Ask the Author: Elizabeth Musser
Answered Questions (8)
Elizabeth Musser
Thank you SO much, Anna. I'm so glad you enjoy my books. But to name my favorite book? Yikes! I can't pick one. However, Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities was very influential and inspirational as far as how I wanted to tell a story. Not comparing myself to him, of course, but I was enraptured by the twists and turns in the story. As a child, A Little Princess did the same thing--loved Sara Crewe's story! Hope that helps!
Elizabeth Musser
Hi, Beth! The paperback print is very normal standard. But since I can't know what is 'too small' for you, perhaps the kindle would be safer. I have gotten lots of reader comments that the way the book is written is easy to follow between past and present. Hope that helps! Happy Thanksgiving!
Elizabeth Musser
Thanks for asking, Deb! Well, the original title of the novel (the one I came up with) was The Pilgrim's Way. The publisher felt that might sound a bit too much like non-fiction. My marketing assistant suggested The Promised Land (of course, none of us knew that Obama would be publishing his memoir, A Promised Land, right at the same time!) We all wanted a title that fit in with the series: The Swan House, The Dwelling Place, The Promised Land. One more book to come in the series!
Elizabeth Musser
Great question, Nichole! Well, I've done a lot of strange things, but one of my favorite was when I was writing my first novel, 'Two Crosses'. I needed to see if a written message could be baked into a baguette and still be legible. Our across the street neighbors owned a boulangerie (bakery). So I took my message to them, written in ink on paper and rolled up and taped, and they baked it into a baguette. And voila! It worked! I had heard that messages were concealed this way during wars, but needed to see for myself. If you want to know what the message was and how it fits into the plot of the novel, well, you'll have to read the book!
Elizabeth Musser
Thanks so much for your questions, Carol! The short answer is that ALL of novel is based on the real work of The Oasis. As my husband and I got to visit our missionary teams in Europe and see their work, our hearts were moved. I particularly felt drawn to The Oasis, where ITeams workers have a ministry to refugees outside Vienna. The Oasis is right down the street from the Government Housing Refugee Center, where thousands of refugees come through each year.
The Oasis offers a clothing room, coffee bar, special evenings for men and women, the possibility of watching The Jesus film in the refugees’ own languages, Bible studies and much more.
And as I show in the novel, many, many short-term teams from the States have come throughout the years to help at The Oasis.
When I visited The Oasis, all of my prejudices and fears having to do with refugees changed. Here were grown men coloring pictures, playing Uno, smiling because a missionary was offering coffee and a kind word. And I heard a few of the refugees’ stories of flight, of terror and of finding Jesus.
You asked about the present status of The Oasis. It is doing great! There are more workers and volunteers there than in the past few years which definitely helps with the workload which is never-ending. Many, many refugees are hearing about the hope of Christ, of Isa al Masi, weekly at The Oasis, and many are turning to Christ. Our workers (missionaries) do an incredible job of being Jesus' hands and feet to these refugees.
The Oasis offers a clothing room, coffee bar, special evenings for men and women, the possibility of watching The Jesus film in the refugees’ own languages, Bible studies and much more.
And as I show in the novel, many, many short-term teams from the States have come throughout the years to help at The Oasis.
When I visited The Oasis, all of my prejudices and fears having to do with refugees changed. Here were grown men coloring pictures, playing Uno, smiling because a missionary was offering coffee and a kind word. And I heard a few of the refugees’ stories of flight, of terror and of finding Jesus.
You asked about the present status of The Oasis. It is doing great! There are more workers and volunteers there than in the past few years which definitely helps with the workload which is never-ending. Many, many refugees are hearing about the hope of Christ, of Isa al Masi, weekly at The Oasis, and many are turning to Christ. Our workers (missionaries) do an incredible job of being Jesus' hands and feet to these refugees.
Elizabeth Musser
Thank you, Elizabeth, for your questions! The most difficult thing in writing the book was simply, as I explained to Jeanne in another question, the fact that I wrote it piecemeal because my husband and I were traveling so much at the time I was writing the novel. And the difficulty in the research came because of our travels--I got to see the real ministry of The Oasis to refugees and seeing these displaced people and hearing some of their stories broke my heart. Their lives had been so very challenging. But hearing those stories also spurred me on to write a story about THEIR stories!
