I have been asked many times during my years of writing biblical fiction to write a story about Esther. I always declined for two reasons:
But time has a way of changing our perspective. With ten novels on the lives of other biblical women under my belt, I thought, Can I do this? A lot of women in Scripture fascinate me, and Esther is one of them. Still, even after I signed the contract, I wondered, What was I thinking?
I must admit, I think this way with every novel. But this story was one of the most challenging of them all. So I want to thank Revell for believing in me again. Thank you, as always, to my editors, Lonnie Hull DuPont and Jessica English. My deepest gratitude to each one of the teams that support my work—in particular, Michele Misiak, Karen Steele, Gayle Raymer, and Erin Bartels—and so many more.
Thank you to Wendy Lawton for believing in me from the start. If not for your faith in Michal, we would not be here today.
Much gratitude to my critique partner, Jill Stengl, who answered my desperate plea to brainstorm when I was pretty sure the story was awful and I would never find enough words. If you read Esther’s biblical account, it looks long, but it’s really not. Everything takes place in a few years, some of it even days. I wanted to give this story depth, not filler. As always, Jill helped me to see a way to do that.
A special thanks to my prayer team—Emily, Ann Marie, Keeley, Ruth, Miriam, and Pam. You were there when I needed prayer most.
To my sons, daughters-in-law, granddaughter, and coming grandchild—you will always be closest in my heart. I am grateful to God for each one of you every day that I live.
To Randy—thanks for reading every book and for listening to me moan over every first draft. I love doing life with you.
Above all, Adonai—You seemed silent in Esther’s story, and You also seem silent in ours now and then. Yet You are there. You proved it then, and You prove it over and over again to us when we open our eyes to see. Thank You for choosing to use Esther at the right time in her day, so that we might believe You can use us as well when we come to our “such a time as this.”