In my debut, This Isn’t Shakespeare, the main character slowly let the lies of the world slip into her life so she could justify the behavior she knew wasn’t glorifying to God. But in my new book, Into the Crashing Waves, my main character is so angry and hurt that he can’t “see” Jesus to fix his eyes on Him. It’s not a gentle turning away, it’s a flat-out refusal to trust.
When I was eleven years old, I made the mistake of watching the movie, Jaws. Not long after that, my family took a trip to the beach where I had the chance to ski on the ocean, taking off from the beach. My sister and her friend tried first, but neither was able to stay upright for very long on the skis. Then it was my turn. I went up and stayed up as my daddy’s friend drove the boat deeper and deeper into the ocean. That’s when terror turned my brain off. All I knew was that I didn’t want to go any deeper, and they didn’t seem to be slowing or turning. I let go of the rope. I realized the stupidity of that move immediately, but it was too late. I tumbled into the murky water.
The music from Jaws pounded in my ears. Fish and seaweed and who knows what else rubbed against my legs as I frantically treaded water, my eyes filling with tears. Stranded. In the ocean. With sharks. I had to keep telling myself, “My daddy will come save me. He’s coming. He won’t let me die.”
I knew my Daddy so well, that I could trust him to save me. But trust is hard to come by for my main character in Into the Crashing Waves because he’s bounced around foster homes, always feeling like he wasn’t enough—to be adopted or for his mom to give up drugs.
The title of my book, comes from this passage:
“During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’
‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’
‘Come,’ he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down,” (Matt. 14:25-32, NIV).
If Peter had not looked around at the scary, crashing waves and the storm raging around him, but kept his eyes fixed on Jesus, his trust wouldn’t have wavered. But how often are we distracted by doubt and fear and even anger, so that we take our eyes off Jesus and sink into the waves? We let our fears of being unlovable be justification for turning our eyes to the world and distancing ourselves from the God who we arrogantly think shouldn’t have put us in that storm in the first place.
When I began to imagine this teen version of The Count of Monte Cristo, I knew there would need to be a faith element that centered on my main character coming to a place of forgiveness and letting go of his need for vengeance. As I wrote it, though, I realized it was a deeper issue of not trusting God in the storm.
Back Cover Copy:
Sixteen-year-old Dante Edmonds finally feels like his life is finally coming together. His foster dad wants to adopt him. He has an amazing girlfriend. He’s on track to get a scholarship to MIT because of his mad computer skills. Then his girlfriend’s ex frames him for possession, and his mom’s past comes back to haunt them both. Dante’s hope for a future comes to a screeching halt, along with his trust in God. He meets a guy in juvie with a plan to escape and lots of answers, but Dante doesn’t want a life on the run. He wants revenge.
Bio:
Stephanie Cardel lives on a farm in middle Tennessee with her husband of 39 years and their goldendoodle. They have three grown children that she homeschooled K-12. She now has five precious grandchildren that have her wrapped around their little fingers. She had the pleasure of being on the crew of four faith-based films and a Christmas movie and even had a small part in three of those films. She is a member of the SCBWI and the ACFW. She currently owns and operates Lighthouse Literary, helping other writers achieve their dreams of publication. Her debut novel was also a YA Christian Contemporary, This Isn’t Shakespeare, from WordCrafts Press. It was a finalist in the Carol Awards. She wrote a companion YA devotional, Whatever is True, that teaches how to stand firm in your identity in Christ so you can stand against cultural lies.
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