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Overview
Needful Things meets a Pentecostal revival in this Christian suspense novel about a mysterious stranger coming to a sleepy Northwestern town claiming to be a prophet.
Travis Jordan, a widower and burned-out pastor, hoped to disappear into the quiet, unassuming town of Antioch, Washington. Then a man claiming to be the new Christ arrives, performing miracle after miracle, and the national spotlight soon follows.
As the town escalates in its religious fervor, Travis must battle with his own questions about his faith and the increasing extremism and zealotry overtaking the town. The startling secret behind this visitation will ultimately push him into a supernatural confrontation that has eternal consequences.
- Stand-alone thriller
- Book length: approximately 100,000 words
- Includes discussion questions for book clubs
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781418539085 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Nelson, Thomas, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 05/07/1999 |
| Sold by: | HarperCollins Publishing |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 528 |
| Sales rank: | 256,840 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
About the Author
Frank E. Peretti is one of American Christianity's best-known authors. His novels have sold over 10 million copies, and he is widely credited with reinventing Christian fiction. He and his wife, Barbara, live in the Pacific Northwest. www.frankperetti.com.
Read an Excerpt
Sally Fordyce left the house as soon as the breakfast dishes were done, walking a little, jogging a little along Highway 9 — a narrow, straight-as-a-string two-lane with a fading white line and an evenly spaced parade of utility poles. This was eastern Washington State, quiet and solitary. Wheat fields, spring green, stretched in every direction over the prairie swells. Straight ahead, the highway dipped and rose gently into the distance until it narrowed to a vanishing point at the far horizon. The sun was warm, the breeze a little biting. It was April.
Sally was nineteen, blonde, slightly overweight, and severely unhappy, mainly because she was no longer married. She had believed everything Joey the trucker told her about love, and how she was that girl silhouetted on his mud flaps. The marriage-if it happened at all-lasted three months. When he found another woman more "intellectually stimulating," Sally was bumped from the truck's sleeper and found herself coming full circle, right back to being Charlie and Meg's daughter living at home again. She had to keep her room clean, help with dinner and dishes, get home by eleven, and attend the Methodist church with them every Sunday. Again, her life was not her life.
She had tasted freedom, she thought, but she was turned away. She had no wings to fly and nowhere to fly even if she did. Life wasn't fair. (To hear Charlie tell it, he and Meg must have made up a list of all the dumb mistakes they hoped she would never make and given her a copy. Needless to say, things were tense.)
Even before she tried Joey the trucker, Sally used to find escape out on the wheat prairie in the stillness of the morning. Now she returned, even fled to this place. Out here, she heard no voice but her own thoughts, and her thoughts could say whatever they wanted. She could pray, too, sometimes aloud, knowing no one but God would hear her. "Dear God, please don't leave me stuck here. If you're there, send a miracle. Get me out of this mess."
In all fairness, it was past time for Sally to feel that way. Except for those who had wheat farming in their blood and couldn't wait to climb on a combine, most everyone growing up in Antioch heard a call from elsewhere-anywhere-sooner or later. When they came of age, all the kids who could find a way out left-usually-for good. Sally had come of age, all right, but had not found a way out. Charlie and Meg would probably tell you that she was not the kind to look for one, either. She was still waiting for it to come to her. The halfway point of her jog was a spreading cottonwood at the top of a shallow rise, the only tree in sight. It was monstrous, and had to have been growing there long before the roads, farms, or settlers came along. Sally double-timed her way up the rise and was breathing hard by the time she reached it. She'd developed a routine: every day she braced herself against the huge trunk and stretched out her leg muscles, then sat and rested for a moment between two prominent roots on the south side. Recently, a short prayer for a miracle had also become part of the routine.
The stretches went easily enough. She had cooled down, her breathing had settled, she could feel the flush in her cheeks from the exercise and the cool air.
She rounded the tree -
And almost jumped out of her skin.
