Eleanor Bertin: Thursday’s Featured Author

I’m excited to have Eleanor Bertin sharing with us today! She is offering a #giveaway ebook of her novel Lifelines to one commenter. 

Welcome, Eleanor!

I thought of my mom, Anne K., 81 years old at the time (now 93!). I considered her decades of

service to her family, her church, neighbours and small rural Canadian community. I thought of

her quiet, loving, sacrificial service to us. I remembered her patience and unfailing love to me

when I was a rebellious teen, taking out my frustrations on her with nasty words and attitudes.

Was her kindness worth nothing? Was her life wasted in her selfless, gentle care for the people

around her, and in her diligent obedience to an invisible Lord?

Yet her impact on those who have known her has been powerful and lasting. Her daughters and

granddaughters hope to be like her. Her husband honoured her, and all her children call her

blessed.

As I read bio after bio in that magazine of women who had made a name for themselves by their

work outside the home, I was disturbed. I knew my mother wasn’t the only quiet but powerfully

influential person in this world. I have known many others and been told of scores more. They

are a hidden army of God’s beloved saints, advancing His kingdom one prayer and one pie at a

time. I pondered the nature of influence, wondering if the ability to make a difference in the lives

of others was truly something that could be planned, funded, or scheduled by anyone.

My first novel,Lifelines, grew out of these ideas.

Anna Fawcett became my grounding character, the one who undergirds all other characters in the

book. No chapter is ever written from her point of view, but her point of view permeates every

scene and influences every character. Speaking in literary terms, she is a Christ-figure in her

love, faithfulness, and in her gentle chiding, questioning, and guiding. Even in her suffering, she

thinks of others, bringing self-discovery and reconciliation.

And in the companion novels, Anna still wields her influence. In Unbound, it is Anna who

becomes the catalyst of life-giving grace to her sister, freeing Naomi from a lifetime of guilt and

legalistic bondage. Through Anna’s influence, Jacqui, the daughter of Anna’s long-estranged

brother discovers love and faith in the family she never knew she had. (Tethered)

We live our simple, lowly lives thinking no one notices, and sometimes, that no one cares. But

God who sees the sparrow fall cares. He notices our humble acts of service, our hidden

faithfulness, our small sacrifices. He knows when we are taken advantage of, overlooked or

misunderstood. And someday, what is hidden will be revealed. “…your Father who sees in secret

will Himself reward you openly.” (Matt. 6::4b)

This is why I always sign paper copies of Lifelines with these words: “Never underestimate the

influential power of an ordinary life.”

About Eleanor:

Eleanor Bertin loves books, people, and the sweeping skies of the Canadian Prairies where she was raised.

She studied Communications in college and returned to writing after raising and home-educating a family of seven children. The author of Lifelines, Unbound, Tethered, and the memoir, Pall of Silence about her late son, Paul, she lives in central Alberta with her husband and youngest son where they are coaxing to life a century home.

Connect with Eleanor:

Facebook Group: Read with E’s

About Lifelines:

Life has been going as planned for biologist Dr. Robert Fielding, until a squall threatens to shipwreck him. Tormented by the troubles in his life, he resists the friendship of his new neighbour, Anna Fawcett. After all, a senior and her son with Down syndrome aren’t exactly in his league. But Anna’s fresh cinnamon buns come with a side of innocent questions that erode his faith in naturalism and collide with his assumptions about life, love and truth.

Have Robert’s foundational beliefs been the cause of his personal losses? As he searches for answers, Anna’s example of loving integrity keeps him coming back. Or maybe it’s her homemade pies. Yet to risk re-thinking his core convictions for a chance at personal peace would expose his soul and tear open an old wound.