Interview with Rosslyn Elliott

Rosslyn, welcome to Overcoming Through Time – With God’s Help.  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 characters has had to get past?

By far the most difficult time in my life was the decade after I lost my faith at the age of 16. I really needed God’s help in a very special way, as I wasn’t even able to call for it. Instead, He found me, like the good shepherd of the parable who never gives up until he brings back the lost sheep.

I was raised by one Catholic parent who took us to church every Sunday and one agnostic parent who did not attend church. This was a very confusing way to grow up, and I did not have any idea how to answer some of the common postmodern attacks against Christianity. After taking a class in World Religions during my junior year in high school, I became convinced that all religions were the same, and therefore, none of them must be true. It was a very painful time, as my faith in Christ had given me hope even as a child and young teenager. I did not want to lose my faith, but I didn’t have any answers, so my faith shattered. 


For the next ten years, I muddled my way through college and life beyond, often in a state of despair. I could not understand why the world was so harsh and so many people suffered for no apparent reason.  Finally, I realized that there was something very wrong with my viewpoint on  life—I had made a wrong turn, somewhere, and I had to find a better way. Even though I didn’t understand what was happening, my spirit had become open through the pain I had experienced. And because of that openness, I was able to receive the gift of faith once more, ten years after I lost it. It was the greatest thing that ever happened to me, but it was quiet, and gradual.

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it. (John 1:5)

Disability friendliness:

Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio? 

I wish it were! I am praying that my novels will sell well enough to eventually generate audio versions. I know from personal experience how audio books can reach people who can’t always read a print version. And even people without physical limitations often prefer their books on audio because they want to listen while commuting.

What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from your books and why?

I want my readers to gain hope. I spent so long without hope that it is especially precious to me. The true story of the Hanby family that appears in Sweeter than Birdsong and the other Saddler’s Legacy novels is tremendously uplifting. We can all gain strength and hope from their example.

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

I was touched by the fact that in real life, Kate Winter and Ben Hanby had a beautiful marriage, and she adored him for being a good husband and father. It’s not common to see that true affection between wife and husband, especially in the Victorian period. It says a lot about both of them, because a good marriage is always the product of selflessness.

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

Sweeter than Birdsong is encouraging for anyone who is struggling in ministry, wondering whether their efforts to serve are doing any good. Ben Hanby, the hero of the novel, goes through similar doubts, and yet in the end, he accomplishes something beyond his wildest dreams. His real-life story shows that we have to persevere and keep doing what we know is good, loving others and using our gifts to serve. God will take that and use it in ways we can’t predict. Sometimes one sentence said at the right time, to the right person, can change the world. We may never know in this life the impact we have on others, but Sweeter than Birdsong shows the power of one person to make a difference.

Rosslyn Elliott's books can be purchased at CBD, Amazon, Lifeway, Barnes and Noble, and other book stores. Facebook link is www.facebook.com/rosslynelliottauthor, twitter link is twitter.com/#!/rosslynelliott. 

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

Top 10 Spring Break Reading Picks 2012

Our TOP PICK from new releases (since October): Julie Klassen's The Maid of Fairbourne Manor  (January, 2012)

Our favorites, in no particular order:

Song of  My Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer (February, 2012)

The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson  (November, 2011)

Brandilyn Collins – Gone to Ground (March, 2012)

The Rose of Winslow Street by Elizabeth Camden (January, 2012)

Ann H. Gabhart – Words Spoken True (February, 2012)

Novellas:

Laurie Alice Eakes, Pamela Griffin, Gina Welborn, and Jennifer Hudson Taylor - Highland Crossings (February, 2012)

Audio release:

Vannetta Chapman's Falling to Pieces, A Quilt Shop Mystery (October, 2011)


Our two top picks If you haven't read yet, from before October:

 Julie Lessman's series, most recent book - A Heart Revealed (September, 2011) 

Laura Frantz's The Colonel's Lady (August, 2011), or her previous books (Frontiersman's Daughter and Courting Morrow Little)

FIRST GIVEAWAY:  We are giving away a copy of The Colonel's Lady, paperback, to a lucky reader today!  
What are your favorites from October, 2011, till now?  What about from June, 2011 till now?