A man was sitting between the two roots, exactly in her spot, his back against the gnarled trunk and his wrists draped lazily over his knees. He had to have been there all during her stretching-out, and she was immediately curious, if not offended, that he had said or done nothing to indicate his presence.
"Oh!" she gasped, then caught her breath. "Hello. I didn't see you there."
He only chuckled and smiled at her with a kindly gaze. He was a remarkably handsome man, with olive skin, deep brown eyes, and tightly curled black hair. He was young, perhaps as young as she was. "Good morning, Sally. Sorry if I startled you."She probed her memory. "Have we met before?"
He shook his head teasingly. "No."
"Well who are you?"
"I'm here to bring you a message. Your prayers have been heard, Sally. Your answer is on his way. Be looking for him."
She looked away for only a moment, just a slight, eye-rolling gesture of consternation. "Be looking for who - ?"
He was gone.
"Hey!"
She walked around the cottonwood, looked up and down the road and across every field, and even looked straight up the trunk of the tree.
He was gone, just like that, as if he'd never been there.
After one more hurried trip around the tree, she stopped, a hand against the trunk to steady herself, her eyes scanning the prairie. Her heart was beating faster than when she'd come up the rise. Her breathing was rapid and shallow.
She was shaking.
_______________________________
At Our Lady of the Fields church in Antioch, Arnold Kowalski was busy dust mopping the quaint little sanctuary, pushing the wide broom between the pews and down the center aisle, moving a little slowly but doing a thorough job. Arnold had been a soldier, a carpenter, a diesel mechanic, and a mail carrier, and now, since retiring, he had taken upon himself the unofficial title of church custodian. It wasn't a paid position, although the church did provide a little monetary gift for him each month as an expression of love and gratitude. He just did it for God, a few hours a few days a week, pure and simple. It brought him joy, and besides, he liked being in this place.
He'd been a devout member of Our Lady of the Fields for some forty years now. He never missed Sunday morning Mass if he could help it. He never failed to make it to confession, though now at 72 the confessions were getting shorter and the penance easier. He liked to think that God was happy with him. He considered himself happy enough with God.
Except for one thing, one minor grief he had to carry as he moved slowly down the center aisle pushing his broom. He couldn't help wishing that God would pay just a little attention to Arnold's arthritis. It used to flare up occasionally; now it was only on occasion that it didn't. He was ashamed to think such a thought, but he kept thinking it anyway: Here I am serving God, but God keeps letting it hurt. His hands throbbed, his feet ached. His knuckles cried out no matter which way he gripped the broom. He was never one to complain, but today, he almost felt like crying.
Maybe I'm not serving God enough, he thought. Maybe I need to work longer. Maybe if I didn't take any money for what I do here .
What am I missing? he wondered. What am I leaving out?
He always took off his hat when he entered the building and blessed himself before entering the sanctuary. Right now, as usual, he was wearing his blue coveralls. Perhaps a tie would show more respect.
He pushed a little more dust and dirt down the center aisle until he stepped into a beam of sunlight coming through a stained glass window. The sun felt warm on his back and brought him comfort, as if it were God's hand resting on his shoulders. From this spot he could look up at the carved wooden crucifix hanging above the altar. He caught the gaze of the crucified Christ.
"I don't want to complain," he said. Already he felt he was overstepping his bounds. "But what harm would it do? What difference would it make to this big wide world if one little man didn't have so much pain?" It occurred to Arnold that he had addressed God in anger. Ashamed, he looked away from those gazing wooden eyes. But the eyes drew him back, and for a strange, illusory moment they seemed alive, mildly scolding, but mostly showing compassion as a father would show to a child with a scraped knee. Sunlight from another window brought out a tiny sparkle in the corners of the eyes, and Arnold had to smile. He could almost imagine those eyes were alive and wet with tears.
The sparkle grew, spreading from the corners of the eyes and reaching along the lower eyelids.
