New Winner of The Master's Wall

The original winner of The Master's Wall never contacted me, so we have a new winner. The new winner of the Master's Wall is...Kathleen Maher. Kathleen, send me your address and I will contact DeWard Publishing to send your book. Congratulations, I know you will be encouraged to read this book.

Sandi is in the hospital now and receiving chemo. Please pray for her during this time.

This blog is going to be a lot of this and that. Not much is happening except getting ready for the Holidays. I usually don't decorate before the tenth of December. That's what my mother did, and I guess I'm following in her footsteps. It seemed it was a tradition growing up to decorate on December 10.

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. Our son-in-law is overseeing the building of a Boy Scout Camp in Middle Tennessee. Some of the cabins are finished. We left Wednesday afternoon for our five hour trip to the camp. It is very secluded and beautiful. We went to church in Sparta, Tennessee on Wednesday night and visited with the preacher for a few minutes. He grew up where we attend church now. It was a good visit.

Never try to find a secluded area at night! We tried and got lost. Finally we arrived at the road leading to the camp and my wonderful son-in-law was there to guide us in. It was several miles off the road to the camp and most of the land was camp owned.

We arrived at our cabin. Before I could get out of the car, granddaughter #2 came running out and exclaimed, "This is not a cabin." It was more like a luxury hotel. Not the cabin she was used to at church camp. We had private bedrooms and private baths. There was a complete kitchen, television, laundry, and anything else you might want. It was quiet, so quiet.

Thursday, the rest of our extended family arrived. Our son and family and come with us and our daughter and granddaughter #1 was already there. That left the extended family of my son-in-law. They drifted in through the day. We had seen some of them when there had been a death in the family, but we had not seen most of them in some time. Little girls had turned into beautiful young women. It was wonderful. We visited, caught up on each other, laughed, and had a great time. I almost forgot, we ate! I'm looking forward to doing this again.

Second Chance Brides, Lydia's Charm, Love Is Grand

I don't usually lump three books together, but these are very good reading.

Second Chance Brides, by Vickie McDonough, is the second in  her TexasBoardinghouse Brides Series. If you remember from the first book, Garret and Luke Corbett, cousins of Sheriff Luke Davis, had advertised for a bride for Luke. Luke still loved his old sweetheart, who was now widowed and with a daughter.

This book begins with the wedding of Luke and Rachel and a tornado. There are two brides left in Lookout with no desire or means to return to their home. The Corbett brothers pay their rent at the hotel until they marry or gain employment to be able to pay it themselves.

They devise a way to help the girls get to know other available men. Well, let's say both of the brides marry, but it is fun reading to get to that point. Very good book.

Lydia's Charm, by Wanda E. Brunstetter is another wonderful Amish book. I have read Wanda's books since I began reading Christian Fiction, from School House Brides, to Lydia's Charm. 


Lydia is widowed with a small son and returns to live with her mother and grandfather to Charm, Ohio. (I love the way Wanda puts her books in different settings.) Lydia has no desire to remarry. Tragedy strikes Lydia and her mother after her grandfather dies.Two men are interested in her. One is a widower with four boys and the other never wants to get married, but he is drawn to Lydia.

One thing that interested me in this book was the little people. I had never thought of them being Amish, but now that I think about it, it is a good wrinkle in an Amish book. I enjoyed reading this book.

Love Is Grand, by Annalisa Daughety is about the Grand Canyon. This drew me in because I love the Grand Canyon. This is also the first book by Annalisa I had read, but I am sure there will be more.

Ainsley Davis was widowed the day she and her husband found out she was pregnant. She and her daughter hide in her parent's basement. She is so depressed that she does not want to go out or see anyone. She does however, decide to return to the Grand Canyon and her old job as a Ranger. He niece goes with her to care for the baby and hopefully forget a very bad boyfriend.

It is hard for Ainsley to get back in the grove of her old job. She has friends in the Canyon and also meets a new handsome man. Her life path takes many changes. Will she become interested in Jake McGuire, a new face with none of the memories? Or, will she draw closer to Dustin Cooper, a fellow ranger that she has know for years? This is a very good book and I didn't want it to end.

Update on Sandi Rog. She enters the hospital today for more chemo. The doctor tells her it will not be as bad as last time. She has also shaved her head since her hair was already falling out.

Happy Thanksgiving

There is so much on the television, computer and radio about being thankful. Shouldn't we be thankful each day, not just Thanksgiving?

Last night I couldn't sleep and I began to think of all the things I'm thankful for. Here goes.

I am thankful for

1, Jesus dying on the cross for MY sins. Where would I be without Him?
2, My friends, not only in the US, but in foreign countries. I am blessed daily by your love.
3. My family. I can't spend enough time with them.
4. The church that Christ established. We are so blessed to have such a loving, caring church family.
5. This beautiful earth we live in. I love every season of the year and I have no favorites. Each one is beautiful in it's own way. 
6. The life I live. Each day is a blessing for me. I wake each morning and I am thankful for it.
7. My husband. He didn't know what he was getting into when he married me. I am so blessed to have him and I am so thankful for his love.
8. My children. They bless me in ways they will never know. They are both Christians and that is a blessing in itself.
9. My grandchildren. They keep me young. I love watching them and getting hugs and kisses from them. Each one is so different.
10. One little girl. God gave me a precious soul to keep for six years. She had wisdom, love and a sunny disposition. I am so thankful that God let us have her for a little while. She taught us so much.

These are only a few of the things I'm thankful. Our family will be together tomorrow with my son-in-law's family. To have all of us together is a wonderful blessing.

I wish everyone the best Thanksgiving ever.

Thank You from Sandi Rog and The Master's Wall

I thought you would like to read this from Sandi. I talked to her last night and she sounded so good. We had a wonderful visit. Sandi, I love you.


