BOOK REVIEW: “Seventh Dimension - The Castle: A Young Adult Fantasy,” Five Stars from an Amazon Top Fifty Reviewer Doug Erlandson

5.0 out of 5 starsA Gripping Fantasy Based in Historical Fact

ByDoug ErlandsonTOP 50 REVIEWERon December 17, 2015

Format: Kindle Edition

Seventh Dimension - The Castle is the third book in the Seventh Dimension Series of young adult fantasy written by Lorilyn Roberts. The protagonist is a young man named Daniel, who is Jewish, and who was born in the late twentieth century, but who is stuck in the "seventh dimension," where time is illusory and time travel is possible. The Castle takes place mostly during the time of the earthly ministry of Yeshua (Jesus), in particular from shortly before his crucifixion until shortly after his resurrection. However, Daniel also on occasion finds himself flashing back to the time of the Holocaust, which he has also experienced in the course of his time travels.

While living during the time of Yeshua's earthly ministry, Daniel encounters many of the characters spoken of in the Gospels and the Book of Acts and interacts with them. However, the one who most fascinates him is the miracle-working rabbi, Yeshua. As a Jew from the turn of the twenty-first century, Daniel has been told that Yeshua is not the Messiah, but that the Messiah is yet to come. However, as he witnesses the ministry and teaching of Jesus, and finally sees the resurrected Christ, he becomes convinced that Yeshua is indeed who he claims to be.

2015 Literary Classics Award Winner - Gold in YA faith-based fiction. 

Daniel is more than a passive observer of all these things. He is also wanted by the Roman authorities for a crime he did not commit. His own life is often in danger, and this subplot is woven into the story of Daniel's encounter with Yeshua.

This is a fast-moving, gripping book. It is thoroughly grounded in the scriptural account of the events of Jesus’ life. Because of this, it is especially appropriate as a way of bringing young adults into a better understanding of who the Messiah is and what he has done in bringing his people to salvation through his death on the cross.

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Award-Winning Finalist: Religious category 2015 USA Best Book Awards.  

MEDIA: LORILYN ROBERTS ON “WRITERS & AUTHORS ON FIRE”

Enjoy my appearance on Writers & Authors on Fire

I share a lot of thoughts on writing and offer advice for struggling authors.

ANGELS, ROACHES AND A CHRISTMAS CHILD: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts

Lighting of the Christmas tree in Atlanta

I never thought roach droppings would become one of my favorite Christmas stories. But stories have a way of writing themselves on our hearts.

Each year my sister Paige invites all of us to her house. We sit around the dining room table where odd knickknacks are transformed into lovely Christmas decorations. Paige is an artist, and it’s a good thing for my daughters. Most of my art projects never go as planned. I always miss an important step and my results are memorable, but for all the wrong reasons.

Last year all the cousins created angels to hang on our Christmas trees. The ornaments were dressed in white lace, had feathery wings, and a red rose dotted the front collar. Instead of halos, the kids crowned the angels with macaroni noodles.

Joy, my youngest daughter, proudly hung her angel on our tree. Christmas came and went. January rolled around, and I packed the ornaments away in our attic for another year.

Last week I climbed up into the attic to pull out the Christmas decorations. Joy set up the tree and I opened up the first container. When I unlatched it, dozens of roach droppings littered the bottom of the box. A few tumbled out onto the living room floor. Several ornaments had brown pellets clinging to them. I was quite repulsed, only slightly less than I would have been if live ones had scampered out.

I fetched the vacuum cleaner and vacuumed up all the droppings. Visions popped in my head of hundreds of roaches crawling over my beautiful ornaments. How many roaches would it take to make that much crap? I cringed. Living in Florida has its dark side.

Then Joy cried out, “Mommy, my angel has no hair.”

“What happen to her hair?”

“I think the roaches ate it,” Joy said.

We broke out laughing. The roaches had spent the summer feasting on the macaroni hair of my daughter’s angel. 

As I think back to my fondest Christmas memories, many of them are also quite eclectic. There was the Christmas in downtown New York when we got trapped inside a car on fire. The electric windows were stuck and my grandfather smashed the driver’s side window with a suitcase. Mother pulled me out through shards of broken glass. Sirens blared and emergency lights flickered in the cold night air. We never did get to see the lighting of the tree but spent the evening in a fancy hotel.

