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Jean Hoefling

Goodreads Author

Born

in Denver, Colorado, The United States

Website

http://www.jeanhoefling.com

Genre

Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Paranormal

Influences

author Charles Williams

Member Since

February 2014

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Jean Hoefling’s novel Ashes Like Bread won the 2019 Readers’ Favorite bronze medal in Christian Fantasy. She lives, writes, and copyedits in her native Colorado, loves dancing, fog, and the beauty of the Orthodox Church.

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Popular Answered Questions

How did you come up with Cain's wife's name? What inspired you to write this story?

Jean Hoefling Sybel, I apologize for not answering your great question until now! I'm afraid I simply did not see it for whatever reason. I so appreciate your inter…moreSybel, I apologize for not answering your great question until now! I'm afraid I simply did not see it for whatever reason. I so appreciate your interest! I named Cain's wife Akliah, because it proceeds naturally from stories from an ancient text called The Forgotten Books of Eden, which is a fascinating account of the life of Adam and Eve's family outside Eden. In the 74th and 75th chapters of that book, Cain and a twin sister, Luluwa, are born to Adam and Eve; later, Abel and a twin sister named Akliah are also born. Cain wanted to marry Luluwa, just like in my story. That Akliah loved Cain is my fabrication, with all the tension and heartache that it brought her. As to what inspired Gold in Havilah, all my life I've been fascinated with the early chapters of Genesis. I'd always wanted to read a good book about what it might have been like to be Adam and Eve after the Fall, and what family and community life might have been like in those early generations of the earth. The Forgotten Books of Eden does a pretty good job, but I wanted more detail. So I wrote Gold in Havilah, and on November 2, 2018, I published a sort of sequel, Ashes Like Bread. This is the story of another generation of Adamites, based on the story of Lamech and his two wives found in Genesis 4. I hope you'll read both books and enjoy them, and look forward to several more books in the series!(less)

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If you could travel to any fictional book world, where would you go and what would you do there?

Jean Hoefling I'd travel to the pristine world of early Genesis that I developed in Gold in Havilah because I would love to interact with those biblical characters …moreI'd travel to the pristine world of early Genesis that I developed in Gold in Havilah because I would love to interact with those biblical characters and pick their brains about why they made the choices they did. For most of them, we are given little to go on in the biblical text, which is both frustrating and fascinating, because then we have the luxury of speculation. In my everybody's-big-sister way, I'd like to think I could have talked Eve out of taking the first bite of forbidden fruit, or persuade Cain not to murder Abel. But then, there wouldn't be much of a story, would there? And the fact is, we humans mostly learn from picking our way through the mess we make of life and gaining some wisdom in the process. (less)

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Jean Hoefling’s books

Average rating: 4.07 · 201 ratings · 52 reviews · 9 distinct works • Similar authors

	Ashes Like Bread: A Biblical Novel of Lamech and His Two Wives (Thrones of Genesis #1) 4.24 avg rating — 82 ratings — published 2018 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gold in Havilah: A Novel of Cain's Wife 3.75 avg rating — 55 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Seed Bearer's Bride: A Supernatural and Paranormal Biblical Novel (Chronicles of Genesis Series Book 2) 4.44 avg rating — 27 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Killing Eden: The Spiritual Death of Adam and Eve 3.79 avg rating — 24 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha 3.33 avg rating — 6 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Journey to God it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2010	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stones of Fire: A Supernatural Biblical Novel of the Pre-flood Prophet Enoch (Chronicles of Genesis Series Book 4) 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Seed Bearer's Bride: A Novel of Fallen Angels, Nephilim, and the Woman Who Defied Their Power (Chronicles of Genesis Series) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stones of Fire: A Supernatural Biblical Novel of the Pre-flood Prophet Enoch 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Jean Hoefling's Blog

What About Enoch?

My third book in the Chronicles of Genesis series will be published in June of 2025! The title is Stones of Fire: A Biblical Supernatural Novel of the Preflood Prophet Enoch

And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. — Genesis 5:2

Why write a novel about this Atlantian-era guy who never died? Because being air-lifted into the sky without dying first is a big deal. Being “taken”

Series by Jean Hoefling

Thrones of Genesis (2 books)
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Jean Hoefling (Goodreads Author)

4.29 avg rating — 109 ratings

Jean is Currently Reading

Jean Hoefling is currently reading

In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton

by G.K. Chesterton

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Jun 29, 2016 08:17PM

Jean Hoefling is currently reading

If Kennedy Lived: The First and Second Terms of President John F. Kennedy: An Alternate History

by Jeff Greenfield

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Dec 31, 2015 08:19PM

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SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

by Mary Beard

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Dec 18, 2015 08:38PM

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Jean’s Recent Updates

Jean Hoefling wrote a new blog post What About Enoch? My third book in the Chronicles of Genesis series will be published in June of 2025! The title is Stones of Fire: A Biblical Supernatural Novel of the Read more of this blog post »
May 04, 2025 04:22AM · like

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Christian Fiction...: 2022 New Authors to You Challenge	70	144	Jan 21, 2023 03:40PM
Christian Fiction...: 2022 Alphabet Soup Challenge	35	106	Jan 21, 2023 03:46PM

Jean’s Quotes

“Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.”
― Albert Camus

tags: on-fiction

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“I would urge us to be not too certain of our accustomed ways of looking at Genesis, and to open ourselves to the wisdom of the God-bearing men of the past who have devoted so much intellectual effort to understanding the text of Genesis as it was meant to be understood. These Holy Fathers are our key to understanding Genesis.”
― Seraphim Rose, Genesis, Creation and Early Man: The Orthodox Christian Vision

tags: bible, christian, genesis, orthodox

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