they encountered. We are still inspired, touched, and transformed by Jesus and His miracles today, in and through these and other disciples. Many miracles have been attributed to St. Francis and to St. Teresa, as well; but when one considers how great and lasting an impact Billy Graham’s messages and Rich Mullins’ music have had on people all across the world, it can rightfully be said that they, too, were conduits of Divine miracles. And these are just a few examples of those who have experienced a level of Intimacy with God that is transcendent and extraordinary.
So, in creating Mercy and her story, I was able to draw upon all these influences and inspirations, to create a character who, in her very nature, is, like Jesus before her, healing itself. The miraculous events that take place in and through her, and which continually astonish those around her, are as instantaneous as Jesus’ miracles. Yet, for Mercy, as for the Christ before her, even these extraordinary signs and wonders are entirely secondary and peripheral to the relationship she shares with God: that close, devoted relationship that makes the signs and wonders possible.
- Can you tell me about the book? This open-ended question is a wonderful gift that offers you an easy opportunity to enthrall your audience. Don’t squander it by reciting the copy on the back of your book jacket—infuse your answer with life by describing not only the “what” of your book, but the “why” that places it into a larger context.
Purest Mercy is an extraordinary novel about an extraordinary young woman: a young woman so humbly yet intimately connected to the Divine that she becomes the conduit in and through whom countless miracles take place. Everyone who comes into contact with her is touched and transformed by her faith, her prayers, her presence, and the life-giving wonders that take place in and through her. In particular, the healing that she continually makes possible for so many makes a lasting and profound difference.
Yet, these miraculous events are shown mostly in flashbacks. The majority of the novel, in fact, covers only sixteen hours, from shortly after 3:00 PM on Holy Thursday to a little after 7:00 AM on Good Friday, 2013. These are the hours in which Mercy’s greatest Gift will be given, her most significant work accomplished.
Thus, there is urgency in the air from the very first page, as Mercy, sensing what is to come for her and for her loved ones, makes her final preparations, and seeks to find an answer to a crucial question. Upon learning that answer, and discovering the identity of the recipient of her next miracle, Mercy races out into a gathering ice storm which is poised for destruction over the town.
Meanwhile, Mercy’s close friends, David and Bethany, are left by turns confused, then anxious, then horrified, and finally awed yet again, by the events leading up to and culminating in her last and most courageous Miracle.
Purest Mercy, then, is very much a love story, but not in the conventional sense. Though there is a definite romantic thread running throughout the novel—the love shared between Mercy and David is a source of beauty and inspiration to their entire community—the story is really centered on Mercy’s love for God, and for a little girl, Amy, whom she treasures like her own younger sister. The enormity of what Mercy takes on for Amy, and of the heroic courage her sacrifice entails, permeate the novel from start to finish.
- What did you learn when writing the book?
Writing Purest Mercy was very much like putting together a puzzle from the inside out. Rather than having the borders of the puzzle in place, I had to start with the beautiful centerpiece, Mercy herself, and then flesh out the story from there.
One thing that was especially important to me was to be able to get Mercy’s perspective. This need came into play throughout the story, but in particular in the chapters that come after what she does for Amy in the park. Writing about transcendent experiences that go beyond words was a unique challenge, but one I would embrace again and again. Her moments in and beside the Cottage on the Edge of Eternity were as beautiful for me as they were for her.
- What surprised you the most?
The most surprising aspect of writing Purest Mercy was how some of the story elements just fell right into place. For example, the memory sections that provide background on the main characters came together with less difficulty than I expected.
I was also surprised at how the last chapter happened. I was struggling with how to end the story, to be honest, when it occurred to me to set it a few months later and to describe what had taken place during the intervening months. Once I began writing that part, the events on that final morning, with David’s surprising discovery in the Garden, came to me out of nowhere. It was completely unexpected, and I think made for a beautiful closing.
- What does the title mean? Some titles are self-explanatory.
The title of the novel has a double meaning, both of which are very accurate for Mercy. One alludes to the habitual aspects of her nature, the other to the spiritual aspects. First, there is the meaning of “Purest Mercy” in alluding to the idea that, the events chronicled in the story, and especially the central event, are the most-expected events one could possibly imagine from Mercy. She is habitually thinking of others first and doing everything she can to be a blessing. Her giving of herself to save Amy, and her praying about David even as her own time is approaching…both are truly “Purest Mercy.” Knowing Mercy, we could expect nothing less.
Second, the title alludes to the profoundly spiritual aspects of Mercy’s nature, and particularly her closeness to the Divine. She is one of the purest souls to ever live, as evinced by all the miracles that take place in and through her, as well as by the final Gift she receives just after her sacrifice. She is Purity, personified.
- 9. Was the character inspired by a real person? If so, who?
The characters of David, Bethany, Amy, and Ross all incorporate facets of my own life and personality, as well as the lives and personalities of people I have known. However, Mercy was inspired by those who have most inspired me, including Jesus and the saints, mystics, and martyrs of past centuries. These are my heroes and heroines. Like them, Mercy is so very far beyond me; yet, like Amy, I wish I could be more like Mercy.
What do you think happened to the characters after the book ended?
I have not figured out what might happen to the characters after the book ends. Some of those conclusions are fairly easy to draw, while others are more challenging. David obviously has the hardest road, but where that road takes him, and how he endures, I cannot imagine.
Do you miss the characters?
I am in this respect very fortunate, because each of the main characters is truly a part of me. David and Bethany, in particular, are major parts of me. So I do not miss them, as I am never separated from them. They are as much a part of me as my medical history and my closest friends.
As for Mercy, she is always a part of me as well, in a different way. She is one that I always look up to, always admire, always aspire to be like. I can never really miss her, either, for she is always right there before me: inspiring me, challenging me, and enriching my life in her quiet, beautiful way. There is no one like her.
Learn More about Purest Mercy – Purchase on Amazon https://amzn.to/3SbWhxM
Purest Mercy is a Christian fiction novel about the extraordinary ways that God can use the simplest, humblest people to achieve great miracles. In it, we meet Mercy, a homeless teenager on the run from horrific circumstances, who finds her place of belonging when she comes upon the Resurrection Christian Mission Church, and its dedicated pastor, Rev. Bethany Lewis. RCMC is a ministry specifically aimed at alleviating the difficulties and struggles experienced by homeless people, but they are strapped to the limit, and about to run out of food to serve the community…when Mercy’s prayers result in a miraculous trove of food.
But the miracles are only just beginning. As Mercy’s prayers begin to transform more and more lives with healing and hope, she falls in love with David Mullins, a homeless youth she seems to know from Another Time and Place. Mercy, David, and Bethany form a tight-knit family, drawn all the closer when a younger girl, Amy, joins them off the streets.
Then, one night, during an intense ice storm, Amy is attacked and left for dead at a nearby park…until Mercy finds her and, in a final act of selflessness, literally takes on Amy’s wounds, receiving the stigmata just as she loses consciousness. Frantically, Bethany gets the young people back to the parsonage, where Mercy dies the following morning: Good Friday, 2013.
The family, and the Resurrection community, are heartsick over the shocking loss. Until God, again through Mercy, proves to them once and for all that even death cannot separate them from the Love–and Mercy–of the Divine.