Arnold looked closer. Where was the light coming from that could produce such an effect? He looked above and to the right. It had to be coming through that row of small windows near the ceiling. To think he'd been attending this church for so many years and never noticed this before. It looked just as if — A tear rose over the edge of the eyelid and dropped onto the wooden cheek, tracing a thin wet trail down the face and onto the beard.
Arnold stared, frozen, his mind stuck between seeing and believing. He felt no sense of awe, no overshadowing spiritual presence. He heard no angelic choir singing in the background. All he knew was that he was watching a wooden image shed tears as he stood there dumbly.
Then his first coherent thought finally came to him. I have to get up there. Yes, that was the thing to do; that would settle it. He hurried as fast as the pain in his feet would allow him and brought a ladder from the storeroom in back. Pausing before the altar to bless himself, he stepped around the altar and carefully leaned the ladder against the wall. Every climbing step brought a sharp complaint from his feet, but he gritted his teeth, grimaced, and willed himself up the ladder until he came eye to eye, level to level with the carved face.
His eyes had not been playing tricks on him. The face, only a third life-size, was wet. He looked above to see if there was a leak in the ceiling but saw no sign of a stain or drip. He leaned close to study the image for any sign of a device or some kind of trickery. Nothing.
He reached, then hesitated from the very first tinge of fear. Just what was he about to touch? Dear God, don't hurt me. He reached again, shakily extending his hand until his fingertips brushed across the wet trail of the tears.
He felt a tingling, like electricity, and jerked his hand away with a start. It wasn't painful, but it scared him, and his hand began to quiver. Electric sensations shot up his arm like countless little bees swarming in his veins. He let out a quiet little yelp, then gasped, then yelped again as the sensation flowed across his shoulders, around his neck, down his spine. He grabbed the ladder and held it tightly, afraid he would topple off.
A strong grip.
A grip without pain. He stared at his hand. The vibration buzzed, and swirled under his skin, through his knuckles, across his palms, through his wrists. He lightened his grip, tightened it again, held on with one hand while he opened and closed the other, wiggling and flexing the fingers.
The pain was gone. His hands were strong.
The current rushed down his legs, making his nerves tingle and his muscles twitch. He hugged the ladder, his hands glued to the rungs, a cry bouncing off the wall only inches from his nose. He was shaking, afraid he would fall. He cried out, gasped, trembled, cried out again.
The electricity, the sensation — whatever it was — enveloped his feet and his scream echoed through the building.
Interviews
On Tuesday, June 15th, barnesandnoble.com welcomed Frank E. Peretti to discuss THE VISITATION.
Moderator: Good evening, Frank E. Peretti, and welcome to our Auditorium. We're so glad you could join us to chat about THE VISITATION. How are you this evening?
Frank E. Peretti: I'm great. This is a whole new experience for me, chatting on the Internet, so we'll see if I press the right keys.
Penelope from Chicago, IL: Will you be on a book tour for THE VISITATION? Can we expect to see you signing anywhere? Thanks for all the enjoyable reading. I am a huge fan.
Frank E. Peretti: Hi, Penelope. Yes, I'll be touring in August and September, coming to cities such as Nashville, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Dallas, and Spartanburg, Virginia. And thanks for all the reading!
Craig from Walpole, MA: I read somewhere that you had stated this was in some ways the most difficult book you have written so far. Why was THE VISITATION more difficult to write than your previous books?
Frank E. Peretti: Hi, Craig. What made THE VISITATION difficult was that it is such a spill-your-guts, heart-level book. I had to go through quite a bit of personal reflection and recalling and dig deep into my own heart to extract the book's various themes. That stuff can take time, and sometimes the deeper feelings and sentiments of the heart are hard to nail down and put into words.
Jenny from South Carolina: In some ways, THE VISITATION seems like a story of a spiritual coming of age. Are any elements of this story autobiographical?
Frank E. Peretti: Oh, yeah. There's a lot of biographical stuff in there, all doctored up, disguised, and fictionalized, of course, but drawn from my own life experiences.
Frank from Oklahoma City, OK: Can you tell me a little bit about your creative process? How long does it take you to write a book like THE VISITATION?
