Walks Alone by Sandi Rog - Must Read

by Dina Sleiman

Last year as I composed my favorite book list, I so wanted to include Walks Alone by Sandi Rog. One tiny problem. It hadn't been released yet. As a WhiteFire editor, I enjoyed an advanced preview. But now it's available for ebooks, and this is definitely one you'll want to get your hands on A.S.A.P. From the gorgeous cover, to the hot Indian hero, to the thrilling romantic storyline, to the emotional and spiritual depth, this book has it all. And since I technically served on the editorial staff, I'm going to let someone else gush about it for me. But first let me just say that when I finished this novel the very rare thought, "I wish I wrote that," went through my head. Which pretty much puts Sandi up there with Francine Rivers, Lisa Samson, and Roseanna White in my book. And I will also tell you that when I got to the scene where Anna was bathing near the waterfall while White Eagle stood by ready to capture her, I was 100% sold on this book.

Okay, enough. Enjoy!

A Cheyenne warrior bent on vengeance.

A pioneer woman bent on fulfilling a dream.

Until their paths collide.

After fleeing her abusive uncle, Anna is determined to reach the city of her dreams. But White Eagle and his fierce warriors take her prisoner. Anna attempts a harrowing escape, but her savage captor is determined to have her at all costs and forces her to be his wife. Has God forgotten her, or does He have plans of His own?

A man with a boot in one world and a moccasin in the other, White Eagle is disillusioned with his faith after a minister leads a massacre on his peaceful tribe. Where is his God? He’s definitely not with the white men who are slaughtering his people. But White Eagle also can’t give in to the idolatry practiced by his fellow tribesmen. Only the Truth can set him free.

And it’s found in beautiful Anna’s carpetbag.

Review by Diana Flowers: (you can see more of Diana's reviews at Overcoming Through Time)

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 but fierce man as well, with a terrible, 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 man's skin, and the true beauty that lies within a person.

Who is this tenderhearted, but deceitful, 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 a lot of the Cheyenne's cultural practices from, and lends to the authenticity of the storyline. With a deep spiritual thread throughout, a lot 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!

And here's where you can get Walks Alone:

Kindle

Nook

Various Ebook Formats at Ebookit

Pre-order print version

Also, as some of you may know, Sandi has spent the last year fighting (and praise the Lord winning) a rough battle with cancer. She is still tired and recovering. So let's all help her by supporting and spreading the word about this amazing book. Learn more about Sandi at her blog: http://sandirog.blogspot.com/  And check out Sandi's other awesome books set in the Roman empire as well: The Master's Wall and Yahshua's Bridge.

Do you like Indian heroes or immigrant heroines? How about a Colorado setting? If you have any thoughts or questions for me or Sandi about the book, please leave us a comment.                                                                            

People-based faith or God-based faith?

We see it in Christian fiction all the time: the hero or heroine whose faith is tied up in whether or not another character responds appropriately (according to our desire) to God. We see it in our fiction because it resonates with readers (and editors) as a familiar situation, faith that is based on the response (or lack thereof) to God by a friend, relative, or loved one.

It's kind of an unspoken challenge. If you believe "good enough" then your loved ones, those you minister to, ought to respond, right? If they don't, is it because we didn't love them enough? Did we fail in our representation of God? Are we lousy ambassadors? No.

What we seem to have forgotten is that scary topic called "free will."


Think about it: the Apostle Paul repeatedly talked about his passion for Israel to be saved, converted to belief in Christ. Few would dare to question Paul's faith, or his prayer life, or his holiness, but Paul did not see the fruition of his passion in his lifetime. His commitment, dedication, and perseverance to Christ are not called into question when we look at the nation he was so hungry to reach with the Gospel. But we often call our own faith into question when our spouses, children, relatives, co-workers, church family, or neighbors don't respond to our invitations, sermons, and exhortations.

I have a dear friend who is well aware of my faith in Christ. She has read all the "Left Behind" books and experienced a number of life-or-death situations. But has she placed her trust in Christ? Not that I'm aware of. You see, it's not a matter of her simply "having heard," it's a matter of her choosing to believe in Jesus as her personal savior. That is something I can't do for her. I can't coerce, manipulate, intimidate, or otherwise provoke her into believing. What does that mean? It means my personal relationship with God is outside whether said individual responds to the message of Christ.

Yet how many of us are basing, or at least weighing, the value of our personal faith in God on someone else's response to God or experience with Him?

