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Interview with a Shepherd Boy by Sheila Deeth

Today is a very special treat. This is just one of many stops on the Bethlehem Tour so, let’s get right into things. The talented author, Sheila Deeth, is going to interview a shepherd boy and give a peek into his world.

Sheila: Thank you for the warm welcome Toi. I have a guest with me who’s been working on the hills near Bethlehem. I wondered if your readers would like to meet him.

Could you tell us your name, young man?

Boy: Eli, miss.

Sheila: And how old are you Eli?

Eli: Nearly twelve.

Sheila: And what do you do?

Eli: I’m a shepherd, miss. Like my dad. Like my dad’s dad.

Sheila: Your granddad, right? I remember you talking about him.

Eli: Yeah. Granddad’s a shepherd too, but he don’t get around too well these days. Sheep can chase him faster ‘an he chases them.

Sheila: Do you live with your granddad?

Eli: Not rightly, no. Mom and the kids live in a room over his house in Bethlehem. But me and the men, we stay out on the hills, looking after sheep.

Sheila: There are an awful lot of sheep out there. Are they all yours?

Eli: No. They’re everyone’s sheep. We all work together, looking after ‘em.

Sheila: Even when it’s cold?

Eli: Well, we’ve got tents and camp fires so we’re warm enough, unless it’s really bad. When it snows, we come down to town and put the sheep in the stables.

Sheila: Where are the stables?

Eli: Under the houses of course. We’ve nearly all got stables in the caves.

Sheila: So, I heard something rather special happened in a stable recently.

Eli: That’s right miss. That’s what you wanted me to talk about innit? ‘Course, I wasn’t there. But my Mom says it was cool.

Sheila: What happened?

Eli: Well, it was during the census thing. You heard about that?

Sheila: When people had to be registered in their home towns?

Eli: Those Roman overlords lording it over us, yeah. They had everyone travelling, roads all packed, and then the houses too. I mean, where you gonna put grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, cousins three times removed plus their best friend’s sister in a one-room house?

Sheila: One room and a stable, right?

Eli: Yeah. So when this family arrives, a Mom and Dad, except she’s not properly a Mom yet, she has her baby in the stable.

Sheila: Was the baby all right?

Eli: He was perfect, they say, and half the town there looking at him.

Sheila: Why?

Eli: Well… shuffles awkwardly… that was our fault, sorta. ‘Cause these angels…

Sheila: Angels?

Eli: Yeah, angels—heavenly beings and all that. They were shining and singing out all over the sky. Then old Granddad—he’d been complaining all night about there being too much noise—well,  just as he’s finally starting to snore and letting the rest of us sleep, these angels start up.

Sheila: Singing?

Eli: Yeah, but not like any singing you’ve ever heard. Just, wow, like sheep and birds and stars and trees and leaves… and harps and music… I dunno. Like heaven maybe?

Sheila: They just sang?

Eli: They told us about the baby too. Told us Bible stuff, all about the Messiah as well. Folks now, they think Messiah’s gonna be a soldier or king maybe, and he’ll kick the Romans out. But we used to know the Messiah was gonna be a baby—born, not chosen, you see.

Sheila: Like that baby in the stable?

Eli: The angels said he was the Son of David, which kinda means Messiah. They said we should go see him so we did; even Granddad—I held his arm so he could run. Then we get there and this star’s shining over the house, but we go round back to the stable and find the baby there. We must have made too much noise though, just like Granddad kept saying, ‘cause then all the village comes running around to see ‘im. Place was packed out.

Sheila: So, was the baby the Messiah?

Eli: Well, I guess he is; it’s what the angels said. And these king-type people came to see him too, so he must be special.

Sheila: Kings?

Eli: Well, whatever. Foreigners, and not Romans. Rich guys with camels. We saw them just a few weeks back, riding along the road from Jerusalem. Then they just carried on after they’d seen him, out toward Decapolis.

Sheila: Can you tell us what’s the baby like?

Eli: Um, just a kid. He’ll be walking soon, so not a baby any more. But he’s kinda cute. Like a sheep with no wool. Smiles.

Sheila: Well, thinking of sheep, perhaps I should let you get back to your flocks now.

Eli: Thank you. I guess I should go. Actually… He frowns.

Sheila: Is something wrong?

Eli: Well, there’s soldiers out there on the road. Can you see them? Herod’s soldiers marching down from t’Herodium. You don’t suppose the old king’s planning to kill the Messiah kid do you? Man, this looks bad. Runs out the door.

Sheila: I guess our little interview’s over then. You take care, Eli, and thank you for talking with us. ‘Bye. And thank you, too, Toi.

****

image provided by author

Book Title: Bethlehem’s Baby

Series: The Five Minute Bible StoryTM Series, #6

Author: Sheila Deeth

Publisher: Cape Arago Press

Reading Level: Mid-grade

Genre: Christian fiction, children’s fiction, Bible stories

Content Rating: G

Available Formats: ebook

Purchase links: Kindle | Nook | Kobo | Smashwords

Book Blurb

Meet the Emperor Augustus’s advisors, the quiet research student helping wise men study stars, the shepherd whose granddad keeps complaining, an Egyptian fisherboy, a Roman soldier, and more in this set of 40 5-minute read-aloud stories based around the events of the Christ Child’s birth in Bethlehem.

