From Fear to Love

 My friend Precarious Yates has released Book 1 in The Heart of the Caveat Whale trilogy. Congrats, Precarious! Please enjoy this guest post from her, explaining why she set her new fantasy trilogy in her most-feared environment: the Ocean.

From Fear to Love

When I was a child I was terrified of being under water. Fear would swallow me the moment I was submerged and would last until I was safely back home again. At times, the fear was so strong I couldn’t even look at pictures of underwater landscapes, and if there was any program about fish or, God forbid, sharks, I would close my eyes and hum until the underwater scene was over.

So what was I thinking writing an epic fantasy based on an underwater world?

Slowly, as I began to write this book and research coral reefs, dolphins, squid, barnacle, tuna, sharks, and even the way bodies would move under water, I became less and less afraid. When I could, I would go swimming to do some firsthand research. And in the midst of facing this most paralyzing fear, I began to really like the water, especially the ocean.

As I faced my fear, and as I researched and wrote, I began to fall in love with the ocean. These days, I enjoy a documentary about sharks. No more closing my eyes and humming ;).

And all the while, as I journeyed from fear to love, the Lord was doing something in my heart. My fear of people dissipated. My fear of heights began to crumble. My fear of the dark was swallowed by His most marvelous light.

When He said, through the Apostle John (1 John 4:19) that perfect love casts out fear, He wasn’t even remotely kidding. Every step toward courage was one that I took with the Lord, laying my heart and my fears bare before Him. It was His perfect love that drove out each one of my fears.

Also, I considered this: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. He was the one who created the oceans, and mightier than any crashing wave, the Lord on high is mighty (Psalm 93:4). God is so big that the oceans are tiny droplets in comparison. And God loves me, what do I have to fear?

I invite you to come investigate this underwater world I created. Dive in! The Captives: The Heart of the Caveat Whale (Volume 1)