Are we taking Him at His word in light of so-and-so's response/experience, or are we simply taking Him at His word personally and unconditionally? Are you willing to continue to love someone you've witnessed to who has (to your knowledge) rejected the Gospel? Are you willing to continue to display God's love to someone who has not, for all intents and purposes, responded the way you expected him/her to? Has your personal faith been affected by the response or reaction of those you love? How have you dealt with it?

About the Author: Niki Turner writes fiction, blog posts, articles in the local newspaper, grocery lists, and Facebook status updates. She can be found at her own blog, In Truer Ink, in addition to posting here. She was a 2009 finalist in the Faith, Hope, and Love "Touched by Love" contest.

Who Reads Christian Fiction?

by Jennifer AlLee

There's an ongoing discussion amongst those who write Christian Fiction (that is, fiction written with a a Christian world view). Who exactly are we writing for? Who is our audience?

 
Some authors are firmly in the "I'm writing to spread the Gospel" camp. These books usually have a great deal of overtly Christian content, such as Bible passages, discussions about faith, and conversion scenes. These authors believe that their books need to speak to the lost. They want to spread the news of salvation through Jesus Christ with a hurting, broken world.

Other authors take a more subtle approach. They want their books to appeal to a wide audience. They aren't denying their faith, but they aren't waving it like a banner, either. These authors may also wish to push the envelope, showing the grittier side of life and dealing with hard subjects that make many Christians cringe. These authors want to touch people where they are, and generally believe that actions speak louder than words.

So which group of authors have it right? Both, I think. And neither.

Frankly, this is a tightrope we all walk. When it comes right down to it, most of the people who read Christian fiction are already Christian. If you shop at a brick and mortar bookstore, the Christian fiction resides in the religion section. The chances of a non-Christian stumbling across a Christian novel are slim. Of course, people lend books to their friends. And some people read Christian romances because they prefer a sweet romance rather than a steamy one. But in general, a Christian novel will end up in the hands of a Christian reader.

Ironically, the books with the least overt faith message are the ones that are most likely to get in the hands of non-Christians. It reminds me of the song They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love. Sometimes, people learn more by the way they see us live our lives than when we tell them how they should be living theirs. The same goes for books... the admonishment to show, not tell.

Don't get me wrong. I think an author has to follow his or her gut. If the book needs a conversion scene, then, by golly, it should have one. The worst thing that could happen is that we end up preaching to the choir. And sometimes, the choir could stand to hear a little preaching.

What do you think? Where do you buy your books? What kind of approach do you prefer in a Christian novel?

JENNIFER ALLEE believes the most important thing a woman can do is find her identity in God – a theme that carries throughout her novels. A professional writer for over twenty years, she's done extensive freelance work for Concordia Publishing House, including skits, Bible activity pages, and over 100 contributions to their popular My Devotions series. Her first novel, The Love of His Brother, was released by Five Star Publishers in November 2007. Her latest novel, The Pastor’s Wife, was released by Abingdon Press in February 2010. Her next two novels are The Mother Road (April 2012) and A Wild Goose Chase Christmas (November 2012), both from Abingdon Press. She's a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, Christian Authors Network, and the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance.

Visit Jennifer's website at http://jenniferalleesite.blogspot.com/

West Edmonton Mall

by Anita Mae Draper

Last weekend, the family and I left our farm at 4 am and drove west on the TransCanada Hwy#1 471 miles (758 km) to Calgary, Alberta. Near Swift Current, we encountered slippery roads - emphasized when a pickup pulling a trailer spun off the highway in front of us. As you can see in this photo, the median between the divided highway is quite wide and shallow, so the driver didn't flip or roll.

We arrived in Calgary by mid-afternoon and went straight to Rocky Mountain Bible College to watch our daughter practice her 2 hr choir session. By 7 pm, we were back on the road - our daughter, Jessie included - and headed another 183 miles (295 km) north to Edmonton, the capital of Alberta. Again, halfway there we encountered roads slippery with slush while sleet slowed the heavy traffic, and finally arrived at 10 pm. Even with the 2 bouts of icky weather, we'd been blessed to arrive safely. It was the end of Jan on the prairies, after all.

Friday morning saw the Nelson and Nick head out to the BreakForth Praise and Music Conference which was a short 15 min walk from our hotel, along the park with a view of the river valley.

360 deg photo taken with iPhone. Our hotel is tallest bldg in middle left.

I wanted to visit the History Museum, but Jessie and JJ wanted to check out West Edmonton Mall (WEM). Since this was Jessie's only day to sightsee, I gave in and drove the two teens to North America's largest shopping mall. I mean really, what teen wants to see a stuffy history museum when they can shop in the 5th largest mall in the world. I've been calling it the world's largest mall without realizing it lost that distinction in 2004.

