Appropriately for Mother's Day, my guest is Angelique Conger, who explores the concept of motherhood in its most ancient form in her novel Eve: First Matriarch.
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Deciding to Write Eve
By Angelique Conger
My first child was due in December of 1974. Being
“large with child” my thoughts turned to other women whose children were
important at that time of the year. I naturally thought of Mary, the Mother of
Christ and her delivery of that sacred child. Then, I began to think of our
first mother, Eve.
So little is known of her. There are but a few
sentences regarding her in Genesis and over the centuries she has been
villainized. I began to wonder about her, especially as I carried my first
child, I wondered about the birth of her first child.
I would have a clean hospital bed and doctors and
nurses who had helped mothers give birth many times. Who was there to help and
support Eve? Were there angels? Was it Adam? If so, how did Adam get the
knowledge he needed to help her safely give birth to their first child?
I wondered. I thought. I questioned. I gave birth to
that son and four more children. Each child brought my thoughts back to Mother
Eve. How did she manage?
In college, I took a class in creative writing and
attempted to tell the story of this important Mother—and failed. I tried to
tell it from the outside looking in. I got nowhere with the story. Later, I
tried again, and failed once more. I believed I could not write her story,
could not discover the answer to my questions.
Then, three years ago, my sister challenged me to
participate in National Novel Writing Month. “Sure,” I said, “but what story
will I tell?”
It came to me to try once more to learn the story of
Eve. I changed the perspective, writing from her point of view, thinking as she
would think, and the story flowed. I learned all the answers I sought, and
more. I learned about being the only woman with the only man on earth, their
struggles, their difficulties in discovering and inventing. I learned much more
than was finally included in my book, because I had to focus. That focus became
the focus of my earlier questions. How did Eve handle becoming a mother, and
from whom did she receive help?
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| Angelique Conger |
I hope you will enjoy my discoveries in Eve,
First Matriarch, and in the following books about the wives of the
other patriarchs.
Eve: First Matriarch
Eve is a mother to us all. Here is her story of longing,
anguish, and hope…
Eve wants nothing more than to fulfill God’s two
commandments: live in absolute obedience and replenish the earth with her
children. But the power of the Destroyer is strong, and when she’s told she has
a chance to fulfill the second commandment by breaking the first… she takes it.
Expelled from a garden paradise into a wild, dangerous
world, Eve learns that her failure to obey will someday cause her to die. With
a limited time to teach Jehovah’s commandments to her children, she’s
devastated when the Destroyer starts to lead them astray. Can Eve overcome evil
to teach her children obedience and happiness?
Eve: First Matriarch
is a reimagined story of the biblical figure of Even. If you like rich
historical fiction, feminine perspectives, and illuminating stories of
motherhood, then you’ll love Angelique Conger’s debut novel.
Learn more about Angelique Conger on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.
You can purchase Eve: First Matriarch on Amazon.
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