Frank E. Peretti: Hi, Frank. Well, usually I write a book in four steps: 1) Brainspilling. I just start writing down ideas, good or bad, and let those ideas lead to other ideas, and eventually a working story emerges. 2) Outlining. This is the real nuts and bolts of the writing process, laying out all the elements of the story in some kind of workable, readable order. I can spend about a year doing just this. It's the least fun job, by the way. 3) Writing the book. After sweating through steps 1 and 2, this part is the most fun. I can stop working and start playing pretend on paper. 4) Rewriting. I'm doing that all along anyway, but there's a specific time to rewrite after the editors get their hands on the manuscript. Writing a novel is a collaborative process, actually. I do the writing, of course, but I value the input from publishers and editors. And I guess I'm a slower writer than most. Usually a major novel will take me two years. THE VISITATION took three. It was a little tougher to get through.
Gail from Bucks County, PA: We had heard some years ago that THIS PRESENT DARKNESS was becoming a film. Do you have any plans to put any of your books on the big screen?
Frank E. Peretti: Hi, Gail. Well, I really have no power to make one of my books into a film, but there is a fine producer who has been trying to get THIS PRESENT DARKNESS made into a movie for several years now. I just talked to him a week or so ago, and things might be taking a turn for the better. It just might happen, God willing.
Greene from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY: When did you first know you wanted to be a writer? How did you get your start? Do you have any words of advice for aspiring writers?
Frank E. Peretti: Howdy, Greene. I've wanted to be a writer since I was a kid. It's always been a part of me. My first book project, THE DOOR IN THE DRAGON'S THROAT, began as a story I told in installments at a junior high Bible camp. After I told the kids the story and it went over really well, I decided to write it as a book. When Crossway Books saw my manuscript, they decided I knew how to write, and asked to look at another project I was working on, a big manuscript I'd titled THE HEAVENLIES, which they later titled THIS PRESENT DARKNESS. To any aspiring writers, I guess I'd say, Make sure you know your stuff, get advice, and don't go into it blindly. A lot of would-be writers make a lot of avoidable mistakes because they don't know how to structure a story or submit a manuscript, for instance. Read some books, take some classes, connect with some writing groups. Just learn your way around.
Inky from Inky: Where do you come up with your book titles? Are they Biblical in origin?
Frank E. Peretti: Hi, Inky. Oh, most of the titles I make up in my head. Sometimes the marketing department at the publisher comes up with a catchy title that would help the book to sell. I think THIS PRESENT DARKNESS is the only title that is somewhat Biblical in origin.
Naomi from Vermont: From whom do you get the most religious or spiritual inspiration today?
Frank E. Peretti: Well, these days I read and listen to Ravi Zacharias quite a bit. I'm really into Christian worldview issues, you know, apologetics and defending the Christian faith, and Ravi provides some great stuff.
Sharon from Oyster Bay, NY: I read that you were also a musician before you became a writer. What music do you listen to when you write? Has your musical background influenced your writing?
Frank E. Peretti: I don't listen to any music when I write because I enjoy music, and so I get distracted and can't keep my mind on my work. I suppose my musical background has influenced my writing in terms of the people I've known in that field -- they can provide grist for certain characters -- and also the subtle aesthetics of music: the emotion, the pacing, the rhythm, that can translate into written prose. Music is emotional, and I try to carry that same emotion into my writing.
Chris from Michigan: Who designed the book jacket of your book? Are you happy with it? Do you have any say in the design? It's such a cool cover...
Frank E. Peretti: The book jackets are all designed by the marketing department at the publisher. It's their job to make the book eye-catching so that people coming into a bookstore will want to pick it up and buy it. I get a little bit of say on the cover designs, but I've never had to say much; they've always done such a great job.
Wilford Jacobson from Louisiana: I like what you said about THE VISITATION being a "spill-your-guts" kind of book. Did this make the writing process any different for you than with your past books?
