Stephanie Landsem's Blog, page 12

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Upcoming Events for the Release of The Tomb, A Novel of Martha

An author spends a great deal of her workday(alright, pretty much ALL of my workday) alone in her office, living in a world offictional people whoshe can control with a tap of the ‘delete’ key.But the launch of a book is a time to get out of the office, away from the cats, and meet real life readers! It is a welcome and necessary change for me.

I wish I could meet ALL my readers but sadly, distance and time just don’t allowfor that.

If you are able, I’d love to meet as many of you as possible a...

Cooking with Martha: The Flavors of Biblical Israel

As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary [who] sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” Luke 10:38-40

Legend of Sts. Mary and Martha, National Museum Warsaw, public domain

We’ve all read the passage in Luke in which Jesus comes to Beth...

Martha of Bethany’s Honey Cake Recipe

“Every woman in Bethany wishes they could make cakes as light as the clouds, like my Martha.” — Martha’s father in the first chapter of The Tomb, A Novel of Martha.

Martha’s cooking skills are the envy of every woman in the small town of Bethany. I can’t claim to be as skilled as Martha, but after my research into foods and cooking in ancient times, I was hungry enough to try to find a close imitation ofthe cakes Martha served the wedding guests inthe first chapter of The Tomb, A Novel of Mart...

“When His Breath Fades Away”: How did First Century Jews Mourn for the Dead?

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days . . . And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. John 11:17, 19

Raising of Lazarus (Attribute: Everhard Rensig or Gerhard Remisch (Victoria and Albert Museum) via Wikimedia Commons

Martha and Mary mourned for their brother for four days before Jesus came to them and brought Lazarus out of the tomb. We can imagine their sorrow, their overwhelming sadness in the face of...

Cover Reveal Giveaway!

This giveaway is now over. Thanks for participating. You can see the winners on my Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/stephanielandsem

The art department at Howard Books has been hard at work creating a stunning cover for The Tomb, A Novel of Martha.I can’t wait to hear what you think of it!
I’ll reveal the new cover on . . .

Wednesday, August 13th at 3:00
on my Facebook Page

In anticipation of the cover reveal on Wednesday, August 13th at 3:00, I’m giving away some fabulous prizes! Please sh...

“When his Breath Fades Away”: Burial Rites of First Century Jews

During the last few weeks, I’ve been finishing up edits on The Tomb, a Novelof Martha, the third book in The Living Water Series. We read in the Gospel of John about the ultimate miracle that Jesus performed in Bethany—bringing Lazarus back to life after four days in the tomb. But what do we know of the day Martha’s brother died?

This week, I’ll write a little about ancient burial ritesand next week watch for a post about how a Jewish family mourned for a loved one.

Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and M...

A UK Adventure: History, Hiking, and Selfies

How does a trip to the UKwith 4 teenagers sound?
Exciting?
Energetic?
Exhausting?
Absolutely. And also a great way to make memories as my family grows up and my children start leaving the nest at an alarming rate. (Ok, my oldest daughter is not technically a teenager, she just turned 20)

On the other hand, traveling with six people—all with different interests—isn’t easy. For me, the history of a place is most appealing (I can’t help it), my oldest daughter wants to absorb the culture, the boys re...

Blog Tour: What is My Writing Process? (And a giveaway!)

Many thanks to the lovely and talented Rebecca Kanner for including me on this relay blog tour. You can read about her writing process here or take a look at my review of her debut novel, The Sinners and the Sea, here.

Linus thinks he’s helping with editing

For this Blog tour, all I have to do is answer these four questions, then pass the baton on to three more writers. When I’ve done that, I’ll let you know how to win a signed copy of The Thief! Here goes:

1) What am I working on?

That’s a tough...

Guest post: A lesson learned from The Thief

One of the best parts about writing The Living Water series has been finding new friends in the writing world. Some help me market, some give me much-needed encouragement, and some make me smile. This newspaper article by Alan Daugherty does all that. I couldn’t resist sharing it with you as we finally welcome spring.

Alan writes a regular Thursday article in the Bluffton, IN News-Banner. His editor graciously agreed to let me post it in its entirety. This article ran in the paper last Thursda...