The first two people to comment on this blog post will get a free ebook version of The Path of the Chosen Warriors.
Marshalee, I am so excited to interview you today. I’ve really enjoyed what you’ve been doing with your blog. Please tell me a little about yourself and what made you start this awesome blog.
Well, I am a Christian author from Jamaica who has always loved reading since I could walk. I didn’t grow up with a television so books were a way to discover new things and new places for me. I grew up in a large family, which still surrounds me- was kind of a tomboy at one point too. I love learning about different cultures and got fascinated with the Spanish culture to the point where I can now dance salsa, merengue and cha-cha, very well. The language, however, has been my challenge- but I promised myself I will learn it. In regards to what made me start the blog, actually, it was some of the marketing tutorials I had been reading, which recommended I start one to build an audience. Most tell you to share whatever your good at, I wasn’t sure what that was for me, so I thought it was a great way to teach life lessons to readers through my books by using different characters and how they dealt with it. I find it also a great way to minister Christ beyond my books.
I’ve been reading your latest book, The Path of the Chosen Warriors, and really enjoy it. Can you tell us what inspired the story and what you hope readers will get from it?
That story idea came to me through a dream after I started learning how to pray spiritual warfare prayers. I wanted to grow more in that area so I don’t have to call my pastor to do for me when we are all called to be soldiers in God’s army. Since I began to pray and do a lot of midnight prayers, God has revealed to me so many things the devil had been doing against me and family. With those prayers, I saw how strong my spirit man became in fighting against the enemy in the spirit when I went to bed at night and dreamed. I realised that the Lord wanted me to get readers aware of how real the spiritual realm is and that what we see in dreams are important and also to show them how to pray and get deliverance. What I want readers to get is knowledge and to understand how to help themselves in similar situations as the characters. To be aware that the spiritual realm is more real than the one we see every day. Every prayer I used are real ones based on scriptures as I have been learning.
What surprised you when you wrote the book?
What surprised me was how God has been transforming me to be a better Christian by the way I saw the characters live. Joshua’s character got me realising the importance of starting my mornings with God, something I didn’t think was very important if I was already praying every day. Ruth made me desire to have more of God’s love in me so that I wouldn’t look upon the vilest of sinners through the eyes of the flesh and allow them to miss salvation if I was whom God wanted to use to reach out to that person. And then there’s Hannah who builds my faith level and also challenged my heart to stand in prayer for those who hurt you.
The Path of the Chosen Warriors is a Christian romantic thriller. Is that a genre you enjoy reading?
I haven’t read many in that genre, but I grew up loving mystery books and movies. I do enjoy thrillers though.
How does your Jamaican culture influence your writing?
My culture as a Jamaican hasn’t really influenced my writing so much except for the fact that I try to make one of my main characters a Jamaican, to represent and identify with my heritage. But I have included a dish we eat here in my first book and some places of interest to someone who would be interested in visiting.
How does your faith influence your writing?
My faith is the backbone of my writing, although the books entertain, they are first and foremost to minister to readers about God and their relationship with him. God has opened my eyes to see that even though I write fiction, it is the platform given to me to glorify him and help readers find healing, deliverance and salvation through the characters. I write as if I am someone who seeks God and this is the only place I would find him, as someone who wouldn’t go to a church because I would feel judged or rejected, as someone who needed to learn how to pray and how to do so through the word, and as someone who needed to learn how to stand and have faith in God while He works through our situations. I have learnt that I will be held accountable just as a pastor will be if not give the readers what God puts in me and study his word to be effective in doing so.
What are some of your favorite diverse Christian reads?
I have read Discovery of Hope by T.I Lowe, Waiting for Rachael by Kimberly Rae Jordon, Not by Sight by Kay Lyons Stockham and Street Preacher by Aaron Davis, which was a really good read too.
What else have your written? And what’s next?
I have another book out called Predestined Love; it’s an inspirational romance and another called A Shattered Life Restored that is now being edited. I also have two books to follow after A Shattered Life restored and I’ve already done the covers for them.
Finally, a fun question! 🙂 If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
First I must say, I love classic literature above all and I don’t know if I could pick just one of those books but if I had to, it would probably be Les Miserables. There is just so much to learn from that one book; from watching a man hardened by the governmental system getting transformed into a helpful and forgiving person from the act of kindness of an old priest. The lengths he went through to help a woman’s child trapped in the care of a greedy family and in return found love through that child when he himself didn’t have anyone to offer him any. It makes you want to cry in some parts, full of forgiveness to those who wronged you over and over and you see the Spirit of God at work.
A story of spiritual warfare: the perpetual fight of good over evil in a paranormal setting with demonic forces attempting to overcome the Christians in the community. This story draws you in and holds your attention as you want to know what the final outcome will be. Who will triumph? Will the evil forces of Abaddon defeat the Christians? Will Ruth and Joshua escape from Sodom Shadows and return to their home in Shiloh City? Suspense, action, intrigue and romance, in this story, which takes the reader to the realm where the struggle for supremacy takes place.”
Staring into the eyes of the man she loved, Ruth knew coming home was where she would make her fondest memories with her beloved Joshua. She was looking forward to their journey together as man and wife. All their plans were interrupted when they were caught up in a terrible storm, and their boat crashed in an unknown area. Although they were lost, it seemed as if destiny had brought them to this unfamiliar territory, and until they discovered what it was and fulfilled it, their future together would be put on hold.
Abbadon was quick and Brad’s eyes widened when he felt Abbadon’s hand on his throat. Abbadon gritted his teeth and glared at him. Brad kicked his feet when he felt his body lifting off the ground. He tugged against the hand of the High Priest while gasping for air. With a loud growl Abbadon flung him into the direction of the crowd.
Abaddon walked towards the crowd with his grip firmly around Ruth’s neck. They stepped back, as the sight of him was nothing they had ever seen before. Even though they saw the blackness in his eyes and felt the evil within him, they remembered the God who had just saved them and they held their faith. Joshua and Brad joined with them.
“Abaddon, we are not afraid of you. Our God told us that we have power over all rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in the high places. Therefore, we command you to release her and be consumed by fire in the name of Jesus,” they shouted at him.
Marshalee Patterson was born in Kingston, Jamaica. She has loved reading since she could walk. Growing up without a television sparked in her a love for reading and the world of imagination. Some of her favourite novels were written by Charles Dickens, Jane Eyre and Victor Hugo, as she found she liked the true to life stories that we all can relate to. She wrote her first novella-Predestined Love after travelling to Italy and wanted to write a romance novel about it, only she didn’t know that God had plans for her and that story, when he change the direction of what she originally had in mind.
It was then that she knew she was called to write stories to uplift and inspire readers, showing them how to find God in their struggles and the faith to trust Him through it. She is a lover of nature and the tranquillity of it. She finds the outdoors refreshing and peaceful. Marshalee loves Spanish ballads and dances salsa very well.
Connect with Marshalee
Website: https://inspiringchristian.wixsite.com/marshaleepatterson
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2nZqXa4
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2GgF1Cw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormarshaleepatterson/
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