Susan Anne Mason: When God's Dreams Are Bigger Than Ours

Everyone's Story welcomes author Susan Anne Mason. I've been blogging for nearly 4 years now, trying to unite readers and writers with the common note of encouragement, and that's why I'm pleased Susan is visiting with us this week. Though Susan shares with us her story of persistence in her writing and relying on God's belief that He wants the best for us, I believe Susan's story will appeal to many. Please check out her lovely BookGiveaway offer and her excerpt. We're both looking forward to hearing from you!

For fun: please take this month's poll on the right-hand sidebar. Thanks.

BookGiveaway:

Susan is offering 1 e-edition of 1 novel of the readers' s choice between: HEALING THE WIDOWER'S HEART, BETRAYED HEARTS, WAYWARD HEARTS. The winner will be announced here on Friday, February 13th between 5-6 PM EST. To be entered in the Giveaway, please leave your contact information within your comment. 

Excerpt from HEALING THE WIDOWER'S HEART:

Excerpt from Healing the Widower’s Heart by Susan Anne Mason

CHAPTER 1

Paige McFarlane paced the patterned carpet of the front office, her fingers clenched in the pockets of her khaki shorts. How could George put her in this position?

Seated behind his mahogany desk, the burly manager of Wyndermere House tapped a pen on his blotter. “A seven-year-old boy desperately needs your help, Paige. His father is a long-time customer, as well as a personal friend. You’d be doing us both a big favor, not to mention helping a child.”

Paige stopped to face her employer and friend, trying hard not to picture a devastated little boy grieving the loss of his mother. Trying hard not to allow memories of her own horrific loss creep back into her consciousness. “My heart goes out to him, George, but I have no practical experience in grief counseling. He deserves a qualified professional.”

George Reynolds’ bushy eyebrows snagged in the middle of his broad forehead. “They tried that already, but it didn’t work out.”

Perspiration dampened Paige’s palms as she fought the beginning of panic. “I’m not sure this would even be ethical since I haven’t earned my certification yet.” I’m not ready for this.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make it clear that you’d treat Zach more in the capacity of a camp counselor.”

Paige chewed on her lip, noting the pleading gleam in her boss’s brown eyes, and felt her resolve slipping. Why was she always such a sucker for someone needing help? She really should practice saying ‘no’ more often. Psychology student, heal thyself.

The big man spread his hands on the desktop. “I know how much you love kids and Zach is already enrolled in your Bible camp, so you’ll have lots of time together.” He fixed her with a pensive stare. “I think we can help each other out here. You could use some extra money for school, right?”

Paige winced. Understatement of the year—not to mention a low blow. George knew she was scraping together every last penny for her final year of her Master’s Degree.

“You know I could,” she said quietly.

George swiveled in his leather chair. “Why not look at this as an opportunity to make some cash on the side then?”

“I don’t know, George...” She twisted a loose strand of blond hair around her index finger, doubts wreaking havoc with her desire to help. Textbooks were all well and good, but could she honestly say she was ready to handle a troubled boy’s grief? What if she made a mistake and compounded the problem?

“Didn’t I do you a favor by adding a Christian theme to our camp?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. An even lower blow. “Yes.”

“And now I need a favor. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t confident you could help.”

Paige groaned and dropped back into the guest chair she’d recently vacated. It wasn’t fair. As owner and general manager of Wyndermere House, George had been her boss since she’d started working here in her teens, and he knew her too well. He was using her weakness against her, which told her how much this meant to him.

“Will you at least meet Nate and Zach and see how you feel? They arrive tomorrow morning, which will give you a couple of days before camp starts.”

He looked so hopeful Paige didn’t have the heart to say no. And the extra money wouldn’t hurt.

“Fine.” She threw up her hands in defeat. “I’ll meet them and assess the situation. But I can’t promise any more than that.”

His smile created wrinkles around his eyes. “Thanks, kiddo. I knew I could count on you.”

Good old Paige. Everyone could always count on her. She sighed a few minutes later as she pushed out the employee’s entrance onto the wrap-around porch. What had she gotten herself into? This could be a huge disaster in the making.

She paused to lean against the stone wall for a moment, halting her wayward thoughts long enough to take in the view of the velvet lawn sloping toward the lake, and allowed the beauty of God’s handiwork to steady her. Sunlight glinted off the surface of the water like glistening jewels. She inhaled the clean air, smiling at the faint scent of roses drifting by on the breeze. The tension in her shoulder muscles eased a fraction.

