Hi there! This is technically my first author interview, conducted by historical fiction writer Bryan R Saye. It was originally an audio interview, but what follows is the reconstructed transcript. Apart from discussing my writing habits, this interview also contained the first revelation about my debut novel, The Book of Jezebel, with details about the relationship between Jezebel and Ahab as portrayed in the novel.
9 May 2023 (Updated 5 April 2024)
SAYE: So, when did you first realize you wanted to be an author?
RM Watters: My whole life. Mind you, I also wanted to be a ballerina and an actress and a singer, and…I think a few other things. It just didn’t dawn on me that I wanted to be only an author until I realized I’m actually too shy to be an actress and prefer working more behind the scenes. But yeah, I’ve always been writing. And before I could write, I was scribbling. I drove my mom crazy, scribbling in all the front covers of every book in the house, pretending I was writing a book of my own. Like, I never scribbled over anyone else’s words, of course, but if my mom had planned to sell the book when she was finished with it – which is something I would never have thought of in a million years when I was a toddler – I suppose I dashed that possibility long before I ever learned to dash my t’s and dot my I’s. (laughs) But yeah, I’ve always, always been a writer, and so becoming an author is just, like, a natural extension of that.
SAYE: What does the book writing process look like for you? Are you a pantser or a plotter?
RM: (laughs) So, I actually had to look that one up before I could answer it. I was like, I don’t even know what that means! So, funny thing is…I’m actually a bit of both. It depends on the story, really, but I think as I get older, I tend to become a bit more of a plotter than I was when I was younger. I can be very spontaneous in general, but I’m also incredibly detail-oriented – sometimes to a fault – and so I’ve found that plotting can really help me stay focused and keep me from veering too far away from where I wanted the story to go or needed it to go in the case of writing about a real historical person or event. But I’m also very flexible with my plotting, wherever I want or need to be, so yeah…that’s…that’s about it.
SAYE: I hear you’re going to be debuting a novel soon. Can we get a quick synopsis?
RM: Yeah. Yeah, so here’s a little back story: I’ve actually been very secretive about this – not even my mother knows I’m writing this book, but she’s about to find out. It’s just been me and my editor, but now I’m only a few months or so away before I intend to publish it, so the time feels right. My debut novel…(laughs) I wish I could get a drum roll for this…is called: The Book of Jezebel.
So, not everyone today apparently even knows who Jezebel is, but she was a real historical figure and is pretty well-known within Judeo-Christian communities – you’ll definitely know who she is, Bryan, and I hope you can forgive me for this.
But she has been painted pretty badly in the scriptures that talk about her and her husband, King Ahab. They’re kind of known together as the bad boy and bad girl of the Bible – scriptures refer to them repeatedly as “the most wicked” king and queen to have ever lived: which is a pretty harsh judgment, right?
SAYE: That actually sounds really interesting. So, what drove you to write about this?
RM: (laughs) So, that’s kind of a long story, but I’ll try to keep it brief. You know, I’ve grown up with all the stories of people from the Bible. I was raised Catholic and Lutheran but have studied quite a few religions and philosophies outside of the Judeo-Christian way of thinking. I’ve always been attracted to finding the truths in every religion, you know, because I think all religions hold at least some kernel of truth.
So, I guess that kind of puts me in a good position to talk about a historic queen who is largely hated because she refused to change her religion upon becoming the Queen of Israel. Whether you think she was right or wrong, she believed in her religion, possibly with more faith than most religious people have today. Her father was a priest before he became king of Sidon and Tyre, so he would have raised her to believe in his gods, but when she came to Israel she was hated because of her beliefs.
In a way I guess I related to her character, and have always felt like she got a rather bad deal being labeled as the most wicked woman to have ever lived – as many people still believe she was – just because she worshipped differently. So I just felt the need to retell her story.
I wanted to give her a voice, because her side of things has never really come down to us.
She has, like so many women throughout history, been silenced and I just didn’t think that was right, you know?
