New Young Adult from Susan Miura

Healer by Susan Miura

Young Adult Christian paranormal

Releasing January 31, 2018

330 pp

Print $16.99

Ebook a42.99

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Publisher, Vinspire Publishing

Read my review below.

About the Book:

Hovering just below the surface of Shilo Giannelli’s average existence lays an amazing spiritual power. Late one night, her world erupts with the revelation that, like her great-grandmother, she has The Gift. But the power to heal isn’t something she can share with the soccer team, her genius little sister, or her boyfriend, Kenji. Definitely not Kenji.

Deep beneath Misty Morning’s tough façade is a lifetime of abandonment, foster homes and broken dreams. When her two-year-old son is abused by her boyfriend, her fragile world shatters…until Shilo prays for Tyler, and he is healed, leaving Misty grateful but incredibly curious.

Shilo can’t give Misty the answers she needs; she only knows she has a God-given destiny, and despite facing strained relationships, impossible decisions, and the threat of being hounded day and night for her abilities, she will fulfill it.

The journey Misty and Shilo take together unites them as friends but invites danger into their lives. And it will take a miracle for these unlikely friends to elude a gang bent on revenge, keep The Gift a secret, trust God in extraordinary circumstances, and hold on to the people they love.

Susan, what do you love about this book?

The growth in the characters, the unlikely friendship that blooms between Shilo and Misty, the romance between Shilo and Kenji, the relationship between Shilo and her little sister, and Shilo’s determination to use the amazing gift God gave her despite the challenges and heartache inherent in doing so. 

Introduce us to your quirkiest character.

That would be Julia, Shilo’s little sister. She’s a genius and vegetarian who loves astronomy and geology. She does not have an athletic bone in her body, unlike Shilo. In short, she’s everything Shilo isn’t, and even though she drives Shilo crazy, they have a very close bond. Julia provides a little comic relief from time to time.

~I agree--I loved her, too!

Share two things you learned either about the era/genre or about publishing while writing this book.

Regarding the genre, you really have to make yourself go back in time and remember the thoughts and feelings you had as a teen, while keeping the setting and social scene current. As for publishing, the actual writing part is only half of what it takes to be a published author. At least, it feels that way to me. Marketing makes up the rest. It would be great to just write and not promote, but that would be a career killer.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on Healer Book 2, though I don’t know yet if that’s definitely happening.  I’m also writing my first young adult sci/fi and trying to get a contract for a women’s fiction manuscript that has always been special to me. It’s about a woman who accidentally kills her best friend’s five-year-old daughter, so it starts out with a pretty hard tug on the reader’s heart.

How do you overcome your biggest challenge to publication?

Prayer and walking is my way of overcoming any challenge. I’m also blessed with a great support system of family and friends. If I’m having a tough time with something, I take it to Jesus first, usually while I’m walking by the lake. I figure, if he can make a way for sinners to get into Heaven, he can help resolve my little challenges. Then I move on to people with skin. 

My review:

A young lady on the verge of adulthood is thrust into a lifestyle of secrets at a vulnerable time. Just when she can see an inviting future filled with college, music, faith, and especially a wonderful, almost too-good-to-be-true boyfriend, Kenji, Shilo learns of a fearsome and awe-inspiring family secret that’s been passed down through the generations. Under dire warning from her mother, Shilo must never, ever tell anyone. But it’s a secret Shilo can’t hide.

Sixteen, ready for the best summer of her life, Shilo experiences her second use of a God-given Gift when she accidentally heals a child. She learns early on, though, that the Gift cannot be taken lightly or for granted. Despite her mother’s warnings of becoming a media frenzy or even delusional with power, Shilo is put in an uncompromising position when her boyfriend’s life is at stake. Under the influence of enormous family stress, Shilo has pushed Kenji away, something that’s tearing her apart. Their reunion and subsequent revelations may not result in all that she or her family wish, but the words and actions cannot be undone.

Miura’s story is a nicely shaped and paced young adult story that’s well defined. The real angst of teenagers and tweens is lovingly created with a cast of characters that will leave a mark on the reader. Told through multiple first-person viewpoints, Shilo’s appeal as a young lady in love, mature, yet vulnerable, is a great story to share with young people. This is a lengthy book for young adult, so although I recommend for seventh grade and up, younger readers should be good readers. Younger readers should have parental supervision regarding some mature situations (teenage pregnancy, abuse, drug running, some violence, and serious injury).

