Prairie Heritage

A Prairie HeritageOne family . . . steeped in the love and grace of God, indomitable in their faith, tried and tested in the fires of life, passing forward a legacy to change their world. The compelling saga of family, faith, and great courage. Wild Heart on the PrairieBrothers Jan (pronounced Yahn) and Karl Thoresen have left their native land of Norway to bring their families to America-the land of freedom and hope. Like thousands of others, Jan and his wife Elli long for the opportunity of a better life and future for their children. After braving an ocean crossing and the arduous journey west, they encounter a land so vast and wide that it defies mastery. Jan finds that his struggles are not only with the land, but with a restless and unmanageable heart. Will Jan find a way to overcome this wild land or will the prairie master him?A Prairie HeritageBook 1: A Rose Blooms TwiceBook 2: Wild Heart on the PrairieBook 3: Joy on This MountainBook 4: The Captive WithinBook 5: StolenBook 6: Lost Are FoundBook 7: All God's PromisesBook 8: The Heart of JoyBook 9: Rose of RiverBendGirls from the MountainBook 1: TabithaBook 2: ToryBook 3: Sarah RedeemedLaynie PortlandBook 1: Laynie Portland, Spy RisingBook 2: Laynie Portland, Retired SpyBook 3: Laynie Portland, Renegade SpyBook 4: Laynie Portland, Spy ResurrectedBook 5: Vyper, A Laynie Portland SequelNanostealthBook 1: Stealthy StepsBook 2: Stealth PowerBook 3: Stealth RetributionBook 4: Deep State StealthBook 5: Stealth InsurgenceBook 6: Stealth TriumphStealth Genesis: A Nanostealth PrequelThe Tahoe MysteriesBook 1: Number 1 with a BulletBook 2: Be Quick or be DeadBook 3: Death on the Big BlueMurder by Accident, A Miss Finch PrequelStand-Alone NovelsI Can't Hear You "Vikki writes the kind of faith-filled fiction that hooks you within the first few pages, will not let you go until you have finished, and leaves you wishing for more." -Janis Braun, Seattle, Washington"Her books are not just for 'chicks'! I was amazed how engrossed I became in the lives of Vikki's characters, and how much I could relate to their situations." -Ed Dunne, Los Angeles"Be prepared to put life on hold. That's all I have to say!" -Rebecca H., New Jersey"You will laugh, you will cry but, most of all, you will be uplifted." -LaTisha Holland, St. Augustine, FL Vikki Kestell has more than 20 years of career experience as a writing, instructional design, and communications professional in government, academia, semiconductor manufacturing, health care, and nonprofit organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies. Vikki is an accomplished speaker and teacher and belongs to Tramway Community Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she teaches an evening Bible study for working women. She and her husband Conrad Smith make their home in Albuquerque. Faith-Filled Fiction: Vikki writes and publishes under the imprint of Faith-Filled Fiction(TM). To keep abreast of new book releases, visit her website, http://www.vikkikestell.com/, or find her on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/TheWritingOfVikkiKestell. Enjoy all the books of A Prairie Heritage as they become available: Book 1: A Rose Blooms Twice Book 2: Joy on This Mountain Book 3: The Captive Within Book 4: Wild Heart on the Prairie Book 5: Stolen Book 6: Lost Are Found, November 2014

Joy on This Mountain is the blazing sequel to the breakthrough historical novels, A Rose Blooms Twice and Wild Heart on the Prairie.The little town of Corinth, Colorado, lies in the gateway to the majestic Rocky Mountains just west of Denver . . . just far enough from the city to avoid close scrutiny, but close enough to be accessible. Few know of the wickedness hidden in the small town, so picturesquely set in the foothills of the mighty mountains. The legacy of Jan and Rose has far-reaching and unexpected consequences.A Prairie HeritageBook 1: A Rose Blooms TwiceBook 2: Wild Heart on the PrairieBook 3: Joy on This MountainBook 4: The Captive WithinBook 5: StolenBook 6: Lost Are FoundBook 7: All God's PromisesBook 8: The Heart of JoyBook 9: Rose of RiverBendGirls from the MountainBook 1: TabithaBook 2: ToryBook 3: Sarah RedeemedLaynie PortlandBook 1: Laynie Portland, Spy RisingBook 2: Laynie Portland, Retired SpyBook 3: Laynie Portland, Renegade SpyBook 4: Laynie Portland, Spy ResurrectedBook 5: Vyper, A Laynie Portland SequelNanostealthBook 1: Stealthy StepsBook 2: Stealth PowerBook 3: Stealth RetributionBook 4: Deep State StealthBook 5: Stealth InsurgenceBook 6: Stealth