Author Bio

Sheila Deeth is an English American, Catholic Protestant, mathematician writer, with a deep love of the Bible, faith, science, history and writing… and dogs.

Sheila Deeth links: About Me | Facebook Profile |
Facebook Author Page | Twitter: @sheiladeeth

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Excerpts Guest Posts

Death of the Mad Hatter: Excerpt Two by Sarah J. Pepper

From GoodReads, click to add to your bookshelf.

There were the types of girls who dressed for guys, the type who still played dress-up, the type who lived in sweatpants, and then there was an entirely different breed who wore mismatched socks with pride. This chick fell into the last category. Why anyone could possibly think bright orange and blue would go together, unless they were a Boise State fan, was beyond my thought process. Her shoes were quite possibly handcrafted a hundred years ago, and her tattered skirt looked as though she found it in a dusty box tucked away in an attic. However, the zebra patterned gloves actually appeared to be from this decade.

“Well, it’s rather fortunate that you didn’t dribble. Mr. Ruth would have a fit if he became familiar with the underside of your pet-soaked shoe,” the girl said, petting the stuffed animal’s head. Her accent was none that I’d heard before—and I’d lived in a lot of different places. She sounded like a British gal impersonating a southern bell. “It’d be quite regrettable if anything happened to him on the first day of school. He must have fallen out of his hidey-hole.”

“You named your stuffed rabbit, Mr. Ruth?”

She covered the bunny’s ears. “Rutherford is his real name, but he hates it and makes all the other rumperbabbits call him by his nickname.”

“Rumperbabbits?”

“Bunnies, rabbits, hares—rumperbabbits. Same thing,” she said with a wink. She had the most volatile light-blue eyes that were so electrifying I couldn’t look away.

Time out—just for reference, I didn’t believe in juvenile notions, like love at first sight. In my book, time didn’t cease to move forward when two people fell in love. As a matter-of-fact, I’d have to be drunk (not on love) for such an irrational thought to enter my mind.

But, there was something magical about her. A mischievous charm. I wouldn’t have said that I necessarily liked it, but it was intriguing. She was intriguing… and new. For a town whose newspaper’s biggest story was the harvest report, having a new girl in school would most likely be headlined on The Gossiper’s front page.

∞∞∞∞

Visit Sarah J. Pepper’s website to learn more about her unique retelling of the classic Wonderland tale, right here at: http://www.peppersreadingcorner.com/.

Also, check out her special Facebook interview here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Excerpts Guest Posts

Death of the Mad Hatter: Excerpt One by Sarah J. Pepper

From GoodReads, click to add to your bookshelf.

The Queen of Hearts kissed the King one last time before the Joker ripped his head from her hands and tossed it alongside the rest of his body. The queen’s personal guards picked up the pieces and clumsily carried the dead king out of sight.

No one spoke. Only the sound of a ticking clock interrupted the stunned silence of the night. Standing next to the pool of blood, the queen let a love-letter the king had written slip through her fingers.

Appearing out of thin air, a Cheshire kitten, affectionately named Chez, who was distinguished by his white and blue stripes, playfully pawed at the letter. Extending his claws, he shredded it while the queen did nothing. When the Joker bent over and reached for the remaining pieces of the letter, the kitten bit him, drawing blood. Chez’s hair stood on end as he guarded the letter.

“If you want to play dirty, may I suggest a play date, Chez?” the Joker asked, inspecting the bite mark. His voice was as innocent as a child, but the look in his beady eyes was that of a psychopath’s. “I have all sorts of modified toys collecting dust in the dungeon.”

“Don’t antagonize the Joker, Chez. He is a bit of a schizoid,” Hearts said, picking up the kitten. She stared at the pieces of the love-letter for so long that her eye twitched. “Burn it so that no one finds out that the king loved a seamstress.”

The Joker picked up the pieces and fisted them. The recipient of the letter showed through his fingers: Dearest Genevine— He held his hand up to his mouth and blew. Pieces of the letter flew into the air and burst into flames. They flickered and fell to the floor in a pile of ash.

“I’m required to scold you for leaving your sharp toys scattered all over, Joker. It’s a pity the king had to pay for your untidiness,” Hearts said, glancing at the guillotine that was drenched in the king’s blood.

“Then I shall only take out my biggest toys when you order me to do so… again,” the Joker said and winked. “Since this is a hush-hush operation, I assume you don’t want me to kill the seamstress? Oh! Or perhaps she could have a misfortunate accident as well?”

“No, that would be far too coincidental,” the queen said, as a matter-of-factly. “Keep her alive. Isn’t it fitting that she must live, knowing her lover is dead? Oh, and see to it that she never leaves Wonderland. Everything considered, she is still the most talented seamstress in the court, and I’ll need someone sew me a black dress to wear at King Edward’s funeral.”

∞∞∞∞

Visit Sarah J. Pepper’s website to learn more about her unique retelling of the classic Wonderland tale, right here at: http://www.peppersreadingcorner.com/.

Also, check out her special Facebook interview here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords