FOR TIME AND ETERNITY - Rosanne Croft - One Free Book

Welcome back, Rosanne. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?

I have many ideas for books and I hope I have time to write them. Writing’s not easy for me, but it’s my passion. I’ve prayed about what to write first, and my next project is a romantic adventure set in Africa.

But I won’t forget the Believe in Love characters who need their stories concluded, and I plan to write at least one more book in that series. My readership for comparative religion is a specific niche, and very loyal, which I thank them for!

Tell us a little about your family.

I live with my husband, Ray, and a small dog in Western Colorado. My mother was from this area, and it feels good to live near “my people” in the Rockies, and where I have distinct memories. Our 25 year-old daughter is in Oregon, as well as our son and his family. We also have a son and his wife and children in Wyoming. We’re able to see the Wyomingites often.

Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?

I have little time to read when I’m in the final process of writing a book. But I’m on a break now, and finally finished Eric Metaxas’ Dietrich Bonhoeffer biography. I’m also drawn to reading Russian masters again after a 40 year break . . . because I want to see what my mind thinks about them now. I just started Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov. And I love that wonderful Alyosha all over again.

What are you working on right now?

I enjoy writing romance, and I’m working on a novel about medical missionaries in Tanzania, West Africa. It will be fun to develop this book. I received constructive critiques from my group, so I’m correcting, rewriting, honing, and thinking about the new characters. It’s a process that will take a while.

What outside interests do you have?

I like to tool around the neighborhood on my old-fashioned yellow bicycle. I also enjoy a hike or walk where I can get close to nature. I can and freeze food, and experiment with recipes. (I seem to have a collection of them that grows all the time.) And I like to meet weekly with church friends and share our lives. It’s such an encouragement.

How do you choose your settings for each book?

The Utah/Italy setting for the Believe in Love series chose itself because of the comparative religions/culture theme. Italy became a counterpoint for Utah culture. The West African setting in my current novel was chosen because I always wanted to go there from reading Isak Dinesen’s Out of Africa. My way of getting there is through my imagination and research.

I love that book. If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?

I’d have to say C. S. Lewis. I have a deep gratitude for the themes and emotions in his Narnia books that revealed the reality of Jesus to me, with his love, his mystery, his great authority. An evening with C. S. Lewis would be worth pure gold to me. And someday soon, in heaven, I really will get to talk to him.

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?

What hard work it is . . . how long it takes to get the right words written . . . and how rewarding it is, not for money, but because I am able to share my innermost thoughts with many people who might be encouraged or entertained by my story.

What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?

Right now, he’s teaching me about prayer and spiritual warfare. When I set out to write books about religion, I didn’t realize how much I’d “stir the pot” in the spiritual realm. I read and apply Ephesians 6:10-18 as often as I can. My Lord Jesus is gracious to show me to pray longer, harder, and with more faith than ever before. Prayer DOES change things.

That is so true. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?

• Keep working hard. It takes years to hone the craft. Often, I walk away for a week, and come back to a specific problem in the manuscript and am able to solve it with God’s help. Writing takes thinking, and thinking takes time.
• Soften your ego to be able to take constructive criticism from a regularly meeting (or online) critique group.
• Trust God as you write and pray before you begin. Praise Him when things are going well, and never give up when they’re not. Just put it aside for a time. Maybe you can resurrect it. Write to glorify the Lord, and don’t obsess about sales. 

Tell us about the featured book.

Because this series is simple and easily read, it’s classified Young Adult, but I’ve had good comments from 12-year-old girls and 83-year-old men. I recommend reading the whole series in order. The featured book is number three in the Believe in Love series, entitled For Time and Eternity. The story is about a born-again Christian, Alex Campanaro, who moves to Utah and falls in love with a beautiful Latter-day Saint, Jennalee. Alex is an Italian-American and has family in Italy, so the setting in the second and part of the third book is Italy.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

The rich world of silk ties and luxury cars crumbles when Alex Campanaro finds himself in jail as a kidnapping victim of the Italian mafia. He determines to escape and take his cellmate with him. When a deadly earthquake strikes and frees them, a wounded Alex is able to get his friend to town for help. But there are aftershocks. At the end of his own strength, Alex must put his trust in an all-powerful God to survive.

Will he ever see Jennalee again?

Jennalee Young learns to rely on the biblical Jesus she’s grown to love when she breaks free from her LDS mission in Rome. Risking the disapproval of her parents and Church authorities, she resolves to find Alex, the Christ-follower she’s chosen to spend the rest of her life with. When she sees his bloody face in a televised report from the epicenter of an earthquake a hundred miles away, Jennalee and her brother embark on a treacherous ride to the epicenter to find him.

Will they be too late?

Please give us the first page of the book.

Forever Marked

Massimo’s hollow breathing terrified Alex. Pneumonia ravished his cellmate’s lung. He needed antibiotics! The only answer was to escape their prison. In desperation, he whittled at the jail door’s frame with a brittle knife blade he’d found in the gravel.

Their Camorra mafia captors delivered food and water via a boy named Fuglio. Glancing at the nearly empty bucket, Alex hoped the boy would show up with more water. And food. His pants were loose around his waist. They’d taken his belt and given him a piece of string to hold them up.

With the last cup of water, he bathed Massimo’s feverish head, using the blindfold he’d worn during his capture. How long ago was it? Ten days, the last two with Massimo.

He shuddered, remembering the road block and how he’d scrambled out of the Maserati before the crash flattened it. Such a beautiful car. If only he hadn’t agreed to meet the Putifaros in Abruzzo that day, the gorgeous car would now be safely parked at his uncle’s winery near Rome.

Alex remembered guns pointed at him, how they’d ordered him to drop his wallet on the ground. The mafia men came up behind him, poked guns into his back, and tied a blindfold tight around his eyes. Hours later, after a ride in the back of a van, they pushed him into a dank jail cell where he landed face-down on the gravel, tearing the knees of his thin suit pants.

The mafia probably wanted a ransom, but despite his fancy car, Uncle Lucio owed more money than he had. Already a week in solitary, Alex was sure his uncle hadn’t come up with the money. That’s why he’d talked his captors into allowing him to care for Massimo. They’d escape together.

In his old cell, he explored a dark tunnel, and discovered a cache of forgotten wine. With one taste, he concluded it came from the vineyards around the village of Taurasi, in Campania. Knowing this, he pinpointed their position to a cell in one of the ancient Lombard castles that towered above the valleys of the region. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to recall the map of Campania, so he’d know which direction to carry Massimo once they got out.

Possessing top sommelier skills was one thing, but now he wished he had the breakout ingenuity of Houdini. Massimo’s cell door just wasn’t easy to spring open. So, Alex continued to chisel off splinters of wood near the hinges of the half-rotted door. He vowed to use his waning strength to break free and find help.

How can readers find you on the Internet?

If you’re curious about my books, I’m at https://www.rosannecroft.com. I have an Author page on Amazon, and my books are sold there in both Kindle and Paperback. I will gladly send you a signed copy if you email me at rosannecroft@gmail.com to get on my mailing list. Thank you, Lena, for featuring me on your blog!

Rosanne, it’s my great pleasure to host you.

Readers, here are links to the book.

For Time And Eternity (Believe In Love) - Paperbck
For Time And Eternity (Believe In Love Book 3) - Kindle

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