TriumphStealth Genesis: A Nanostealth PrequelThe Tahoe MysteriesBook 1: Number 1 with a BulletBook 2: Be Quick or be DeadBook 3: Death on the Big BlueMurder by Accident, A Miss Finch PrequelStand-Alone NovelsI Can't Hear You"Vikki writes the kind of faith-filled fiction that hooks you within the first few pages, will not let you go until you have finished, and leaves you wishing for more." -Janis Braun, Seattle, Washington"Her books are not just for 'chicks'! I was amazed how engrossed I became in the lives of Vikki's characters, and how much I could relate to their situations." -Ed Dunne, Los Angeles"Be prepared to put life on hold. That's all I have to say!" -Rebecca H., New Jersey"You will laugh, you will cry but, most of all, you will be uplifted." -LaTisha Holland, St. Augustine, FL Vikki Kestell has more than 20 years of career experience as a writing, instructional design, and communications professional in government, academia, semiconductor manufacturing, health care, and nonprofit organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies. Vikki is an accomplished speaker and teacher and belongs to Tramway Community Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she teaches an evening Bible study for working women. She and her husband Conrad Smith make their home in Albuquerque. Faith-Filled Fiction: Vikki writes and publishes under the imprint of Faith-Filled Fiction(TM). To keep abreast of new book releases, visit her website, http://www.vikkikestell.com/, or find her on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/TheWritingOfVikkiKestell. Enjoy all the books of A Prairie Heritage as they become available: Book 1: A Rose Blooms Twice Book 2: Joy on This Mountain Book 3: The Captive Within Book 4: Wild Heart on the Prairie Book 5: Stolen Book 6: Lost Are Found, November 2014

The Captive Within opens the day after Joy on This Mountain ends. The two infamous houses of Corinth, Colorado, are closed and the young women who had been imprisoned there have been released. Soon after, Rose and Joy leave Corinth to establish a home and a haven for "their" girls in Denver. Before long, Rose and Joy face a heartrending challenge: What does it take to unlock and free the soul of a defiled woman? And as they wrestle for a foothold in Denver, Rose discovers that the long-abandoned house given to them hides a dark secret of its own.The Captive Within is Book 4 in the series, A Prairie Heritage: One family . . . steeped in the love and grace of God, indomitable in their faith, tried and tested in the fires of life, passing forward a legacy to change their world. The compelling saga of family, faith, and great courage. A Prairie HeritageBook 1: A Rose Blooms TwiceBook 2: Wild Heart on the PrairieBook 3: Joy on This MountainBook 4: The Captive WithinBook 5: StolenBook 6: Lost Are FoundBook 7: All God's PromisesBook 8: The Heart of JoyBook 9: Rose of RiverBendGirls from the MountainBook 1: TabithaBook 2: ToryBook 3: Sarah RedeemedLaynie PortlandBook 1: Laynie Portland, Spy RisingBook 2: Laynie Portland, Retired SpyBook 3: Laynie Portland, Renegade SpyBook 4: Laynie Portland, Spy ResurrectedBook 5: Vyper, A Laynie Portland SequelNanostealthBook 1: Stealthy StepsBook 2: Stealth PowerBook 3: Stealth RetributionBook 4: Deep State StealthBook 5: Stealth InsurgenceBook 6: Stealth TriumphStealth Genesis: A Nanostealth PrequelThe Tahoe MysteriesBook 1: Number 1 with a BulletBook 2: Be Quick or be DeadBook 3: Death on the Big BlueMurder by Accident, A Miss Finch PrequelStand-Alone NovelsI Can't Hear You Vikki Kestell has more than 20 years of career experience as a writing, instructional design, and communications professional in government, academia, semiconductor manufacturing, health care, and nonprofit organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies. Vikki is an accomplished speaker and teacher and belongs to Tramway Community Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she teaches an evening Bible study for working women. She and her husband Conrad Smith make their home in Albuquerque. Faith-Filled Fiction: Vikki writes and publishes under the imprint of Faith-Filled Fiction(TM). To keep abreast of new book releases, visit her website, http://www.vikkikestell.com/, or find her on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/TheWritingOfVikkiKestell. Enjoy all the books of A Prairie Heritage as they become available: Book 1: A Rose Blooms Twice Book 2: Joy on This Mountain Book 3: The Captive Within Book 4: Wild Heart on the Prairie Book 5: Stolen Book 6: Lost Are Found, November 2014

