THE STORY BEHIND THE SERIES
I have always loved to make up stories.
Most of my ideas for them break in with a random “What if...?” that floats into my brain
when I should be concentrating on something more serious. This overly active imagination
has kept me entertained through many meetings, workouts, lectures, and even (gasp) a few
sermons. It darts here and there amongst myriads of random thoughts. Then, sensing a particularly
enticing one, it grabs onto it before it floats off and is lost forever in the land of undeveloped
possibilities.
What if, I thought one day as I was walking through our neighborhood, there were two angels
who were different from all the other ones? They could be fun-loving. Uncooperative.
Mischievous. Messy. Inventive pranksters. A couple of troublemakers who refuse to fit in with the
angelic protocol developed by their more serious comrades.
What if they were smaller in stature than the rest of their brawny brothers-in-arms? But despite their
smallness they had a huge, though often unwarranted, sense of self-confidence. The antics of those two,
though frustrating to all their fellow angels, would be highly entertaining to the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit (affectionately known in Heaven as the Holy Three).
And then, what if those small angels needed a HUGE incentive to finish their training?
Something so big, it was unprecedented in all of eternity past. The idea grew bigger. And bigger.
And BIGGER. Finally, this “what if” became big enough for a book.
After several months of creative procrastination, I was no longer able to ignore the need for this
story to be brought to life. I gave myself a non-negotiable order. Just SIT DOWN and start writing it,
Jenny. I glued myself to a chair and kept writing until The Small Ones and the Great Earth Adventure
was ready to be published.
While I was working on the first book, more “what if’s” about the Small Ones arose. The idea
could become a series! In each story, they would be chosen to help characters throughout
the Old Testament. Every assignment would give them opportunities to develop better habits and
character qualities they had failed to work on in the past. Then, in the last book, they would be
given their most important assignment of all. They would become the official helpers for Jesus during
His ministry on the Earth.
As I’m documenting the journey of these playful little rascals, I love to find all the places where a
hint about scripture can be tucked. I like to help readers think a little more deeply about how the
humans they're helping felt during their conflicts and predicaments. It’s fun to imagine what the
beauty and delight of Heaven must be like and to describe that in the stories.
I become giddily gleeful when I add in all the humor and fun. And I haven’t forgotten the adults
who read these books along with their children! I scatter plenty of nuggets in the pages that will
cause them to look at each other over the heads of the youngsters with a knowing wink that
says, "they’ll understand this someday!"
In showing the love the Holy Three have for these small angels, an atmosphere is developed
where the reader is embraced by that same powerful adoration. As I stow little pockets of Their
presence into the books, a gift that keeps giving is created. If the deeper meanings underlying
the stories are not understood during the first reading, perhaps they will be discovered in a
subsequent one.
Most of all, I love creating a place where readers can get lost in a world of joy and fun that hugs
them close to the hearts of the Holy Three, and that they will want to return to again and again.
My hope for you is that the Small Ones will burrow into your heart and become a part of your
world, just like they have become a part of mine.
