I’m always excited to feature a debut author, like I get to do this week. Please join me in welcoming Jeanette Morris. Her first novel, Her Shining Eyes, released in September. Before we hear what inspired the book, let’s find out a little more about this coming-of-age story.

Sometimes pain opens the soul …

Fourteen-year old Irina Kotova’s life as a promising violinist collapses in sync with the demise of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. After her father is killed in a bar fight, her ailing mother is hauled off to jail without explanation. Now considered an orphan, Irina is forced to live in a boarding school—the place where Russia’s throwaway kids are abandoned and forgotten. Irina is constantly tormented by Vadim Solokov, a mean-spirited hooligan who takes great pleasure in reminding her that nobody cares about them. Irina is convinced he is right, and the not-so-mysterious theft of her precious violin seals her resolve to escape the school or die trying.  Will she find a place to belong before bitterness destroys all her dreams?  

Wow, that sounds so good! What inspired you to write it, Jeanette?

The story behind Her Shining Eyes began twenty years ago. But I had no idea at the time that a novel was in my future.  All I knew was I had said yes to a plea for someone to go to Samara, Russia, for a couple of weeks and teach the Bible to some new believers there. 

Fast forward through twenty years of annual trips. (Isn’t it funny how God works!) After a 2010 writers conference workshop, the seed of a story started to sprout.  I began interviewing my friends and acquaintances in Russia about their experiences following the collapse of the USSR. And I met a very special woman.

Natalia Antoninovna Mecca was born in a Finnish prisoner of war camp during WWII.  Her mother, who had “magic hands”, kept her brood of three alive during their relocation from Saint Petersburg by sewing for the Finnish guards, who paid her for her skills. After the war ended, they were considered outcasts because they had been captured. (Thank you, Mr. Stalin.)  Since her mother had developed a lung condition in the camp, a doctor suggested they relocate to Samara, farther south on the Volga River. 

Natalia finished her education in Samara while her mother’s health continued to decline. On her deathbed, much to Natalia’s surprise, her mother made her promise to go to church—to see for herself that God was real. An atheist, Natalia reluctantly kept that promise, and it changed her life forever.  She came to Christ and went to work as the director of an orphanage. Some of her 30-year tenure was during the 1990s—the time of perestroika. She became a “beggar” – going from business to business to ask for warm clothing and funds or food to feed her fifty charges, desperate to keep them alive. 

When I met Natalia, she was retired from her work as a director, but she loved the children so much and was so passionate about sharing God’s love with them that she stayed on as a volunteer. She started a Sunday School and taught the Bible and Orthodox culture and traditions to the young orphans. I attended one of her lessons in the “church” classroom that the Lord gave her in a vision. Truly remarkable.

Sadly, Natalia was also fighting liver cancer.  She lived for less than three years after we first met. But the day at her lovely apartment, when she shared her story with me, she leaned close and said, “You must write this book. It is important.”  So I did. I had to.

My novel is not about Natalia, but it is because of her. A true hero of the faith, defender of orphans, and my eternal friend. 

What a fabulous story. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

Jeanette Morris is a freelance editor/writer who has helped over fifty aspiring authors achieve their publishing dreams. Her own writings have appeared in The Secret Place, Mustard Seed Ministries, The Fiction Lover’s Devotional, and local publications. Her Shining Eyes was birthed during her two-decades of ministry in  Russia. Jeanette and her husband, Ken, are enjoying their “second-half adventure” camping in their RV, fishing, and rooting for the Dodgers.  

Jeanette is giving away a copy of the book. US readers can choose a print copy or an ebook. International readers will get an ebook. Follow the instructions below to enter.

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Thank you so much for joining us, Jeanette! It’s been great to have you!