A Prairie HeritageOne family . . . steeped in the love and grace of God, indomitable in their faith, tried and tested in the fires of life, passing forward a legacy to change their world. The compelling saga of family, faith, and great courage.Denver, 1910: Stolen continues to chronicle the lives of Rose Thoresen, her daughter, Joy Thoresen Michaels, and those who live at Palmer House-a most extraordinary refuge for young women rescued from prostitution. The opening of Stolen finds young Mei-Xing safely returned to her friends and family at Palmer House. However, after six harrowing months of captivity, Mei-Xing stuns those who love her when she returns to Palmer House with child.If Su-Chong's mother, Fang-Hua Chen, discovers that her son, now dead, has left behind a child, will she allow Mei-Xing to keep him-or will she set in motion plans to steal him away? Will O'Dell, Martha Palmer, Minister Liáng, and others concerned for the safety of Mei-Xing and her child be forced to face off with those who would see Mei-Xing and the work of Palmer House destroyed?A Prairie HeritageBook 1: A Rose Blooms TwiceBook 2: Wild Heart on the PrairieBook 3: Joy on This MountainBook 4: The Captive WithinBook 5: StolenBook 6: Lost Are FoundBook 7: All God's PromisesBook 8: The Heart of JoyBook 9: Rose of RiverBendGirls from the MountainBook 1: TabithaBook 2: ToryBook 3: Sarah RedeemedLaynie PortlandBook 1: Laynie Portland, Spy RisingBook 2: Laynie Portland, Retired SpyBook 3: Laynie Portland, Renegade SpyBook 4: Laynie Portland, Spy ResurrectedBook 5: Vyper, A Laynie Portland SequelNanostealthBook 1: Stealthy StepsBook 2: Stealth PowerBook 3: Stealth RetributionBook 4: Deep State StealthBook 5: Stealth InsurgenceBook 6: Stealth TriumphStealth Genesis: A Nanostealth PrequelThe Tahoe MysteriesBook 1: Number 1 with a BulletBook 2: Be Quick or be DeadBook 3: Death on the Big BlueMurder by Accident, A Miss Finch PrequelStand-Alone NovelsI Can't Hear You Vikki Kestell has more than 20 years of career experience as a writing, instructional design, and communications professional in government, academia, semiconductor manufacturing, health care, and nonprofit organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies. Vikki is an accomplished speaker and teacher and belongs to Tramway Community Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she teaches an evening Bible study for working women. She and her husband Conrad Smith make their home in Albuquerque. Faith-Filled Fiction: Vikki writes and publishes under the imprint of Faith-Filled Fiction(TM). To keep abreast of new book releases, visit her website, http://www.vikkikestell.com/, or find her on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/TheWritingOfVikkiKestell. Enjoy all the books of A Prairie Heritage as they become available: Book 1: A Rose Blooms Twice Book 2: Joy on This Mountain Book 3: The Captive Within Book 4: Wild Heart on the Prairie Book 5: Stolen Book 6: Lost Are Found, November 2014

Joy Thoresen Michaels has lost the two most precious people in her life: her husband and her only child. She cannot receive her husband back from the dead, but she has hope for her son-hope that he will be recovered:"I spoke a moment ago about my prairie heritage-the enduring faith my papa and mama lived as an example for me. It is because of their faith that I have such hope for Edmund even though he is, today, lost to us."You see, what is lost to us is not-is not-lost to God! I remember Papa saying this very thing: In God, the lost are found. Our Lord sees the entire world-and nothing in all of his creation is hidden to him! I am comforted to know that wherever Edmund is, God is there with him."Four families bind themselves in a solemn pledge: They vow never to stop searching for Edmund and never to stop trusting that God will restore him to them, whether in this life or the next.Lost Are Found, the conclusion of this spiritually rich series, chronicles how God answers those who utterly trust in him, no matter the circumstances-and no matter how long the wait.A Prairie HeritageBook 1: A Rose Blooms TwiceBook 2: Wild Heart on the PrairieBook 3: Joy on This MountainBook 4: The Captive WithinBook 5: StolenBook 6: Lost Are FoundBook 7: All God's PromisesBook 8: The Heart of Joy: A Short Story (eBook Only)Girls from the MountainBook 1: TabithaBook 2: ToryBook 3: Sarah RedeemedNanostealthBook 1: Stealthy StepsBook 2: Stealth PowerBook 3: Stealth RetributionBook 4: Deep State Stealth"Vikki writes the kind of faith-filled fiction that hooks you within the first few pages, will not let you go until you have finished, and leaves you wishing for more."