Between the Wild Branches by Connilyn Cossette

This new information gave me lots of fodder for book material and made my imagination spin like mad about the culture of the Philistines, which most likely was rooted in the Minoan and/or Mycenean people during the Bronze Age. Fortunately for me, at the same time I was plotting/researching the Covenant House series, scientists were proving from DNA evidence gathered in a Philistine graveyard that these enigmatic people actually came from Crete just like the Bible says they did. That day, I had a distinct vision of that ark bumping along on the road with two curious children following after it and decided that I needed to tell their story.

And when our tour guide mentioned that this area was near where Samson lived and was also the exact place where the Philistines returned the Ark of the Covenant after they stole it in 1 Samuel. When I had the opportunity to go to Israel a few years ago we traveled right through the Beth Shemesh valley, where the ruins of that town are just off the highway. So who knows, maybe in the future I’ll have the chance to expand that storyline a bit! The great thing is that my next series is a spin-off and readers will get to meet my next four heroes in BTWB, so keep your eyes peeled as you read, especially near the end! What drew you to this period in history to place a series? There is one character in particular in Between the Wild Branches that my beta readers wanted to know more about. Of course I usually fall in love with secondary characters along the way and wish I could tell their stories too, and the Covenant House was no exception. I was really intrigued with telling the story of two siblings and how their journeys intertwined to form one whole story that was satisfying both to myself and to my readers. This series is a duology, what made you decide to only write two books this time?

I’m so excited to share some of them with you today! I hope you enjoy reading more about the inspiration behind the Covenant House series duology and Connilyn’s creative process as much I did! I’ve been able to help her launch three book babies out into the world now and hopefully will have the privilege to help with more releases in the future! Before the release of her brand new book, Between the Wild Branches, Conni graciously provided those of us on the team with interview questions/answers related to the book for us to share if we so wished. It is such an honor to be a part of Connilyn Cossette’s street team (AKA Connilyn’s Bibliophiles).

Between the Wild Branches by Connilyn Cossette