Featured Author: Anna Patricio

Today's Featured Author is ANNA PATRICIO, an author from "down-under" who has written a beautiful historical/biblical romance titled, ASENATH.

What inspired me to write Asenath?

The story of Joseph of the coat-of-many-colours is one of my favourites from the Bible. Though I have known it all my life, what with having attended Sunday school and all, it was later on that I realised what a powerful and moving tale it is.

I was 17, making the difficult transition from the school I had known all my life to the unknown and frightening university environment (though I later came to love it, even much more than my former school. I loved the freedom it offered). As if that was not difficult enough, my little sister was being operated on for her scoliosis. Needless to say, the stress was overwhelming.

Then, I rediscovered the story of Joseph. Until then, I had thought of him as a distant, larger-than-life Biblical character. But having read it after everything I had been through, I found myself relating to him. I admired too how he remained sweet, strong and kind amidst the numerous travails that befell him. I felt like I was encountering the story for the first time, and fell in love with it.

I delved deeper into my newfound interest. I used to think everything about Joseph was only in Genesis, but research led me to various Jewish folktales, rabbinical legends and even some interesting episodes from the Quran. I never knew there was so much interesting stuff about him out there!

Along the way, I became curious about Joseph’s wife, Asenath. It was as if she was a tiny voice begging to be heard. All Genesis told me was that she was the daughter of a priest of On / Heliopolis. So I sought to look her up. However, the results were scant, not to mention they were all fictional.

I then began to imagine for myself what Asenath might have been like. I somehow like to think that she might have been a strong woman who went through her own share of travails, just as her husband did. The contemporary fiction I had read about Joseph usually portrayed her as some spoiled brat or pampered trophy wife – plus, they didn’t give her much attention. But now, in my novel, she has the spotlight.

Asenath is available on Amazon, Smashwords & more.

Anna Patricio is a lover of ancient history and Biblical stories. She recently had the pleasure of travelling to the setting of Asenath, which is her first novel. She is now playing around with ideas for a second Egyptian novel which takes place in the time of Moses.

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