Later Mother told me a Hollywood director was there for a children’s beauty pageant and had pleaded with her to let him take me to Hollywood. Sometimes I wonder if I missed my chance to be the next Hayley Mills (who I was often compared to when I was young). 

My most vivid memory from that snowy winter was Christmas Eve when I heard Santa’s reindeer pounding on the rooftop of the apartment building. It was a loud swishing sound followed by gallops. I didn’t believe in Santa Claus until that night. I lay in my warm bed imagining what Santa and his reindeer looked like. I wanted to jump up and peek out the window, but I was afraid if I saw them, he wouldn’t leave me presents.

The next morning I ran to the window and looked below. To my surprise, there were large sleigh marks in the snow. I stared out the window for a long time.

I’ve thought about that more this Christmas because of a strange conversation over Thanksgiving dinner. I asked my brother’s wife if their children still believed in Santa Claus. I shared my experience at my grandparents’ apartment when I was young, but mentioned only the part about the sleigh tracks in the snow.

Mother said, “I saw them, too, and heard Santa land on the roof.”

“You did?” I asked surprised. “I also heard the reindeer hoofs pounding on the roof. The swishing sound woke me up,” I added.

Silence followed as we thought about the strange coincidence. Sometimes I wonder if God allows fanciful moments to bring comfort to children. Maybe that’s what I needed at that time—to have something to believe in. 

Many years later I was in Vietnam on Christmas Eve to adopt Joy. Christmas music wafted through the streets of Hanoi. The beautiful lyrics filled the nighttime air.  I rejoiced, so far from home, realizing nothing can silence what God proclaims from the mountaintops—or loudspeakers hoisted on poles in a communist country.

Joy in Hanoi when I adopted her Christmas 1999

God’s love reaches to the ends of the earth—in Nepal and China and Haiti; in Israel, where shepherds tend their flocks on the same hill that angels proclaimed glory to the newborn King. If we did not speak of the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, the rocks would cry out. Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Everlasting Father. The greatest gift of all came through the birth of one small child.

Joy’s hairless angel hangs on our tree this Christmas. All the gifts will be opened Christmas morning. I will eat far too much chocolate and then bemoan the five pounds I will gain. I will make my usual promise to start exercising on January 1, which I will probably break by the middle of the month. We will enjoy all the traditions that this wonderful season brings, full of joy, giving, and love. Then the ornaments will be taken down and packed away until next year. 

This joyful season, I will pause to reflect on the gift of the baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger, knowing someday, too, I will bow before the newborn King. And, just maybe, there won’t be any roach droppings there.  

Hopefully, the roaches will find something else to eat besides angel hair. Life will resume its regular course, and I will be glad for the start of a new year.

BOOK TRAILER: THE DONKEY AND THE KING – “Enjoy this Christmas Video for Kids”

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LORILYN ROBERTS BOOK REVIEW: If You Only Read One Christian Nonfiction Book This Year, This Should Be It – “Living Backward,” by Angelique Cooper McGlotten

If you only read one Christian nonfiction book this year, this should be it. "Living Backward" is inspiring and God-breathed. In my almost fifty years of being a Christian, I have dealt with almost everything Angelique talks about, but so quickly I forget some of these lessons and how much I need to be reminded.

Thank you, Angelique, for sharing these wonderful Biblical truths and encouraging me that even when I fail, not to give up, but to keep my eyes on Jesus, and to remember that we are just passing through this world on our way to the next. I loved the analogy of the airport and the quote, "Every person alive is on a spiritual layover." 

I was convicted more than once of things I need to change in my own life, and as I prayed for God to make me more holy, the evil one took notice. What a battle we face!

"Living Backward" will make you think about things that are eternal and draw you closer to God as His Holy Spirit speaks to your heart. I wish every Christian would read this book. Thank you for writing "Living Backward" and helping me in my walk with God. What a blessing!

To purchase "Living Backward" from Amazon, click here.

*~*~*~*

Angelique's bio from Amazon: "If you asked me what I do, I'd tell you that I teach, mentor, and volunteer in a variety of capacities. I also write poetry and prose. If you said, Angelique what do you most enjoy doing?, I'd respond that whether it's lending a helping hand, sending a greeting card out of the blue, or picking up thoughtful gifts for others, I love to give. I also love, love, love being used as a channel of God's grace to bless people. Because I absolutely enjoy encouraging others, my husband and children affectionately call me "Triple E" (Encourager, Edifier, and Exhorter). In fact, my latest book, Living Backward, is birthed from my desire to inspire others to live out God's plan for their lives and in so doing experience contentment, genuine success, and lasting significance."

