Sustainer’s Smile // Write For Life: Sustainer’s Smile & To Save a Life Launch Tour

If you’ve managed to miss it, I don’t know where you’ve been.

Sustainer’s Smile is here!

I was excited about this novel because pro-life books are very important to me—besides the fact that the Truth From Taerna books are epicness personified. And it was just as good as I expected. So today I am sharing a review, a character spotlight, a giveaway, AND some snippets!!

Sustainer’s Smile is book 4 of the Truth From Taerna Series, but it can easily be read as a standalone. It’s a prolife kingdom adventure fiction novel, telling 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 clean and family-friendly, though it’s recommended for teens and up due to dealing with the issue of abortion. 

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?

It launches October 21 but it’s available for preorder right now!

Get it on Amazon… America / Canada!

Add on Goodreads!

My review is up on my reviews blog, so hop over there to read it:

https://oldfashionedbooklove.wordpress.com/2021/10/18/sustainers-smile-by-erika-mathews

Suffice it to say, I have it 8 hearts!

Here’s a character spotlight of my favourite character…

Liliora Ellith

Age at the time of Sustainer’s Smile: 24

Personality: ISFJ

Height: 5’6”

Hair: dark brown, loose curls, half-up, very long

Eyes: blue/periwinkle

https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/AQ7M3jrbkyXb63SYHO7zBIx1ze2unQquM5aps_lw1vB9jBXFr4bqifg/

Liliora has a tender heart for children, babies, and the helpless. She cooks, keeps house, and enjoys leading a fun “Story Time” regularly for the neighbor children. She’s the youngest of five, and currently keeps house for her father and two brothers. Liliora has a deep aversion to conflict. Her smile is beautiful and she’ll do anything she can for her friends even if it costs her personally. Liliora lives in Frydael, a small town in the country of Taerna. She wears long flowing dresses, often in blue or green or brown.

Author note: Liliora came into being when I found a picture on Pinterest of a four-year-old with big eyes.

She slid wonderfully into her role as Kaelan’s sweet little sister. Once I knew she’d be getting her own story, the rest of her personality easily fell into place. She’s one of my favorite characters—I relate to her a lot, she’s seeking God yet isn’t perfect, and she’s someone I’d love to be friends with. It wasn’t until after I wrote Sustainer’s Smile that I discovered that she and I share a personality type.

Here’s some 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. 

“And then we played Hide and Find Me in the hay. And Kethin couldn’t find me forever! I hid in the very back corner, and Kelton helped pile hay on me so I looked like a haystack. And then Kethin laid down in the hay to hide, but I saw his boots peeking out.”

“That’s not fair, because I’m so much bigger than you.” Kethin’s grin flashed. “The hay doesn’t cover me as well. And it takes a good deal more to cover me.”

“You still have hay in your hair.” Liliora motioned to Kethin, then to Tae.

Kethin ran his hand through his hair. “Are you teasing me?”

“No! There’s some by your ear.” Liliora set down her spoon, not going to risk spilling a bite while shaking with laughter. 

Kethin’s fingers traveled up and down and at last landed on a miniscule fragment of straw behind his right ear. “Come now, that’s hardly hay. Not like Tae, at any rate.”

“My hair is a haystack,” Tae replied, rumpling it until it stood on end.

“A very dark-colored one,” Liliora agreed.

As quickly as the table could be cleared, small figures began to congregate outside in the open space. Liliora stepped outside, greeting each one cheerfully and kindly.

“Hello, Vivian! How are you doing tonight?” She knelt to meet the bright-blue eyes of the young girl.

“Hi Miss Lili! I found a dragonfly today! And I even touched it!” Vivian danced in place, swinging her arms wide.

“Miss Lili, I found an azurebell on the way here! I picked it for you!” Another small girl thrust a delicate blue flower into her face.

“Why, thank you so much, Fiana. It’s beautiful. It was so kind of you to think of me!”

“You’re welcome!” Fiana exclaimed. “I can’t wait for the story tonight.”

“Me too!” Trae echoed, his wide brown eyes danc­ing with his feet beside his sister. “I hope it’s about a bear. A big, big brown one.”

“Well, you will just have to wait and see.” Liliora’s eyes sparkled conspiratorially. “I will tell you that it’s an extra-special story tonight.”

“Oh good!” Trae spun away to tell his friends, and Liliora turned to greet the parents who had accompanied their children.

At last, the youngsters were settled in a large circle on the grass. 

“Tonight we’re going to talk about knowing Adon Olam. Does anyone know what it means to know Adon Olam?”

Enter the Giveaway: Win a signed paperback of Promise’s Prayer (Truth from Taerna #1) and other fun prizes! Enter here.

Find the Rest: There’s a bookstagram/blog challenge, author interviews, character spotlights, and more! See the Rest of the Prolife Tour