Change. Good or bad!

Susan Sleeman here! Woo hoo! I just got a smart phone. I love it! It's amazing! But, I'm still not able to do the basic things I did on my old phone easily.

Sending a text, making a call, setting an alarm. All something I have to think about before doing it. On the old phone, I could simply pick it up and without much thought reply to a text or make a call. Now I have to think before acting.

It's so new that the other night when the phone signaled a new text while my hubby and I were watching TV, we looked at each other and asked, "what was that?"

This made me think about my life as a published writer. This last year has been a huge year of change for me. I saw the release of three of my babies into the world. High-Stakes Inheritance , Nipped in the Bud and Behind the Badge. And coming up this winter is my next romantic suspense release from Love Inspired, The Christmas Witness.

For six years, I wrote books and dreamed of the day I'd be published. I imagined what it would feel like. What it would look like. Of course, the reality is nothing like the dream.

No one can begin to tell you how amazing it is to see your first book cover. To see your book available for order online. To have the UPS man arrive and hand you a case of books with your name on them. To see your book on a shelf in the store. To hear someone say they liked your book and can’t wait for another one to release.

But most importantly to me, is the reason that I write—receiving an email from a reader who says the message of the book touched their heart and they are now returning to God after turning from Him.

Nothing can compare to making a difference in a person's spiritual life. To know that you have done your little part in reaching a lost person for the Lord. That your words could have influenced someone's life for all eternity. Could there be anything more important or more special?

So tell me, how has Christian fiction enriched your life? Do you have a particular book that spoke to you?

SUSAN SLEEMAN is a best-selling author of romantic suspense and mystery novels. She grew up in a small Wisconsin town where she spent her summers reading Nancy Drew and developing a love of mystery and suspense books. Today, she channels this enthusiasm into writing romantic suspense and mystery novels and hosting the popular internet website TheSuspenseZone.com.

Susan currently lives in Florida, but has had the pleasure of living in nine states. Sign up for her newsletter to learn about her latest releases and monthly contests. And if you’re on Facebook be sure to stop by Susan Sleeman Books, too, where you can find out what Susan is up to.