Meet and Greet Monday: Sarah Sundin

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Sarah Sundin lives in northern California with her husband and three children. When she isn’t ferrying kids to soccer and karate, she works on-call as a hospital pharmacist and teaches Sunday school. She belongs to American Christian Fiction Writers and Christian Authors Network. She is the author of the Wings of Glory series—A Distant Melody (Revell, March 2010), A Memory Between Us (September 2010), and Blue Skies Tomorrow (August 2011).

BRC: How would you describe your newest book?

A Memory Between Us is the second book in the Wings of Glory series, which follows the three Novak brothers, B-17 bomber pilots with the US Eighth Air Force stationed in England during World War II. Each book stands alone.

In A Memory Between Us, Major Jack Novak has never failed to meet a challenge—until he meets army nurse Lieutenant Ruth Doherty. When Jack lands in the army hospital after a plane crash, he makes winning Ruth's heart a top priority mission. But he has his work cut out for him. Not only is Ruth focused on her work in order to support her orphaned siblings back home, she carries a shameful secret that keeps her from giving her heart to any man. Can Jack break down her defenses? Or are they destined to go their separate ways?

BRC: What message do you hope it conveys?

I never write a novel with a message in mind, but I do hope my readers will learn from my characters’ experiences. Shame serves a purpose—to bring you to ask God’s forgiveness—but when it persists after forgiveness, that’s not God talking. Shame burdens so many people and holds them back from the wonderful plans God has for them. I hope my readers will learn to truly accept forgiveness, shove off shame, and allow God to use them. I also hope they see the insidious nature of pride and learn to trust in the Lord a bit more each day.

BRC: What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Almost everything! I really enjoyed the historical research, to the point of getting ecstatic when I found copies of the pilot’s manual for the B-17 bomber and the Army Air Force B-17 training film. Sick, really. But I also love the pre-writing stage, the actual writing, even the editing. And my favorite part of all is when I’m deep in a scene and it flows. So much of this story wrote itself. Any time I put Jack and Ruth in the same room, the banter flew. I just transcribed their dialogue. It was a lot fun.

BRC: What did you dislike most about writing this book?

The hardest scene for me to write was near the end when my heroine had to face her great ordeal. The poor thing had been through so much in the story so far, and I found myself wanting to back off and resolve the scene early. But I couldn’t. I had to keep pushing the scene and pushing Ruth to the brink, because I knew only when she faced her darkest moment would she see the truth she needed. Argh. I think the Lord must have similar feelings when we go through trials. He knows the lessons we’ll learn, which is why He lets us stay there, but it must grieve Him.

BRC: What inspired you to become a writer?

I was born into a long line of readers. During my childhood, my mother read to my sister and me, shared books with us, and took us to the library weekly. As a child, I was a social reject—buck teeth and big words do not make a winning combination on the playground—so I made friends with the characters in books. Yes, they have therapy for that. But it stimulated my imagination and encouraged me to lose myself in my own stories as well. However, I didn’t consider a writing career. Instead I chose a practical career in pharmacy which allowed me to work on-call and stay home with our three children. Then in 2000, I had a dream with such intriguing characters that I felt compelled to write their story. That first novel will never be published, nor should it, but it got me started.

BRC: Tell us about your writing process.

Since I write historicals, I do lots of research beforehand. It’s frustrating to get halfway through a book and realize a crucial part of your story won’t work historically. I also do lots of pre-writing, including detailed character charts, a plot chart to track subplots and story arcs, and scene lists with everything from the date, the weather, outfits, goals and conflict, and scene ideas. Then comes the rough draft. I’m odd—I still write the first draft longhand, but when I cuddle on my couch with pencil and paper, the writing flows. I enter each chapter in the computer a few weeks afterward, which serves as my first edit. These chapters then go to my critique groups. Once my rough draft is complete, I do a content edit, analyzing the story and characters, and incorporating input from critiques. Even though I outline beforehand, my characters still surprise me, and changes have to be made. Finally, I do a thorough copy edit before turning it in to my publisher.

BRC: What are you working on now?

I just finished my editor’s content edit on Blue Skies Tomorrow, the third book in the Wings of Glory series, which comes out August 2011. I’m also doing preliminary work on another series also set during World War II.

BRC: What books do you enjoy reading?

I gravitate toward the classics, women’s fiction, and contemporary or historical fiction—but it has to have a romantic thread or I lose interest. I also love a good suspense novel and anything with humor.

BRC: Where can readers buy your book?

Your local bookstore or on-line at Amazon, ChristianBook.com, Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc.

          Amazon.com

           ChristianBook.com

           Barnes & Noble

           Borders

        BRC: Where can readers find you online?

          Website: http://www.sarahsundin.com

          Blog: http://www.sarahsundin.blogspot.com

          Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sarahsundin

          Twitter: http://twitter.com/sarahsundin

Book Giveaway Drawing: To enter for a free copy of A Memory Between Us, leave a comment to this post and include your contact information. Entries without contact information will become ineligible. Entries will be accepted until this Thursday at midnight (Pacific Time/US). The winner will be announced on this blog on Friday. Detailed rules of giveaways on this blog are located in the footer.

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