So…What Now?

 Suzanne Woods Fisher

A few weeks ago, I received my second vaccine for Covid-19. Afterwards, driving home, I felt such a sense of relief, like I’d been holding my breath for a long time and could finally release it. Not only is our country finally on the downhill side of a global pandemic, but my (very large, extended) family made it through relatively unscathed. My niece, working as a physician’s assistant on the Covid floor of a NYC hospital, never caught the virus. Early in the pandemic, she begged everyone she knew to send M-95 masks to her. My youngest son, who became infected late in the pandemic, recovered swiftly.



At long last, “normal life” is starting to return. For me, and probably for most full-time writers, it’s not so very different from pandemic life—I’ve always been protective of the time needed to write well and stay on top of deadlines. A question I’m often asked is whether I’m writing more quickly, more efficiently, because of the lockdowns. My answer, “Not really,” comes with a shrug of my shoulders. A manuscript is like a hungry bear. It requires all the time it’s allowed, right up to the deadline. If it’s given more time, it just consumes more time.



Still, there is a lesson from the pandemic that will stick with me: Life can change in the blink of an eye.

That theme circles through At Lighthouse Point, the final book in the Three Sisters Island series. The storyline has nothing to do with a pandemic (who wants to read about that?!), and everything to do with main character Blaine Grayson’s acute awareness of her vulnerabilities. After an absence of two years, Blaine returns to the little island in Maine with big plans and high hopes, only to discover that any control she thought she had over her life was an illusion.



Hold on! The story doesn’t end on a bleak note. It would, if God weren’t part of the conversation. Happily, He is. For Blaine, for me, for you. The Lord God has plans for this world that’s emerging, slowly, from a global pandemic. Good plans. Ones that are full of hope, full of a bright future. Plans for each one of us. There’s a verse in the book of Isaiah that’s just as relevant today as it was in 700 BC, when the prophet penned them:

“Forget about what’s happened;

don’t keep going over old history.

Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.

It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?

There it is!” (Isaiah 43:18-19, msg)

With over one million copies sold, Suzanne Woods Fisher is a bestselling, award winning author of over 30 books, ranging from novels to children’s books to non-fiction. She is a Christy Award finalist, a Carol and Selah award winner, and a two-time finalist for ECPA Book of the Year. She writes stories that take you to places you’ve never visited—one with characters that seem like old friends. But most of all, her books give you something to think about long after you’ve finished reading it. Suzanne lives with her very big family in northern California.

Readers are invited to stop by www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.