The theme of obedience running through the story, speaking to trust, conscience, responsibility, obedience to authority figures such as teachers and pastor, parents, and especially to faith in God and acting on that faith, is wonderfully illustrated.

Susan Miura, Show Me a Sign

About the Book:

In Show Me a Sign, seventeen-year-old Nathan Boliva is under investigation by the FBI for a kidnapping he didn’t commit. Deaf and beautiful Haylie Summers agreed to go on a date with him, then disappeared the day before. When the Feds discover a text was sent from Nathan’s cell phone, asking Haylie to meet him behind her garage, Nathan becomes a prime suspect.

Tied and blindfolded, Haylie struggles to grasp Nathan’s role in her captivity. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would kidnap her. Then again, if he didn't, who is holding her hostage, and why? 

Desperate to solve the crime and rescue Haylie, Nathan and his best friend, Alec, set out at midnight to gather intel…and end up with far more than they bargained for.

An action-packed plunge into intrigue and danger

 

ISBN: 978-1-60290-385-2

Can be purchased from: www.oaktara.com
Will soon be available (November, I believe) online from Amazon, Target, and other major booksellers.

 

About the Author:

I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, longing for a horse and reading books by Marguarite Henry, Walter Farley, and Anna Sewell. A week after receiving my BA in journalism, I was hired at a local newspaper. Seeing my byline in every issue was a dream come true, but there was another goal to attain – moving out west. A year after graduating I headed for the wide-open spaces of New Mexico, where I worked in television for two years until my heart lead me back home to Illinois. Love and marriage followed, along with a career in public relations. Though my professional world involved writing, it didn’t provide a release for the stories in my head. When they wouldn’t stay captive any longer, I began a fiction journey, rough and rocky, but blessed with people who loved, mentored, cheered, taught, critiqued, and believed in me.

For the past 13 years I’ve worked full time as the public relations coordinator for the Schaumburg Library. I review books for The Book Reporter and give travel presentations throughout the Chicago suburbs. I’m the mother of two, stepmother of a married daughter, and wife of a police sergeant (who helps me get my crime scenes right). And…I am a member of the ACFW and Willow Creek Community Church.

 

Visit Susan's website.

 

Susan, what do you love about this book?

That it’s done and published! But I also love the relationship between my main character and his best friend, which I modeled after my son and his friends. It gave me the opportunity to mesh some humor into the drama. And I really like my other main character, Haylie, who is held captive during most of the book. Haylie is deaf, but I didn’t want the story to revolve around that because being deaf is not what defines her. She is smart, brave, and sticks to her faith even when faced with terrifying circumstances. I guess another aspect that I think/hope teens will like is that the characters are not stereotype sanitized, purified, saintly Christians. They’re real kids with real attitudes, desires, insecurities, dreams and emotions.  

 

Introduce us to the main character.

Well they get equal billing and have their own chapters, so I’ll have to do both. Nathan is Peruvian-American, which I chose because I always include different ethnicities in my books, and I happen to have Peruvian relatives. He’s got two adopted greyhounds, Ruby and Cougar, which his mom brought home from the animal shelter where she volunteers. Nathan doesn’t share the “ladies’ man” reputation of his English friend, Alec, but he works up the courage to ask Haylie on a date. Much to his surprise, she says yes. Unfortunately, she gets kidnapped before that happens. Haylie is an “A” student whose mother is a scientist for Zetalab, a high-energy physics research facility. Her stepdad is a zoo veterinarian. Both of these occupations play a role in the book.

 

What do you hope readers will tell other readers about your story?

That it’s on the New York Times Best Seller list…because that would mean it actually is. Seriously, I hope they find it to be a “page-turner,” funny in some spots, suspenseful in others, and that readers will grasp the subtle message that God is with us, even when He’s not making it obvious. Even when those miracles we ache for don’t seem to be coming our way. I also hope at least some readers will see the author’s note about human trafficking and decide to take action, or at least become more knowledgeable about an issue that breaks my heart.  

 

Susan Says:
Anyone living in the Schaumburg area is invited to my Book Launch Party at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 9^th at the Schaumburg Library. There will be cake, lots of prizes, and a self-defense demo. Plus a very short and hopefully funny PowerPoint I’m putting together. Show Me a Sign will be available at a discounted price ($10).