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About the author
Since 2010, Sarah Sundin has transported readers back to World War II with her mesmerizing and historically accurate novels. In her newest narrative, Embers in the London Sky, Sundin explores the war through the eyes of a mother who has been separated from her beloved child and through a BBC correspondent who knows that reporting the truth will take him deep into the flames. Filled with raw emotion, Embers in the London Sky will captivate, entertain, and educate readers as they plunge into the gritty realities of war.
A mother of three adult children, Sarah lives in Southern California and teaches Sunday school and women’s Bible studies. She enjoys speaking to community, church, and writers’ groups, and she serves as co-director of the West Coast Christian Writers Conference.
Author questions
- With the holiday season just behind us as we record, what is the quintessential Christmas or New Year’s dish that must be on your table?
- We have a fan-submitted question! Of all the heroes you’ve written over your many books, who is your favorite and why?
- I love how your stories feature people from so many different backgrounds, Americans, Brits, Germans, and more. How do you approach writing main characters from cultures so different from yours?
- And another question from a fan: You’ve currently written two series following brothers, the Sunrise at Normandy series and the Wings of Glory series. Your Waves of Freedom series also features two brothers and a sister. Your brothers always have great dynamics, but you have yet to write a series featuring sisters. What do you think draws you to writing brothers, and do you think you’ll ever give us a sister series?
About the book: Embers in the London Sky
To find her child, she’ll stop at nothing. To report the truth will take him deep into the flames.
As she flees the German army invading the Netherlands in 1940, Aleida van der Zee Martens escapes to London to wait out the occupation. Separated from her three-year-old son, Theo, in the process, the young widow desperately searches for her little boy even as she works for an agency responsible for evacuating children to the countryside.
When German bombs set London ablaze, BBC radio correspondent Hugh Collingwood reports on the Blitz, eager to boost morale while walking the fine line between truth and censorship. But the Germans are not the only ones Londoners have to fear as a series of murders flame up amid the ashes.
The deaths hit close to home for Hugh, and Aleida needs his help to locate her missing son. As they work together, they grow closer and closer, both to each other and the answers they seek. But with bombs falling and continued killings, they may be running out of time.
As if the London Blitz isn’t enough challenge, let’s add a missing child and a murderer hiding behind the Nazis’ bombs! That’s enough intrigue and adventure to satisfy even me, and somewhere they squeeze in a romance as well. Sounds like a story to keep you up all night!
Book questions
- The blurb mentions Hugh’s challenge to report the truth without getting his work censored. What was censorship like in Britain at the time? Why did it exist and how did people respond?
- With Aleida widowed and focused on her child, I would imagine that places some obstacles to her romance with Hugh. What makes these two perfect for each other?
- I think one reason people are so fascinated with WWII is the vast scope means there is always something more to learn about it. You’ve spent quite a few years immersed in the European theater, though. Did you run across anything new while researching for this book? (Bonus points if it’s a tidbit that didn’t make it into the book, hehe.)
- What’s next for your writing?
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