Second and Third GIVEAWAYS by Tired Old Mommy: By Saturday we will have ALSO given away a copy of a book by Julie Klassman (OOPS!!! I mean Julie Klassen) and one by Julie Lessman.  I am so glad these two are forgiving (and like a laugh!)  Sorry, Julie!

Mary's Lament, an Easter Poem by Teresa Mathews

Mary’s Lament 　 How can I ever forget this sight? The horror, the pain, the agony This is all too much for me. Dear God how can it be? My first born Son He has always been the *Special One* He was always perfect in every way. My beautiful son Your "Only Begotten One". This pain within my heart cries out. How will I ever bear this loss? My son, Your Only One upon a cross. I knew my son had to die. I knew this day had to come But how can I bear to lose my son?    The perfect Son of God. Can this be the only way, Does He really have to die to take our sins away? My God as before when I bore your Son I put my trust in you Now I do the same and know, I’ll somehow make it through. *Father, forgive them for they know not what they do* Those words I heard my Son say. God give me the strength to say the same today. As I watch my Son draw his last breath. I pray I’ll see Him soon He said he’d only be three days in that cold dark tomb.    The first day of the week has come at last. Here comes Mary Magdalene and on her face such joy Could she have good news about my precious boy? She says that He has Risen. Thank You God it did come true He’s now not just my son but the world’s *RISEN SAVIOUR* too! ******* © Teresa S Mathews

Guest Post by Rachel Wilder - Isolation

Writing in Isolation

by Rachel Wilder

It’s a well known fact that writing is a solitary occupation. Isolating even. But some of us are more isolated than others. Like Naomi, I’m pretty much alone in my area. She’s probably a little more isolated than I am though, geography-wise. I do have an ACFW chapter two hours away, but the price of gas makes it incredibly difficult to justify going to the meetings since I’m the only member who writes trade length historical romance.

I joined ACFW in January, 2007. It was such a thrill to be surrounded by so many other people who know what it’s like to argue with the people in your head. And lose. While the online companionship was awesome and I made friends right away, I still felt isolated because I had no other writers to talk to face-to-face. And no other writers who understood and shared my burning desire for European historical settings.

Enter Therese Stenzel in April, 2007. She announced the formation of a sub-group just for those of us who wrote about England and Europe. Sign me up! I was one of the very first members of His Writers (not to be confused with the Denver ACFW chapter of the same name). See, I have this undying obsession with Russian history. I own more non-fiction about Russia than any other subject, though Louisiana in the 1860’s is now running a close second.

Immediately I had a “home”. Every writer in the group understood my frustration with prairie settings and the West, and shared my desire to see setting no longer be a deterrent to making a sale. We all bonded immediately over our shared loves.

We’re not a big group. We don’t have a lot of “rules”. We have a lot of fun together. All online. It’s every writer’s dream for support. We laugh and cry together, brainstorm, ask stupid, crazy, ridiculous questions. Rely on each other’s expertise in a given setting or era, try to figure out the English title system and make contest entries bleed.

But above all else, we’re a band of sisters, of prayer warriors and shoulders to cry on. I’m almost on the other side of the darkest two years of my life, and I never would have survived without my HW sisters. Many of them know the ugly details of what I’ve been through and held me up as I dealt with it all.

We get together at the ACFW conference every year and it’s always a joy. We sit together in classes when we see a fellow member. We cheer over contract news. We celebrate every milestone, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant. When I finished my first novel last summer they were some of the first to know. Without their support and encouragement I would not be sitting here writing this blog post, or shopping my manuscript.

Just because you live in an area where there are no writers to fellowship with doesn’t mean you have to remain isolated. Online friendships are real. The group has grown and changed in the five years since it began. We’ve gained members and lost members. But above all, we’re a group of sisters. Naomi and I aren’t the only members geographically isolated. That’s part of what makes our group so wonderful. We get it, on so many levels, how hard it sometimes is to be a writer.


