ELIZABETH MUSSER, an Atlanta native, 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 Amazons Top Christian Books of the Year and one of Georgia’s Top Ten Novels of the Past 100 Years (Georgia Backroads, 2009). All of Elizabeth’s novels have been translated into multiple languages. Two Destinies, the final novel in The Secrets of the Cross trilogy, was a finalist for the 2013 Christy Award.
For over twenty-five years, Elizabeth and her husband, Paul, have been involved in missions work with International Teams. The Mussers have two sons, a daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. For more, visit www.elizabethmusser.com.
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Savanna: Welcome to the blog, Elizabeth. I’m so happy to have you here! And congratulations on your newest release in Among the Fair Magnolias.
Elizabeth: Thanks for inviting me, Savanna! It’s a joy to be with you.
Savanna: Many readers mark their favorite quotes from their favorite books. Do you have a favorite quote from Love Beyond Limits you can share with us?
Elizabeth: “Fear thou not, for I am with thee. The thought whispered above the throbbing accusation, floating like a sweet memory in the evening chill.”— p. 254-55, Love Beyond Limits
Savanna: I love that verse! What was it like collaborating with the other three authors for Among the Fair Magnolias?
Elizabeth: It was a lot of fun. I had the privilege of doing a book tour with Tammy last year, and she is priceless, and I so enjoyed corresponding with Dorothy and finally meeting her last November. I’ve only ‘met’ Shelley through email and skype, but hope to meet in person in the future. I felt a lot of reassurance and complicity working with these women, all such talented authors. It’s been a real pleasure to put our heads together for some fun blog and interview opportunities, too, like this video introducing Among the Fair Magnolias along with some #LittleKnownAuthorFacts. Join us for the fun here.
Savanna: You and your husband Paul have been involved in mission work in France for over 25 years. What’s your favorite part of your job there?
Elizabeth: I have always been involved in one-on-one evangelism and discipleship of younger women in their faith journey. For 20 + years that was mostly with French women. In the past five years, our role with our mission has changed and although we still live in France, we travel all over Europe offering ‘Member Care’ (pastoral care) to our missionaries. So now I am doing a lot of one-on-one with precious women missionaries in their homes, on skype and phone etc. and I really love it. Their courage and faith are such examples to me. Our goal is for our missionaries to be healthy physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, but most of all to be growing in their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Readers can find more information about our ministry on my website here.
Savanna: I also read on your website that you are often asked to speak about your ministry in France and your writing ministry. What do you hope the listeners will remember the most from your presentations?
Elizabeth: I typically share a message about my journey as a writer and a Christ-follower and then I speak about the themes in whichever novel I have been asked to present. I hope my listeners will be spurred on in their faith—wherever they may be in that journey—and that they will be challenged to think about some of the themes I address (themes which have challenged, inspired and encouraged me). Ultimately I hope they will simply have a desire to get to know Jesus better.
Savanna: That’s wonderful, Elizabeth. Can you share a recent Scripture verse that impacted your life?
Elizabeth: I’ve been meditating on and praying Psalm 86 recently. I won’t type it all out here, but list some the verses I have been praying for myself and others recently. I love the desperation and honesty—‘I’m poor and needy’, ‘Guard my life for I am devoted to you’, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I cry to you all day long’, ‘Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul’, ‘Give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name’, ‘I will praise you with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever’, ‘Give me a sign of your goodness that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me’.
Savanna: Beautiful verses, thank you. Is there anything else you’d like to add? Any upcoming projects you can share with us?
Elizabeth: I have two completed novels which have yet to find an American publisher. I would appreciate prayer as to how to proceed. Here’s a sneak peek:
I was actually doing research for my novel, The Wren’s Nest, that takes place both in modern day and during the late 1800s, when I was asked to contribute to Among the Fair Magnolias. As I researched the Reconstruction Period (1863-1877), particularly in Georgia, I was both saddened and intrigued. Saddened (really horrified) that the rights which were given to African Americans after the Civil War were soon revoked and that it took another hundred years for those rights to be granted. Intrigued that our great nation did indeed survive the aftermath of the Civil War, despite all odds, with two such diametrically opposing worldviews in the North and the South.
