When you explore the Beatitudes and Woes of the Bible through the stories of 13 Christian authors in this uniquely powerful anthology, you’ll find tales of courage in the face of suffering, persecution, unexpected loss, self-sacrifice, joy in spite of circumstances, tears suppressed and expressed, love from the heart, kindness shown to friends and strangers, a monster slain, an alien plague, high adventure, a comedic hero finally taking a stand, a lost love found, and much more in these beautifully-crafted tales.

Where did the idea for this Collection of Short Stories come from?

One day, several months ago, in a Facebook group not so far away, an author posted this:

… I think it would be cool if someone organized a speculative anthology where each story is based on one of the 9 Beatitudes in Matthew or one of the 4 woes of Luke. 13 authors, each assigned/choosing one of those verses, expressing it in fantastical story form…

That author, C.W. Briar, had created a firestorm.

Immediately, interest piqued. Christian authors and readers jumped on the bandwagon of this wonderful idea. Of course! Why hadn’t we thought of it before? General online excitement ensured as authors clamored for a chance to be one selected for this project. After all, most of us could recite these verses forwards and backwards.

But had we ever had a chance to explore them in a deeper context? What better way to do that than through the universal language of story?

-Parker J Cole.

Each story ends by quoting Jesus–from either one of the nine “blessed are” statements in Matthew chapter five or one of the four “woe to” sayings in Luke six.