As an author and editor, I have the privilege of reading and reviewing many picture books. The God Hunter was released in August, and it took my breath away. I read it three times and just said “Wow!” I caught up with my author friend Annette Griffen and asked her to tell us more about this wonderful book.

Please tell us how you got the idea for this book?

Simi’s story came to me while I was prayerfully searching for a non-preachy way to show little ones that God is never far from them.  

You co-authored the book with Franella Smith. Can you tell us how that came about?

Franella and I met in a critique group and instantly found a connection through our writing. After I crafted the first iteration of The God Hunter and my agent began shopping it around, I was told the story was excellent, but that a white author should avoid writing a story with a black main character. I was initially disappointed by that advice, but I knew God had a plan for the story. I surrendered it to Him and set it aside to wait on His timing.

A few weeks later, Franella contacted me and said she couldn’t stop thinking about the story ever since I shared it with our critique group. When I explained the situation to her, she was disappointed too. I offered to give her the story to publish under her name, since she is a black author, but she didn’t feel good about that idea. Instead, she asked if she could rework the story so we could authentically co-author the book.

When I received the manuscript back with Franella’s changes, I was overjoyed. Her edits and additions gave the story a new depth that blew me away. From that moment on, I knew for sure the collaboration was always meant to be.

The illustrations are outstanding! Tell us more about them.

The brilliant Dr. Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes is our publisher through Dressed in Love Press, and she’s also our illustrator! She did an excellent job of bringing our book’s characters to life and making every page a vivid celebration of Kenya’s beauty and rich culture. 

What is the message you want readers to take away from this book?

Our hope and prayer is that through our story, young readers will begin to understand that God is never far from them. They will seek Him and find Him when they search for Him with their whole heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

Where can we learn more about you and your books?

You can learn more about my books at https://www.annettemariegriffin.com and learn more about The God Hunter and other books in the Finding God Series at https://findinggodseries.com/

Thank you, Annette, for sharing more about your new picture book. I know our blog followers will enjoy this book as much as I have. It’s a powerful story for children, but also for adults who will also say, “Wow!”

Here’s to searching for God and finding Him!

Crystal

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