As soon as we walked into the room, we knew we were wasting our time. A friend of mine and I had been invited to have a book table at an event in our city. Neither of us knew much about what the event actually was, but since it was late November and they were looking for vendors, we assumed it was a Christmas market of some sort.
We were wrong. The venue was a bar, and the attendees, mostly men, were sitting around at small tables, drinking beer and watching the live local rock bands up on stage.
Photo by James Sutton on Unsplash
My friend and I walked in, me carting my Christian romantic suspense novels and her with her romance book and a devotional, and both of us started laughing. Definitely not our target market. I’m sure a lot of the patrons were wondering what we were doing there too—we felt, and I’m sure looked, like a couple of fish out of water.
We felt, and I'm sure looked, like a couple of fish out of water. -@sarajdavison Click To TweetGamely, we set up our displays anyway, on a small table in a cramped space along the back wall of the bar. For two hours and forty-five minutes, very little happened. The odd person wandered by our table, but few spoke to us and no one asked about our books, let alone bought any. Shocker.
Then a young couple came over and actually picked up our books and looked at them. The guy asked us what they were about. I said they were Christian suspense books and his face lit up as he asked, “Really?” From what he said, it sounded as though he didn’t have a church background, but he was clearly searching for something, and he asked me the theme of my books.
Almost shouting to be heard over the loud music, I told him that while the stories are all different, the common theme running throughout is that, no matter what we are going through in life, we are never alone. God is always with us.
While the stories are all different, the common theme running throughout is that, no matter what we are going through in life, we are never alone. God is always with us. -@sarajdavison Click To TweetI thought the man was going to burst into tears. “That’s exactly what I’m looking for,” he said. “I can’t believe that you are here today.” He ended up buying two of our books and thanked us profusely before heading back to his table.
My friend and I looked at each other and I said, “Well, if that’s the only reason we were supposed to be here today, then it was well worth it.”
There is a lot of truth to the old adage that God works in mysterious ways. So often we can’t understand why we find ourselves in certain circumstances, as it feels as though nothing good could possibly come from what is happening. But God is always at work. He has given each of us gifts and talents and passions to use in order to serve Him and bring Him glory, and if we are obedient to use those gifts, even in situations where it seems unlikely they will have an effect, He will use us to carry out His plans. For me, as an author, that means trusting that if God has given me a story, then He has a purpose for it—He wants the particular message my books convey to reach the people He knows need to hear it. That might be a million readers, or it might be one guy in a bar searching for something but not sure how or where to find it.
All my friend and I needed to do was show up, take a seat, and wait to see what God would do next.
Sara Davison is the author of the romantic suspense novel, The Watcher, and the romantic suspense series, The Seven Trilogy and The Night Guardians. She has been a finalist for eight national writing awards, including Best New Canadian Christian author, a Carol Award, and two Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is a Word and Cascade Award winner. She currently resides in Ontario, Canada with her husband Michael and their three children, all of whom she (literally) looks up to. Get to know Sara better at www.saradavison.org and @sarajdavison.
She must choose between the man who represents the law and the one who may have taken it into his own hands. Neglected by her parents for most of her life, Nicole Hunter keeps everyone, especially men, at arms’ length. So when Attorney Gage Kelly walks into the diner where she is waiting tables one evening, she fights her attraction to him with everything she has.
Gage and his brother Holden grew up in an abusive home, and Gage has baggage of his own. But the connection between him and Nicole is too strong to ignore, and Gage manages to convince them both that their relationship is worth the risk. Then children begin disappearing in the night.
When Detective Daniel Grey starts to close in on the child snatcher, and enlists Nicole’s help, she faces her deepest fear. Everything and everyone she has clung to so tightly could be ripped from her, leaving her completely alone.
Except for one.
MiraleeFerrell