Inspired by my previous research, I wrote Love Beyond Limits for the novella collection. It’s a story about a young Southern white woman, Emily Derracott, whose courage and convictions lead her to fight for the rights of the freedmen. The freedman, Leroy Eager, whom she is in love with is a character from my novel, The Wren’s Nest.
The Wren’s Nest
Atlanta, Georgia, 2012
Nan Fitten, a recently widowed young mother of three, is trying to hold her life together in spite of her grief and fears, when she meets a needy teenager, CeeCee, through Nan’s husband’s genealogy site. As Nan attempts to help CeeCee with a writing project about slaves and slave-owners in Georgia during and after the Civil War, she discovers a link between 19th century slavery and present-day sex-trafficking. The more Nan uncovers, the deeper the trouble, until she ultimately will wonder if her husband’s fatal accident was an accident at all.
The Wren’s Nest (which continues the story of the Middleton-Bartholomew families from The Swan House and The Dwelling Place) follows the lives of three remarkable young women, two from the 21st century and one from the 19th, who are trying to remake their lives in the midst of great change and adversity. It is a story of a woman learning to trust God anew and a story in which grieving a lost love can open doors to finding a new one. Ultimately Nan finds that, if there are no coincidences in life and a Sovereign God controls everything, even her deepest hurts can be used for good.
The Long Highway Home
This novel came out in Holland in April and has been #1 on their Christian fiction bestseller list for two months. It will also come out in Norwegian and German next year. Of course, I wrote it in English, so I hope to have it published in America soon. And the story is based on many real life stories of refugees and on the missionaries we work with in Austria who run a welcome center, offering coffee and Christ to the hundreds of refugees who come there. Here’s the back cover blurb:
When Bobbie Blake gets the news that she is terminally ill, she decides to go back with her niece Tracie, to The Oasis, a ministry center for refugees in Austria where she worked years ago. Back to where there are so many memories. Bobbie and Tracie are moved by the plight of the refugees and in particular, the story of the Iranian Hamid, whose young daughter was caught with a New Testament in her possession in Iran, causing Hamid to flee and putting the whole family in danger. Can a network of helpers bring the family to safety in time? And at what cost?
You can find me here:
Savanna: That sounds great, Elizabeth! Thanks so much for joining us today. Happy writing!
GIVEAWAY!!
Elizabeth has graciously offered to give away a signed copy of Searching For Eternity to one lucky winner. Enter below and it could be YOU! 😉
Thanks for entering! Contest is open only in the U.S. and ends September 1, 2015. The winner will be notified by email. Happy Reading, everybody!
I loved hearing about your ministry in France. God bless you for sharing His love.
Thanks so much, Dana! And as you doubtlessly know, I have received above and beyond what I have given and the Lord has taught me and my husband so many wonderful truths during all these years of ministry. It’s been a great privilege. Humbling too!
Hi Dana! We’re so glad you could join us. Good luck in the drawing!
It’s great to “meet” you, Elizabeth. Thanks for the giveaway!
You’re very welcome, Diane. One of my greatest joys is being able to connect with my readers.
It’s always nice to see you stop by! 😉
Reading about your mission work in France was quite interesting.
Thanks, Laurie! Yes, it has been a very interesting, unpredictable and hold-on-tight-to-Jesus life, and I am so thankful for the opportunity to write novels and be involved in ministry in Europe.
So glad you enjoyed it, Laurie! I loved hearing Elizabeth’s story too. 🙂
My dream is to visit France. I have always wanted to be fluent in French. I know it would be God answering my prayers when I am able to study the bible with someone in French.
If I could teach any class it would on Breast Cancer Awareness to women under 40. I was diagnosed at 38 and have met many woman who did not realized that they are at risk. Some of them are cancer free while others are terminal. It opened my eyes to do what I can even more for my health.
Sonnetta, (what a beautiful name!), I hope you DO indeed get to travel to France one day and also that you will be able to study the Bible in French with others. What a great prayer request. And may the Lord give you the opportunity to teach that class on Breast Cancer Awareness. Bless you!
Thanks for sharing with us, Sonnetta. It’s always a treat to have you stop by. And I second what Elizabeth wrote… I pray the Lord blesses you and gives you the opportunities you mentioned.
