Guest Post. Meet Author L.A. Darroch! I’m happy to have her join us today.
L.A. Darroch is a Christian author with a heart for the persecuted church and other stories that touch the hearts of readers for God’s glory. She seeks to use her writing to encourage readers to “Speak Life.” She credits her late father with introducing her to a passion for reading, which led her to pursue a B.A. in English, with a focus on creative writing. She lives in Winnipeg, Canada and is owned by a very smart cat named Bathsheba. Besides writing and reading, she enjoys history, playing tennis and spending time with Bathsheba, family and close friends.
About the Book:
The Road from Damascus: The Inspiration Behind the Novel
The inspiration for The Road from Damascus came to me during the height of ISIS’s rise to power. I saw the persecution of Christians in Iraq and Syria were experiencing while watching CBN in 2015 and I felt a burden for them. I began following what was happening through charities that serve persecuted Christians, including Open Doors. Through the information I received from the charities and various news articles, I discovered the plight of not only my brothers and sisters in Syria, but in many nations around the world where it isn’t safe to follow Jesus.
I’ve always been a very sensitive person. Their stories of pain, struggle and triumph for Christ amid persecution drew me in. I read as many as I could, drawing inspiration for my struggle with depression. During this time I wrote emails to several officials in the Canadian government begging them to give special priority to religious minorities, including Christians, for resettlement. I received no response.
I wanted people to understand the struggle of Christians in the Middle East. So many people in the west just didn’t know or understand, even those in the churches. I wanted to share what I knew with others to help them connect with the persecuted on a personal level. I’ve always loved writing and storytelling and I wanted to write a novel someday.
I decided to write it from the perspective of a 14-year-old Christian girl whose family was attacked by ISIS. I started my first draft solely from Istir’s perspective, but as I continued writing, I discovered new events that Istir couldn’t fill in because she wasn’t there. It was at that point that I knew I needed to rewrite and add other character perspectives. I wasn’t expecting that, but God led me and it resulted in a much more insightful and emotional story. It was through this that I discovered the reason for the title, The Road from Damascus. Though I won’t reveal the reason here, because it would spoil the book.
Thank you for dropping by, L.A! Check out her Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/ladarroch and be inspired to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world!
Sally
