Below, you'll find the full transcript of today’s episode, in case you prefer to read or want to reference something we talked about.

Brooklyn, 1876
At the Irish Rose Orphan Asylum for Girls, seven young women are about to experience a Christmas that will change everything—their last one together before stepping into lives of service among strangers in the Gilded Age. United by trials and an unbreakable bond, they've pledged to remain “forever sisters.” But as the season of parting approaches, buried wounds rise to the surface.

Twin sisters Annie and Taryn remain divided by a silent rift. Fiona grapples with the ache of abandonment. Vivian hides her fear of being left behind beneath a cheerful façade. Cassie, the lover of numbers, tries to steady the group as Isabel and Gloria struggle with the agony of separation.

When Sister Rose invites the girls to prepare their hearts during Advent for a deeper calling, each young woman must face the truth of her past and the hope of her future. A final gift—tin lockets adorned with the Irish Rose—become tokens of hope, courage, and an everlasting sisterhood. This Christmas, seven orphans will discover that no matter where life leads them, love and faith will go with them.

Susan G Mathis is an international award-winning, multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands, her childhood stomping ground in upstate NY. Susan has been published more than thirty times in full-length novels, novellas, and non-fiction books. She has sixteen in her fiction line including, The Fabric of Hope: An Irish Family Legacy, Christmas Charity, Katelyn’s Choice, Devyn’s Dilemma, Sara’s Surprise, Reagan’s Reward, Colleen’s Confession, Peyton’s Promise, Rachel’s Reunion, Mary’s Moment, A Summer at Thousand Island House, Libby’s Lighthouse, Julia’s Joy, Emma’s Engagement, Madison’s Mission, and her newest, Irish Rose Orphans' Christmas: Prequel to Irish Rose Orphans: A Thousand Islands Gilded Age Series. Her book awards include four Illumination Book Awards, four American Fiction Awards, three Indie Excellence Book Awards, five Literary Titan Book Awards, two Golden Scroll Awards, a Living Now Book Award, and a Selah Award.

Before Susan jumped into the fiction world, she served as the Founding Editor of Thriving Family magazine and the former Editor/Editorial Director of twelve Focus on the Family publications. Her first two published books were nonfiction. Countdown for Couples: Preparing for the Adventure of Marriage with an Indonesian and Spanish version, and The ReMarriage Adventure: Preparing for a Life of Love and Happiness, have helped thousands of couples prepare for marriage. Susan is also the author of two picture books, Lexie’s Adventure in Kenya and Princess Madison’s Rainbow Adventure. Moreover, she is published in various book compilations including five Chicken Soup for the Soul books, Ready to Wed, Supporting Families Through Meaningful Ministry, The Christian Leadership Experience, and Spiritual Mentoring of Teens. Susan has also written several hundred published magazine and newsletter articles.

Susan is past president of American Christian Fiction Writers-CS (ACFW), former vice president of Christian Authors Network (CAN), a member of Christian Independent Publishing Association (CIPA), and a regular writer’s contest judge. For over twenty years, Susan has been a speaker at writers’ conferences, teachers’ conventions, writing groups, and other organizational gatherings. Susan makes her home in Northern Virginia and enjoys traveling around the world but returns each summer to the Thousand Islands she loves.

[00:00:00] Welcome to A Spot of Story with Danielle Grandinetti. Cozy up with your favorite beverage as we chat about sweet romance, thrilling suspense, and fascinating history. Perhaps you'll find your next read in one of these stories.

Danielle Grandinetti: On this episode of A Spot of Story, I am chatting with Susan G. Mathis about her prequel novella, Irish Rose Orphans’ Christmas [affiliate]. Prequel to the Irish Rose Orphans series, a Thousand Islands Gilded Age series that'll be releasing from Wild Heart Books. Susan, welcome.

Susan G. Mathis: Thanks for having me. It's good to be here.

Danielle Grandinetti: Susan is an international award-winning and multi-published author of stories set in the beautiful Thousand Islands, her childhood stomping grounds in upstate New York. Susan has been published [00:01:00] more than 30 times in full-length novels, novellas, and nonfiction books. She has 16 in her fiction line, including The Fabric of Hope, An Irish Family Legacy, Christmas Charity, Caitlin's Choice, and several others in that particular series. She also has five Literary Titan Book Awards, two Golden Scroll Awards. She makes her home in Northern Virginia and enjoys traveling around the world, but returns each summer to the Thousand Islands she loves. I love that. Before we get started in the actual questions I plan to ask, tell me a little bit more about why the Thousand Islands is so close to your heart.

