About Living Stones
She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nearly killed in Seattle during a jihadist bombing, Ashley recognizes the synagogue bomber and is later stalked by a hired Muslim hit man in Israel. There she reacquaints with Najid, the Christian Palestinian scholar she had met at the University of Washington. She falls in love with him, putting her at odds with her Zionist pro-Israeli convictions.
On the run, Ashley sees the beautiful rock churches and shrines. But the living stones, the people of the Holy Land intrigue her. She meets Jews and Palestinians, Rabbis for and against Israeli settlement expansion. Gentle Palestinians like Najid’s family, and those in the West Bank suffering under military occupation. Both Muslims and Christians living peacefully together.
Najid and Ashley find the bomber in Seattle despite the FBI dragnet put out to arrest him.. Living Stones is the story of an American woman coming to terms with the truth of the Middle East, and the lies she had been fed. Will she survive the forces that threaten to tear her apart?
About Lloyd Johnson
With special interest in the current Middle East, retired surgeon Dr. Lloyd Johnson turned to fiction writing, putting out two books, his current book Living Stones and there is a sequel in the works. He is a member of Seattle writing group, and blogs regularly on Israel/Palestine subjects. Johnson is a Clinical Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington in the Department of Surgery. He is Fellow in the American College of Surgeons, and past president of the Seattle Surgical Society. He authored 26 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals/texts. He has worked and traveled extensively overseas, including Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and served for six years as volunteer executive director and board member of a humanitarian NGO in Central Asia. The author lives in Edmonds, Washington.
Guest Post (by the author)
Q: What’s the most important thing you have learned about writing?
A:[Lloyd Johnson] For fiction, it’s the story that must be told well. Whatever underlying message may come through the characters’ lives, adventures, dialogue. But it’s the story—don’t preach. Tolkien just told a good story not intending “Lord of the Rings” to be a message of good and evil. Hemmingway wrote “Old Man and the Sea” not realizing that readers would extrapolate all kinds of meaning about persisting in the difficulties of life, and through disappointments. Not sure of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s intent, but the wonderful story of Uncle Tom and his family had a profound effect on the U.S. just before the Civil War began over the issues of slavery and states’ rights. But it’s the story that commands the attention of readers who then may be caused to think about important issues.
Q: How has that helped you as a writer?
A: [Lloyd Johnson] To concentrate on trying to tell a good story that will hold the reader’s attention and turn pages, showing not telling whatever seems important to the characters..
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1 Comment
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Great post. Thanks for sharing.
