About the Book

Book: With Mercy’s Eyes

Author: D.T. Powell

Genre: FICTION/ Christian / Contemporary

Release Date: June 16, 2025

He turned his back on God a long time ago. But God never forgot him.

Six months after struggling actor Lane Harris lost his husband in a tragic accident, he lands a movie role guaranteed to put him on the Hollywood map. But one producer holds the power to shut down his shot at stardom—and she’s a Christian. If she finds out he’s gay, it’s over. Lane is careful not to say too much around her.

When an alcohol-fueled tryst with his co-star ends in humiliation, and his landlord hands him an eviction notice, Lane looks for someone to talk to. He finds a confidant in the Christian producer. After a night of too little sleep and not enough coffee, he lets slip his sexual orientation. Instead of a verbal flogging, the woman recounts recently losing her own husband.

The only Christians Lane knows condemn him upon learning he’s gay. But this one is different. She doesn’t embrace his sexuality, but instead of treating him with disdain, she offers compassion. Christians are supposed to hate people like him. So, why doesn’t she?

– – – – – – –

With Mercy’s Eyes by D. T. Powell is an issue-facing Contemporary novel for adult churched Christians. It addresses homosexuality and same-sex attraction from a Biblical perspective without falling into the trap of the extreme responses we too often see from modern churches. It holds similar views to Jackie Hill Perry, Becket Cook, Rosaria Butterfield, and Christopher Yuan.

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About the Author

D. T. Powell has loved stories since before she can remember, and it was one of those stories that God used to change her life and prompt her to start writing. In addition to writing book reviews for a magazine as well as original contemporary and speculative fiction, she has actively contributed to the fanfiction community since 2013. Her original work has been published by Writers Digest, Clean Fiction Magazine, Twenty Hills Publishing, The Order of the Pen Press, Worldsmyths, and Cadence Writing. She enjoys reading, playing pickleball, and playing an occasional video game. You can find her online as dtill359.

Her favorite verse is Psalm 126:5, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”

More from D.T.

Driving through a deserted intersection at 3:30 AM isn’t an ideal time for much of anything. But I remember the moment clearly, because in that instant, I chose to accept God’s prompting to do something I thought was impossible (or, at the very least, inadvisable)—write a Christian fiction book with a main character who’d just lost his husband.

Being a Christian in traditional circles, I believe that any intimate relationship outside of a Biblical marriage is not pleasing to God and goes against His will and plan. So, for at least a year before that moment of acceptance, I wrestled with God’s prompting to write such a (to me) non-sequitur.

But God kept bringing this story to mind—sometimes quietly during time spent with Him, and sometimes more loudly through people I got to talk and interact with. He wouldn’t let me forget what He’d asked of me.

Once I’d accepted God’s prompting to write this story, I reluctantly began drafting, but, in fear, I put a pseudonym on it. I was terrified that strangers and family members alike would see this premise and lay down immediate judgment of both me and this story.

However, there is one true antidote to fear. Perfect (mature) love. And as I continued to take steps of faith—albeit haltingly at times—God fostered in me a love, not just for this story, but for Him, and for a group of people Christians far too often label and then push aside because of their specific, chosen sin.

With Mercy’s Eyes is a glimpse of how God draws people to Himself. It’s an unapologetic statement that salvation is for all of humanity, no matter how we sin. It’s a look into the life and heart of someone too many Christians might never have given a second thought.

This book takes a non-explicit look at homosexuality and same-sex attraction from the perspective of someone who has lived that life and thought it would bring them happiness, only to wind up empty and no better off than when they began. Often, it’s only when we come to the end of ourselves that we understand just how much we need the Saviour.

God has seen this book through from beginning to end. To honor what He has done, both in me and within these pages, and celebrate His saving grace, I now gladly give my name to this story. I pray God brings With Mercy’s Eyes to the people who need it, just as He brought it to me when I needed it.

Interview with the Author

What does success as an author look like to you?

Success, both for me as an author and for this book in particular, means changing minds and hearts about subjects that matter—or, at the very least, helping readers think. I don’t believe any author would turn down a legitimately gained payday, but to many of us, there are things more important than money.

Which character did you connect to best in this book?

I’d say I connected with most all of them at one point or another, but the two that drew me in most were both POV characters—Lane and Leigh. I don’t plot, so a lot of how I get to know characters is by sitting down and spending time with them in order to learn what needs to come next in the story. I loved spending time with both Lane and Leigh throughout the book.

Which part of the book was the most difficult to write?

None of it was particularly difficult in a technical sense. This was actually the easiest book I’ve ever written. Not that the content is an easy read, but that it came together quickly and well.

In an emotional sense, the last few chapters of the book were some of the hardest. I still can’t read through them without breaking down. Another section that was particularly taxing emotionally was an intense scene in the middle of the book. That one actually took me a few days to write. Again, not because it was particularly difficult to execute in a technical sense, but because there were so many intense thoughts and feelings on the page that it was draining to spend a lot of time immersed in it.

What inspired this book?

That is a very long story, so I’ll do my best to give you the short version.

Several years ago, God made it clear to me that I would one day write a Christian fiction book with a homosexual main character. At the time, I didn’t know why, or even how that would be possible. I was working retail full time then and had to be at work at 4AM. Driving to work one morning, I neared an intersection I had passed through a hundred times, but this time, as I approached that light, the same sense of knowing that God had brought before returned, and I knew without doubt that God was serious about how He was directing me.

As I drove through that stoplight, it was like I’d crossed an invisible line. I had accepted this (to me) odd task, even though I had no idea how to accomplish it.

Shortly before that incident, I crossed paths with a stranger. There was something broken about him I couldn’t quite place. His face held a very particular kind of pain and uncertainty. I couldn’t name it then, but on some level, I understood it. Since we weren’t anything more than strangers, I had no way of knowing his personal life, and asking what was bothering him wasn’t an option.

Days afterward, I learned—quite by accident on my part—that, when I saw him, he had just come out as bisexual to his family and was having a hard time. That look on his face stuck with me throughout the writing of With Mercy’s Eyes, and I still recall it well.

What is your favorite Bible verse or life verse?

Psalm 126:5 (KJV) They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

This verse has meant a lot to me over the years, and it has been a hope-filled reflection of most every phase of my life.