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Book Review: To Hell and Back - A Test of Faith by VL Parker

categories: Book, Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Action Adventure, Love, Spiritual, Prophetic Fiction, Apocalyptic, Battle, Religious Fantasy

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VL Parker

about this book: To Hell and Back: A Test of Faith is about women named Catherine Miles. She dies only to return to life after encountering Satan and God, in the battle for her soul. The man, who loves her, challenges her faith and questions the authenticity of her experience, while fearing her loss of sanity, as they both battle to regain freedom and democracy.

I first told this story to my sister at age twelve; I embarked on writing this novel after experiencing a health crisis of my own. The loss of my Father and my own mother's decline, made me acutely aware of our own mortality. I found myself encouraging my own children to pursue their dreams with the realization I had not yet followed my own. I have always been a writer, but I recently dedicated myself to pursuing this as a passion and a career. I always said to my daughters, 'Dare to dream and rise above them,' and I realized I had to teach by example, thus I wrote this first book in the trilogy.

I wrote the first version in my teens and came back to rewrite and complete it in 2011. It was initially entitled Test of Faith, however the popularity of this title led my husband to suggest, To Hell and Back: A Test of Faith. I designed the cover to express the flames of passion that the main character battles in her soul. The story was initially a spiritual journey that evolved into a love story as well an adventure.
This book would appeal to a Christian Fantasy audience; however it is filled with action, romance and drama as well. It would appeal to many who love to embark upon the exploration of faith and spirituality. Although the main character is Christian, Captain Roberts is not and Sargent Sayid is a devout Muslim and her technician is homosexual.

Marketing is the most difficult part of writing a book. The writing flows and evolves as it takes on a life of its own. It is the wonderful part of writing, however marketing it for sale is the greatest challenge, and thus I am forever grateful to this website for making this portion easier. My writing involves an array of varied spiritual perspectives and exploration, thus to accurately reflect the beliefs of each character, as well as technological and prophetic elements of the story, a great deal of research is required. This is another time consuming element required to bring the story to life; thankfully I love research.

I learned that spirituality is an individual journey of every soul and that to embark on this exploration with an open-mind and a spirit of learning not only widens your perspective, It connects you to everyone and everything around you.

I hope my readers will adopt this perspective and engage in discussion with others in a community of learning. I also hope that they will identify with the spirit of acceptance that permeates every part of this story and see that love and non-judgment are keys to love and life.

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a test of faith indeed

I absolutely LOVED this book and I found that as soon as I started reading I couldn't seem to put it back down. The characters were well developed and I could easily connect with them. This book has a gripping tale that keeps you interested at all times. The book also has a very intense plot line that draws you in, almost too much (I love it!) :) I cannot wait for the second one to come out, because when the first one drew to a close I was soo sad as I needed to find out what has happened to the characters that I now know all too well:) This novel also really makes you think about your own faith as a reader, and challenge it as well as the main character, her own struggles could be the same as people just like you and me could also be sharing. I'd like to challenge all of you to read this inspiring novel, and to embark on the journey `To Hell and Back` Thank you sooo much V L Parker for creating this masterpiece for readers like me to fully enjoy :) [by Courtney Whitmore]