So, I wanted to think about what was she really like as a person, as a wife, as a mother, as a queen…? You know, was she really all that bad. And…I think, especially when you compare scriptural evidence about all the ‘evils’ she and her husband are accused of committing to that of many other kings, queens, and prophets in the Hebrew scriptures alone…no, I don’t think she was anywhere near as bad as we have been led to believe as a society. I don’t think she was bad at all, in fact – I think everything she did, she believed was right. Whether she was right or wrong, that’s not for me or for any of us to judge, really. Although the scriptures definitely were written by somebody who wanted us to judge her and judge her very badly.
But I just wanted to think about how she saw the world and related to the people and events around her, and to present her as a real, living woman of her time… And I’ve worked painstakingly to be as historically accurate as possible, while still allowing myself some creative license–a lot, actually, because there’s not a lot of records from that time, but what is known I have stuck to as closely as possible.
But it’s really important to me to present her not as a woman of today but as a woman of the 9th century BC who was in a unique position and whose side of the story has been virtually erased. That’s pretty much it.
But…um…really quick, I’ll just be quite frank, because it’s important for anyone thinking about reading this novel: she worshipped a fertility god and a sex goddess – this is historical fact – so as you can imagine, there’s a fair bit of sex in the novel and I don’t play coy with it. I do try to be very tasteful about it, you know, like I want it to be titillating, not salacious, and I try to explain the…spiritual and sacred nature of sex as she would have seen it, but if that’s not something you would be comfortable reading, I will definitely say that this book is not for you. That’s just the way it is, so if you want to read this book, be prepared: the first chapter ends with a sex scene that’s very sensual, and I’d say somewhat descriptive. It’s not porn, but I definitely dance around the edges of it a fair bit. (laughs)
My Ahab and Jezebel have a very robust and committed sex life, as much as a 9th century [BC] king with multiple wives can have. I do portray them as a true love match,
though – where, if he could have only one woman for the rest of his life, it would be Jezebel, because I think the real Ahab must have been pretty devoted to her to give her an equal or close to equal place at his side, which is part of what drove the people of their society a little bonkers. (laughs) Because she was not the demure, well-behaved, obedient woman that was typically desired in that society and Ahab not only allowed her to be but even encouraged it. And I think that’s a huge part of why they’ve been so vilified historically. They’re not perfect people…but I think they must have really loved each other, despite everything that was working against them, so, that’s pretty much it.
SAYE: Did you plan this to be a series? If not, what topic or historical era do you think you’ll tackle next?
RM: (laughs) Well, I don’t want to give away the end for anyone who may not actually know how Jezebel’s story ends, but let me just say…yeah, no…there’s not going to be another book about her. So, I’m not really sure, to be honest… I’m actually going to be switching gears to work on a fantasy-horror novel about a vampire and a vampire hunter – and no there’s not going to be any romance between them. It’s just not that kind of story if that’s what anyone is hoping for. Sorry Twilight peeps, I just don’t do sparkly vampires or vampire love stories and all that jazz.
But it’s going to have a bit of a twist, so it’s not your typical vampire story, either. I’ve talked about it a fair bit in some of my other classes, because it’s going to be my thesis novel and possibly my second published work. That one is going to be sort of part of a series, but when I get back to writing my next historical novel there are so many time periods that interest me, I can’t say for sure which one will ultimately win the next place. But I’m thinking of actually doing a historical-fantasy blend set in Anglo-Saxon Britain, revolving around King Alfred the Great’s daughter Aethelflaed, who will be my protagonist. It will happen eventually, because I’ve had this novel in mind for many years…but I just can’t promise it’s going to be next in line after the vampire novel is published. We’ll see. Wherever the wind takes me, I guess. This is…this is where I’m all over the place.
SAYE: Thank you. I enjoyed your interview and wish you luck with your novel!
RM: Thank you, Bryan! It was a pleasure.
Thank you for reading! If you’d like to know more about my decisions, research, and history that went into the novel, check out “Becoming Jezebel.”
The Book of Jezebel is available on Amazon!
RM Watters, Author 
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