The Great She Reads Giveaway!

Welcome to those of you stopping in after reading Susan Meissner’s devotion today! We are delighted that you’re here and hope that you will visit again.

And your timing couldn’t be better. The wonderful folks at Waterbrook Press are giving one lucky reader the journal and pen pictured below in honor of Susan Meissner. That winner will also receive a copy of Susan’s novel, The Shape of Mercy, and her new release, White Picket Fences (which releases tomorrow, October 6th).

But don’t despair. Even though we can only have one grand-prize winner, four more lucky readers will receive copies of each novel.

To be eligible for the giveaway, simply leave a comment below or sign up for our monthly newsletter. The winners will be randomly selected on Wednesday, October 7th.

***(As an aside, if you signed up for our newsletter during the month of September, technical difficulties prevented us from saving your contact information. If you have not already done so, would you consider signing up again? Trust us, you don’t want to miss our winter newsletter!)

To read the first chapter of The Shape of Mercy, click here.

Susan has also graciously provided She Reads a variety of book club resources, including recipes, discussion questions, and activities. You can access those here for free.

Book Summary – The Shape of Mercy

Leaving a life of privilege to strike out on her own, Lauren Durough breaks with her family’s expectations and takes a part-time job from eighty-three-year-old librarian Abigail Boyles. The mysterious employer asks Lauren to transcribe the journal entries of her ancestor Mercy Hayworth, a victim of the Salem witch trials.

Immediately, Lauren finds herself drawn to this girl who lived and died four centuries ago. As the fervor around the witch accusations increases, Mercy becomes trapped, unable to fight the overwhelming influence of snap judgments and superstitions. Lauren realizes that the secrets of Mercy’s story extend beyond the pages of her diary, living on in the mysterious, embittered Abigail.

The secret of her affinity with Mercy forces Lauren to take a startling new look at her own life, including her relationships with Abigail, her college roommate, and a young man named Raul. But on the way to the truth, will Lauren find herself playing the helpless defendant of the misguided judge? Can she break free from her own perceptions and see who she really is?

Susan Meissner believes that books take us to places we have perhaps only imagined and introduce us to intriguing people – both real and invented – whose lives inspire, teach and sometimes transform us. She knows that books entertain but they can also enlighten and educate; they can motivate us to attempt great things. That is her goal as a writer, that the stories she pens will always leave readers with a message of hope after they have read the last page.

Susan has penned eleven novels in addition to The Shape of Mercy (2009 ECPA Book of the Year winner). Some of her other works include: Blue Heart Blessed (2009 Inspirational Readers Choice Awards, winner for Long Contemporary Novel), White Picket Fences, and Why The Sky Is Blue.
Susan Meissner has been feeding her love of writing all her life. Her first novel, Why the Sky is Blue, was released in 2004, after she resigned her post as editor for a local newspaper in a rural Minnesota town. Since that time she has had several books published and moved to San Diego, where she lives with her family.

If you are interested in The Shape of Mercy, would you consider purchasing it from Proverbs 31 Ministries? All proceeds from book sales go to support this powerful women’s ministry.