Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

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Perspective: Of Mountains and Seas (And A Giveaway!)

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Please welcome my dear friend Elizabeth Musser as my guest blogger today. Elizabeth, Tammy Alexander, and I share the same German publisher, Francke, and the three of us traveled together on a book tour a few years ago. We had a blast! Now, I have the privilege of endorsing Elizabeth’s newest book, “When I Close my Eyes.” Make sure you enter for a chance to win a copy. ~ Lynn

Perspective: Of Mountains and Seas

by Elizabeth Musser

So much of life is about perspective: how I perceive a situation, how I accept the different circumstances that twist their way into my life.

And so it is with our stories. The novelist is giving the reader a certain perspective and hoping that it resonates with the reader.

My newly released novel, When I Close My Eyes, is about a middle-aged writer who is in a coma, remembering her past. Part of the story takes place in Asheville, NC, surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains at the height of their color in the fall. The other part of the story takes place at a beach in La Grande Motte, France, beside the a Mediterranean Sea.

When I received the final cover for the novel, I absolutely loved it. They’d caught the feel of the novel down to the detail of the font fading, symbolic of someone going in and out of wakefulness. And my heroine, Josephine, is standing by the Mediterranean Sea.

When-I-Calose-My-Eyes_Elizabeth-Musser

Even though the main part of the story takes place in Asheville, I wanted to make sure the back cover copy included a mention of the Mediterranean, since that was the cover setting:

There is one story novelist Josephine Bourdillon shirked from writing. And now she may never have a chance. Trapped in her memories, she lies in a coma. The man who put her there is just as paralyzed. Former military Henry Hughes failed to complete the kill. What’s more: he failed to receive payment—funds that would ensure surgery for his son. As detectives investigate disturbing fan letters, a young but not-so-naive Paige Bourdillon turns to her mother’s tormented past for answers. Could The Awful Year be worse than one they’re living now? Set against the flaming hills of North Carolina and the peaceful shores of the Mediterranean Sea, When I Close My Eyes tells the story of two families struggling with dysfunction and finding that love is stronger than death.

Perfect!

But then I received a slew of gorgeous graphics that the team at Bethany House had designed for computer and smart phone backgrounds. And I literally caught my breath when I saw the design for the smart phone. Because of the shape of that graphic, more of the original photo is visible. And guess what? Josephine isn’t standing beside the Mediterranean Sea. She’s standing on a mountain, gazing out at the mist on the mountains.

When-I-Close-My-Eyes_Back_Elizabeth-Musser

It’s the perfect representation of the beginning of the book, a description taken from one of Josephine’s novels:

The clouds hang low, a mist caught between the carpet of mountains. I stand at the top of the lookout and gaze into a never-ending motion of undulating valleys and peaks. On and on, seemingly forever, they rise and fall in lush green hues and deep blue ridges that span past history. The mountains hold my imagination, and I feel a call to their beauty. Then they fade out of view as the mist floats above and around them, like puffs of smoke. I hover in the mist; I feel the calling of the dawn. I see the first ray of light piercing through the mist and I know. I am forgiven.

These Mountains Around Us, Josephine Bourdillon

The design team had picked the perfect picture, and in a serendipitous way, the cover perfectly fit both settings in the novel. Do you see the clouds and the mist and the mountains?

I absolutely love this cover for many reasons, but especially because it taught me a lesson in perspective. I can easily see something different because of where I am coming from.

I hope you like the cover. And I hope you also enjoy the story.

To be entered in a giveaway for a copy of When I Close My Eyes, print or e-book, leave a comment below.

BIO

ELIZABETH MUSSER writes ‘entertainment with a soul’ from her writing chalet—tool shed—outside Lyon, France. Elizabeth’s highly acclaimed, best-selling novel, The Swan House, was named one of Amazon’s Top Christian Books of the Year and one of Georgia’s Top Ten Novels of the Past 100 Years (Georgia Backroads). All of Elizabeth’s novels have been translated into multiple languages and have been international best-sellers. Two Destinies, the final novel in The Secrets of the Cross trilogy, was a finalist for the 2013 Christy Award. Her latest novel, The Long Highway Home was a finalist for the 2018 Carol Awards. Elizabeth’s novel, When I Close My Eyes, will be published in November, 2019.

