A female deity lives in New Jersey, works miracles and runs from evangelistic Revelationists. Sound intriguing? It is the subject of Only Begotten Daughter, the latest book by local science fiction writer Jim Morrow.

"I think there is a real chance that this book will make people angry. I don't want that to happen but that's one of the chances you take, in trying to write fiction that really says something," said the State College resident, who defines his writing as social satire.

In light of the potentially controversial aspects of the novel, Morrow said he hopes "(it) will be controversial in a positive sense, not controversial in the sort of depressing sense that The Satanic Verses was controversial. I'd like to think that people of faith and believers will find the book stimulating and thought-provoking, " he said. "I didn't write it to be controversial, I wrote it . . . because it was the story inside of me."

In relation to The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, which sparked controversy because of its perceived attack on the Moslem community, Michael Svoboda of Svoboda Books, 129 W. Beaver Ave., said a controversy might arise if the Christians take offense to Only Begotten Daughter in the same manner as the Moslems did to Rushdie's novel.

"Jim is more harsh in that nature than Rushdie is," Svoboda said.

Morrow, a guest lecturer in the English department and an author, will be signing copies of his new novel from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Svoboda Books. There will also be a signing at the Penn State Bookstore, Monday April 9, from 12 to 2 p.m.

Although the book is considered science fiction, Morrow said he feels it will appeal to the mainstream reader. In taking on a subject that demands a broad interpretation of reality, Morrow said he thought science fiction would be the most appropriate forum.

He also stressed that "...you no longer find novels that take on big political questions. You find most novels are about interpersonal relationships today. And it seems to me that that is a loss, when novelists abandon that field and leave it to second-rate space opera," he said.

The plot of Only Begotten Daughter centers on the life of Julie Katz, a divine half-sister of Jesus who deals with mystical powers in modern society and ultimately finds them too overwhelming. Her father is a Jewish bachelor who finds himself a father when his sperm is magically fertilized in a sperm bank. This is analogous to the immaculate conception of Mary.

The author was intrigued by the recent rise of feminism. "I've always thought of it as a feminist novel. That was my initial thought...to work with the rise of feminism that occurred in our culture in the last couple of decades," Morrow said.

"Julie Katz refers to God throughout as her 'Mother' and as 'She'...(It's) a female aspect of God operating in the real world," he said.

Morrow was also interested in "...this notion of the present age where we don't have any consensus anymore about who or what God is. In this scientific age there has been a loss of faith...we don't run our lives politically according to religious models. We may run our lives privately that way, which is different than life in the Middle Ages," he said.

Throughout the novel, therefore, Julie is confused and overwhelmed by her power. Morrow said he tried to capture the tension in the Gospels.

"I wanted to get some of the same kind of pain and uncertainty that we feel is going on in Jesus when we read the Gospels, except that God is very distant, God is incommunicado, and so she has to find her own way," Morrow said.

Julie spends time in hell, where she meets Jesus, a character in the novel, giving out water. Although this part may cause debate, Morrow has positive feelings about it. "I think it is maybe a more acceptable portrait of Jesus for believers than the one in The Last Temptation of Christ."

Morrow said the basic theme of the book is emphasized when Julie divests of her powers and leaves hell as an ordinary person., "Only then does she outfox the Devil by being good on the terms that a non-divine person can be good," Morrow said.

Svoboda said he read and enjoyed Morrow's novel. It is worth reading and would even be valuable in courses, he said. He does maintain, however, that the book questions some presumptions about the nature of religious belief.

Morrow is the winner of the 1988 Nebula Award, an award given by the Science Fiction Writers of America, for his short story, "Bible Stories for Adults No. 17, The Deluge." He was runner-up to the John W. Campbell Award for his novel about nuclear war, This is the Way the World Ends.

Morrow is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in creative writing, and attended graduate school at Harvard, where he met his wife Jean. They live in State College with their two children, Kathy, 11, and Christopher, 2.

Only Begotten Daughter has been released in the United States by William Morrow and Company (of no relation to the author), as well as in England.