Gothic Archie and Other Imagineerings
Allegories and Parables of The Kingdom

A work-in-process. See Parable for a sample of Gothic Archie

Leona tries her hand at a new genre she has not attempted before: fiction/fantasy in a book highlighting the enchantment of personification.

Personification is a poetic device which gives human characteristics, emotions or speech to inanimate objects, animals or ideas. (Psalm 19:1-3 is an example). Leona looks upon personification as a podium where ideas and emotions can stand and speak for themselves. Through this device, a crown of thorns or an empty tomb can shout with jubilation at Christ’s victory. Personification focuses a spotlight on the simple and amplifies it with fantasy, unlocking the doors of a reader’s imagination and enhancing ideas in a dramatic fashion.

Leona’s chosen format is parables, allegories, fables, and dialogues with God in prose and verse. Most of the short selections are what she calls "imagineerings" developed from metaphors and similes, essentially a term she has coined for symbolic narrative. The mini-stories are life contemplations that carry subtle spiritual applications -  hopefully obvious to the reader without explanation.

Her main thrust is to reflect her personal responses to life and to the Lord, as well as echoing the experiences of others. She communicates biblical truths both for sheer enjoyment in the reading and for spiritual relevance. Leona takes her own path to creatively express principles and truths from the Scriptures, making use of humor and contemporary analogies. She interweaves narrative and modern verse in sense lines.

Each of the stories may stand alone, but they have something in common. A single life-topic is addressed in each, supported by related biblical references as ideation sources for the foundational truths she seeks to express. Sometimes Leona quotes the biblical references in full, sometimes only notes them for the reader’s convenience.

Although the selections may at first seem to be slanted toward young readers because of their "fairy tale or fantasy" format, they are, in fact, adult-targeted because of their symbolic and allegorical nature.

A young, Chinese-American artist is trying her hand at sketches to introduce and relate to each mini-story, enhancing the text with her talent from the Lord.

Expected release 2002 - 2003