Susan G. Mathis: Yeah, well, I grew up there. I grew up 17 miles from there. Spent my summers there, camped and stayed at cottages and different places. And I just, I love the Thousand Islands. It's beautiful. Wasn't planning on writing any kind of fiction. And then I wrote my first novel, [00:02:00] which is partially based on Wolfe Island, Canada, in the Thousand Islands. I got hooked.

Danielle Grandinetti: That's awesome. Well, this particular podcast unites us over a love of story. So I love to ask my authors who visit me on the podcast what your current read is.

Susan G. Mathis: I've got two that I'm going on right now at the moment. I'm reading Lynn Austin's Waiting for Christmas [affiliate]. It's about a little orphan boy who's trying to find a sister during the Advent season, and it's so close to what I just wrote. It's been interesting to read. But I also am reading Jen Turano's Out of the Ordinary [affiliate]. You know, she writes these quirky, clean, Gilded Age stories that make you laugh and sometimes sigh.

Danielle Grandinetti: I have that series on my to-be-read list. Diving into the Irish Rose Orphans novella, what does a day in the life of your characters look like?

Susan G. Mathis: Actually, I have seven Irish [00:03:00] orphan girls. They're all between the ages of 13 and 15. They're my main characters, and each girl is kind of going through her own story, her own heartbreak, her own spark of hope. They come from different backgrounds, but they become sisters in every way that matters. They live at the Irish Rose Orphanage, and that's run by nuns who combine their charity with strict discipline. And their daily life is very regimented. They have morning prayers, lessons, chores, but then they learn industrial and domestic training. So, several of the girls learn sewing, cooking, housekeeping. A few of them learn bookkeeping and childcare. And so these skills prepare them for domestic service in upper-class homes or to work in factories at these young ages. That's when, generally, when they went into service. And so these girls face all kinds of things: loss, uncertainty, and injustice. But they also discover that [00:04:00] love and belonging can be found in unexpected places. So it's a story of hope and it's all woven in the Advent season.

Danielle Grandinetti: Oh, I love that. So with that in mind, what was your favorite scene to write in this story and why?

Susan G. Mathis: Hands down, the Christmas pageant on Christmas Eve. I love children's Christmas pageants. And in this one, several of the girls find resolution to their troubles. We fill the chapel and the girls perform it. One of the girls, Isabel, plays Mary, and she's been struggling to feel the presence of God, and she finally does. And then Gloria—she's the youngest of the group, and she has a gorgeous singing voice, but she's super shy and super nervous—she was singing magnificently, and the patrons comment and the little girls look up to her. And so it's just, ah. [00:05:00]

Danielle Grandinetti: Well, like that alone makes you wanna read the story.

Susan G. Mathis: Oh, that's great.

Danielle Grandinetti: What unique research was required to write the story?

Susan G. Mathis: When I started researching orphanages and the reality of the Irish orphanages in New York City, that was really interesting. At the close of the decades of the 19th century, New York City was a city of contrast. It had towering mansions and teeming slums, and dazzling wealth and desperate poverty. The Irish immigrants especially collided with a harsh reality of these overcrowded tenements and low wages, and there was a lot of prejudice going on. And so for a lot of those families, tragedy came early. They were left alone in a cruel, hard world. And so out of all the struggle, orphanages grew up, and they [00:06:00] became the lifelines for these children. There was a lot of disease and malnutrition and workplace accidents—the Irish did a lot of the dangerous work—and so these kids needed a place to stay. So, they came to the orphanages and then they started learning trades, and so they became maids and governesses and kitchen staff and even a few bookkeepers. So that's how they made their life. Which is great.

Danielle Grandinetti: That's really cool. So what is some research that you wish you could have included but didn't get the chance?

