Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all 25 stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 3 grand prizes! The hunt BEGINS with  Stop #1 at Lisa Bergren’s site.

–Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).

–There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 3/4 at midnight MST)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books.

–Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the clue on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at Stop #30. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!

It is my honor to host the amazing James L. Rubart. Here’s a brief summary of his new release:

THE MAN HE NEVER WAS

 

 

What if You Woke up One Morning and the Darkest Parts of Yourself Were Gone?

Toren Daniels vanished eight months back, and his wife and kids have moved on—with more than a little relief. Toren was a good man but carried a raging temper that often exploded without warning. So when he shows up on their doorstep out of the blue, they’re shocked to see him alive. But more shocked to see he’s changed. Radically.

His anger is gone. He’s oddly patient. Kind. Fun. The man he always wanted to be. Toren has no clue where he’s been but knows he’s been utterly transformed. He focuses on three things: Finding out where he’s been. Finding out how it happened. And winning back his family.

But then shards of his old self start to rise from deep inside—like the man kicked out of the NFL for his fury—and Toren must face the supreme battle of his life.

In this fresh take on the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, James L. Rubart explores the war between the good and evil within each of us—and one man’s only chance to overcome the greatest divide of the soul.

 

I asked Jim to share a little bit about writing the story and this is what he had to say:

Why Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a Christian Story

Have you read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Or seen one of the films or stage versions? (There have been over 120 so far, not to mention the thousands of other stories inspired by the tale.)

Like most, I’ve been familiar with the story most of my life. But I didn’t realize till recently that the novella was at least partially inspired by the book of Romans in the New Testament.

Robert Louis Stevenson’s grandfather was a Church of Scotland minister, and Stevenson’s favorite game when a child was to pretend he was a minister and preach from a pulpit he cobbled together.

Stevenson’s Christian upbringing is clear when he says in the novel, “I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth…that man is not truly one, but truly two…I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both.”

Exactly what the Bible teaches. In Romans chapter 7, the apostle Paul says, “For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”

Can you relate? Me too. I’d been wrestling with the reality of my dual nature for years.

Then, in late summer 2016, I heard a sermon by Tim Keller about Romans chapter 7. During the talk, Keller mentioned the connection between Romans 7 and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Instantly I saw the connection. Romans 7 is about the civil war inside us—fighting to do the right thing—and that’s precisely what Stevenson’s novella is about, the two sides of us, one light, one dark, pitted against each other in every moment.

With that truth as my catalyst, The Man He Never Was, was born. It wasn’t easy! I had to face the dark parts of myself in writing it. But oh wow, the freedom that came out of it!

I believe the result of my journey is a story that has the power to change people. To change relationships. It’s a story of my protagonist’s discovery of how to be free of the dark part of himself, and learn how to truly love.

But it’s also my story. It’s your story. It’s the story of anyone who wants to step into being free of their dark half and step into loving the way Christ loves, in a profound and tangible way.

Most of us admit we have a dark side. The Man He Never Was is my attempt to wrestle with that dilemma and find an answer. My hope is that people reading the novel will find the answer for themselves, and while I hope they’ll be entertained, I also hope they find more freedom in their lives and more power to love than ever before.

BIO:

JAMES L. RUBART (Jim) is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He’s the bestselling, INSPY, Carol, and Christy Book of the Year, award-winning author of nine novels. He has two adult sons and lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in eastern Washington. More at www.jameslrubart.com You can find him at www.jameslrubart.com, www.facebook.com/jameslrubart, and  https://twitter.com/jameslrubart.

Here’s the Stop #5 Skinny:

You can order Jim’s book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, Lifeway, or at your local bookstore! 

Clue to Write Down: very

Link to Stop #16, the Next Stop on the Loop: James L. Rubart’s own site!

LYNETTE’S ADDITIONAL PRIZE:

But wait! Before you go, I’m offering a $25 Amazon gift card. All you have to do is sign up to get my e-newsletter at www.lynetteeason.com (I’ll get a list of who signs up during this giveaway) or note in the comments that you’re already a subscriber.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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