Toward the end of 2019, as I was reading John 4 about Jesus traveling out of his way to meet a Samaritan woman going about her daily tasks at the town’s well, I had a moment of considering what this woman’s life was like beyond John’s briefly recorded encounter. I saw an intelligent woman who had an informed conversation with a stranger. She boldly challenged him on religious and political differences between the Jews and Samaritans, who were not on friendly terms, She wanted to understand. This was a woman with hopes and dreams, a desire for love and significance, a home, and responsibilities. She lived in a town with difficult relationships with her neighbors; who were willing to listen to her and meet Jesus, too. It is a complex story deeper than the traditional teaching of a woman scorned by the town at the well alone in the middle of day. While she may have lived a less than ideal life, there was more to her than I had ever considered. An idea came to write a contemporary allegory to explore how her life may be like if she had lived in our times.
I started writing and stopped because it proved to be harder than I thought it would. One day my sister said, “I’ve always wanted to write a book!” Of course, I replied, “I started one. Would you like to write it with me?” Cindy’s abilities and perspectives were the key. We began to write together. That is how our soon to be released book, Found By the Water, was conceived. As we wrote, working through the challenges of remote collaboration, life pressures, and while grieving our beloved older sister’s death, we both knew the Holy Spirit was helping us create a thoughtful entertaining story that brings this woman and town alive in a new way. Other talented friends supported us in amazing ways. It took a community to get this story written and published. Best of all, we experienced joy in writing this book together.
“Found By the Water is an allegory written as contemporary fiction, inspired by a lone woman’s unexpected encounter at Jacob’s Well in ancient Samaria.1 The story begins in the late spring of the early twenty-first century in Rocky Mountain territory now known as northern Idaho. Settlers migrated from the east two centuries ago. Constant conflict over water has strained the harmony between the communities. You will meet Anna Marin and Brea Duncan, with Robert Marineta, and his son Joshua; as well as others who live and work in neighboring towns. Anna is the young matriarch of the valley town of Marin, who struggles to believe God loves her. Rob and Josh, as they are known, live in the mountain city of Bellalto. From the beginning, Rob’s family has been in control of the area’s most abundant natural resource, water. Josh has recently joined the family’s privately owned Chute Valley Water Authority. Both men have a desire to break the cycle of greed and bitterness which has developed and caused division for over a hundred and fifty years. Anna and Josh meet under challenging circumstances. How will God reveal his love for Anna and will she embrace it? Will Rob and Josh succeed in their efforts? Is it possible to break the power of generational bitterness? Sometimes God has purposes that we will only understand when we see him face to face. We created Found By the Water to both entertain and encourage you by the life changing power of God’s love and words, woven into an engaging story.”
We hope you will check it out and decide for yourselves. Found By the Water is now available for Pre-Release ordering through Amazon, Barnes& Noble and other online retailers around the world. It will be released for sale within a month.
Consider This: “Then the Lord said, ‘Write down the vision; write it clearly…so whoever reads it can run and tell others.’” Habbakuk 2:2
You can search under Cynthia Gibbs or Shirley A Genovese, too. Amazon link listed by the first alphabetical author. Amazon’s Pre-Release link is below:
https://www.amazon.com/Found-Water-Shirley-Genovese/
Blessings, Shirley A Genovese and Cynthia Gibbs