Forty Days: Neima's Ark, Book One (15 page)

Neima’s story will
continue in…

FORTY NIGHTS

Neima’s Ark, Book
Two

Coming Summer
2013

Opinions differ on the capitalization
of the word “god” when referring to the Judeo-Christian God. One
take is that the Judeo-Christian God is a proper noun, and should
therefore always be capitalized, while the word “god” referring to,
say, a Greek or Roman god is not a proper noun and should not be
capitalized. A differing opinion is that capitalization of God
implies belief, so if a character cries out, “Oh my God!”, the use
of capitalization indicates the character’s religious belief. I
tend to agree with the former of the two options—that the
Judeo-Christian God, as a proper noun, should be capitalized
regardless of a character’s or author’s beliefs—and therefore I’ve
chosen to capitalize the word God in this novel. On the other hand,
I do believe that the capitalization of he, him, etc. in reference
to God connotes belief. Therefore, I have capitalized he, him, etc.
used to refer to God only in Noah’s dialogue. Since my narrator,
Neima, is less sure about the existence of the one God, I have not
capitalized he, him, or his referring to God in her
narration.

Ultimately,
Forty Days
is a work of
imagination and storytelling. My intention is to examine a
traditional tale in a new way, not to make a definitive religious
statement.

A huge thank you to Brenda Bowen for
inspiring this project. Thanks to Najla Qamber for the gorgeous
cover, and to Janna Mashburn, Dianne Acoba, Joseph Murphy, Kimberly
Russell, Christianna Marks, Marissa Aldana, and Tiffiny for beta
reading. Thanks to my parents for helping with research, and to my
sister Gillian and aunt Lenis for reading and spotting errors. A
huge thanks to all the bloggers, readers, and indie authors who
have been so supportive as I’ve explored the world of independent
publishing, and who have helped me decide that for now, the indie
world is where I belong. And thanks once again to my parents and
sister for always supporting me.

Stephanie Parent is a
graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at USC and
attended the Baltimore School for the Arts as a piano major. She
moved to Los Angeles because of Francesca Lia Block's
Weetzie Bat
books, which
might give you some idea of how much books mean to her. She also
loves dogs, books about dogs, and sugary coffee drinks both hot and
cold. Stephanie is the author of the contemporary YA novel in
verse
Defy the Stars
. Her new adult romance,
Precious
Things,
is forthcoming in May 2013. Visit
Stephanie at http://www.stephanieparent.blogspot.com.