Other than her hometown of Portsmouth, New Jersey, the Finger Lakes region of New York rated as close to heaven as Paige could imagine. She’d been coming here during the summer for as long as she could remember—first on vacation with her family, and later as an activity coordinator for children. She loved everything about Wyndermere House—the majesty of the sprawling stone inn, the breathtaking scenery surrounding it, and most of all the wonderful people who’d become like family.

George and Catherine Reynolds had turned this beautiful setting into a five-star resort, while using the rustic cabins further back on the property as a summer camp for kids. Parents could leave their children under the counselors’ care and partake of the resort’s amenities, knowing their kids were having a blast at camp.

Paige squinted against the sun to see if Jerry was down on the dock. She’d promised to help him organize the water equipment this afternoon. Knowing Jerry, he’d probably started without her. She reached into her pocket for her sunglasses, and her fingers brushed the envelope she’d hastily stuffed there before her meeting with George. Immediate tension cinched her spine as she recalled the message typed inside. “Second installment of tuition fees due.”

Paige unclenched her fingers and released the envelope. Maybe God was giving her a gentle nudge—an opportunity to increase her finances, as well as a way to ease into the type of work she wanted to do. Still, she couldn’t quite quell the anxiety that swirled through her system. She’d been counting on next semester’s practice sessions to give her the skills and confidence she needed before attempting any real counseling. Would she be able to treat this boy without falling victim to the paralyzing emotions that had engulfed her after Colin’s death?

Was she brave enough to try?

Dream Big! by Susan Anne Mason

I think I know how actors feel when they finally get that breakout movie that thrusts them into the spotlight. Suddenly they have ‘made it’, and people call them an overnight success — even if they’ve been acting for years.

The key to it all is PERSISTENCE! Something I learned through experience with my writing.

I started writing stories when I was a child, but it wasn’t until after university, marriage and babies that I got the urge to write a book again. I won’t bore you with all the details of how I went from writing bad secular stories to inspirational romance, but suffice it to say that a lot of trial and error was involved.

My first ‘break,’ so to speak, was finaling in the 2008 Golden Heart contest. I became part of a Golden Heart writers’ loop and was recruited to write a post for a blog called Seekerville. Though I wasn’t entirely sure what a blog was, I blithely jumped in with both feet! Little did I know how important the wonderful Seeker ladies would become — both as friends and mentors. (A great blog, by the way, for readers and writers.)

After many rejections, I sent a manuscript to White Rose Publishing and received a reply that was both scary and wonderful. The editor liked my writing, but the story needed a lot of work. I was so excited that someone was willing to show me where I was going wrong. I took six months to rework the story. When I sent it in the second time, they asked to see books 2 and 3 in the series, and eventually offered me a contract for the first two books! My persistence had finally paid off and I was becoming a published author!

In August 2013, I entered my historical romance, Irish Meadows, in a contest and prepared my pitch for the September ACFW Conference. Though I received no interest for my book at the conference, I wasn’t discouraged. I had confidence that when the time was right, God would give me the desire of my heart. A few months later, I found out that Irish Meadows had won the contest I entered, and one of the judges, an editor from Bethany House, asked to see my manuscript. Turns out, he loved it and in March 2014, I received an offer from BETHANY HOUSE for 3 historical romances!

Imagine my surprise when around the same time, as a result of another contest, I learned that Harlequin’s LOVE INSPIRED line wanted to buy one of my contemporary romances! Now I had 3 contracts with 3 different publishers!

Persistence, hard work, and faith! Three key elements for anything you wish to achieve! And remember that God can dream a bigger dream for us than we can ever imagine! So don’t give up!

Susan's Ah-hahs To Tweet:

What do writers & actors have in common? See what author Susan Mason @samason says. (Tweet This)

Enjoy #ChristianFictionRomance? Check out Susan Mason’s @samason #BookGiveaway. (Tweet This) 

Will God give you the desire of your heart? Visit with Susan Mason @samason to see. (Tweet This)

Author's Bio:
Susan Mason is a wife and mother of two almost grown children. She lives in a suburb near Toronto, Ontario, Canada and works part time as a church secretary. When not writing romance, she enjoys scrapbooking and researching her ancestors on-line.

Places to connect with Susan:
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