Synopsis On The Back Of 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 facade 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.

Why I chose this book?

I was approached by Susan to see if I would be interested in reviewing her latest book Healer, which was released earlier this year. After watching the trailer for Healer I was for sure hooked.

Book Review

Growing up, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Sweet Valley High were my jam. Healer took me right back to my teen days where I was so engrossed in the book. I found it hard to put it down. Healer was quite the page turner. I stayed up until the ween hours of the morning, even though I had plans the next day, just so I could know the resolution. Despite the exhaustion that took place the following day, I was happy with my decision, “Healer” was totally worth it.

The characters of the book were expertly developed and believable. Only a couple pages in and you were able to identify with the main characters and grew to love them.I found myself so immersed in their lives that I eagerly anticipated what would come next. Shilo wasn’t this perfect christian teen that did everything right. She struggled just like most teens and sometimes failed to see eye to eye with her parents. One of my favorite lines from the book was when she was trying to get her parents to agree with her going on a mission trip, but they weren’t fully onboard. She exclaimed. ” It is not like I am heading for Florida to star in “Girls Gone Wild.” It’s a mission trip, we’ll be repairing a school  and talking to kids about faith.” I could just envision the attitude and the look she likely gave her parents as the words escaped her mouth. We later find out the real reason why they weren’t comfortable sending her on that mission trip.

The plot was extremely well laid out by the books author Susan. As readers, we went on a journey through “embracing the gift” and the exciting youthful romance of Kenji and Shilo. There were moments of humour, moments of fear as we questioned whether Shilo’s newfound gift would create a rift with her boyfriend or would they find a way to make it work? We see best friends suddenly become strangers as life gets in the way and they drift apart. There was also a sprinkle of danger that added another dimension to the unfolding drama.

I thought the concept behind the book was a pretty cool idea. I have read about the spiritual gifts in the bible,but hadn’t considered about the potential possibilities of what it would be like to have the spiritual power to heal. Think about it, unnecessary  media attention and the possibility of compromising my values in exchange for money. Through Shilo’s journey I was able to embrace the possibilities, touch lives and contemplate how scary and life changing such a gift could be. I walked away with the reminder that God’s plans don’t necessarily align with ours but regardless of the situation, he does things in his time and we can trust that he knows whats best.

This book also brought to light major topics such as abuse and teenage pregnancy which could pave the way for discussions with your teen.

Would I Recommend

Totally worth grabbing some snacks, a warm blanket, finding a comfy spot and making a reading date with this book. While I would recommend this book for teens, adults you can’t go wrong with this book either. A perfect summer read. This is a lovely christian fiction book that combines a bit of romance, danger and a biblical lesson pointing  us to the important lesson of using the gifts that God has given us to serve him and not for our own pleasure. Eagerly anticipating volume 2 and can’t wait for its release. 

About The Author

Susan is an author, speaker and public relations professional. With a degree in journalism she worked as a television reporter for a couple of years. She currently works in public relations at her local library. Susan is also the author of Show Me A Sign, a young adult suspense book. Feel free to visit Susan’s website where you can learn more about her and the books she has authored.

I know a bunch of the readers of Rock Solid Faith are prospective authors themselves, so I reached out to Susan for an interview and here are her tips on how to find the time to get started writing your book as well as tips on how to market it as well. I trust you will find it helpful.

What inspired you to write “Healer”?

After taking a class on spiritual gifts, I thought about how amazing it would be to have the gift of healing. I started to imagine how the world would respond to someone who could heal. It would be wonderful to help others, but would the healer be hounded day and night by sick and injured people, along with reporters, scientists, etc.? I decided the person would have to keep it a secret and do healings discreetly. The more I thought about it, the more the story began taking shape. In the midst of this, I remembered a scene from my childhood, when I was riding my bike and saw people gathered around a dog that had been hit by a car. I wanted to help that dog so badly, but it died. As an author, I was able to save that dog through my main character, Shilo. That became the opening scene of Healer.

What advice would you give to prospective authors on finding the time to write as well as tips on marketing their books?

Great question! If you truly want to be an author, you don’t “find” the time to write, you carve it out of your schedule because that’s the only way it’s going to happen. When I wrote the first draft of Healer, I was working full time and had two children. Many of Healer’s original chapters were written while sitting in my car during soccer practice, sitting by the pool during swimming lessons, and during my lunch hours at work. When you have an artistic passion, whether it’s writing, dancing, painting, music – anything – you just have to make it happen. But…you must be willing to make sacrifices. I never had much of a social life because family, work, and writing pretty much filled up my life. As for marketing, you really need to have a ton of social media connections, and ways of getting the word out about your books. One way is to help other authors promote their books, so they’ll do the same when you get published. Another key marketing tip is to get reviews a few months before your book comes out on some of the big book review sites. I learned that one too late for Healer, but I’ll be ready next time around. And…enter book contests. There’s so many of them, and it’s great to be able to refer to yourself or your book as “award-winning.”