2019 Carol Award Finalists Q&A (and a Giveaway!): Suzanne Woods Fisher & Phoebe’s Light

Happy Tuesday! Continuing through Saturday (culminating with a list of winners), I have the privilege of sharing mini interviews with nearly all of the 2019 ACFW Carol Award Finalists! Today I’m covering the historical & historical romance categories, including Suzanne Woods Fisher and her nominated book Phoebe’s Light! You can check out a list of all the finalists HERE.

FYI – There will be several posts per day, and a week-long giveaway, so make sure you catch them all!

With over one million copies of her books sold worldwide, Suzanne Woods Fisher is the award winning, best-selling author of more than thirty books, ranging from novels, to non-fiction books, to children’s books. She lives with her very big family in northern California. Learn more at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and follow Suzanne on Facebook @SuzanneWoodsFisherAuthor and Twitter @suzannewfisher.

PHOEBE’S LIGHT
SERIES: Nantucket Legacy #1
GENRE: Inspirational Historical Fiction
PUBLISHER: Revell
RELEASE DATE: February 6, 2018
PAGES: 345

Phoebe Starbuck has always adjusted her sails and rudder to the whims of her father. Now, for the first time, she’s doing what she wants to do: marrying Captain Phineas Foulger and sailing far away from Nantucket. As she leaves on her grand adventure, her father gives her two gifts, both of which Phoebe sees little need for. The first is an old sheepskin journal from Great Mary, her highly revered great-grandmother. The other is a “minder” on the whaling ship in the form of cooper Matthew Mitchell, a man whom she loathes.

Soon Phoebe discovers that life at sea is no easier than life on land. Lonely, seasick, and disillusioned, she turns the pages of Great Mary’s journal and finds herself drawn into the life of this noble woman. To Phoebe’s shock, her great-grandmother has left a secret behind that carries repercussions for everyone aboard the ship, especially her husband the captain and her shadow the cooper. This story within a story catapults Phoebe into seeing her life in an entirely new way–just in time.

In this brand-new series, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher brings her signature twists and turns to bear on a fascinating new faith community: the Quakers of colonial-era Nantucket Island.

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Hi, Suzanne! Welcome to the blog!

Q: Why do you write fiction? And, why specifically Christian fiction?

Suzanne: Two birds, one stone: Story is such a wonderfully subtle vehicle to unwrap truths of Scripture, without thumping people on the head with the Bible (whack, whack, whack!).

Carrie: LOL! Oh i love that answer. Yes!

Q: Other than the Bible, what are a couple of your most cherished books and why?

Suzanne: There are a couple of authors whom I am devoted to, and whose books I reach for whenever I need some inspiration or soul-settling: Eugene Peterson (The Pastor is one of my favorites), Philip Yancey, Catherine Marshall (especially her non-fiction books), Madeleine L’Engle.

Carrie: Knowing this about you makes me love your books even more than I already do because those authors so often speak my own heart as well.

Q: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever Googled while researching a book?

Suzanne: I googled information about requirements for joining the Marines, and now they’re trying to recruit me. Yikes!

Carrie: hahaha! oops 😛

Q: If I asked your characters to describe YOU as an author, what would they say?

Suzanne: You’d probably get lots of complaints. Comments like these: I don’t listen enough to them, don’t accept their big ideas, I’m too opinionated, too bossy. Work hours are erratic. There’s not enough romance in their lives. They don’t like the classical music radio station I listen to (they prefer rock). On and on and on. See? It’s better not to ask.

Carrie: Well, I’ll never complain about an author giving their characters more romance but they really do need to get over the radio station thing haha! And now I find myself wondering what music HANK LAPP prefers 😉

Q: What is something God taught you while you wrote Phoebe’s Light?

Suzanne: The early Quakers to the New World played a large role in Phoebe’s Light. It was fascinating to learn about their impact on community, as well as to study their enormous influence on early America. Much of the U.S. constitution is based on Quaker principles.

Carrie: I really found this aspect of this series quite fascinating, especially as both my husband and I have Quaker roots in our respective family tree (his more recent than mine).

Q: What is one of your favorite quotes from Phoebe’s Light & why do you love it?

Suzanne: “Time is what we want most of, but what we use worst.” –William Penn  This over-three-hundred-year-old proverb is just as poignant in our modern and frenetic world as it was back then. Kinda scary!

Carrie: oh boy – that’s so true!!

I am offering one reader any TWO books (print copies) that finaled in the 2019 Carol Awards! (open internationally as long as Book Depository ships to your address) This giveaway is subject to Reading Is My SuperPower’s giveaway policies which can be found here. Enter via the Rafflecopter form below.

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What about you? What interests you most from Suzanne Woods Fisher’s Q&A or the historical fiction Carol Award finalist Phoebe’s Light?