Before my debut novel released, I asked God to be my publicist. 

You see, I was already suffering from MS and would get tired 

very easily. I knew I wouldn't be able to do as much as other 

authors in marketing my book. I said to God I'd do all I could, 

but would He please do the rest. 

Well, on November 1st, the very day my book released, I was 

diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer (T-cell Lymphoma). It was so 

aggressive, they immediately admitted me into the hospital and 

started me on their heaviest dose of chemo treatments. I can't 

even begin to describe how I felt. Sheer joy of having my first 

book published, and sheer terror of a life-threatening disease. 

When my ACFW friends heard the news, they rallied around me 

with prayers, prayer chains, cards, CDs to listen to while in the 

hospital, flowers, and promotion of my book (including filling in 

for me for the book signings I will miss!). My husband was so 

touched, he told me I was surrounded by legions of angels. And 

you know what? He was right. :-)

God heard my prayer. He knew what was going to happen the day 

my book released. And He put it on the hearts of all of you to come 

to my aid. I have chills as I'm writing this. If you just Google my 

book, THE MASTER'S WALL, you will see what God has done 

through all of you. My book goes on for pages and pages on the Google 

search engine. PAGES! Not just the first page! It's even ranked at 

number 21 of highest ratings on Amazon for historical romance. My 

book was published through a small press, so what God has done is 

close to a miracle. I have tears in my eyes as I share this with all of 

you. And all I can say is thank you. Honestly, "thank you" isn't 

enough for the gratitude I feel, for the love I feel. The first months of 

a book's release are critical, and I not only had to cancel my book 

signings, but everything else I had planned for promotion. Had I been 

well, I never would have accomplished what God through YOU has 

accomplished for me. 

Thank you for allowing yourselves to be used by our heavenly Father, 

and for giving me great pleasure during this frightening time in my life. 

This has helped to give me confidence that I am truly in God's hands.

I thank God for all of you.

Lots and lots of hugs in Him, 

Sandi Rog

P.S. If you'd like to share this "thank you note" with others, please feel 

free to do so. I can't keep up to personally thank all those who have helped.

Sandi Rog

THE MASTER'S WALL

Available for pre-order: www.deward.com

2009 Genesis Finalist

http://sandirog.blogspot.com/ 

http://thebookdoctorbd.blogspot.com/ 

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This Week

We have been gone most of the week. My husband's brother-in-law passed away suddenly Monday afternoon and we have been away for the funeral. We all view greatness differently. Bob Simerly was a great man. A devoted Christian, husband, father, grandfather and friend to many. He will be greatly missed on this earth. Our family get-to-gathers will not be the same. He had a wonderful sense of humor and kept us all laughing.

We arrived back home last night, tired and still shocked that Bob is gone. This morning, my knees are swollen and tight. I've had the ice bag on once and will do again as soon as it refreezes. This will be a lazy day for me, but I will be fine.

I would like to encourage Carol Bazzel to notify me of her address so I can send her a copy of The Master's Wall. If I do not hear by Monday, a new name will be drawn.

Today will be a day for me to rest. Laundry will wait until Monday. I'll have a review on Monday if everything goes well. Have a good week-end.

The Winner Is...

The winner of  The Master's Wall is...Drum roll please...Carol Brazle. Congratulations, Carol. If you will send your address to kac@bellsouth.net, I will see that you get a free book.

If you did not win, I encourage you to go to Amazon and order this wonderful book. It's an encouragement to read and you won't regret it.

This blog is short today. Wednesday will be a longer one. I was so honored to put these interviews on with Sandi Rog. She is such a wonderful Christian, wife and mother. My desire was to introduce her to all of you. Thank you Sandi for letting us know a little more about you.

Have a nice day, it is finally looking like fall here in Kentucky.

Last Interview with Sandi Rog

Today is the last interview with Sandi in this series. Please leave a comment and I will draw for a copy of The Master's Wall Monday morning. Leave more than one comment if you want to, each will be entered in the drawing. I'm praying my computer will cooperate today.

What inspired you to write “The Master’s Wall"?

I wanted to know what it might have been like to grow up in an era when the church was under persecution. What if you were a kid and your parents were killed because of their faith and you were forced to be a slave? That just intrigued me.

What would you like the reader to take away from this novel?

I want them to ask questions. To be so struck by some of the conversations between Alethea and David that they're enticed to search the scriptures on their own for answers. I want my story to lead them to God's word.

An emotional connection with the reader is essential in writing. What are your tips on how to do that successfully?

Boy, that's a hard one. I could go through and explain all the emotional mechanics a writer should use, but there's a fine line between being melodramatic and sincerely capturing an emotion. All I can think to say is what I wrote above. Don't tell your characters what to do, let them tell you (not that plotting is a bad thing; even plotters listen to their characters). Delve into their hearts, their minds. Find out what makes them tick. What would set them off, move them, hurt them? The answers will be different for each character. Be true to their personality. Be honest, be real. Real in the sense that the reader can relate. One thing I can't stand are pious characters who act perfectly under every circumstance. I can't relate to that at all, and I don't think most the readers can, either. In my next book, the second book to this series, my main character, David, comes in contact with the man who took his parents away. This man practically raped David's mother right in front of him, and as an adult David is expected to accept this same man as his brother in Christ. The man has repented, and he admits to his past faults, but David can't forgive him, and even tries to kill him. To me, that's real. That's honest. I love delving into that kind of controversy because I believe it's something we face every day, maybe in most cases on a smaller level, but ultimately still the same. When someone harms us, then asks for forgiveness, how easy is it to forgive?

I hope this has helped you to learn more about Sandi. I'm anxious for her next book.