Over the next weeks, we're going to be posting interviews with each of the authors and editors who contributed to the making of Hot Apple Cider.

Up first is Angelina Fast-Vlaar, who has two pieces in Hot Apple Cider. The book opens with her true story, “It Was Then That I Carried You,” in which she shares a little of what’s in her book, Seven Angels for Seven Days. Then on page 103 is the poem she wrote after she was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.

Angelina is a writer and inspirational speaker who has a passion to communicate encouragement to small or large audiences. Her writing career also includes articles and poetry published in Pioneer, Mennonite Brethren Herald and Christian Courier as well as two books. The Valley of Cancer was first published in 1999 and translated into Dutch in 2004 by her cousin, Hendrik Harssema. Seven Angels for Seven Days was published in 2005. "The Tenth Anniversary Expanded Edition" of The Valley of Cancer was published in 2008 by Word Alive Press. Click here to read our interview with Angelina.