My 2012 Favorites By Diana Flowers!

My favorite books of 2012 in no particular order are:

Before The Scarlet Dawn by Rita Gerlach

February 2012

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Beside Two Rivers by Rita Gerlach

October 2012

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Love's Reckoning By Laura Frantz

September 2012

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A Light in the Window by Julie Lessman

November 2012

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A Love Surrendered by Julie Lessman

October 2012

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Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen

January 2012

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Veil of Pearls by MaryLu Tyndall

July 2012

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The Face of Heaven by Murray Pura

August 2012

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To Whisper Her Name by Tamera Alexander

October 2012

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Love in Three~Quarter Time by Dina Sleiman

October 2012

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Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T. Bergren

June 2012

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Walks Alone by Sandi Rog

January 2012
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A Promise to Love by Serena B. Miller

October 2012

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The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen

December 2012

Marian Baay Reviews The Master's Wall by Sandi Rog

The Master's Wall 
by Sandi Rog
(DeWard Publishing, 2010)


Reviewed by Marian Baay
 
4 stars ****


Sandi Rog writes an interesting and original story set in the first century. The two main characters are energetic young people who become close friends – one the master’s granddaughter, the other the master’s slave.


 Young David was sold as a slave at the age of 10. He’s the son of Hebrews who believed in Yahshua and because of their faith they were killed. In the first century Christians were awfully persecuted. David kept the faith of his parents and starts telling other slaves about his God and a church was planted between the master’s wall.


On David’s first day at the master’s villa he meets the master’s granddaughter. Alethea is 7 years old and just saw her father get killed by the hand of her grandfather, because her father was a Christian.


Alethea is a feisty little girl. She reminds David of his little sister. He decides then that he will protect her. A sweet friendships grows in the years that follow. They love to escape in the woods and have a secret place on top of the master’s wall.


David lives a hard life. He is trained to be a juggler and warrior. He learns that his master is a hard man. He gets undeserved whippings, because of the lies of the master’s family members. There are several opportunities for David to escape, but Alethea is the reason that he never runs away. She needs him to protect her from her selfish family.


At the age of 11 Alethea was betrothed to a man she didn’t love and didn’t desire to marry. She wants to marry David, but a marriage between a master’s granddaughter and a slave is impossible. She prays to David’s God for a way to marry David.
Is there a way then? Will God answer such a prayer?


The Master’s Wall is full of action and has plenty of twists and turns. I also learned a lot of historical facts. I didn’t like so much to read about the whippings and beatings, but those things really happened back then. It only added to the reliability. The more I read of this story the more I liked it. I’m looking forward to read more of Sandi’s books!


Bibliotherapy: death of parents, graphic whippings and beatings.


The Master's Wall is available through Amazon and other book stores.

GIVEAWAY:  Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week’s contest.  Drawing will be late Saturday.  Your choice of Sandi’s books, choice of format.

Diana Reviews Walks Alone by Sandi Rog

Walks Alone 
by Sandi Rog

(WhiteFire Publishing, 2012)

Review by Diana L. Flowers

5 stars *****

A "Captivating" Read!

Sandi Rog has crafted an unforgettable, gripping tale of a young Dutch woman who comes to America to find her dream, and ends up in the savage wilderness abode of the Cheyenne Indians! Ten year old, Anna van Stralen has left her homeland of Holland, along with her beloved widowed father, to find their dream in Colorado Territory. Upon reaching America's shore, Anna's father passes away and she is left in her abusive uncle's care for six long, miserable years. Anna, however, never loses sight of her dream, and scrimps and saves every penny until she is able to catch a train to Denver, far away from her uncle. Because of her naivete, something goes terribly awry, and Anna finds herself on the back of a horse, held captive by the fearsome Cheyenne, and headed into the savage wilderness home of the Indians.

White Eagle is disturbingly handsome, with mesmerizing blue-green eyes, and speaks English better than Anna. In exchange for Anna's freedom and safe passage to Denver City, she agrees to a platonic marriage to White Eagle, a kindhearted and gentle man, with a haunting secret. As Anna learns to live alongside of these gentle, but strange people, she learns some valuable lifelong lessons about prejudice, the color of a person's skin, and the true beauty that lies within a man. 

Finally on her way by stagecoach to Denver, her coach is robbed by highwaymen, and before she is knocked unconscious she sees a pair of beautiful sea green eyes above the mask of her attacker. Who is this tenderhearted, but deceitful and fierce man she has married, called White Eagle, and will she ever make it to the place of her and her father's dreams? Is the answer to all of her dreams right inside of her carpetbag? Will she ever be able to let go of her bitterness towards God because of the abuse she has suffered? Will White Eagle find forgiveness in his heart towards the white man, and find peace with God?

Sandi Rog has written a beautiful story of forgiveness and forbidden love--heartrending, exciting, and heartwarming--it's all in there. White Eagle is based on a true character in our country's history, who Sandi Rog gleaned alot of the Cheyenne's cultural practices from, and lends to the authenticity of the storyline. With a deep spiritual thread throughout, alot of twists and turns, and a climactic, satisfying conclusion, this one will definitely have the reader burning the midnight oil! Very nicely done, Sandi Rog!

*I was sent an Advance Reader’s Copy by the publisher, WhiteFire, and was not required to write a positive review.


Walks Alone and Sandi's other books are available through Amazon and other bookstores.

GIVEAWAY:  Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week’s contest.  Drawing will be late Saturday.  Your choice of Sandi’s books, choice of format.