I’ve read quite a few of Elizabeth’s books and enjoyed them very much. Anytime I see one of her books, I try to get it to read. Thanks for the interview with Elizabeth (and especially for the peek at her books she hopes to have published here; I hope so too!) and for the book giveaway.
Pam, So thankful that you’ve enjoyed my novels. Blessings on you and happy reading! And yes, I do pray that the two new novels will be available soon in English!
That’s wonderful, Pam. Thanks for stopping by to visit with us. Good luck to you in the giveaway!
I taught computer basics in our library and I loved helping people who haven’t grown up with computers. Thanks for a great interview and giveaway.
Hi Connie! Understanding computers and how they work is a great talent. Way to go! 😉
Thank you for this great and most interesting interview. And thank you for the giveaway.
Bonjour, Melanie! I am very thankful for the opportunity to be on Savanna’s blog. I love connecting with my readers. Good luck in the giveaway.
Hi Melanie! We’re glad you could join us. Good luck in the giveaway! 😉
I also am a friend on pinterest ~ I would like to teach a class on ancestry coming through Ellis Island, where they settled, if family/neighbors came earlier. Why they came; what motivated them to leave what they knew. I think that would be a fun research. Can you tell historical fiction is my favorite genre? Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
Hi Kathleen! Oh that sounds so interesting! Great idea. Historical fiction is my favorite too. 😉
Mine, too,Kathleen. I call my novels ‘recent historical inspirational fiction’=)because I tend to delve into post WWII history. Love Beyond Limits (in Among the Fair Magnolias) is my first published 19th century story. Kathleen, your idea for research sounds great!
I haven’t read any of Elizabeth’s books – love the story line of each one!! Loved reading about your mission work, Elizabeth!! Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!!
Thanks, Bonnie! I hope you’ll get to read some of my novels soon. As I’ve said above, getting to write novels and to be involved in missions’ work has been ‘above and beyond’ my hopes and dreams. Challenging and teaching me more dependence on the Lord. Good luck in the giveaway!
Thanks for visiting, Bonnie. I hope you get to read some of Elizabeth’s stories soon. 🙂 Have a blessed day!
I would talk about Notre Dame football.
Thereadmaster@me.com
Sounds like fun, Virginia! 😉 We appreciate you stopping by.
I’m a teacher, so I’ve had the pleasure of leading classes on a wide variety of topics. My favorites are history and language arts. And reading!
That’s wonderful, Kathryn! What fun subjects too. 😉 Good luck in the drawing!
This sounds like a great book. I enjoyed reading your post for the day as well. Thank you for the chance to win this book
We’re glad you enjoyed it, Angela. Hope you get to read this book too! 😉
Thanks for reading the interview, Angela, and good luck in the drawing!
Among the Fair Magnolias is in my TBR stack but all of these books sounds wonderful! Thank you for the chance to own another 🙂
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Thanks for participating and good luck in the Giveaway! Hope you enjoy ‘Among the Fair Magnolias’. Blessings!
Thanks for visiting, DKStevens. 😉 And happy reading!
Not comfortable in front of people. But did enjoy the interview on here.
Thanks, Kim, for taking the time to read the interview. Good luck in the giveaway!
I’m with you there, Kim. I’d be nervous too! 😉 But just for fun… if nerves weren’t involved… what subject would you enjoy?
Savanna, Thank you for the interesting interview, with Elizabeth. I have not read her books yet, but would love to .
i would not want to teach a class, because I am rather shy in a group.
Thanks, Jackie, for reading the interview and good luck in the giveaway!
You and me both, Jackie! 😉 What would be one of your favorite classes to attend, then? I’m so glad you stopped by!
God bless you for your ministry in France!
Merci, Joan! The Lord has indeed blessed us ‘above and beyond’ what we could ask or expect, and we are so thankful for so many people back home who pray for us.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Joan!
