Josiah and the Theocrats looks like great
historical fiction. What can you tell us
about the story?
The story is set in seventh century BCE (or about year 3139
in the Hebrew calendar) Judah, a small southern offshoot country of Israel,
much like the Confederacy was a similar (and temporary) offshoot of the United
States. Israel has already been destroyed
and Judah is next. Assyrians, Egyptians,
and Babylonians are a deep concern.
Judah is currently a vassal state of Assyria, but King Josiah wants to
end that and make a name for himself as he attempts to retake all of the
territory he thinks King David, his ancestor, had. The High Priest Hilkiah is also manipulating
King Josiah to try to monopolize Yahwhist worship, demanding that only the
Temple of Jerusalem handle religious ceremonies (and tithes).
What can you tell us about Shaphan?
Shaphan starts out as a scribal teacher and is soon hired by
King Josiah to become a royal scribe, as Josiah wants desperately to control
the narrative as he sets off to kill anyone who refuses his rule. That sounds bad, so Josiah hopes Shaphan can
spin it in his favor. As luck would have
it, Hilkiah shows Shaphan an old document found during the restoration of the
Temple that is a book of law by someone named Moses, a supposed Egyptian
general who was the muscle behind Aaron the “first” priest of Yahweh. Shaphan spends much of the story wondering if
finding this document will unite Judah or just be used as another political
tool for conquest.
Any plans to turn it into a series?
I want to, though my next book won’t be a sequel to
this. I’ve been very interested in the
fall of civilizations given everything that’s been happening over the last few
years and I want to continue the narrative. It might be a long time jump for
the next story. While this one is about
the pending destruction of a country, the beginning of the bible as a text is
also a major subplot and it’d be interesting to pick it back up as scribes
start to pen the other books of the bible normally ascribed to Moses.
What inspired you when writing Josiah and the
Theocrats?
Originally I wanted to write a story about divine characters
from the pre-monotheistic Judaism, with El as the High God, His Wife Asherah,
etc. Taking a cue from the Baal Cycle I
read, it would be a story in the modern day as the Gods are violently offended
by Yahweh taking all the credit for things.
Alas, I just can’t seem to get a handle on that story. While working on it, though, I started
wondering about King Josiah. I was one
of the only students in a college literature class who knew that the story of
King Josiah was essentially the bible admitting a rather late date for its own
creation. I was intrigued about the
apparent fact that Hebrew wasn’t even a written language prior to sometime in
or maybe slightly before the monarchy period of Israel. Deuteronomy (or the Devarim as it is in
Hebrew per my readings) is dated to around Josiah’s time period and is
considered the “found book,” though scholars also say that the bible really
only comes along during the Babylonian Exile period which is much later. Essentially, I found the idea that the entire
Hebrew scriptures were political ploys by various secular and religious
authorities to be fascinating.
Did anything stick out as particularly challenging when
writing Josiah and the Theocrats?
The bible is very skimpy on dates, so I admit that I just
kind of put dates at the start of each chapter.
I knew that I wanted it to end at a certain event in 2 Kings and I had
to write what led up to that particular point.
I used a Hebrew calendar online to work out the dates for my story,
which only takes place around a year or so.
Trying to stay true to the rather vague and glossed over story in 2
Kings while incorporating scholarly data was difficult. I worked on the planning for the story for
months.
What do you like to do when not writing?
I like playing computer or video games. I have a day job, so I can’t devote all my
time to writing or games or whatever. I
live with depression and anxiety and it helps to explore stories in whatever
medium or just write it myself. My ultimate
goal is to help others by making the world a bit more accessible. I’ve worked in long term care for years and I
hate it when people are in facilities just because they are in a wheelchair and
can’t get it through the door. I want to
help people be as independent as possible.
I’m nowhere near where I can work on that, though, so I just keep
writing.
Where can readers find out more about your work?
I can be
found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KLeyDeFenix/. I’m also on
Twitter as @LeyFenix. I also have some
photos over on dreamstime.com under K Ley De Fenix. I’d love to improve my photography skills
too.