For 30+ years we've lived in France. This year, to be closer to our families, we've moved back to the States for 10 months. We live in the Chattanooga area near our son, daughter-in-law and 3 grandkids. We'll return to France in July, 2018, but I suspect that more and more we will indeed split our time between France and the States.
For 30+ years we've lived in France. This year, to be closer to our families, we've moved back to the States for 10 months. We live in the Chattanooga area near our son, daughter-in-law and 3 grandkids. We'll return to France in July, 2018, but I suspect that more and more we will indeed split our time between France and the States.
Elizabeth Musser
Thanks for asking, Jeanne! I answer about my experience and research in your other question below. As for how long it took me to write it--well, my husband and I were just beginning our pastoral work of traveling throughout Europe to visit with our missionaries. With so much travel, it was hard to carve out large periods of time to write. Soooo, it took me several years to complete the manuscript. But as I wrote, I continued to do research, so the story became stronger. I did have to do several edits, though, because it had been written in a piecemeal fashion.
Elizabeth Musser
My husband Paul and I are missionaries and our ministry is called Pastors to Workers--our job is to help workers stay healthy—mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Our mission works in 15 different countries in Europe and there are over twenty teams spread across these countries. We travel to visit these teams, and we also keep up through skype, email and other modern technology. As Paul and I got to visit our teams and see their work, our hearts were moved. I particularly felt drawn to The Oasis, where ITeams workers have a ministry to refugees outside Vienna. The Oasis is right down the street from the Government Housing Refugee Center, where thousands of refugees come through each year.
The Oasis offers a clothing room, coffee bar, special evenings for men and women, the possibility of watching The Jesus film in the refugees’ own languages, Bible studies and much more.
When I visited The Oasis, all of my prejudices and fears having to do with refugees changed. Here were grown men coloring pictures, playing Uno, smiling because a missionary was offering coffee and a kind word. And I heard a few of the refugees’ stories of flight, of terror and of finding Jesus.
When I visited The Oasis, all of my prejudices and fears having to do with refugees changed. Here were grown men coloring pictures, playing Uno, smiling because a missionary was offering coffee and a kind word. And I heard a few of the refugees’ stories of flight, of terror and of finding Jesus.
One of the things that struck me from attending The Oasis was something each of us can learn. Do what you can. Offer a smile, a sack of clothes, a warm meal, a whisper of hope, a Bible. The Lord wasn’t asking me to solve the huge worldwide dilemna of refugees. But I felt that I could do something—and that ‘something’ was to write a story that tells a few of their stories. The Long Highway Home is fiction, but it is based on many, many stories of refugees finding hope in the midst of the horror as Jesus reveals Himself to them in the most surprising ways. And I wanted to tell the story of hard-working missionaries who are giving their very lives for these people.
The Oasis offers a clothing room, coffee bar, special evenings for men and women, the possibility of watching The Jesus film in the refugees’ own languages, Bible studies and much more.
When I visited The Oasis, all of my prejudices and fears having to do with refugees changed. Here were grown men coloring pictures, playing Uno, smiling because a missionary was offering coffee and a kind word. And I heard a few of the refugees’ stories of flight, of terror and of finding Jesus.
When I visited The Oasis, all of my prejudices and fears having to do with refugees changed. Here were grown men coloring pictures, playing Uno, smiling because a missionary was offering coffee and a kind word. And I heard a few of the refugees’ stories of flight, of terror and of finding Jesus.
One of the things that struck me from attending The Oasis was something each of us can learn. Do what you can. Offer a smile, a sack of clothes, a warm meal, a whisper of hope, a Bible. The Lord wasn’t asking me to solve the huge worldwide dilemna of refugees. But I felt that I could do something—and that ‘something’ was to write a story that tells a few of their stories. The Long Highway Home is fiction, but it is based on many, many stories of refugees finding hope in the midst of the horror as Jesus reveals Himself to them in the most surprising ways. And I wanted to tell the story of hard-working missionaries who are giving their very lives for these people.
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