Teresa Pollard – Heroine Interview – Part 1 of 3

Shannon here: Teresa Pollard shares an interview with the heroine from her latest Biblical Fiction, Woman of Light. Comment or answer the question at the end of the post to enter the drawing for a copy. Deadline: Oct 24th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Teresa:

Interview with Deborah:

• What’s the most romantic thing your spouse has ever done for you?

Barak (Lappidoth) and I have been married for over ten years now and have a large family with four daughters and one son, so as you can imagine, there isn’t much time for romance. Especially now that my grandfather, Ehud, is dead and he has to travel so much trying to sell the candles and oil lamps that I make, as well as command Israel’s tiny army against Sisera. But he makes time. That’s so important, making time, even for the little things. He always brings me and the children a gift when he returns from one of his trips, but more importantly, he listens. He isn’t like most of the other men in town who think women are only good for cooking lentils and making babies. He stands up for me. When Ehud said I was to be the next judge of Israel, the other men laughed. They thought I was as puffed up as a cake full of leaven. Barak said Adonai had decreed it so and it was going to happen. He believed me. He doesn’t get mad often, but he sure did that day. Not at me. At them. Of course I was even madder. I’m afraid I did something foolish that day, but Adonai blessed us even in my foolishness.

• What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever done for your spouse?

I prayed for Adonai to give us a son. And Adonai answered my prayer. That may not seem very romantic. But it was the best gift I could give to my husband. We’d had four daughters already, and he was so wonderful about it. Most men would have already divorced me. But he said no man should be discontent when they were treated like a king in his house the way he was. That may be, but it certainly never stopped others from their abuse. If you could see the poor women who come to me as I judge under the palm trees, you’d understand. I’ve been so blessed that Ehud listened to my mother’s plea to only let me marry a man from the tribe of Naphtali, and he found Adonai’s perfect match for me.

• Where is the most romantic place you and your spouse have ever been?

Could you ever imagine a battle camp could be romantic? After Barak took over our ragtag army, he was a wanted man. Sisera offered a large reward for his death or capture. That’s why he had to take on a double identity. To protect us, his family. Barak the general couldn’t be known as Lappidoth, the seller of oil lamps. So I’d sneak off to take him as much food as the people who supported us could spare, and we’d sit by a small fire while I told him of the news from home and he told me of his exploits. Sometimes he’d just hold me for most of the night. We could hear his men in the camp not far away, but their presence and even their rowdiness gave us a peace that all was well. At least for that night.

• Do you and your spouse have a favorite song?

For many years, Barak never sang. He left all that to me. He said I had the smooth honeyed voice of an angel. But all that changed the night Adonai spared Ehud’s house. Of course by then it was our house, but we didn’t think of it that way yet. He was so overcome with awe at the power of Adonai, he couldn’t help but sing praise. And he’s been singing ever since. Now we all sing together as a family. We love all the old songs of Israel. The songs they sang as they crossed the Red Sea and roamed the wilderness. Singing has brought our whole town together in a way I never could have imagined.

• Do you and your spouse have a favorite romantic vacation destination?

The one time we tried to take a bit of a vacation, well it was really just a business trip to Shiloh to sell Eli the priest some oil, but Barak’s mother, Mara, kept the children, so we were planning to make it both, but it didn’t end particularly well. I spied a young man named Jacob. He’d been before my court just a few weeks earlier. If I hadn’t just been thinking about him, I might not have recognized him. Of course he ran. Kidnapping another man’s bride is a crime punishable by death. What had he done with her? How would we ever find her in time?

• What simple gesture does your spouse do that melts you every time?

Whenever he returned home, all the children would jump up into his arms, and he would spin them around until they all collapsed in laughter. I can still hear that laughter. My poor Rachel was the loudest of them all. As the oldest, she would be the first one to hear him, run and jump up, and cling to his neck. Looking back, it was like she knew what was going to happen.
About Teresa: Teresa Pollard is from Richmond, Virginia, and was saved at a young age. She has a Master of Arts degree in English and Creative Writing from Hollins College, and has served as a Sunday School teacher and children’s worker for most of the last forty years. She is the co-author of Not Guilty and Not Ashamed (due July 7), and the author of Tokens of Promise and Woman of Light, (also due out from HopeSprings Books in October). Married for forty years, she was devastated by divorce and the death of her youngest daughter, but God has blessed her with a new home and another grandson, and she now resides in Dacula, Georgia. She blogs every Tuesday at http://teresatalkstaboo.wordpress.com. Follow her on Facebook at Teresa Pollard, Author.
About the book – Woman of Light: Ehud, Israel’s great judge, is dead. He must have been out of his mind with sickness to prophesy that his granddaughter Deborah would judge Israel. Just who does she think she is? Doesn’t she know Sisera’s iron chariots threaten to annihilate the fledgling nation? And Barak? A poor man who can barely feed his own family. What kind of a God would choose two such improbable people to lead His people to battle?  

Purchase Link: Woman of Light

Question for Readers: What is your favorite hymn?

Come back Oct 12th for Teresa’s interview with Barak!