-Janis Braun, Seattle, Washington"Her books are not just for 'chicks'! I was amazed how engrossed I became in the lives of Vikki's characters, and how much I could relate to their situations."-Ed Dunne, Los Angeles"Be prepared to put life on hold. That's all I have to say!"-Rebecca H., New Jersey"You will laugh, you will cry but, most of all, you will be uplifted."-LaTisha Holland, St. Augustine, FL Vikki Kestell has more than 20 years of career experience as a writing, instructional design, and communications professional in government, academia, semiconductor manufacturing, health care, and nonprofit organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies. Vikki is an accomplished speaker and teacher and belongs to Tramway Community Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she teaches an evening Bible study for working women. She and her husband Conrad Smith make their home in Albuquerque. Faith-Filled Fiction: Vikki writes and publishes under the imprint of Faith-Filled Fiction(TM). To keep abreast of new book releases, visit her website, http://www.vikkikestell.com/, or find her on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/TheWritingOfVikkiKestell. Enjoy all the books of A Prairie Heritage as they become available: Book 1: A Rose Blooms Twice Book 2: Joy on This Mountain Book 3: The Captive Within Book 4: Wild Heart on the Prairie Book 5: Stolen Book 6: Lost Are Found, November 2014

So many unanswered questions.Who am I really? Kari wondered again. I am not KariAnn Hillyer. Not KariAnn Granger. They tell me my real name is KariAnn Thoresen Michaels.But who is that person?She frowned. And where are my sister and brother? Who took them? Where are they now?"Lord, my uncle and my cousins urge me to trust you. They say that you will help me through this difficult transition. And they say that you know where Elaine and Samuel are, that I can trust you-that in you the lost are found! I am so new to this faith thing, though. It is hard to believe you will find them after so many years."Kari pledges her considerable fortune toward the search for the social worker who, thirty-three years earlier, took three-year-old Elaine and infant Samuel from the scene of an accident-the same accident that killed Kari's parents-and sold them in an illegal adoption.And she is not alone in the search for Elaine and Samuel. Private investigators Anthony Esquibel and Owen Washington join efforts to unearth the identity of the social worker and trace the adoptions of Kari's siblings.Will the last of the lost be found? Will Kari discover for herself that all God's promises are true?A Prairie HeritageBook 1: A Rose Blooms TwiceBook 2: Wild Heart on the PrairieBook 3: Joy on This MountainBook 4: The Captive WithinBook 5: StolenBook 6: Lost Are FoundBook 7: All God's PromisesBook 8: The Heart of JoyBook 9: Rose of RiverBend Vikki Kestell has more than 20 years of career experience as a writing, instructional design, and communications professional in government, academia, semiconductor manufacturing, health care, and nonprofit organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies. Vikki is an accomplished speaker and teacher and belongs to Tramway Community Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she teaches an evening Bible study for working women. She and her husband Conrad Smith make their home in Albuquerque. Faith-Filled Fiction: Vikki writes and publishes under the imprint of Faith-Filled Fiction(TM). To keep abreast of new book releases, visit her website, http://www.vikkikestell.com/, or find her on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/TheWritingOfVikkiKestell. Enjoy all the books of A Prairie Heritage as they become available: Book 1: A Rose Blooms Twice Book 2: Joy on This Mountain Book 3: The Captive Within Book 4: Wild Heart on the Prairie Book 5: Stolen Book 6: Lost Are Found, November 2014

