Robin Jones Gunn is the bestselling and award-winning author of more than 100 books, including Tea with Elephants, the Sisterchicks Series, and the Christy Miller Series for teen girls. Her books have sold more than 6 million copies worldwide. Robin and her husband have two grown children and four grandchildren and live in southern California, where she co-hosts the Women Worth Knowing podcast.
In this interview, Robin talks with us about her latest book, Tea with Elephants, the first book in her new Suitcase Sisters Series.
FF: Can you please provide a brief summary of your novel, Tea with Elephants?
Two best friends are gifted with a safari travel package and take off on an unexpected adventure to Africa. They both arrive with heavy hearts over the significant life issues they’ve left behind. Their friendship has been a safe haven for twenty years, and now that they are out of their routines, they find it easier to share honestly with each other.
The remarkable people, stunning surroundings, and unexpected travel twists draw both of them closer to the One who made elephants and giraffes and also made them. Even with more challenges that come their way while they’re in Kenya, these two Suitcase Sisters are eager to return home and step into the life that God has been preparing for them all along.
FF: In Tea with Elephants, you tackle some intense life issues such as loss and doubts about staying married. How do you see this story helping a reader who is going through the same challenges?
In the same way that Jesus used stories to help people see the truths in their own lives, I’ve seen readers make significant, life-changing decisions after reading about a fictional character who is going through the same issue. I think the close friendship and the vulnerability between the characters is what draws readers into a scenario that mirrors what they’re experiencing, and they want to see how the characters resolve their issues. When readers see themselves in one of the characters and read how that character addresses the challenge, they are being subtly mentored on how to address the same challenge in their own lives.
FF: You also address such topics as the importance of friendship and vulnerability, resting in God’s provision, and marveling at His creation. Can you unpack some of these themes?
I see these themes as blending together beautifully. Here’s why. I have heard from many women who are approaching or have entered midlife that it is difficult to invest time into their friendships the way they did during their teens and twenties. Without ongoing conversations, it’s easy to pull back and not be as willing to let yourself be known. That’s why strong friendships are important. They invite ongoing vulnerability.
We are told to bear each other’s burdens, and true friends know how to do that. They come alongside each other during those heavy times and speak truth. When a friendship has grown over time, women remind each other of times when God provided in the past, and this gives them words of hope for what God will do next for their friend.
Marveling at God’s creation happens when those burdens are lifted. In essence, this is how two friends can worship together and experience the promise that when two or more are gathered in His name, He’s right there with them. This pattern blends beautifully and is life-giving because the alternative is to remain in isolation and miss the benefits and blessings of doing life together with close friends. We all saw what a toll that took on us during the pandemic.
FF: One of the major points you tackle in Tea with Elephants is how to move forward in faith even when the future is uncertain. Have you experienced similar situations in your own life?
Yes. There have been many times when life seemed to come to a halt and the future was a big cloud of unknowns. A few years ago my husband and I hit a wall with some significant health issues he was having. We lived on Maui for ten years, but it was clear that we couldn’t stay there if he was going to get the health care he needed. We moved to California, and it all happened very quickly. In less than a month, we went from “We need to move” to “We’re here.” We sold almost everything, including our cars, shipped two small crates, and got off the plane in California with only two suitcases each.
The priority was getting my husband’s medical needs addressed. After that, I went on the hunt for furniture, a car, and household basics like silverware, and we started all over in a two-bedroom apartment. My husband is stable now and doing much better. We saw the provision of the Lord in many ways, but I know how painful it is to have to stop your familiar life when you don’t want to and then bravely start all over.
Whenever I’m willing to be vulnerable and share about how difficult this move was, I find many other women who tear up and tell me about their experience with moving forward in faith when their future looked like it was falling off a cliff.
FF: Many novelists hear that their books are entertaining, inspiring, or insightful. Your readers continually tell you that your novels draw them closer to God. Why is that?
Years ago, Bodie Thoene told me that in order for my books to touch a heart, they had to come from my heart. I learned what she meant when readers began telling me the parts of my books that touched them the most. Those were always the parts where I drew from my own experiences and let the characters struggle with doubts, fears, or deep hurts. My life rhythm has become learning how to turn to the Lord and not let fear make decisions for me. When I trust and don’t doubt, when I forgive and don’t harbor anger, I’m set free. My heart is free. And it’s from that place of trusting God that I can take the characters on an authentic journey. That’s when the readers connect with the story and have a look at what’s going on in their own hearts. Many have written to tell me how they surrendered to the Lord something they were struggling with while reading because they, too, wanted their heart to be free.
FF: Why have you chosen to write novels about women who travel?
I’ve had the privilege of traveling to many beautiful places around the world. I love drawing from those experiences in the Suitcase Sisters books. Some of my favorites places are Africa, Brazil, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Latvia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, the Canary Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Mexico, as well as forty-seven of the fifty states.
What I’ve found is that women are the same everywhere. Laughter is a language we all understand. In each place, I’ve seen the fingerprints of God in a specific way. I’ve traveled with women who had previously seen only their home state. Watching them discover the wide world is like watching a flower open to the sun. It’s amazing how your preconceived ideas can be instantly altered and how your prejudices change.
A quotation sometimes attributed to St. Augustine says, “The world is a book. Those who do not travel read only one page.” What better way to enliven the mind of a reader who knows all about books than to tell a story of women who travel?
FF: What happens on a journey that doesn’t take place at home?