I (Lorilyn Roberts) chuckled when I read Angelique's bio. Angelique is a member of the John 3:16 Marketing Network. Many times when I have needed a word of encouragement, Angelique has emailed me to let me know she was praying for me. Her kindness has inspired me to try to be a blessing to others in the same way she has been to me. The right word at just the right moment is the most wonderful gift this side of eternity. Once you have received it, you want to "pass it on."

LORILYN ROBERTS BOOK REVIEW: The Gopher & The Erstwhile Wizard, by J.L. Rallios

The Gopher and The Erstwhile Wizard is a delightful story I highly recommend for ages 5 to 14. 

My children are past this age now, but I wish they were young enough that I could read it to them. And yes, I read to my daughters into their teens—family togetherness at its best. This book is also a wonderful story for readers of all ages who love allegories and enjoy Narnia-type books with talking animals and unusual creatures.

I worried about the gopher relentlessly, who always seemed to go from bad to worse in his journey of life, but rest assured, the ending is full of redemption and fulfillment in a way you do not expect.

If you are a Christian, you will see a lot of subtle symbolism. If you are not a Christian, the story will resonate with you because Rallios is a great story-teller. The Gopher & the Erstwhile Wizard is well written, has characters you will love, and a classical feel. I hope readers will pick up The Gopher and The Erstwhile Wizard and add it to their Kindle library. Don't miss out on this one!

To purchase from Amazon, click here

EVEN IN DARK MOMENTS - BE THANKFUL: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts

Below is a classic hymn from a nineteenth-century pastor in England, "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come." I have read and experienced many depressing things lately, and yet, God has impressed upon me, be thankful anyway. 

Our momentary afflictions will soon pass and God will bring us into His presence. What greater thought could there ever be than that this side of paradise? So let's rejoice this Thanksgiving that Jesus is the Lord of the Harvest and soon He will return.

All the world is God's own field,

Fruit unto His praise to yield;

Wheat and tares together sown

Unto joy or sorrows grown.

First the blade, and then the ear,

Then the full corn shall appear;

Lord of harvest, grant that we

Wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come

And shall take His harvest home;

From His field shall in that day

All offenses purge away,

Give His angels charge at last

In the fire the tares to cast,

But the fruitful ears to store

In His garner evermore.

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

LORILYN ROBERTS BOOK REVIEW: “Why Brilliant People Believe Nonsense” by J. Steve Miller and Cherie K. Miller

When I began reading Why Brilliant People Believe Nonsense, I was surprised to discover people who I thought were brilliant—like Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein—sometimes believed nonsense. They might have been brilliant, but their thinking was also flawed at times in significant ways. The number of examples J. Miller gives showing how successful people succumb to fallacious thinking surprised me.

Dozens of illustrations of fallacious thinking are cited, including misinterpreting data, drawing erroneous conclusions, asking incorrect questions, exuding overconfidence, being under-confident, married to brands, blinded by prejudices, and on and on. I had a few "ouch" moments myself. I have fallen into some of these ridiculous ways of thinking without even being aware of it.

As an author, I found many parts of the book enlightening. For example, how to ask deeper questions when developing the plot, taking the time to reflect and not make quick assumptions.  I write historical fiction—know my sources, if they are authentic. Are they accurate? (As I work on "The City in the Seventh Dimension Series," I found this especially convicting as I've come across many conspiracy series dealing with the last days).

J. Miller used the example of author Dan Brown and “The Da Vinci Code.” Mr. Brown relied too heavily on conspiracy theories and not enough on solid historical facts. Thus, his book lacked the authenticity it needed to be true, and too many people "bought" into the idea of it being accurate without a thorough examination of the sources.  This is just one example of many that Mr. Miller expounded on to show why brilliant people believe nonsense.

If the smartest people in history have made some of these common mistakes, how many more have the rest of us made? And can we become better thinkers? "Why Brilliant People Believe Nonsense" can make us aware of these fallacies and challenge us to think more creatively and intuitively.

Hopefully, the insights I've gleaned will allow me to write more thought-provoking books and be aware of the pitfalls of erroneous thinking. “Why Brilliant People Believe Nonsense” is a great read for anyone who enjoys learning how to be a better thinker, and the fascinating stories woven through the pages about people we all know and respect makes this book a delightfully entertaining read.

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