Frank E. Peretti: I suppose the biggest difference would be that the past books were more "issue" driven. You know, pick a topic and write about it, be it spiritual warfare or truth or sin. THE VISITATION wasn't so much a book about what's happening "out there" as it was about what has been happening inside my own heart over the years. As such, it was a tougher book to write because I had to probe deep inside myself and try to gain at least a partial understanding of all the Lord has brought me through.
Will Brown from Charleston, SC: I couldn't put your book down after I started reading it. It was great. How does the main character parallel your own life? I know that you play the banjo as he does.
Frank E. Peretti: Hi, Will. The main character loosely parallels my own life, at least as far as his doubts and struggles. Some of his experiences are taken from my own life, but I've fictionalized most everything so that, well, the main character and I have been through a lot of the same things, but it's more like we've lived in two different places. I did make him a banjo player, though. I couldn't resist that.
Will from Charleston, SC: You have been writing in the Christian market for many years now. How has the Christian marketplace changed in that time?
Frank E. Peretti: It's gotten a lot bigger, more aggressive, and more sophisticated.
Patrick from Detroit, MI: Do you think your books can reach and be appreciated by a non-Christian audience? Do you write them with a strictly Christian audience in mind?
Frank E. Peretti: I've had lots of non-Christian readers who have appreciated my storytelling even if they have not agreed with my message. Some have become Christians after reading my books. The Darkness books were written mostly for Christian readers, but THE OATH and THE VISITATION were written for a wider market, kind of as a way to introduce non-Christians to Christian ideas -- the Gospel, in other words.
Jean from Dallas: Hi, Frank. I love your books and the way you make me visualize the ongoing battle between good and evil. It has really helped me in my Christian walk to remember God is ultimately in control. In this new book, do you see that as the main theme, the message you wanted to get across? If not, what would you want the reader to have taken away?
Frank E. Peretti: Wow. Uh, THE VISITATION carries a lot of themes that any individual can find, depending on where they are in their Christian walk. The main theme, though, is the passage from a "religion-based" life to a "relation-based" life, the process of "coming of age" as a Christian and realizing that, no matter what all the church stuff may be around you, the real issue is your own personal relationship with the Lord. The surrounding church culture can vary with time and place, but knowing Jesus is the one vital treasure you can keep as your own no matter where you are.
Scott from Florida: What was your inspiration for the spiritual battles in the Darkness books? and is the new story more along those same lines?
Frank E. Peretti: Hey, I've always loved action movies like "Star Wars," "Superman," the other superhero stuff. The spiritual battles in the Darkness books derive from my love of action, excitement, and swashbuckling adventure. THE VISITATION isn't so much in that vein; the tension of the story is more psychological than physical.
Moderator: Do you have any books you're saving up to read this summer?
Frank E. Peretti: Yep. I've got a few by Ravi Zacharias, and then there are some Christian fiction titles I need to check out just to see what the other writers are doing.
Will from Charleston, SC: Many of your stories take place around small towns. Is that because you are more familiar with those surroundings?
Frank E. Peretti: I like small towns. You can control the overall environment more easily and get to know the citizens. And yes, I come from a small-town environment, so I tend to write about small towns.
Pat from Nashville: I understand Thomas Nelson is your publisher. Is this correct? How long have you been with this publisher?
Frank E. Peretti: I actually have three publishers: Crossway Books of Wheaton, Illinois, publishes the Darkness books, PROPHET, and the first four Cooper books, plus TILLY. Word Publishing in Nashville publishes THE OATH and now, THE VISITATION. Thomas Nelson's children's branch, Tommy Nelson, publishes the last four of the Cooper series. I understand that Thomas Nelson owns Word, so in the bigger scheme of things, that would make them my publisher. It gets complicated. Oh, I've been with Crossway since around 1983, and with Word for...about five or six years.
Jen from Jersey City, NJ: Do you think of your books as a means to convey a moral? Or do you think the religious elements in them are just great tools for a supernatural thriller? I think both, but I would love to hear your take on it...
