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J.R. Lankford Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

J.R. Lankford

J.R. Lankford

J.R. Lankford Biography

In the 1990s, J R (Jamilla Rhines) Lankford, quit her former job – which involved jetting around the world to oversee the development of world standards for electrical products – to pursue a childhood dream of writing novels. She has since published four novels, including the Jesus Thief series and Murder Without Motive. She also founded the online novel workshop NovelPro, and is a literary agent.

J.R. Lankford's website

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Interview

J. R. (Jamilla Rhines) Lankford reveals what inspired her to write her acclaimed novel, The Jesus Thief, about the cloning of Jesus; why she believes human cloning will soon be a reality; and the challenges it will pose to society.

How did you come up with the idea for your latest novel, The Jesus Thief?
My husband and I were watching a documentary on the Shroud of Turin in October 1999. It said a scientist claimed to have found Type AB male blood on the Shroud. I thought of the idea for the novel at once: What if the DNA were intact? What if someone extracted it and tried to clone Jesus? I'd been following developments in mammalian cloning since Dolly, the sheep, was cloned in 1999. I started the writing and research the next day.

With human cloning in the news, do you believe someone might actually try to clone DNA from the Shroud?
They'd fail if they did. Reportedly, only traces of blood were found on it and the DNA was badly degraded. But the DNA of many other historical figures has surely survived. Should we permit the cloning of Einstein? What about Mother Theresa? Stalin? Criminals executed by the State? Should we clone the Son of God if we could? Society must answer these questions because if the first human clone doesn't already exist, it soon will. The equipment and fundamental expertise to clone human beings is in every microbiology lab and fertility clinic.

This was why you wrote The Jesus Thief?
Secondarily, yes. It's ...

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Books by this Author

Books by J.R. Lankford at BookBrowse
The Jesus Thief jacket The Crowning Circle jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for J.R. Lankford but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Steve Berry

    Steve Berry

    Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of the Cotton Malone novels (The Bishop's Pawn, The Malta Exchange), among other books, and several works of short fiction. He has 25 million books ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Jesus Thief

    Try:
    The Third Secret
    by Steve Berry

  • Dan Brown

    Dan Brown

    Dan Brown is the author of many bestselling novels, including the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Da Vinci Code. He is a graduate of Amherst College and Phillips Exeter Academy, where he spent time as an English teacher ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Jesus Thief

    Try:
    Angels & Demons
    by Dan Brown

We recommend 8 similar authors

View all 8 Read-Alikes

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Top Picks

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In Our Midst follows a German immigrant family’s fight for freedom after their internment post–Pearl Harbor.
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