Carrie Fancett Pagels Interviews Sandi Rog

Sandi Rog is the author of YAHSHUA’S BRIDGE the second book in her Iron and the Stone series. Her first book was THE MASTER’S WALL, which won the Small Publishers Book of the Year Award, and her most recent release is a western romance titled WALKS ALONE.


I met Sandi Rog through ACFW and an online writers group HisWriters--those who have either published or planned works with European characters.


Sandi, welcome to Overcoming Through Time.
Thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here!


Would you share either the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help, or the most tragic situation or circumstance one of your character’s has had to get past?
Okay, I’ve been sitting on this question for weeks! That’s why it took so long to get this back to you, Carrie. But I finally know what to share.


This last year I’ve been battling cancer. It’s been a rollercoaster ride with ups and downs, with trusting in God and doubting Him, with wanting to give up and wanting to fight. I’ve been an emotional mess.


After going through a stem cell transplant in May of 2011, then finding out in September that the cancer came back, and then going through radiation, I finally gave up.


Here’s what I mean. I had to give up two things: my children and my fight.


I have an idea of how Abraham and Hannah must have felt when they had to give up their children.


You see, my motivation to survive has been my children. Seeing their faces and knowing how much they need me made me fight that much harder. I wouldn’t let them go. But I finally had to realize that ultimately they’re not my children. They belong to God. Of course, I’ve always known that, but this time, I had to trust in that, trust in God to take care of them for me if it was His will for me to go home. So, mentally I had to literally hand each one of my children over to Him. I watched them in my mind, floating up to God and out of my hands and into God’s hands. That wasn’t easy, but once I did that, I knew they’d be fine because God would take care of them for me. After all, He loves them even more than I do!


Shortly after that (and radiation), I was exhausted and decided I was DONE. Done fighting, and just done. That’s when I prayed and told God I was finished fighting, and if He wanted me to survive on this earth, He was gonna have to do the fighting for me. When I let go of my fight against cancer, I can’t tell you how much relief I felt. The anxiety left. The fear diminished.


Everything was all in God’s hands, and what better hands could my children and my life be in?


I can’t say the fear was completely gone because I didn’t know what God wanted. Did He want to take me home, or did He want me to stay here longer? And if He wanted to take me home, would it be a slow and painful journey? So, I still had fear about those things.


Well, not long after that, I got a PET scan, which I scheduled to happen after Christmas (I didn’t want to ruin our Christmas with bad news; with all the pain I had in my back, we were sure it was covered in cancer).


I did the PET scan and two days later went in for the results. My sister came with me and my husband, and as we were in the waiting room, she shook out her hands and said her palms were sweating. She didn’t want to be there. Ha! I said, neither did I!


Anyway, I was finally called into the doctor’s office, and when the doc came in, she said they couldn’t find cancer anywhere in my body. The three of us just sat there in stunned disbelief. Before I could ask, she said the pain in my back was from a fractured rib due to the cancer and then the radiation. Then she pronounced me in remission!


Needless to say, we asked a lot of questions and left in shock. LOL I still have plans to go back to see my naturopathic doctor in AZ just to give this cancer one last major blast. Now we’re simply praying that it doesn’t come back.


So, that’s the most difficult thing I’ve had to face and overcome. Not necessarily overcoming “cancer,” but learning to let go and let God.


What is your favorite bible verse and why?
Jeremiah 17:7-8. I think it’s my favorite because it shows the power of faith. Even when our circumstances are difficult, simply trust in God—no matter what.


Disability friendliness:
My books are all available on Kindle, which has an audio capability.




What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from your books and why?
That they’re not alone in their struggles. That God is with them throughout it all, even during the lowest valley and when He feels far away. I also want readers to know they can be overcomers, to cling to the Lord no matter what happens in this life.

As you researched your books, did you learn anything that particularly touched your heart?


For Yahshua’s Bridge, it was what the Romans did to interrogate the Christians. To find information on that, and all the steps they took to “save” the Christians or to make sure they truly weren’t Christians was bitter sweet. On one hand, they tried to get the Christians to deny their faith because they didn’t want to execute them. On the other hand, the things they made them do to prove they weren’t Christians were blasphemous.


For my book Walks Alone (which is a romance about the Cheyenne Native American tribe), I learned that genocide wasn’t only practiced by Hitler, but it was done on American soil. That really shocked me when I learned about the Sandcreek Massacre.

In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?


My story is about growing up with abuse and how we allow it to affect us. We can either be angry or trust in God and let it form us into a stronger person. I was abused as a kid, and God has made me an overcomer. I want others to learn that they can do the same.


Thank you Sandi.  A year ago, I prayed that I would be putting up this interview and that God would save Sandi's life and give her an AWESOME testimony of His healing power.  This brings tears to my eyes as I prepare for this to go "live" on Sunday.  Thank you Jesus, for Sandi, and her survival!!!


Thank you for having me Carrie! So glad I could be here.


GIVEAWAY:  We are giving away one of Sandi's books at the end of the week. Winner can choose any one of Sandi Rog's books, ebook or paperback.  Leave your comment and email address.

Fund Raiser for Sandi Rog

Please stop by Colonial Quills and check out the info on the gift basket the Colonial Quills team put together for the fund raiser for Sandi Rog.  Follow the link in Roseanna White's post.  Please consider placing a bid to help Sandi and she fights cancer.  Sandi is also represented by Joyce Hart, CEO of Hartline Literary Agency.

http://colonialquills.blogspot.com