Do you believe that God can help you prepare for what’s ahead through a story? Our guest today, J.L. Burrows, can see just that happening in one of her books. See what you think, and be sure to check out her intriguing series.
Do you love books about spiritual warfare? Fantasy with a kingdom purpose? Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, Julie Hall, Laura Gallagher, and other authors of gritty Christian Fantasy fiction?
I do, and today, I’m sharing Illuminating the Darkness, my fourth book I ever wrote, and it will celebrate its 3rd birthday on May 26th!
A lot of interviews I’ve had are about the next thing I’m writing, or the most recent release, so I’m excited to share with you a bit about a book that is near and dear to my heart!
You might wonder what type of reader would like this book. I’ll let one of my readers tell you about this book.
“Illuminating the Darkness took me on a rollercoaster of training and demon fights, devastating family challenges, and a romance trying to find time to bloom—in the middle of chaos. I have seldom seen Life reflected with such honesty and clarity—because the timing on events outside our control is rarely neat and orderly. Tragedy occurs when you just can’t stop what you’re doing. Great sorrow and great joy can be nearly simultaneous and you don’t know what to feel.” Amazon Review by Writer Dragon posted July 22, 2023.
I find it fascinating how God prepares us for the journey ahead. How we can turn back and see how carefully He’s woven the strands of each experience into the strength we need to navigate the next chapter of our own lives. Illuminating the Darkness was a training ground for me. I wrote this and published it months before I found out my father had cancer, and only a few years later, I lost my dad to that cancer. This story, penning the sorrow, the grief, the Truth of God’s promises in the pain of loss, the lines the father spoke to his daughter, were the building blocks of the strength it took for me to guide my family through one of our first and hardest losses.
If you are an author like me, I’d love to share a few pieces of advice that have helped me in my journey. Take life one step at a time and build consistency and discipline. Writing is a lifestyle, not a destination vacation. If you think you are writing to finish the book, you’ll find that there’s just another book, another revision, another edit, another thing that you have to do for your book. Writing the book is simply the first step in a journey of steps. And sometimes, as you see with my life and my doctorate, writing has to take a back seat to what God calls you for this time and this place. God will make time and energy for what He has called you to do.
Well, that’s my two cents, and I’d love to have your two cents too! If you read Illuminating the Darkness or any of my books, please take a moment to review them in any of the places you frequent. It is an incredible help to an author.
And I’ll leave you with what I do when I’m not writing: I love to garden for my hummingbirds and have several small flower gardens designed to attract and feed my hummers. I enjoy sitting with family and observing their visits from late March through October with a cup of coffee or tea, and I never cease to be amazed by their slight size and ferocity. God is the ultimate, awe-inspiring creator!
Every good deed comes with a price. Why does it have to be so hard to live an honorable life?
Balance Keepers are sworn to protect humanity from the rising demonic darkness, but Evie’s team struggles to keep their focus on the war. Illness strikes too close for comfort in Evie’s family. James can’t keep his eyes off Rhia. Rhia is barely competent with her gift and is determined to become a master against demonic warfare.
As the team approaches the final battle everything seems to grow darker, stronger, more catastrophic. After a dangerous battle, their team comes back injured, forcing them to work closely and fight carefully against an overwhelming enemy.
When the battle lines blur and innocent children are the demons’ target, passions rise and individual needs must fall to the wayside.
But knowing failure’s cost, these warriors stand in the gap and fight. With the spiritual war escalating to a fevered pitch, will they fulfill their calling before all Hell breaks loose?
***
If you love apocalyptic battles, angelic epics and fearsome warriors, you’ll love Evie and the Balance Keepers.
Good Reads: Illuminating the Darkness (Balance Keeper #4) by J.L. Burrows | Goodreads
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLZ6H6HV
Let me introduce myself. My name is J. L. Burrows, and I’m a speculative Christian hybrid author, an editor for Scrivenings Press, and a reviewer and columnist for Clean Fiction Magazine. Through traditional publishing, I have a sci-fi parable retelling in Ben Avery’s Parabolic Orbits, a speculative fiction anthology inspired by the Parables of Jesus. I also have a speculative story releasing with the Whitstead Summer Anthology, coming soon. My novella, A Quantum Christmas, a Christmas dystopian scifi, is published with Scrivenings Press and is my most recent release. I also have six indie published Christian fantasy books, one of which I’ll be telling you about today. In addition to my writing, I’m also a full-time high school English teacher and a mother of two wonderful kids. You can find me in the following places, though I’ve recently taken a break from writing fiction to earn my doctorate in education.
Places you can find me…
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferlynnburrows
Youtube: (608) Jennifer Lynn Burrows – YouTube
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jlburrowsauthor
Pinterest: Pinterest
Website: www.jlburrows.com
BookBub: Illuminating the Darkness: Book 4 of the Balance Keepers Series by J. L. Burrows – BookBub
Join my newsletter below: https://BookHip.com/TTZQCBA – Includes a freebie Prequel Anthology – Invading Darkness the origin stories to my Balance Keepers main characters.