On every trip I’ve taken, I’ve had to trust God more than when I’m at home surrounded by all that is familiar. I have to rely on other people and learn how to adapt to the culture and the provisions available. Those who travel see and experience far more than they do when they stay within the boundaries of their usual routine. There is great freedom in being open to new experiences and learning how to pray about everything because circumstances often shift while traveling. There is also great development of character when we take a risk.
I love how Eugene Peterson paraphrased Romans 8:14 in the Message: “God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!”
FF: In Tea with Elephants, you introduce readers to Fern Espinoza and Lily Graden. How did these friends originally meet, and what were their teenage aspirations?
As teens, Fern and Lily served during the summer at a camp ministry in Costa Rica. Both of them came on their own to the camp because they wanted to experience something outside their small lives. Their friendship was firmly established, and they kept in touch for the next twenty years even though they lived in different states. Their aspirations for their futures were fueled by the closeness they felt to God under the Costa Rican stars and around the campfire. They saw campers coming to know Jesus, and that motivated them to do more mission trips. They returned home from their life-altering experience thinking their next adventure would be to Africa. But it was not to be. That is, until twenty years later.
FF: Fern and Lily are gifted a trip of a lifetime. What event led to this trip?
Lily’s father-in-law gives a safari tour package to her because he’s already paid for it but his wife doesn’t want to go. Lily’s husband encourages her to go with Fern, since it was a longtime dream for them. The surprise is that they have only a few days to get everything in place so they can get on a plane and go discover the wonders of Kenya.
FF: When they arrive in Africa, Fern and Lily are quickly immersed in the beauty of the Kenyan countryside and its people. But they also bring along emotional baggage. Can you offer some insights on what Fern and Lily are dealing with in their lives?
Without giving it away, I’ll say that one of them has a life-altering experience right before they leave on the trip. The other one has been slowly drifting away from her husband and isn’t sure what’s in store for their future.
FF: What do you hope readers will feel after reading Tea with Elephants?
I would love for them to feel “seen” when they find that they can closely relate to one of the characters. I also want them to feel that whatever they are going through, it can be untangled if they turn to the Lord, trusting that He loves them and is working everything out in their lives. For the many women who had a passion for the Lord during their teen years and even went on outreach trips, I want them to see the hand of God in their lives and feel like they are falling in love with Jesus all over again. I want them to believe that He has good purposes for their lives that He will yet accomplish.
FF: Tea with Elephants is set in Kenya. Why did you choose this setting?
I’ve been to Kenya twice and loved everything about those two trips. On the second visit I went on an amazing safari with some of my friends who are part of the global publishing world. My Kenyan publisher friend set everything up for us. One of the women is an author from the Philippines and spent years at the helm of a publishing house. Another Suitcase Sister is an editor and writing coach. We share close friendships, and the chance to go on a safari together was an unforgettable experience that bonded us in a special way. I wanted Fern and Lily to feel that gift of deeper friendship too.
When I was in Kenya, I learned the African saying “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I have found that to be true as a result of traveling with friends and deepening our friendships. I hope readers will be inspired to take time to develop their friendships and not try to always be quick and go on their own. Going far together is a gift that can be nurtured now.
FF: Tea with Elephants is the first book in your Suitcase Sisters Series. How is this series different from your Sisterchicks Series?
If you can believe it, the first Sisterchicks book was released twenty years ago! The way women travel since then has changed. The world is more accessible, and the ways that women connect with each other are also different. I think it’s even more important now that women step away from virtually seeing people and only viewing images of the world and really see each other and the world. That’s the first way that this new series is different.
Another way that Suitcase Sisters varies is that the women are a little younger than the characters in the Sisterchicks Series. This puts them in a different life season and facing different issues than women who are older. I did this because I have so many readers who grew up reading the Christy Miller books and they are now in the same life season as the Suitcase Sisters. In a way, the teen books and onward became mentoring stories, and now that those loyal readers are stepping into midlife, they keep asking for stories about women who are going through the things they’re facing in the current world.
The similarities between the two series remain, though. They are both contemporary women’s fiction that highlight faith, friendship, and travel.
FF: How many books will be part of the Suitcase Sisters Series, and what is the connecting element for all of them?
Right now, the plans are for three books. We’ve worked out the locations for the next two books, and I’m excited to take readers along for the ride! As always, if a series hits a sweet spot and picks up a lovely gathering of readers, there could certainly be more books.
Tea with Elephants
Suitcase Sisters Series #1
Robin Jones Gunn
Revell
Genres: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Release Date: October 15, 2024
ISBN-10: 0800744829
ISBN-13: 978-0800744823
Book Summary:
Ever since Fern Espinoza and Lily Graden met as teenagers volunteering at a conference center in Costa Rica twenty years ago, they have shared a close friendship, even though they live in different states. They can hardly believe it when their teen dream of traveling to Africa together becomes a reality. It’s the trip of a lifetime–but life sure isn’t what they thought it would be back when they were young.
Along with their suitcases, both women bring emotional baggage that weighs heavily on them. The two best friends slowly open up to each other about the challenges waiting for them back home. Soon they discover that the people they meet and the places they experience have the power to change their hearts–but only if they listen to the gentle lessons God is teaching them in this land of emerald tea fields, graceful giraffes, and rambunctious elephants.
Get ready for an unforgettable adventure on a safari of the heart in this vulnerable exploration of how to move forward in faith even when the future is uncertain.
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