Into the Heart of a Woman is a fictional adventure that runs the spectrum of a protagonist's spirit as a strong, courageous woman who accomplishes tasks that men are generally chose to do. I took chapter four from the book of Judges in the Bible and retold it setting it in the twenty-first century. My protagonist is Deborah, one of the strongest women in the Bible. Just as in the Bible I portray her as tough, sharp, a non-stereotypical judge who rallies an Israeli soldier into military conflict to expose the decline of justice in Northern Israel. Though the woman's gender may be central to the story it is not atypical because other aspects of the story are just as central: God's role, two principal male roles representing good and evil, and a secondary woman's role that brings the reader face to face with the cruelty inflicted on women in that area of the world today. Readers will celebrate the unexpected victories resulting from mystical dreams and miracles realizing that faith based issues are just as central today. I twist my fictional account to arouse interest with what is happening in the world today with so many women being unjustly victimized. Many have rewritten stories from the Bible, but not to my knowledge, setting the story in modern time. I have taken many liberties in my rewrite to make it believable. This is not an exact account of the Biblical Deborah, and it is not a religious book, but a spiritual one. I made it an adventure and added romance unlike the brief relationship between Deborah and Barak in Judges. I feel my story is current for the market today because it takes place in that part of the world where conflicts are ongoing, and continue to make front page news. My hope is that readers will recognize that this is a book of faith based on issues that are prevalent today still holding to its prevalent history. Carla C. Ohse
