Welcome to an author interview with …

Heart of Patience is a heartwarming, faith-filled novella. Although this book is part of a multi-author series, Heart of Patience is a standalone and is not related to the other books in the series.

In the late 1800s, young Clara Thompson is bursting with anticipation as her family embarks on a perilous journey westward to Colorado. Leaving behind the comforts of her father’s bustling mercantile, Clara dreams of the promise of silver in Leadville, where her father hopes to strike it rich in the mines. Impatient by nature, she longs for adventure and new beginnings, but the road is fraught with challenges that test her resolve.

When a tragic event shakes their family to its core, Clara is thrust into a world where patience is a virtue learned the hard way. Amidst the heartache, she finds solace in the presence of the town’s handsome young doctor, who becomes a beacon of hope and healing. As Clara navigates her grief and the trials of frontier life, she discovers that even the darkest storms can lead to unexpected silver linings. Will Clara learn to embrace patience and find love in the most unlikely of places?

An award-winning author, Sandi Rebert is a pastor’s wife. She and her husband, Brian, have served in rural Maine for over forty years. She has written over twenty Christian plays, cantatas, musicals, and programs used by churches across the US and several foreign countries, as well as the Praising God on the Piano course. She is presently turning her most popular dramas into novels. Sandi enjoys art, playing musical instruments, acting, homeschooling, and teaching private music lessons. She considers herself blessed to have three grown children and six wonderful grandchildren.

What is something interesting readers would enjoy learning about you? 

To fulfill a need for programs with a clear gospel message, I began (45 years ago) writing plays and musicals for our church’s evangelical outreach into the community. In 1990, I created Dramatic Difference Publications to market the dramas to other churches, Christian schools, and homeschool groups. When COVID struck, and the market for plays disappeared, I began turning them into novels and novellas!

Part of the fun I’ve experienced through the years has been watching my stories come to life on stage and even stepping inside them as one of the characters! (I have a background in acting and minored in speech in college, so now I’m using those skills to turn my stories into audiobooks!)

What was the inspiration behind your story? 

This was my first multi-author project – one of the “Hearts of the West” series. I was a little nervous about it since it wasn’t based on a play I’d already written, but as the story began to formulate in my mind and I started writing, I became very attached to my characters. Their situations created themselves, and I absolutely enjoyed the journey! I hope my readers will, too!

What did you learn while writing this story? 

Often when writing, I am convicted about the concept I’m portraying on paper. Patience is definitely one of them! Beyond the obvious, I learned much from Logan, the young doctor in my story. He’s a man of deep faith and exhibits many admirable Christ-emulating character qualities that I desire to cultivate in my life and the lives of my readers.