About the Book

Book:  Vestige of Hope

Author: Sara Blackard

Genre:  Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: December, 2019

Does his future lie in the past?

Thrown out of his element into a time not his own, he must overcome his doubts to save the life he never knew he wanted.

Soldier, Hunter Bennet, is always in control…

…control of his missions.

…control of his life.

…control of his emotions.

Until he hesitates on an important mission, leaving a child orphaned. Chased by the demons of failure, he finds himself thrown back in time. Why has God called him here?

Viola Thomas’s idyllic life in the new state of Colorado is shattered when her father fails to return from his winter trapping trip in the Rocky Mountains and a man tumbles into her life from the future. Threats from an unwanted suitor who has pestered her for years jeopardize all she holds dear. Now she must trust a man from a world far from her own.

Hunter must reach through the shadows of doubt to save his future but in doing so will he fail in the most important mission of all?

Click here for your copy!

MY REVIEW

The story grabbed my attention right away because it was a book where two time periods are present. I love these stories because the two time periods have a distinctive reason to collide. My interest was piqued when Hunter finds himself back in 1877. I could sense his disorientation as he awakes in a strange place with two women dressed a bit different. It was funny when they didn’t know how to take off his backpack or what a cell phone was. The faith element was introduced early in the story. Why was Hunter sent back in time to this specific place? 

Viola was quick to want to help Hunter but I know she questioned how he traveled there. Her wise sister explains how God does miracles and places people in places for His purpose. I loved how the author threaded the many times Jesus performed things that were hard to understand but definitely for a reason. I loved when Viola tells her sister Beatrice, “I don’t want you to get so enamored with the future that you become disconnected with the present.” I wonder how many times I have focused on the future and forgot about what was right in front of me? 

Beatrice’s steadfast faith that she knew God had brought Hunter to them was very encouraging. It reminds me how we need to have faith even though we may not know the outcome. I really liked Beatrice and her no none sense way about her. She liked to get things done and had no time for idle chatter. It was interesting to see how quickly Hunter and Viola took to each other. There are a few moments in the story that may not be suitable for pre teens to read as the author talks about a relationship between a man and woman. The story does take a look at what God has planned  for us and how we need to learn to trust Him. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.  

About the Author

I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember being able to hold a pencil. In elementary school, I had journals full of short stories and poetry. While it’s always been a passion of mine, I didn’t think I could write for a living until I told my kids their only limit is the limit they put upon themselves. With that little piece of encouragement, I had to obviously show them I was right. Now I’m enjoying the adventure of writing and diving into the publishing world. I love to write romantic stories full of adventure and weaved with God’s message of love.

Between school and my launch into authorship, I’ve been busy having and homeschooling five children, moving to the wilderness of Tok, Alaska, serving in different ministries, building a house ourselves, and purchasing multiple businesses.

More from Sara

I’ve always had a fascination with speculating on how I would react if I suddenly ended up in another time. Growing up, I’d daydream about finding myself in a field of heather in medieval Scotland, waking in the back of a wagon traveling across the prairie, or walking through the wilderness with the colonials. I loved reading and wanted desperately to jump into the scenes I experienced while turning the page of a cherished novel. Of course, there’s no real way a person can time travel, so my dreaming was just that, dreaming … or was it?

A few years ago, I was doing a Kid’s Club Bible lesson at the local school about Philip and the Ethiopian and had my mind blown. In that event, God transported Philip to a town about twenty miles away. It was like Scotty beaming Kirk up and placing him where he was needed. I’d read that story before, but for some reason skipped right over that little nugget of information. Now here’s the part that got my mind spinning, if God could move someone in the blink of an eye across miles, why couldn’t He move someone through time? Time travel was now not only feasible, but God revealed a greater depth of Himself to me.

My mind started exploding with a story of a family in the middle of Colorado at the cusp of its statehood. What would cause God to throw a person in the middle of the wilderness? What would it reveal about the journey each person had to take to find their identities in who God created them to be? Hours, months, and years passed as the characters and story grew until they spilled upon the computer screen in a river of words.

One small sentence tucked within the middle of Acts opened my heart to a new dimension of God’s magnitude and released the dream of writing I had buried within me. I love how God does that, opens the well deep in us, nurturing the desires hidden there to reveal bit by bit who we are in Him. With Him nudging me along, my childhood fantasy of becoming a writer and transporting people to another time and place has become a reality with my debut novel Vestige of Hope, the first book in the three-book series Vestige in Time. My prayer is that my writing shows the traces of hope God leaves in my reader’s own hearts and lives. I pray God will ignite passions as He reveals himself one small sentence at a time through His word.

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, February 26

For the Love of Literature, February 27

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 28

Betti Mace, February 29

Artistic Nobody, March 1 (Author Interview)

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, March 2

Inklings and notions, March 3

For Him and My Family, March 4

Vicky Sluiter, March 5 (Author Interview)

deb’s Book Review, March 5

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, March 6

Pause for Tales , March 7

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 8

My Devotional Thoughts, March 9 (Author Interview)

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, March 10

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour. Sara is giving away the grand prize package of a $30 Amazon Gift Card and a paperback copy of Vestige of Hope & Vestige of Legacy!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/f5d2/vestige-of-hope-celebration-tour-giveaway