Welcome Sarah Sundin, author of Anchor in the Storm, to Author Spotlight! Keep reading to find out how you can enter to win a copy of her latest release.

Introduce us to you as an author: When did you get bit with the writing bug? How would you describe your writing style?

On January 6, 2000. That morning, I woke from a dream that wouldn’t leave me alone. I had to write the story—but I had no idea what to do. So I wrote and wrote, and then I learned what I’d done wrong, and I rewrote and rewrote. And I haven’t stopped since.

Tell us about your new release:

For plucky Lillian Avery, America’s entry into World War II means a chance to prove herself as a pharmacist in Boston. She loves the wartime challenges of her new job but spurns the attention of society boy Ens. Archer Vandenberg. As Arch’s destroyer battles U-boats along the East Coast, Lillian uncovers a black market drug ring. Arch and Lillian work together on the investigation, but can he ever earn her trust and affection?

How can readers connect with you online?

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Anything new for you on the book horizon?

The third book in the Waves of Freedom series, When Tides Turn, is going through edits right now and is scheduled to be released in March 2017. I’m also beginning work on my new World War II series, which follows three estranged brothers who fight on D-Day on the sea, in the air, and on the ground.

After you started writing seriously, how long was it before you were published?

Ten years almost to the day. My first novel, A Distant Melody, was published in March 2010.

Do you have any favorite places and routines when you write? How many hours a day do you spend writing?

I have a lovely office which is my primary writing place. However, sometimes I like to mix it up and cuddle on the couch, especially if I’m doing more creative work like brainstorming. Since I started writing when my children were little, I’ve learned to write whenever and wherever I can, so I’ve gotten a lot of work done on the soccer sidelines, in the karate studio, and in the dentist’s waiting room. Now that my nest is rapidly emptying, I’m able to work full-time, well over forty hours a week. Only about half of that is actual writing though.

What has been the biggest help to you in the journey to publication? Writers’ conferences? Writing groups? Your mom as your first-draft reader?

All of the above! But conferences helped me the most. I’ve attended Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference every year since 2003, plus I’ve attended the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference several times. I always learn so much at conferences, and now I can give back in a teaching role, which I love. At conferences you get to know editors and agents as real people, and you meet fellow writers. I’ve made some of my deepest friendships at writers conferences—we understand each other, support each other, push each other, and laugh and cry with each other.

If you weren’t able to write, what would you do?

What I originally planned to do with my life—be a pharmacist. I still work in the local hospital one day a week. I’d planned to gradually increase my hours to full-time by the time our children were in high school, but writing filled the cracks.

Right this moment, what does your office look like?

Not bad! My desk is clear except for the open binder for my next novel—I’m filling in my character chart for my heroine today! Believe me, it’s not always this neat.

How do you solve a grammar dilemma?

The Chicago Manual of Style is in a cubby above my desk. I use it often.

What are your biggest distractions?

Those I love most. My husband when he has a day off—we share an office. Our youngest son, the only hatchling left in our nest—and since he ships out to Navy boot camp this summer, I let him distract me as much as he wants. Also, our yellow lab, Daisy. She seems to be concerned about me spending so much time at my desk—the sweetheart—and she’s made it her life mission to get me up and moving. Let me out. Let me in. Look at me—I’m eating a sock/wooden spoon/kitty toy. Yes, she cares.

My great adventure has been…

Our family’s greatest adventure was the summer we spent in Europe, in 2007. My husband was doing medical research and spent a lot of time in Germany. So his company paid for all five of us to spend six weeks in Mannheim. We rented a house and a car. On his days off, we hit the big sites, and while he worked I took the kids to the “lesser” sites. My college German got quite a workout. Then we had two weeks in France in a house exchange with the twin brother of one of our friends. I think we got the better deal! Our children were all old enough to appreciate it, and we made wonderful family memories.

If I could go anywhere, it would be…

Right now I’d like to return to London and to Normandy to research my next series.

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