To give you an idea of the size, here's the Wikipedia entry:  West Edmonton Mall covers a gross area of about 570,000 m2 (well over 6 million sq ft). There are over 800 stores and services and parking for more than 20,000 vehicles. More than 23,000 people are employed at the property. The mall receives 28.2 million visitors per year; it also attracts between 60,000 and 150,000 shoppers daily, depending on the day and season. The mall was valued at C$926 million in January 2007.

And then this from the CBC 1985 archives: With eight major department stores, seven amusement parks, a chapel, a bingo hall and a NHL-sized hockey rink, occasionally used by the Edmonton Oilers, the West Edmonton Mall covers the equivalent of 104 football fields.

Mark Messier & Wayne Gretzy celebrate 1 of 4 Stanley Cup Oiler wins

Suffice to say, although I was looking forward to the exercise, I was not looking forward to sharing the experience with 59,999 other shoppers. I needn't have worried. The mall is so spread out, I didn't feel pressed in by people at all. Well, not until 4 pm when school ended and suddenly the mall teemed with kids! But I'm getting ahead of myself...

I hadn't been back to WEM since the early 80's when a young Wayne Gretzky played for the Edmonton Oilers and was rumored to be one of the backers for the ambitious project. Back then, WEM ran 7 submarines and for a fee - $8 a person if I remember - you could go down into a sub for a ride around the lagoon and see all the sea creatures - everything from blue fish to nurse sharks. It was quite exciting. I was also looking forward to seeing the Aviary.




The 8 person sub looks small beside the full-size Santa Maria.

 Things changed since my last visit 25 yrs ago. The aviary has been turned into a huge oval kiosk. And only 2 subs remain, neither open to the public. When I look at that little sub now, I can't imagine 8 people used to fit in them. But it sure was fun.

One of the new attractions JJ was quite taken with was RopeQuest. While Jessie went shopping, JJ was challenged by 4 levels of rope rigging. He enjoyed it so much, he wanted to return each day. We didn't as we had other places to see.



JJ walking across the lower level of challenges at RopeQuest at WEM

 We peeked into the 5-football field-size waterpark to see the huge wave simulating the ocean, but it wasn't on the agenda for this trip. Neither was the mini-putt although it was very tempting.



Putt 'n' Glow Mini-putt course

  As mentioned before, we loved the salt-water lagoon and spent most of our time there.

Behind the full-size Santa Maria

This place is huge and rises the full 3 floors of the mall.


Looking toward the Santa Maria. Jessie and JJ are on the bridge.


The sea lion show was great fun. I have some video I'll add if there's interest.

Because we paid to watch the show at Sea Lion's Rock, we were able to go down into the Sea Life Caverns where they had small pools where you could touch skates (rays) and sea anemones.


Jessie allowing a starfish to investigate her palm with sea anemones on the bottom.

Back in the '80s, Glaxayland consisted of a dozen neat rides like the old-fashioned swings that spun you horizontal when it got going, a carousel, and a swinging galleon. My favourite was the balloon ride.



One of the original Galaxyland (Fantasyland) rides.

Everything wasn't so 'puffy' and bright back then, either. And behind/beside the balloon ride was the roller coaster. Now, a new area almost 4 times the size of this old one has been added on and the roller coasters from over there zip over the people on this side...



Tracks from rollercoasters zip from new to old side at Galaxyland.



Instead of 1 rollercoaster, there are now 5 - at least. I was amazed at the engineering expertise that went into fitting so many rides into this area.

I'll close with a sight that awed me from the first moment I saw it 25 yrs ago. I had the same reaction when I saw it again last week... a full size skating rink in the middle of one arm of the mall. This is where Gretzy and the Oilers used to practice and it always grew huge crowds. Today it's used by different organizations, but there's still public skating on the schedule and skates are available for rent.

JJ seeing the Ice Palace for the first time.

So, have you ever been to West Edmonton Mall? What about another mall the same Canadian owners have built... the Mall of America in Minnesota?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Anita Mae Draper is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada with her hubby of 30 plus years and 2 of their 4 kids. She writes stories set on the prairies of Saskatchewan, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Anita Mae has semi-finaled in the Historical Romance category of the ACFW's 2011 Genesis contest and finaled in the Inspirational category of the 2011 Daphne du Maurier, the 2011 Fool for Love, the 2011 Duel on the Delta and 2009 Linda Howard Award of Excellence contests. You can find her at http://www.anitamaedraper.com