Where It Began: Notes on She Bears a King

Having written a novel about a gay Jesus celebrity and the woman he impregnates, I often get asked the question, "How did you come up with that idea?" It started one day when I was making a left-hand turn and the idea of having a one-night stand with Jesus Christ came into my mind. (Really, I can't explain this, but I get a lot of my best ideas while driving. I do find it interesting that the seed of a novel that explores the intersection of religion and celebrity culture in our nation while passing through a physical intersection.) When I first thought of "My One-Night Stand with Jesus" it brought up a sort of country song idea, a short narrative focused on a woman who spends the night in a hotel room facing her demons with nothing but the Bible by her side. That would never make it into the story itself, but the title was the seedling, not the first thing that popped into my head.

I went home and began making notes, exploring this idea of a one-night stand with Jesus and what it would be like. The result was what would become the first chapter of the novel, She Bears a King.  The last line of that chapter sets off the rest of the book when the protagonist announces to the reader that her period is late after sleeping with Jesus. After I finished writing "My One-Night Stand with Jesus," I couldn't move on from it like I did with other short stories. I kept spinning the idea more and more in my mind, weaving together more characters and nuances, always pursuing that eternal storytelling question: what happens next?

So I kept on writing. And writing. And learning about what happens to women when they are pregnant. And writing. And researching the Los Angeles area. And writing. And watching a lot of VH1. And writing. Until one day I was face with the eventual end of the pregnancy.

The birth scene in the published version of She Bears a King is a total rewrite of the original ending. The most shocking thing about the novel is I went to great lengths to make the published version far more mainstream appealing than the original draft. That's right. I toned this book down.

The end is what it is, but it's not. Even now, seven years after writing She Bears a King, I cannot stop thinking about the characters going about their daily lives, aging, changing, and breathing life into my imagination. There have been faint whispers and new seedlings that could pave the way for a sequel, as dangerous as that sounds. But this wouldn't be until far into the future, probably 2-3 projects down the road. In the meantime, I enjoy being tickled by the characters presence. It's like being visited by an old friend you once shared a very intense moment together.

Chapter Nine and MYTHS Done

I'm exhausted but also relieved that within the last two weeks I've managed to finish Chapter Nine of You Know Me, Etc and also produce the MYTHS issue of Cliterature (and on time, to boot). MYTHS is a significant issue for me because it marks the four-year point for publishing Cliterature. Things have changed dramatically in my life and the rest of America's lives in that time. For one thing, social media has gone from a self-indulgence to a necessity for many of us.

I really don't think Cliterature would have taken off on the international scale that it has if it wasn't for two things: Cliterature is an exclusively online journal, meaning the distribution isn't limited by print runs or geography, and I've been able to promote it across several social media channels that reach a far wider audience than I could have done with more traditional forms of marketing. It makes me happy to see so many people from such different places and walks of life enjoying and submitting to Cliterature, many of whom struggle to see their work published in more mainstream publications. Over the course of the past four years, whenever I am able to publish someone for their first time, I feel a special pride that I am able, in my own small way, to get their voice into the public realm.