Susan G. Mathis: The Irish Rose. The Irish Rose is more than a flower to the Irish, and I grew up very Irish and I knew that, but I didn't know the backstory as much and why it was so important to the Irish. [00:07:00] It's a story—the Irish Rose is a story of endurance and faith and quiet strength that blossoms in adversity. The Irish history has both heartache and heroism. And so, the rose shows that—it becomes the emblem of the Irish. It's in Irish folklore and poetry. It represents both Ireland itself and the endurance of the people. So I thought that was really cool. You know, it's a flower that has a lot of contradiction. It's beautiful and the petals are soft, but it has thorns. It's delicate yet enduring. And that's kind of how the Irish are. And that's why the Irish Rose was so cool.

Danielle Grandinetti: Oh, I love learning about the cultural history of different groups. That's really cool.

Susan G. Mathis: Yeah.

Danielle Grandinetti: So what was the inspiration behind this story?

Susan G. Mathis: Well, I grew up with about a third of my class—I went to Catholic school—[00:08:00] about a third of my class came from a Catholic Irish orphanage. And so I saw firsthand how deeply they longed for family and belonging, how there was a divide, and they kept separate and they came and they left and all those kind of things. So their stories touched my heart and I always wanted to do something with that. And so, when I began to write Irish Rose Orphans’ Christmas, I wanted to honor those kids and capture both the struggle they faced and the strength and the love that can blossom in their lives through that adversity.

Danielle Grandinetti: Hmm. I love that. So how does it lead into your new series?

Susan G. Mathis: Well, I feature each of the seven girls and what they're going through, a little bit about their backstory, and then the new series starts 10 years later where they're all in different [00:09:00] service industries, and they happen to go back to the Thousand Islands. The owners that they work for happen to have a place in the Thousand Islands. So they come there, that's where you'll meet them 10 years later in the Thousand Islands on different islands doing different jobs, and some of them connect during the summer season and help each other. They're all going through different struggles.

Danielle Grandinetti: Oh, that's gonna be a fun series.

Susan G. Mathis: I love my girls.

Danielle Grandinetti: Aw, yes. I could see why you wanted to write a prequel featuring all of them.

Susan G. Mathis: Yep, exactly.

Danielle Grandinetti: So what encouragement do you hope readers will take away from this story?

Susan G. Mathis: Well, all of my stories actually focus on healing and hope. So at the heart of this story, again, is letting God heal your heart. It's about surrendering your pain, your fears, your dreams into His hands and trusting that He can bring beauty from brokenness. Each of these girls faces loss in [00:10:00] different ways, but through their friendship and their faith and forgiveness, they discover that love truly never dies, and it just takes new forms and God's grace is the thread through every page. And that's how I write my stories.

Danielle Grandinetti: Ah, I love that. Especially with the Christmas story, just that concept of hope and the Advent message.

Susan G. Mathis: Yeah. And I take them through the hope and I talk a lot about the Advent wreath and what it means. The girls learn about it, so that's a cool part of it as well.

Danielle Grandinetti: That's awesome. Well, as we wrap up today, Susan, where can readers find you online?

Susan G. Mathis: Very easily at susangmathis.com. We have to put the G in there because a couple years ago there was another girl, Susan Mathis, that joined her husband in writing his stories, so make sure it's Susan [00:11:00] G. Mathis. And you can also find me in all the social media as well.

Danielle Grandinetti: And I will link to your website in the show notes so readers can find you easily. Susan, thank you so much for joining me today and sharing about Irish Rose Orphans’ Christmas.

Susan G. Mathis: Irish Rose Orphans’ Christmas.

Danielle Grandinetti: There we go.

Susan G. Mathis: A long title, but well.

Danielle Grandinetti: But it captures each piece of the story that you write.

Susan G. Mathis: Exactly.

Danielle Grandinetti: Well, I will look forward to reading it and then getting to hear about each of the girls' stories in future books.

Susan G. Mathis: Yes. Well, thank you.

Speaker: Thank you for listening to A Spot of Story with Danielle Grandinetti. We hope you enjoy today's conversation. Let us know by leaving a comment below and be sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Discover more information about today's book by visiting [00:12:00] A Spot of Story online at daniellegrandinetti.com/podcast. Happy reading.

Resources:

Susan G. Mathis Website

Irish Rose Orphans' Christmas [affiliate]

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Until next time, may your reading bring both light and encouragement.

Happy reading!
~ Danielle.