Elizabeth, what a joy it must be to minister to women missionaries! What a time of fellowship that must be to be able to connect spiritually, praying for one another and uplifting each other through fellowship. May God continue to bless that ministry for you and your husband! What an honor to be used by Him for that purpose 🙂
I loved getting a glimpse of your life through this blog! And hearing about your books too. Savanna, thanks for sharing Elizabeth’s story! I love to see how God is working in other Christians lives. Either in ministry around the world, or just in their own family circle. It’s always so encouraging! Thank you both for the wonderful post today!
Trixi, Thanks so much for your comments. It is indeed a huge and humbling privilege to be able to minister to precious women across Europe. I am always challenged and encouraged by their lives of sacrifice and love. So many conversations in my novels were inspired by conversations I’ve had with seekers and missionaries throughout the years. I am thankful for the way the Lord lets my two worlds intersect. Blessings on you.
Hi Trixi! Thanks for your kind words. I’m so glad you were able to join us. I love connecting with you all here. It’s always a delight of my week. Praying for you, my friend. Hope you have a blessed day!
interesting research
Merci! Yes, lots and lots of research goes into each novel.
Good luck in the giveaway! 😉
I haven’t read any of Elizabeth Musser’s books yet, but I just recently purchased the 3 books of her ‘Secrets of the Cross’ trilogy & am looking forward to reading them. It was nice becoming familiar with another Christian author.It was wonderful to read of Elizbeth’s passion in ministry for discipling women & encouraging women missionaries to keep strong & growing in their faith so they can effectively continue to minister to others. Thanks, Shannon, for another great interview, & God’s richest blessings to you, Elizbeth, as you continue to touch others lives for the Lord.
Merci, Alison! And I hope you enjoy the trilogy. Those were my first three novels and, as you will see, the were inspired by my life in France and learning so much about Algeria’s war for independence from France. I didn’t even know where Algeria was before moving to France! I spent a ton of time researching and that was in the 90s before internet. But it is such a blessing to learn as I do the research and write. And as I said above, my two lives as missionary and writer intersect as I’m inspired to write about what I see and hear and learn while doing ministry.
Thanks for sharing, Alison. We’re so glad you could stop by. I love hearing that you got some of Elizabeth’s books. Hope you enjoy them! Good luck in the giveaway too. 😉
I’ve been hearing so much about Among the Fair Magnolias, but I didn’t know much about your other books! Searching for Eternity sounds amazing! Adding to my TBR stack 🙂
Yay, Danielle! 😉 Glad to hear it. Hope you get to check it out soon.
Thanks so much, Danielle! Good luck in the giveaway and happy reading!
That is such a great ministry that Elizabeth and her husband have! I’m sure being a missionary is not always easy and for them to have someone to minister to them is great.
I totally agree, Patty. I so appreciated hearing more about Elizabeth’s work. I’m glad you could join us. Good luck in the drawing!
Thanks, Patty. It’s such a privilege to be able to care for our missionaries around Europe. They challenge and inspire me.
Elizabeth is a new author to me. But her books are definitly on my TBR shelf now. Thanks for the post and giveaway!
Thanks, Sydney! I do hope you’ll be able to enjoy some of my novels in the future, and good luck on the giveaway!
That’s great, Sydney! We’re glad you could join us! 🙂
Savanna, thank you for this wonderful interview with Elizabeth. I enjoyed learning more about her. Elizabeth, thank you for ALL that you and your husband are doing to minister to the people of France. They are a beautiful people group.
psalm103and138[at]gmail[dot]com
Merci, Cary! It is, as I’ve said above, quite a privilege to minister in France and around Europe. Full of challenges and watching the Lord do ‘above and beyond.’
I’m always glad to see you stop by, Caryl! Thanks and good luck!
Hi Elizabeth!I really enjoyed reading about the mission work that you do in France.I’ve always wanted to visit there since I’m part French and my grandfather’s family immigrated from there.I will be praying that your recent books will be published here. The books centered around the civil war sound so good.I truly enjoy historical fiction that is Christian based.Thank you so much for the giveaway.
Merci, Rebecca, and I do hope you get to come over here to France one day to explore your ‘roots’. Blessings!
I love historical fiction too, Rebecca! 😉 Hope you have a great week. Good luck in the drawing!
Savannah,thank you so much for this interview with Elizabeth.It was a pleasure learning more about one of my favorite authors and what she does in France for mission work.