This past August, I had the blessing of being able to do a book talk and signing at the Cornwall Brothers Museum in Alexandria Bay, New York in the heart of the Thousand Islands. With all the COVID craziness, I wasn’t sure anyone would show up, but I was pleasantly surprised to sell sixty books. The museum even had to turn people away, so I left books and had to send another box to replace the one’s the museum sold out of. Amazing!
But what was much more amazing—and a greater blessing—was that three people told me they’d come to Christ through reading my stories! Really? My books are historical fiction, and while they tell stories of broken and hurting people, and redemption, none of them give an altar call or discuss the plan of Salvation. My characters simply live life and find hope and healing in their journeys through Christ.
So why am I telling you this? Because you, friends, are the characters in your story simply living life and hopefully finding hope and healing in your journey. And people see. People observe. And people’s lives could very well be transformed by your journey.
When I was editorial director at Focus on the Family and writing hundreds of cover stories, feature stories, editorials, and other articles, my supervisor once said that he believed part of heaven’s glory will be seeing the lives who have been touched, helped, and redeemed through your words, your walk, your life. I may never know until I get to heaven how my writing and/or my life made a difference in others. But every now and then, when I get a tiny insight like I did that day in the museum, I fall on my knees and worship the One who transformed my life.
With that said, I’d like to encourage you with two things:
- When you have a chance to let another person know how your life has been touched, changed, helped by them, let them know.
- Never weary in well-doing; you never know whose life you’re touching right now!
...About Reagan’s Reward
In my sixth Gilded Age story, Reagan’s Reward, it’s the summer of 1912. Reagan Kennedy assumes the position of governess to the Bernheim family’s twin nephews, and her life at Cherry Island’s Casa Blanca becomes frustratingly complicated. Service to a Jewish family when she is a Gentile and tending to eight-year-old, mischievous boys yields challenges galore.
Daniel Lovitz serves as the island’s caretaker and boatman. He tries to help the alluring Reagan make sense of her new world, but she calls into question his own faith background and forces him to face the hurts of his past. Then there’s the jealous lady’s maid who seems intent on wedging herself between them. Can he and Reagan ever find common ground on such a small island?
Susan G Mathis is an award-winning, multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands, her childhood stomping ground in upstate NY. Her first two books of The Thousand Islands Gilded Age series, Devyn’s Dilemma and Katelyn’s Choice are available now, and she’s working on book three. The Fabric of Hope: An Irish Family Legacy, Christmas Charity, and Sara’s Surprise are also available. Susan’s books have won numerous awards, including the Illumination Book Award, the American Fiction Award and the Indie Excellence Book Award. Visit her website for more information. To stay in touch with Susan, follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads and Pinterest.
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