Rachel Wilder - A born and bred Southern belle and lifelong resident of Louisiana, Rachel writes historical romance set in the 18th and 19th centuries. Her love of historic fashion and needlework covers these eras.  You can visit Rachel at www.rachelwilder.net

Review by Teresa Mathews of Naomi Rawlings' Sanctuary for a Lady

Sanctuary for a Lady
By Naomi Rawlings 

(Love Inspired Historical, 2012)

Reviewed by Teresa Mathews

5 Stars *****

Naomi Rawlings takes us back in time to 1784 France to the middle of the bloody Revolution.It is a time when the people of France decide to take back their country and rid themselves of the greedy, uncaring rulers. 


During this time of unrest Michel Belanger stumbles upon the badly beaten body of a beautiful young girl, who by the looks of things is an aristocrat. Michel fights with his conscience about helping her because if caught his life would surely be ended by the   cold blade of the guillotine. Just when Michel has persuaded himself he should leave her to die, Scriptures from his childhood spoken by his favorite priest ring through his mind and it is then that he knows he cannot abandon her.

Isabelle de La Rouchecauld, only living family member of the Duke, has been fleeing for her life for almost five years. Just as she is a few miles from the freedom she has been seeking she is overtaken by a band of bloodthirsty soldiers. After the leader decides she is not worth dragging back to stand trial, he gives the word for her to be killed. Isabelle is unmercifully beaten and left for dead.

It is two long weeks before Isabelle awakens from her injuries, and she is terrified when she sees Michel. Could he be the leader of the band of soldiers that tried to kill her? She can still see his leering face in her mind and she quickly realizes Michel is not that monster. As the weeks go by Isabelle finds herself wanting to stay with this wonderful, hard working man but she knows she cannot stay and risk him being killed because of her. Michel cannot bear the thought of losing Isabelle so he persuades her to stay at least one more week. Will this be a fatal mistake?

Just when Isabelle starts to believe God really does love her and there may be a chance for her and Michel to find happiness, the very man who ordered her death is back and this time he will personally make sure she is delivered to the executioner. Has Isabelle brought death to the door of the man who saved her life and stole her heart?

Naomi Rawlings is a powerful writer, I was hooked from the very beginning, frantically turning pages and I’ll have to admit there were some twists I did not see coming. Naomi brings to us a story of love and forgiveness in the midst of insurmountable odds, and that to me made this book Vrai la perfection!

Diana Flowers' Review of Sanctuary for a Lady by Naomi Rawlings

Sanctuary for a Lady
by Naomi Rawlings
4.5 stars~


Review by Diana Flowers


Gripping Historical Fiction!


Naomi Rawlings sweeps us away to eighteenth century France; a beautiful land with lush forests, streams, and rolling green hills, but it is only an illusion, for the bloody French Revolution has caused an oppressive wave of darkness to encompass the land. No one is safe during this Reign of Terror, where masses were executed, and portable guillotines were often carried from village to village.


After her family is executed, the duke's daughter, Isabelle, flees for her life, hoping to make it to England to ensure her safety, for surely an aristocrat stands no chance of survival in France. While she is hiding in the forest, French soldiers happen upon her and beat her unmercifully, leaving her for dead. Michel Belanger and his mother nurse the young woman back to health on their farm, knowing not her identity, but only that she is an aristocrat, and the penalty for harboring her would surely mean the guillotine. Michel is worried about losing much more than his life, for he is also losing his heart to the beautiful Isabelle.


Will Isabelle make it to England and to safety?...and what horrifying discovery does she make concerning Michel's family...a secret that turns her world upside down? And will Michel lose his feelings for Isabelle when he learns of her identity?


Naomi Rawlings has written a heartrending, romantic, gripping tale that caused my heart to literally race erratically at the climactic conclusion! Written with historical accuracy and detail, Naomi's book is sure to draw the reader in and not let go until the very end! I'm amazed that this is Ms. Rawlings debut novel and can't wait to see what she has in store for us in the future! Fine writing indeed!

