Two refugee sisters escape death and slavery to find true freedom in their unexpected destinies
MANCHESTER, N. H. – Patricia Hetticher marks her return to the publishing scene with the release of “To Cleave” (published by WestBow Press), a religious fiction novel that shares a story of shifting allegiances, betrayal, romance, and redemption as two refugee sisters escape death and slavery to find true freedom in their unexpected destinies.
In the 11th century BC, during the final days of King Saul’s reign and the early days of King David’s reign, it is a time of shifting borders, blending cultures, and changing allegiances. It is harder and harder to discern who is friend and who is enemy. It is a time of turmoil for soldiers and civilians of Israel and Philistia.
Without warning, Belah and Junia, two teen-aged sisters, are forced from their home in Azekah by Amalekite raiders. The girls must flee to the land of Israel, their enemy. Clinging to nothing but each other, they are captured by King Saul’s army, and their fate is in the hands of the highest-ranking officers. Belah is chosen to be the bride of Simeon, the cruelest of them all, while Junia will be a servant until she is old enough to marry.
With their heads shaved, their clothing burned and replaced with awful, coarse tunics, the terrified girls await the morning’s light. In their tiny tent, Belah’s only thought is to protect her sister, whose innocence cannot conceive what the future holds for them. How will they escape? And who was the soldier who caught Belah’s gaze and would not let go?
“This is a fast-paced read and filled with the uncertainty of an unstable world, very much like our world today. It tells a story with many twists and turns through a unique plotline that shifts the characters from one place to the next as God's plan for them unfolds,” Hetticher says. When asked what she wants readers to take away from the book, she answered, “I want them to understand God better and to know that no matter how things look in the natural, what He has for them is for their good and for His glory.”
“To Cleave”
By Patricia Hetticher
Hardcover | 5.5 x 8.5in | 282 pages | ISBN 9798385003365
Softcover | 5.5 x 8.5in | 282 pages | ISBN 9798385003341
E-Book | 282 pages | ISBN 9798385003358
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
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About the Author
Patricia Hetticher is a founding member of Line-it-up-Writers in Dover, New Hampshire. She spends her days caring for senior citizens in their home and enjoying her children and grandchildren. She lives in Manchester, New Hampshire, with her husband. They are both well-traveled Navy veterans.
WestBow Press is a strategic supported self-publishing alliance between HarperCollins Christian Publishing and Author Solutions, LLC — the world leader in supported self-publishing. Titles published through WestBow Press are evaluated for sales potential and considered for publication through Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. For more information, visit www.westbowpress.com or call 844-714-3454.