For over thirty years, Elizabeth and her husband, Paul, have been involved in missions’ work in Europe with One Collective, formerly International Teams.  The Mussers have two sons, a daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. Find more about Elizabeth’s novels at www.elizabethmusser.com and on Facebook, Twitter, and her blog.

Elizabeth-Musser_Headshot
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Lynn Austin

Lynn Austin, a former teacher who now writes and speaks full time. Lynn was recently inducted into the Christy Award Hall for Fame for winning eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction. One of those novels, Hidden Places, has also been made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and make their home near Chicago, Illinois.

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Comments

  1. What a wonderful post, Elizabeth. I’m just about to finish the book I’m reading, and WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES is next on my TBR pile. I love the cover, too! So evocative! Welcome to Inspired by Life…and Fiction!

  2. What an interesting story! Would lie to read this and see the connection between these two people.

  3. Wow, thanks for sharing a bit about the cover that I would never have known otherwise. It’s so beautiful. The book is already pulling at me….will have to read it soon!

  4. You’ve already drawn me into the story! I’ll be adding this one to my TBR for sure! Thanks for the opportunity to win a copy.

  5. It sounds like it’s going to be a great read and that cover!! Well it draws you right in knowing the backstory of how the cover came about. Thank you for sharing it with the readers.

  6. The cover is beautiful! And the story sounds SO interesting! I look forward to reading it. Congratulations!!

  7. I am a cover lover (therefore the title of my book review blog: Cover Lover Book Review haha) And oh my! I was drawn to this cover from first glance, but after reading the post I love it even more. What a neat dual-role this cover plays. I’m even more drawn to the book when I learn that much of the setting is in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina!
    Great cover, title, setting, and plot. What’s not to love?

  8. This sounds like an amazing book! I love that the cover and back cover are so intriguingly beautiful!! Definitely going on my TBR list! Thanks for the give away!!

  9. Gorgeous covers! It sounds like they fit the story perfectly. Congratulations on your new release!

  10. I love Bethany books! Anxious to read from a new author (to me). Will have to check your website, Elizabeth, and get acquainted with your writing.

  11. That is a beautiful cover. I spent a lot of time in Montreat, which is right near Asheville, NC.

  14. Wow! I’m ready to start reading right now – please enter me in the giveaway with thanks 🙂
    Have a blessed Christmas season.

  20. That’s so neat how the cover can be the ses or the mountains depending on how you look at it. Thanks for the chance to win!

  21. Elizabeth has skillfully woven yet another story while revealing to us, her readers, how perspective can be influential in what we see. I look forward to reading When I Close My Eyes. I love the Blue Ridge Mountains and would love to see the Mediterranean Sea if I ever travel so far away again. Anne

  22. I think I have read most of Elizabeth’s books and have loved them all. I am looking forward to this one as well! I love that the cover photo fits both settings. The Asheville area in one of my favorite places.

  23. This book sounds so emotional and so heartwarming too. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.

  25. What a beautiful, metaphorical cover! I love it when a book challenges my perspective because that means it’s stimulating and thought-provoking. Thanks for the giveaway!

  27. What an amazing idea for a story! The woods of North Carolina and the shore of the Mediterranean as the setting for a life crisis.
    Thank you for sharing this background with us.
    I confess I have not seen your books before this. I had better look for them.

  28. “When I Close My Eyes” sounds like an absolutely marvelous book and one that I would greatly enjoy having the opportunity to read.

    Gorgeous cover and yes I see the mountains. Living in the Ozark Mountains, I have seen such a sight many times and it always takes my breath away. I realize how small we are in the grand scale, that troubles can be lifted away just as the clouds lift of the mountains and can feel the tranquility and peace of standing in such a grand view.

    Thank you so much for the chance to win a copy of a book that is now on my TBR list.

    Have a blessed week!

  31. I would love to read this book. I was in an induced coma for 6 weeks after a cardiac arrest 15 years ago.

  33. Lynn Austin is one of my favorite authors – she is authentic and well written. Her characters have true depth. Her writing is anointed. I often tell friends to read her when we discuss authors and books 🙂

  34. And the winner of the GIVEAWAY for a copy of When I Close My Eyes is:

    Barbara Harper

    CONGRATULATIONS, Barbara! Please let me know if you’d like to win a paperback copy or ebook copy and send me your email and snail mail address to elizabeth dot musser at onecollective dot org

  35. The book cover is very important. It can catch my interest or turn me off. I love the cover of this book. Can’t wait to read it.

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