Today’s feature is part of the Pen Works of the Word Blog Tour, and I am welcoming the organizer of the tour, Author Matthew J. Elliot.
Greetings,
My name is Matthew James Elliott, and I create stories that are built on hope and faith throughout multiple genres. I am thrilled you have found your way here today and to share more about my book, The Hope of Inheritance, that came out on Father’s Day this year. My goal in any story is to offer the reader something relatable and real. I do not shy away from talking about the darker side of history, striving to bring light into the darkness.
One of the best parts of my job as a writer is the research. For any book I write, I spend upwards of 6 months diving into the facts and compiling theories that could turn into a plot point. The Hope of Inheritance took me 8 months of research to get my thoughts organized and ready to be drafted into the award-winning novel it has become. (And yes, that was 8 grueling months turning my kitchen table into a chaos theorist’s office, speaking notes into my phone, while my children stood there with strange looks on their faces, wondering what I was up to.) While fictional in its characters and dialogue, the story is rooted in historical events and spiritual truths that shaped the early Church.
But research isn’t just academic… It’s emotional, especially when the truth is this brutal. (I mean, I wanted to be a writer, not struggle with my emotional response towards ancient emperors at 2 am, jamming out to violin music.) When I was researching Rome and the devious Emperor Nero, it tore me up on the inside. The depths of the persecution early “Followers of The Way” faced were by far some of the worst things I’ve ever had to write into a story. They were hunted, beaten, thrown into the arena with wild beasts, burned, used as human streetlights, and put to death. The darkness felt too real to put onto the page.
That darkness didn’t stay confined to ancient Rome, though. As I reflected and prayed, I realized persecution threads its way through every era, including our own. Regardless of what people want to believe, it is everywhere. It bleeds throughout history in unimaginable ways, and people shy away from talking about it because… “It’s not appropriate to talk about those things,” or “If we talk about it, people will strike back at us for doing so.” Here is the reality, though, it exists and causes a lot of pain and suffering. In all honesty, it is heart-wrenching. For my book, reading about it put me in a space that I simply could not get out of. So much so that I delayed its release.
You are probably wondering why I’m bringing this up on what is meant to be a hope-filled blog tour, aren’t you? Well… I commend you for that. The Hope of Inheritance isn’t just about the pain and suffering of the Early Church; it invites the reader to embrace the hope these people found. Following their faith led to some of the worst trials ever faced, but amid all of that, hope found its place, and I was compelled to write that story. Throughout history, despite all the horrors that have come with persecution, something incredible has been born out of what people endure.
We know from history that Rome held significant power over the known world, but for the small, dedicated community of believers who were “Followers of The Way”, they endured and persevered. Nero’s cruelty is well documented in history, and while I struggled with the sheer weight of that in the beginning. There was a story that was not told by many, and that is what The Hope of Inheritance became. While it is a work of Biblical Fiction, history is woven into the pages of what it became.
The deepest inspiration for the entire book came from the powerful, timeless message of the Book of Hebrews. This letter speaks directly about hardship and encourages its audience to seek persistence in faith. The authors, who I claim could have been (key word ‘could’) more than one person, live out their lives as ministers of the faith the letter promotes, and by doing so can weave the topics discussed in the Letter of Hebrews together for others to find encouragement through. I returned to writing this book during a time in my own life where I greatly needed hope, and learning about the strength of those early, enduring Christians played an important part in restoring that hope in me.
If you’re seeking a story that doesn’t shy away from pain but leads you toward hope, I invite you to explore The Hope of Inheritance. And if you ever need a break from the heavy stuff, I’m also available for dad jokes, Pokémon trivia, and impromptu theological debates over what you should watch on YouTube with your loved ones tonight.
About the Author:
Matthew (also known by his pen names M.J. Elliott and E.M. James) is an award-winning, dedicated writer with a deep passion for sharing the word of Christ. He is married and the proud father of three wonderful children who continually inspire his faith and creativity. Through his writing, Matthew seeks to minister with love, equip others with encouragement, and help readers encounter God in real and meaningful ways.
I can relate to Matthew’s experiences, and those who have read my works know I don’t shy away from difficult things either. I believe we need to talk about them, even at the risk of people striking out at us for doing so. Some people read fiction to escape–but I think some of us hunger for fiction that puts flesh and bone on historical or contemporary issues that we just can’t fathom any other way.
If you’re interested in checking out some of the other authors involved in the Pen Works of the Word Blog Tour, I’ve linked to them below:
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