The story of Noah and his ark is usually characterized as one of two things: a children’s tale with lions and tigers and bears – oh my! – or an adult tale of what happens when God becomes angry with society.

The Rev. Nick Willems of Mustard Seed Christian Fellowship, 700 Wakarusa Drive, takes a road somewhere in the middle in his new book, “Noah.” Willems says he stays closely with the Bible on the story, but he fictionalized the life of Noah.

“It is based on the biblical account. It follows the story in the Bible … but there’s nothing in the Bible about the life of Noah or the life of Enoch, and that’s why there’s fiction,” Willems says, referring to the ark builder and his great-grandfather. “I did some research on the Book of Enoch … but it’s fiction with a biblical base and the times and the stories.”

Willems, who does pastoral care work at the church he helped to found, says that an innate interest in the story led him to write the tale, which is on sale on the Web at amazon.com and other sites and in Lawrence at Signs of Life, 722 Mass., where Willems will sign copies of the book from 11 a.m. to noon today.

“Oh, the story always fascinated me,” Willems says. “It’s kind of a warning. I describe society in the days prior to the flood, very similar to contemporary issues that we have.”