Have you ever witnessed a miracle?
I have witnessed and experienced many myself. What does that have to do with my featured author this month? Robin Jones Gunn’s beloved Sisterchick series made an impact on a dear friend’s life. You see my friend, “D”, had a reading disability and she struggled especially with reading fiction. As a novelist, imagine my dismay when I learned about this.
Re-Release. Free on Robin’s website. https://www.robingunnshop.com/collections/downloads-1/products/sisterchicks-on-the-loose-discussion-questions
I picked up two copies of On the Loose, book one of the Sisterchicks series. And “D” and I read them together. My friend has a passion for the sisterhood of the Body of Messiah. On the Loose was just the ticket to open her world to reading fiction. We laughed. Cried. Mostly we were inspired. And “D” loves reading fiction now.
When Robin heard “D”‘s story, she was inspired, too. It was the first time she had heard of an adult having a reading breakthrough with her books.
I suspect there are more than she knows.
So who is Robin Jones Gunn?
Robin Jones Gunn is the bestselling and award-winning author of more than one hundred books, including the Sisterchicks’ series and the Christy Miller series for teen girls. Her books have sold more than six million copies. Four of her books were made into popular Hallmark films. At this writing, she is working with a production company to produce the Christy Miller series!
Robin and her husband have two grown children and four grandchildren and live in southern California, where she cohosts the Women Worth Knowing podcast.
Robin’s Latest Book, Tea with Elephants, Launches a New Sisterhood Series!
What’s it about? Fern Espinoza and Lily Graden have been friends since they met as teenagers volunteering at a conference center in Costa Rica. Back then, they romanticized about changing the world and traveling to remote places on the planet. Now, twenty years later, their dream of traveling to Africa together becomes a reality. It’s the trip of a lifetime—but life sure isn’t what they thought it would be back when they were young.
Cute Book Trailer
As the “Suitcase Sisters” immerse themselves in the country of Kenya, they also bring along emotional baggage that weighs on their hearts. The people they encounter and the places they experience have the power to change and heal their hearts—but only if they surrender to the truths God is tenderly showing them. For readers who have been eagerly awaiting a new story from Robin Jones Gunn, Tea with Elephants delivers tenfold. This captivating novel beautifully balances a story of long-term friendship and fulfilling one’s longings while also offering an exploration of how to move forward in faith even when the future is uncertain.
I have a lot of questions for Robin (there are more on our YouTube interview). Let’s begin with the nitty gritty.
In Tea with Elephants, you tackle some intense life issues such as loss and doubts about staying married. How do you see this story helping a reader who is going through the same challenges?
In the same way that Jesus used stories to help people see the truths in their own lives, I’ve seen readers make significant, life-changing decisions after reading about a fictional character who is going through the same issue. I think the close friendship and the vulnerability between the characters is what draws readers into a scenario that mirrors what they’re experiencing, and they want to see how the characters resolve their issues.
When readers see themselves in one of the characters and read how that character addresses the challenge, they are being subtly mentored on how to address the same challenge in their own lives.
AMEN! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have that sisterhood within our congregations, neighborhoods, and fellowships?
Exactly! I have heard from many women who are approaching or have entered midlife that it is difficult to invest time into their friendships the way they did during their teens and twenties. Without ongoing conversations, it’s easy to pull back and not be as willing to let yourself be known. That’s why strong friendships are important. They invite ongoing vulnerability.
We are told to bear each other’s burdens, and true friends know how to do that. They come alongside each other during those heavy times and speak truth. When a friendship has grown over time, women remind each other of times when God provided in the past, and this gives them words of hope for what God will do next for their friend. Marveling at God’s creation happens when those burdens are lifted.
In essence, this is how two friends can worship together and experience the promise that when two or more are gathered in His name, He’s right there with them. This pattern blends beautifully and is life-giving because the alternative is to remain in isolation and miss the benefits and blessings of doing life together with close friends. We all saw what a toll that took on us during the pandemic.
Yes! How blessed to have at least one sisterchick in our life.
One of the major points you tackle in Tea with Elephants is how to move forward in faith even when the future is uncertain. Did you draw on a similar experience in your own life?
Yes. There have been many times when life seemed to come to a halt and the future was a big cloud of unknowns. A few years ago my husband and I hit a wall with some significant health issues he was having. We lived on Maui for ten years, but it was clear that we couldn’t stay there if he was going to get the health care he needed. We moved to California, and it all happened very quickly. In less than a month, we went from “We need to move” to “We’re here.” We sold almost everything, including our cars, shipped two small crates, and got off the plane in California with only two suitcases each.
The priority was getting my husband’s medical needs addressed. After that, I went on the hunt for furniture, a car, and household basics like silverware, and we started all over in a two-bedroom apartment. My husband is stable now and doing much better. We saw the provision of the Lord in many ways, but I know how painful it is to have to stop your familiar life when you don’t want to and then bravely start all over.
Whenever I’m willing to be vulnerable and share about how difficult this move was, I find many other women who tear up and tell me about their experience with moving forward in faith when their future looked like it was falling off a cliff.
Wow. Powerful, Robin. Thank you for sharing this. In many ways, hubby and I have started over in the last three months–moving from Georgia to Illinois. At 70, it was more of a challenge than we thought it would be. BUT, how grateful we are for the many blessings and how God has intervened on our behalf.
Whew. What a precious and thoughtful interview. Are you ready for some fun stuff?
How about a GREAT giveaway from Robin?
The December’s A2A Giveaway!
Yes! Thanks to Robin and Revell Publishing, this month’s giveaway is a copy of her latest release, Tea with Elephants–the first book in her new series Suitcase Sisters!
There’s one winner and it could be you! How? Well, by entering! Not just once, but up to SIX times!* Leave a comment below and share this blog and if you haven’t already, please subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of this blog and receive a free gift from me — and an extra entry.
NOTE: WANT TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING THIS INCREDIBLE GIVEAWAY?*
Check out my YouTubeA2A interview with Robin. Because, in the video interview Robin will read a luscious scene from Tea with Elephants and answer different fun questions–and we have some great discussions! By Liking and Commenting on the video episode, you will have one more entry.* Sharing the video, another entry.* Subscribe, and you have TWO entries for a chance to win.*
The Deadline is December 13th!
Watch our interview–
That means, my friends, if you comment and subscribe -– or are already a subscriber -– to my blog, then watch the video and LIKE, SHARE, and COMMENT on the VIDEO, then Subscribe to my YouTube Channel, your name will be entered SIX TIMES!*
Next month: Award-winning and bestselling author, Julie Klassen.
Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed getting to know Robin–I sure enjoyed catching up with her! Until January, God bless and KEEP READING!
*So sorry, entries from the contiguous US only.