Frank E. Peretti: Jen, I try to see to it that my books always convey a moral from a Biblical, Christian perspective. The trick is to convey that moral in an exciting, entertaining way. I love a good story, and that's what I try to write.
Richard from Ft. Lauderdale, FL: How did you first get your start? It seems like a grassroots enthusiasm for your books developed and spread like wildfire. Did you do anything to set the original spark?
Frank E. Peretti: Yes, it was a wildfire, all right, but it took several years to get it going. A lot of prayer, a lot of work, and a lot of waiting.
J. P. from Boston, MA: Do you think books like yours will see a rise in popularity this year, with everyone's nagging fears about the fate of the millennium?
Frank E. Peretti: Not so much books like mine, but there are plenty of apocalyptic books out there right now that are having their heyday.
Suzanne from Atlanta, GA: Hi. All of your books are beautifully written, and I have enjoyed them all. Do you have a favorite Christian fiction author?
Frank E. Peretti: Not yet. There are so many right now I can't keep up with them all.
Deborah from Williamsburg, VA: What's in the works now, or are you planning a well-deserved break? And thanks for allowing yourself to be such a creative instrument. You have been an inspiration to so many.
Frank E. Peretti: Thank you so much for the encouragement. I'm sort of taking a break right now, working outside a lot on my place. Next project will be a new series of adventure books for kids, published by Tommy Nelson.
Carol Morse from Ardmore, OK: Of all your books, do you have your own personal favorite? Why?
Frank E. Peretti: That's kind of like asking, Which of your children do you like the best? Each book is different, and I like each one of them for its own special qualities. THIS PRESENT DARKNESS was my first novel, written with great enthusiasm amidst great struggle, so it has a special place in my heart. PIERCING THE DARKNESS is very well-organized and structured, and I've always liked that about it. THE OATH was a tight thriller, and I liked how my writing was getting more polished. THE VISITATION is, I hope, a real step forward and upward for myself as a writer and for Christian fiction in general.
Lando from Abbotsford, British Columbia: Thanks a lot for keeping the great books coming. Will you ever do something historical or futuristic in coming novels?
Frank E. Peretti: Historical might be fun. Futuristic might be, well, too conjecture-ish for me, but you never know.
Shirley from Portland, OR: Hi, Frank. I don't really have a question. I just wanted to say, Thanks for being an awesome author! I love every one of your books. The only ones I haven't read are The Cooper Family books, but in time, in time. Can't wait to get your newest. It sounds wonderful! (as usual)
Frank E. Peretti: Thank you so much, Shirley. God bless!
Will from Charleston, SC: There is popular fiction series called Left Behind out right now that deals with the Rapture. Have you considered writing a series of books like that?
Frank E. Peretti: Funny you should ask. Tim LaHaye approached me years ago, asking if I'd be interested in cowriting the series that became the Left Behind series. I turned him down because I didn't think the idea could work fictionally. Well, guess who was wrong?
Todd and Gail from Levittown, PA: We just wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you for all your hard work. We saw you at a Creation festival years ago, and you are quite a character. You acted out many of your characters and did the same on your audiocassette of THIS PRESENT DARKNESS.
Frank E. Peretti: Great to hear from you!
Jeanne from Florida: Did you have a personal experience or revelation that made the spiritual plane real to you, as you depict it in your stories (especially the Darkness books)?
Frank E. Peretti: No, but I've known quite a few people who have had more direct experiences. You have to take all this stuff with a grain of salt, though, and try to stay within the boundaries of scripture. Usually I manage to do that.
Moderator: Thank you so much for joining us this evening, Frank E. Peretti. You have been a terrific guest, and we wish you all the best of luck with THE VISITATION. Before you go, do you have any closing comments for your online audience?
Frank E. Peretti: I'm really flattered and encouraged that so many of you showed up to chat. I'm sorry I couldn't get to answer all your questions. Hey, God bless all of you, and I hope to meet you face to face someday!
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