The Restorer

I have raved a few times in the last six or eight months about Sharon Hinck and her awesome writing. She's written a couple of mom-lit type books about Becky Miller that I totally enjoyed though not being precisely in the target audience. Seeing what Sharon could do with mom-lit made me curious--okay, avidly anticipating with drool--to see her newest debut, a fantasy novel.

The Restorer is the book I've been waiting for. I have various reactions to novels. Occasionally they make me believe I should be publishable NOW. Sometimes they stretch my thinking, show me how an author can make certain techniques work. Sometimes I am awed by the imagination shown. Sometimes...sometimes a book pulls me in so completely that I barely remember to come up for air.

The Restorer is that kind of book. I checked my mailbox at church Saturday evening when we went in for worship team practice and knew immediately which book must be in that padded envelope. Tore the wrap off. The book is beautiful. It's fat. The cover evokes a feeling... I flipped through it.

My team wondered why I wasn't quick on the uptake adjusting sound levels. Oh, right. Supposed to be setting up the sound system for practice. But the back cover copy sounded so cool.

In a fierce struggle for survival, don't mess with a Mom.

Susan Mitchell needed a change--any kind of change. Nearly twenty years of marriage to her college sweetheart, Mark, had given her two teenagers and two grade-schoolers, along with miles of unmatched socks, sticky countertops, and the ever-growing hum of sheer bedlam. When had she become so...insignificant? Hadn't God once had a plan for her?

Well, at least mark had a plan: for an attic hideaway free of iPods and science projects and cookie crumbs. But before Susan can finish her first journal entry, she finds herself pulled through a portal into a world grappling for its soul and waiting for a promised Restorer. Someone does have a plan for her--one she never would have imagined. While she struggles to adapt to a foreign culture full of unfamiliar technologies and taboos, she faces unexpected battles, min-poisoning enemies, and a profound spiritual journey. Her adventure will forever change her family, her faith, and how she experience love--from the One.

Oh. I have the sound levels set for the basics. The team can start going through their list. I'll just read the acknowledgments and endorsements.

"Fresh and compelling. Sharon zigged every time I expected her to zag, and the world she created is full of mystery and suspense and the awe of discovery. But it's the character who keep you coming back for more."
Robin Parrish, author of Relentless, creator of Infuze

Heh. I asked Sharon about that same thing with Renovating Becky Miller. She does a good job of sending the stories in directions I hadn't anticipated.

And why does the worship team think I should be adjusting levels for the guitars? Deal with it, I'll make sure it's good Sunday morning. Now I'm reading the first chapter and don't want to be interrupted.

I finished the book--all 477 pages--by Sunday evening. I did NOT take the book to church Sunday morning and the worship team did a fine job.

I'll be posting again about this book this week. The official tour isn't for a couple weeks, but I'll be away on vacation then. And you NEEDED to know about this book.