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

Interview with Naomi Rawlings Debut Author

Naomi Rawlings is the author of Sanctuary for a Lady, her debut release. This book just released through Love Inspired Historical.

I met Naomi through HisWriters, those who have either published or planned works with European characters.  I got to meet her at the ACFW Conference last year.  

Naomi, welcome to Overcoming Through Time - With God's Help.  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?

I live in northern Michigan, not the slightly northern part of the state or the northern part of the lower peninsula. No. I live way up north on the coast of Lake Superior. It’s beautiful here, with towering pine trees and rocks, clear lakes and rivers, and every kind of northern wildlife imaginable, from black bears to wolves to bald eagles.

But it’s also very isolated. My husband pastors a small church up here, and my children are the only kids in the entire church. There is little industry, and almost no jobs are available. Most of the community is older. A lot of people move up here after retirement because property is extremely cheap, but it’s a very lonely lifestyle. 


Our county is over 100 square miles, yet has only 6,000 inhabitants.

Sometimes I get lonely. I have Christian friends with children who are grown and out of the house, and other friends with children the ages of my own children. But God hasn’t given me any close friends who are facing the same stage of life that I’m facing right now.  So I’m extremely grateful for my online friends. I think I would go a little crazy if I didn’t have the internet to connect me to the rest of the world.


(CFP: I grew up in the upper peninsula of Michigan, east of where Naomi now lives. It is beautiful but sparsely populated.)

What is your favorite bible verse and why?

1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

I love this verse because it reminds me that God made me what I am, and just the way he wanted me to be. “But by the grace of God, I am what I am.” That single phrase gives me so much confidence as I face life. I never have to doubt if God made me the right way or if I’m living in the wrong place or anything of the sort. God had made me and given me his grace; that’s all I need to face life.

Disability friendliness:

The digital version of the book can be read aloud using kindle’s text to speech feature. Not all books available on kindle have text-to-speech enabled, but all books from my publisher do come with those capabilities. If you’re interested in text-to-speech, look carefully before you purchase an ereader. Not all kindle versions have text-to-speech, the most basic models don’t have it and neither does the kindle Fire. I’m not sure about the nook or iPad either.

Though I don’t have difficulty reading regular print books, I find myself using the text-to-speech on my kindle constantly. As a busy mom with two little boys, I don’t have a lot of reading time, but I listen to books while I’m doing dishes, laundry, and the like.

My publisher produces category romances and offers very few large print editions. Only the most popular authors have their books available in large print, and since this is my first ever book, I’m hardly a popular enough author for that privilege. Maybe one day, though!

What has been the most important thing you hope your readers will get from reading your book and why?

I hope readers will come away with an inspiring and challenging comprehension of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the theme of my book. Though I have my main character, Isabelle, face many hardships as she struggles to survive the French Revolution, learning to forgive those who wronged her is the biggest challenge she faces. I pray readers will be inspired by her actions at the end of the story, but I’ll say no more lest I give the book away!

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

I learned several things, but one of the bigger ones was how badly the French Aristocracy oppressed the poor. The aristocracy had money falling out their ears and simply kept taxing the peasant class without ever paying those same taxes themselves. People tend to view the French Revolution as bloody and chaotic, and it was. What people don’t realize is that France before the Revolution was equally as bloody and terribly oppressive, but few people paid attention to the plight of the peasant class.

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

As I said earlier, I really hope my book will encourage people to think about biblical forgiveness and what it entails. While I wouldn’t say my book could be used as reference material for teaching on forgiveness, I do think the story might be a blessing to someone struggling with that issue in his or her personal life.  Christ asked God to forgive the soldiers when He was hanging on the cross. Most Christians are familiar with that story, but I think few realize how big of a sacrifice saying those words really was for Christ.

Thank you, Naomi, for agreeing to answer these questions.  Have a blessed day and keep on writing!!

Thank you so much for having me. I enjoyed being here!


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