Where Do My Ideas Come From? Part 1

By Adam Blumer October 5, 2012 Current Events, Fatal Illusions, Novel News, Story Ideas, The Tenth Plague, Weekly Post 1 Comment

John Martin’s painting of the plague of hail and fire (1823).

A Discussion about My Next Novel, The Tenth Plague

Putting my finger on where exactly the original idea for my upcoming novel, The Tenth Plague, came from is difficult because the novel began forming in my mind probably five or six years ago.

The idea for the main plot, of course, emerged from Revelation 22:18-19. In those verses God proclaims a curse on anyone who adds to or takes away from His Word. Given the state of our times and the church today, that seems like a relevant theme. In some quarters of Christianity at large, some can’t even agree on what truth is anymore.

One day when I read those verses again, they grabbed me like never before. My imagination began playing the what-if game, and the story began taking shape in my mind. I envisioned someone turning on a bathroom faucet and blood gushing out. I consulted several theologian friends for their thoughts, and then the ideas really began spinning.

Why would this happen? Would God actually fulfill His curse? I wasn’t interested in writing speculative fiction, so my mind sorted through other possibilities.

What if someone decided to use the Revelation 22 curse for his or her own agenda? Okay . . . so what type of person would do that? And why would someone go to the trouble of recreating his or her own twist on the ten plagues of Egypt?

I envisioned a group of Bible scholars working on a controversial project that would merge God’s Word with something that most certainly is not. Perhaps they are meeting at a resort and conference center for a quarterly meeting. Outside the building demonstrators show up with bullhorns and placards.

Okay, so now we have a motive for someone to do something to stop the project. If it isn’t God, then who is it? Someone who thinks God needs a helping hand? And is this really what’s going on?

Of course, there is so much more to the story, and not everything is at it seems. Which is the fun in writing a novel like this.

One day one of the Bible scholars is found murdered. Written on the wall next to his body in apparent blood are the words “Revelation 22:18-19.” Marc and Gillian Thayer, the husband-and-wife team from my first novel, Fatal Illusions (Kregel), are at the same location for a weekend getaway, and the man who was poisoned is Marc’s best friend from college.

Due to their investigation, the police don’t want anyone to leave just yet, so the Thayers find an opportunity to do some sleuthing of their own. Just before the next plague strikes.

Can the Thayers unravel the clues and find the murderer before the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn son?

There. Is that enough of a teaser?

Kirkdale Press, the fiction imprint of Logos Bible Software, plans to release The Tenth Plague as an e-book on January 15, 2013. Stay tuned for more details.

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Related Article: Synopsis of The Tenth Plague