We are delighted to host Gayla K. Hiss this week, author of the PERIL IN THE PARK series and finalist for Wildfire in the Faith, Hope and Love Awards!! Gayla is sharing a bit of the background to book 3 in her PERIL IN THE PARK series, Wildfire, as well as a beautiful reminder of fire’s refining power and the spiritual strength we have with us through trials that is Jesus Christ.
Wildfires have become personal for me. It all began in late November 2016. That was when my husband and I learned of the wildfires devastating Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We had planned to visit there the week after the wildfires hit. However, the hotel we had booked had burned down. That following September, it seemed like a bad case of déjà vu when we changed our travel plans again because of the wildfires threatening Glacier National Park. Instead of going to Glacier, we extended our camping trip at an Idaho state park, but the smoky haze blowing in from Montana was a constant reminder the fiery danger across the state line. During that same trip, we learned that a wildfire near Mt. Rainier was spewing ashes over our own neighborhood in Washington State, and a blaze in Oregon had jumped the Columbia River into Washington and was spreading out of control. Whew! It seemed the entire Northwest was going up in flames.
As I finished my book Wildfire, the third in my Peril in the Park series, the putrid smell of ash and burning wood was fresh in my mind, as well as increased awareness of the very real threat wildfires can pose not only to the national parks but to neighborhoods like yours and mine. Growing up in the Southeast, wildfires were a foreign concept, a feature of the Wild West, not something I needed to be concerned about—yet I did experience my own close call with fire when I was a child. An electrical short sparked a flame in the room next to my bedroom. Mysteriously, our fire alarms didn’t go off, but my mother woke me right in the nick of time. I still remember the sickening smell of smoke that permeated everything in the house, including my clothes, but I had survived by the grace of God.
Maybe that’s why the biblical story of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah’s experience in the fiery furnace from the book of Daniel has always fascinated me. It’s also an underlying theme in my book. Those brave young men were sentenced to be burned alive with only their faith to cling to. Faced with what appeared to be certain death, they discovered they were not alone in the fire. There was a fourth person in there with them, and against all odds the three friends survived the flames unharmed. Not even a hair on their head was singed and not a trace of smoke was on them either.
Wildfires would make the perfect villain in my story, except that they also have a remarkable good side. Natural fires cleanse the woodlands of disease and insect infestations, making it possible for the forests to regenerate. In fact, fire is necessary to revitalize the forests and prevent mega-fires from spreading. Because of this, I will never look at the verse from Hebrews 12:29, which likens God to “an all-consuming fire”, the same again. Not only does His awesome power create and destroy, but more significantly it also cleanses and restores. That’s why I find it comforting to know that the fourth man in the fiery furnace with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah is the same Savior who stands with us today in the midst of our fiery trials. And as those brave young men discovered, the safest place to be in a raging fire is in the refuge of God’s love.
Gayla K. Hiss’s writing journey began with her hobby of painting landscapes. In her vivid imagination, characters and scenes came to life as she painted scenes with beautiful natural settings. Her inspiring novels combine her love for the great outdoors with romance, suspense and adventure.
She has been a finalist in the Daphne du Maurier contest and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association literary contest, and is a member of several writing organizations. She has also had the privilege of working for the Navy, NASA, and two Fortune 100 companies as a software engineer, and has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in engineering.
Gayla and her husband often tour the country in their RV, visiting many state and national parks. She enjoys hiking, camping, and traveling, and currently resides in the Pacific Northwest.
Visit Gayla at her website: gaylakhiss.com
Edward Arrington
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