Denver, Colorado, 1914Joy Michaels, grieving mother and widow, resides in an aging but remarkable Denver home: a beautiful, three-story Victorian/Queen Anne mansion resplendent with towers, turrets, peaks, and gables and known locally as Palmer House. Palmer House-a most extraordinary refuge for young women rescued from prostitution.Joy and her mother, Rose Thoresen, share the responsibilities of ministering to and mentoring the young women who live under Palmer House's roof. But now Joy faces an agonizing decision: Should she remain true to the memory of her first love or open her heart to the possibility of new love?"I will always love you, Grant," Joy whispered, "but God has called you away, and now I must follow the path he has laid before me-even if it is not what either of us would have chosen, had we been given such a choice."A Prairie HeritageBook 1: A Rose Blooms TwiceBook 2: Wild Heart on the PrairieBook 3: Joy on This MountainBook 4: The Captive WithinBook 5: StolenBook 6: Lost Are FoundBook 7: All God's PromisesBook 8: The Heart of Joy-A Short StoryBook 9: Rose of RiverBend Vikki Kestell has more than 20 years of career experience as a writing, instructional design, and communications professional in government, academia, semiconductor manufacturing, health care, and nonprofit organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies. Vikki is an accomplished speaker and teacher and belongs to Tramway Community Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she teaches an evening Bible study for working women. She and her husband Conrad Smith make their home in Albuquerque. Faith-Filled Fiction: Vikki writes and publishes under the imprint of Faith-Filled Fiction(TM). To keep abreast of new book releases, visit her website, http://www.vikkikestell.com/, or find her on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/TheWritingOfVikkiKestell. Enjoy all the books of A Prairie Heritage as they become available: Book 1: A Rose Blooms Twice Book 2: Joy on This Mountain Book 3: The Captive Within Book 4: Wild Heart on the Prairie Book 5: Stolen Book 6: Lost Are Found, November 2014

Fall 1923. After a thirteen-year absence, Rose Thoresen is returning to her beloved RiverBend. It may well be her final visit.Edmund O'Dell, Rose's son-in-law, has accepted the job as head of the Chicago Pinkerton office. As he prepares to move his family from Denver to Chicago, Rose faces a difficult decision: Will she continue at Palmer House where she has led many fallen women to Christ and mentored them in their faith, or will she give up this ministry and follow her daughter and grandchildren to their new home?I am seventy-four years old, Lord, and I believe that the work you entrusted to me when we founded Palmer House should now pass to Sarah and Olive. By your grace, Lord God, they are ready to assume this great and wonderful responsibility. I pray you make them fruitful branches in your kingdom, always abiding in the vine, Christ Jesus.As for me? I will go with Joy and her family to Chicago and pour what love, strength, and time I have left into Joy, Edmund, and their children.Rose asks only one thing of her son-in-law. "Edmund, when we take the train east, I would like to stop in RiverBend and spend several days there. I have not seen my friends and Jan's family in many years."Not since Jan left us and entered heaven.O'Dell readily agrees to Rose's request, and as they prepare to leave Denver, they must say goodbye to many friends.As the train chugs into RiverBend's little station, Rose knows the time she spends here will be filled with cherished memories, the sweet entwined with the bittersweet.Father, thank you for the precious days before me. In them all, please help me to love without measure and bring glory to your name.A Prairie HeritageBook 1: A Rose Blooms TwiceBook 2: Wild Heart on the PrairieBook 3: Joy on This MountainBook 4: The Captive WithinBook 5: StolenBook 6: Lost Are FoundBook 7: All God's PromisesBook 8: The Heart of JoyBook 9: Rose of RiverBend Vikki Kestell has more than 20 years of career experience as a writing, instructional design, and communications professional in government, academia, semiconductor manufacturing, health care, and nonprofit organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies. Vikki is an accomplished speaker and teacher and belongs to Tramway Community Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she teaches an evening Bible study for working women. She and her husband Conrad Smith make their home in Albuquerque. Faith-Filled Fiction: Vikki writes and publishes under the imprint of Faith-Filled Fiction(TM). To keep abreast of new book releases, visit her website, http://www.vikkikestell.com/, or find her on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/TheWritingOfVikkiKestell. Enjoy all the books of A Prairie Heritage as they become available: Book 1: A Rose Blooms Twice Book 2: Joy on This Mountain Book 3: The Captive Within Book 4: Wild Heart on the Prairie Book 5: Stolen Book 6: Lost Are Found, November 2014