Kelsey's Notebook: Sustainer's Smile Blog Tour

Sustainer’s Smile by Erika Mathews is here! I’m excited to share this new novel with you because life is an issue dear to my heart, and it’s the heart of this book. This post includes snippets, a character spotlight, and a giveaway!

Learn the Basics

It’s Book Four of Truth from Taerna but it can easily be read as a standalone.

It’s a prolife novel.
It tells the story of Liliora Ellith, who makes peace with her past and discovers her future among the cradles of Taerna’s unwanted babies, born and unborn.
It’s a kingdom adventure fiction novel.
It’s clean and family-friendly, though it’s recommended for teens and up due to dealing with the issue of abortion.
Its launch date is October 21 but it’s available for preorder right now!

View or Buy Sustainer’s Smile on Amazon

Read the Snippets

Liliora shook her head. “If Adon Olam wants it, I will not listen to my fears.” Yet tears welled up even in the words, and she felt her heart failing her.

Character Spotlight: Rita

Age at the time of Sustainer’s Smile: Early 20s
Personality: ESTP

Height: 5’ 8”
Hair: dark blonde

Eyes: dark blue

About Rita

Rita has been a friend of Liliora’s for many years. Rita lives in Frydael with her parents, and she loves Frydael’s social life. As children, Rita and Liliora went on many adventures together, and both shared similar ideals and dreams for the future. As they grew older, however, Rita felt like she was growing up faster than carefree, innocent Liliora. Now Rita’s trying to land a job so that her old-fashioned parents will allow her to marry the love of her life—but things aren’t as easy as she wishes.

Author Note

Every main character needs a friend, and Liliora was no exception. In telling Liliora’s story, several elements required someone else to be involved. There were things that simply wouldn’t work for Liliora to be directly involved in—and that’s where Rita came in. She proved to have a mind of her own, and her stubbornness and Liliora’s mildness melded together beautifully. And once she brought in her fiancé, he added a whole new element to the plot.

Sustainer’s Smile Excerpt

“Tying yourself down, even without a husband of your own.” Rita sighed dramatically. “Why do I even bother to come here asking you to have fun with me? Clearly your priorities are elsewhere.”

“Because I’m your friend?” Liliora quirked an eyebrow. “And friends have fun together?”

“Yes,” Rita agreed. “Remember that time we stopped up the creek and the water flooded the neighbor’s chicken pen? Or that time that your brothers stole our dolls and hid them in the orchard? Or when we made a nutmeg cake and fed it to Deen Penson, and he thought it was ginger and almost spit it all over the table? Now that was fun! And all the planning and scheming beforehand, and the messages, and…”

“I remember.” Liliora sighed.

“Or when we went on the youth hayride? That was back when I didn’t know Trig very well at all. I was so awkward…”

“I remember,” Liliora repeated.

“I want to have adventures like that again,” Rita stated wistfully. “Those were the days. Carefree, exciting…”

“We can’t be children forever, Rita. We have work to do. Work for life. For survival. For betterment of those around us…”

“Nonsense! Leave the work to others, who don’t mind it.” Rita swept to her feet, tossing her hair behind her shoulders. “We ought to enjoy life while we can. Surely Adon Olam would want that.”

“I think we do enjoy life when we’re living in Him,” Liliora replied slowly. “Even if what we’re doing seems boring or mundane. Normal work still needs to be done.”

“But I have no patience for it,” Rita retorted. “So come on. Are we going to have some fun today or not?”

See the Blurb

Suffering suffocates her soul.

How can she ever smile again?

A helpless newborn…that’s exactly how twenty-four-year-old Liliora Ellith feels in her efforts to speak up on behalf of the youngest members of Taerna’s pleasure-driven society. Her tender heart for the defenseless and deep aversion to conflict throw Liliora’s soul into turmoil when tragedy opens her eyes to the quiet yet heartrending war on Taerna’s babies—both born and unborn. Adon Olam’s Word coupled with a secret in her own past fuel her determination. All she wants is to make peace with her past and discover her future among the cradles of unwanted babies. However, the challenges ahead of her threaten to send her spiraling into hopeless depression time and again. Saving innocent lives from the crush of the destroyer and raising a generation in the ways of Adon Olam seem more impossible than ever. At the very end of herself, will the sufferings of her and her babies prove to be anything less than the catalyst for complete disaster?