Welcome to the Blog Tour for Defending David by Barbara M. Britton, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
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MORE FROM BARBARA: BRING YOUR A NAME
Are you a speed reader? Many people read fast, but there is a technique that doesn’t skimp on comprehension while you read quickly. One of my critique partners for “Defending David” was a speed reader. She came to our session one time and was frustrated with all the ‘A’ names in my story. She couldn’t automatically assume when she saw the letter A that it was a certain character. I slowed my friend’s reading pace because I can’t change the names of historic people.
“Defending David” follows a Bible character named Ittai the Gittite who arrives at a crucial time in King David’s life. As I wrote about the friendship between the Hebrew king and his unlikely ally, a Philistine warrior, I hadn’t been paying attention to the swarm of A names in the story. I had to laugh after my critique partner brought the issue to my attention. So, who are these historic figures that slow the pace of speed readers?
Most stories have villains. My historic bad guy is a son of King David who tried to seize the kingdom of Israel before his father had died. This scoundrel was Absalom. Absalom wanted power and kingship, and to get what he desired he was willing to kill his own father.
If Absalom was Bad Guy A, then Ahithophel was Grandpa A. Don’t you just love the names in Biblical Fiction? Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba. Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah. King David summoned Bathsheba, a married woman, and slept with her. The king tried to cover up the sin, only to have Bathsheba’s husband killed. Ahithophel harbored a resentment toward David. We can understand the grandfather’s discontent and anger over what had happened to his granddaughter and her husband. Most likely for revenge, Grandpa A aligned with Absalom instead of the rightful king.
Two sons of Zeruiah accompany King David when he flees Jerusalem in order to save his life. These sons are named Joab and Abishai. Abishai is loyal to King David and is also the nephew of the king being that Zeruiah was one of David’s sisters. We will call Abishai, Nephew A. Abishai was a mighty warrior and stayed with his uncle as the king fled for his life.
Are we done with A names yet? Not quite. We have Worship A. Ahimaaz was the son of the priest Zadok. The priests were in charge of worship and offerings. Ahimaaz also liked to run. He volunteers to bring the news of Absalom’s fate to King David. No one likes to be the bearer of bad news, but it didn’t seem to bother Worship A. One of the other priests at the tabernacle had an A name, but I won’t confuse you anymore.
Now you see why my critique partner wanted to kick me. You can’t zip through a story when several characters’ names begin with the same letter. In fact, writing courses will tell you to diversify your names for characters. Historical writers can’t change names of actual people in history.
I’m thankful David’s Philistine friend had a name that began with an I. Could you imagine if Ittai’s name began with an A? I guess we would have to call him Philistine A.
Have you ever read a story where there were characters that had similar names? Or an abundance of names that began with the same letter?
TOUR GIVEAWAY
(1) winner will receive a Defending David Book Box with an autographed copy of Defending David, a CD of harp music, a historic-looking journal, colorful pens, a copy of “Lioness,” and a $25 Amazon gift card, swag!
Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight February 28, 2022 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on March 7, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. (international winner prize: ebook copies of Defending David and Lioness) Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!
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Thank you for being part of my blog tour. I learned so much about King David and the faithful friend God sent to David. Ittai the Gittite is my new favorite Bible hero.
I’ll tell my brother about this book.
Thanks for the contest.
This looks so good! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Megan. Thanks for being here. I enjoyed writing this story even though I drove my critique partner nuts.
Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Tracy. Thanks for reading all the blogs and excerpts. I’m glad to see you .
This looks like a great book! I cant wait to read it!
Defending David sounds like a thrilling read and I like the cover! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a fantastic day!
Hi Eva. I will let you in on a secret. That is not the original cover for my book. The cover art was changed to make Ittai look like a warrior. I was happy the cover art changed as it almost never does. Having a man on the cover with bulging biceps is a change from my other books. Thanks for joining us.
This sounds like an excellent read. I’m really looking forward to reading this!
Thank you, Debbie. Ittai was a new Bible character to me, but he has such an encouraging faith. I’m glad I finally discovered him.
This sounds like a great read
Thank you, Shelly. I appreciate you participating in the blog tour. It’s my first one.
This sounds very good
Hi Marisela. I had great characters and a lot of action to work with in this story. Fear not, there’s some romance too. I’m glad you’re here.