Jeanette Windle
As the daughter of American missionaries growing up in the Colombian guerrilla zones and subsequently serving with her husband in the Bolivian mission field and on all five continents, Jeanette Windle has spent her whole life in the world of international missions. It comes as no surprise that her fiction is missions focused and grounded in her real life experiences. Jeanette’s early adult novels, including Crossfire, Firestorm and The DMZ (Kregel), are set in South America with her most recent offerings, Veiled Freedom (Christy and CBA award finalist) and Freedom’s Stand (Tyndale), in Afghanistan. Of her mission field experience Jeanette says, “I have been blessed to experience, in the darkest places, the overriding sovereignty of a loving God and the shining light that is the body of Christ. The stories I encountered along the way were so incredible that fiction was the only real way to bring them to life.”
Veiled Freedom introduces a disillusioned Special Forces veteran, an idealistic relief worker, and an Afghan refugee whose stories continue in Freedom’s Stand. Jeanette shares, “The three main characters are representative of the three main players I have encountered so often in this drama: the international military/State Department world, the international aid/humanitarian world, and the Afghan people themselves. I wanted readers to get a glimpse into each of these worlds, their point of view, and the interweaving issues as these worlds clash.”
Jeanette’s fiction reveals her desire to support her Christian brothers and sisters who are imprisoned or persecuted for their faith, not only in Afghanistan but across the planet, and she prays her readers will finish the book with an understanding of the true source of freedom. “Bottom line, when enough individual hearts change from hate to love, cruelty to kindness, greed to selflessness, their society will be transformed as well.”
JeanetteWindle.com
Lisa Harris
Working with her family with African Outreach Ministries in Mozambique, Lisa Harris writes romantic suspense and historical romance with a missions flavour. Says Lisa, “Living and working within a culture different than my own has changed the way that I look at the world. It’s given me a greater understanding into the lives of other people. I believe that looking into the heart of other cultures can, in turn, change the way we look at the world in a positive way.” Lisa’s Mission Hope series (Zondervan) are adventurous stories set against the backdrop of what are day-to-day struggles in Africa. Blood Ransom sheds light on modern day slavery and Blood Covenant takes place in an overcrowded refugee camp, so prevalent now in a continent plagued with political upheaval. Blood Covenant’s Paige Ryan comes to the realization that she has to admit her weaknesses and fears and rely only on God’s strength to make a difference in the refugee camp. Lisa’s historical novel, An Ocean Away (Summerside) reflects the same belief that faithfulness to God can move mountains. “There are numerous examples in the Bible of men and women who God called to serve Him in an extraordinary way through His power,” shares Lisa. “God calls us in the middle of our ordinary, run-of-the-mill, take-out-the-trash and drive-the-kids-to-school routine. So stop and ask yourself this one question. How do you see God calling you to make a difference in your world?”
Lisa hopes her novels remind readers they can have a positive impact for God no matter where they are living. “We are not all called to live overseas as missionaries, but we all can see those living near us who need God’s grace, forgiveness and love. It might be a hurting neighbour down the street, a lonely teen in your youth group, or a tired young mother in your apartment building. God can and does use ordinary people like you and me to do extraordinary things.”
LisaHarrisWrites.com
Kathi Macias
Kathi Macias acknowledges her talent for writing as a gift from God and has devoted that talent to pursuing God’s calling to every believer to “go into all the world and preach the gospel.” New Hope Publishers fiction line, “Fiction with A Mission,” aimed at reaching the lost and encouraging believers through story, was a perfect match. Those aims, and Kathi’s long time partnership with Voice of the Martyrs, fused and the Extreme Devotion series was born, four books dedicated to the persecuted church entitled No Greater Love (South Africa), More Than Conquerors (Mexico), Red Ink (China) and People of the Book (Saudi Arabia). Red Ink, the 2011 Golden Scroll Novel of the Year, was inspired by the life of Li Ying, a Chinese woman who is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for printing and distributing unapproved Christian literature. People of the Book tells the story of Farah, a devoted Muslim who comes face to face with the Prophet Isa (Jesus). “What I hope readers learn is that each of us must come to a place where we are willing to lay down our lives, if need be, to follow Jesus. Farah has to decide if she truly is willing to risk everything—her family, her comfortable home, even her very life.”
Kathi admits it has been a tough series to write. “The research is extensive and the emotional investment daunting. Yet I am certain that God has called me to do this, and there is great joy in knowing that you’re fulfilling God’s purpose by using His gifts as He has called you to do.” Her desire for her readers to walk away with more than just a few hours of entertainment is heartfelt. “More than anything I want readers to come away with a fresh challenge and commitment to serve Christ … at any cost. I want them to understand that the admonition in Hebrews to ‘remember those who are in chains as if chained with them’ is more than a suggestion. We not only need to make a complete heart commitment to our own faith, but we need to pray for and help those who are suffering as believers any way we can.”
KathiMacias.com
What reader feedback have you received that touched you?
Lisa Harris: What really touches me is when I hear from readers who were profoundly moved by reading the series, because it helped them to look at their own lives differently and realize that they, too, can make an impact on the world wherever they are.
Kathi Macias: A 17-year-old came up to me after a book signing and said, “Mrs. Macias, I love the books in this series. They make me want to lead a noble life.” I nearly wept to think that God had touched this young man so deeply through my words.
Jeanette Windle: One letter came from a humanitarian aid worker across the border in Tajikistan who actually wrote me that she’d been motivated to found a similar outreach for women as my character Amy had started, due to reading Veiled Freedom.