Sarah Sundin ~ Interview + Giveaway!

*You can earn up to 6 entries in this giveaway. Read below for details*

Today author Sarah Sundin is telling us about her new book, A Memory Between Us (Wings of Glory series #2 -- September 2010). She has offered an autographed copy of her book to one lucky commenter. She will also be stopping by throughout the week to answer your questions! So if you have anything you want to ask her, you can include it in your comment for entering the contest. If you are only leaving a question in the comment and not entering the giveaway please say so.

Here is Sarah's author bio:

Sarah Sundin lives in northern California with her husband and three children. When she isn’t ferrying kids to soccer and tennis, 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).

Welcome, Sarah! Tell us about your salvation experience.

My testimony might be considered dull. I was raised attending church and accepted Christ at the age of ten at a concert put on by a church youth group choir. I’d learned all the stories and the verses, but those teenagers glowed with Jesus’ love. I wanted what they had, and I finally put it all together. I turned away from God in college (I call them my “stupid years”) but came back in my early twenties. Since then, God has continued to work in my life and cause me to grow. If you’d told me in college what I’m doing now, I would have laughed. I’m sure many of my college friends would be mystified at me now.

Are you:

A spontaneous writer or a scheduled writer?
I’m a rather left-brained writer. I do lots of planning and outlining before I start the rough draft. I do keep a daily schedule, especially now that I’m published and have to keep deadlines.

Stubborn, or compliant?

Stubborn. Didn’t even have to think twice about that.

Organized or completely chaotic?

In general, I’m a “messie.” I don’t mind piles on my desk or random items on the floor, which is good since I have three children. However, I like certain things just so. My spice rack is alphabetized, my research notes are carefully categorized, and I know where things are in my piles of papers. And my writing process is very organized.

How do you handle disasters/BIG problems? Do you have a funny or interesting story showcasing how you handle them?

Oddly enough, I handle big problems better than little ones. Ask my kids—I can’t find the scissors on Christmas Eve when I need to wrap presents NOW, and I’m a—well, a raving lunatic. Big problems come, and I’m the calm voice of reason, the one people lean on. Go figure.

In your opinion, what is your best trait? What is your worst?

My best trait is perseverance. If I set a goal, I stick to it. My worst trait is stubbornness. If I set a goal, I don’t know when to let go. Wait—that’s the same thing, isn’t it? Funny how strengths and weaknesses are often flip sides of the same coin.

Tell us something surprising about yourself that readers may not know.

When my sister and I were little, we wanted to make our baby dolls into big girls, so we made little yarn braids and taped them to their heads. We made up elaborate plots—mine got so elaborate that my sister called them “forever games” because I kept thinking of some new disaster for them to contend with. I’m the oldest, can’t you tell? My favorite—the dolls were orphans! With polio! In little wheelchairs! And there was a fire in the orphanage! Will they ever get out? Will they ever walk again? Will they ever find a home?

If you compared your writing style to any other Christian Fiction author, who would it be? Also, how would you rate the romance in your books?

Ooh, the question I hated most when writing query letters! I usually compare it to novels by Tricia Goyer, Lynn Austin, and Robin Lee Hatcher, because they also wrote stories set during World War II, with both action and romance as well as attention to historical detail. My first novel, A Distant Melody, is PG—plenty of kissing for romance fans, but not overly sensual. However, I’d call the second book, A Memory Between Us PG-13. The writing isn’t any more sensual, but it deals with a more adult subject.

What are you working on now or going to write next?

The third book in the series, Blue Skies Tomorrow, is at the publisher going through the editing process. It comes out August 2011. I’m now starting work on another series, also set during World War II.

How can readers get in contact with you?

Email: sarah@sarahsundin.com

Website: http://www.sarahsundin.com

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

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

Twitter: http://twitter.com/sarahsundin

Book blurb:

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?

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.

Who would you pick to play the lead roles if this book was made into a movie?

Ruth looks a lot like the woman in this Army Nurse Corps poster, which is funny because I didn’t see the poster until long after I had a mental picture of Ruth. Jack looks a bit like a young Clark Gable—more from It Happened One Night than Gone With the Wind, but without Gable’s dimples and ears.

Do you have a link to a place to read the first chapter or an excerpt of this book?

http://www.revellbooks.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=0477683E4046471488BD7BAC8DCFB004&nm=&type=media&mod=Media+Manager&mid=8E7ADACE794A4BDC91C037C7C03EB903&tier=3&rid=2DF34ECDF2484C68A1097E1E549D2CA3

Is there anything you would like to add, or tell your readers?

If God has given you a dream, have the courage to do what He asks you to do. Persevere, learn, seek support, and keep praying.

~~~~~

**USA or Canada residents only, please**

Okay readers, here is your chance to win an autographed copy of A Memory Between Us!

TO ENTER:

*Leave a comment with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win). The comment is mandatory. You will not be entered unless you leave a comment AND your email address.

*If you leave a comment you will be entered unless you specify that you would not like to be entered.

*Here are the ways to get entries:

(First entry) The mandatory comment saying you would like to be entered with your email address.

+1 Become one of my followers OR subscribe to my blog by email.

Read and leave a comment on one or more of my recent book reviews.
+2 Becoming a Woman Who Loves
+2 A Suitor for Jenny

**You can earn a total of 6 entries if you do all of the above entry options. Make sure to tell me in your entry comment on this post which of the things you did to get extra entries.**

*The contest will run from today (November 26) until 6:00 CST on Thursday (December 2). I will announce the winner that night. The winner is always randomly drawn. I will contact the winner either directly after choosing him/her or on Friday the 3rd, and then that person will have one week to reply. If the winner doesn't reply within that time period, I will pick a new winner.

Good luck! Thanks for visiting.