End of Summer Bash: Party with Sarah Sundin!

Welcome, dear readers, to the "End of Summer Bash 2012"!

Looking for some grand WWII stories with characters that will be your new best friends? Sarah Sundin's books are fabulous historical romances! You can read my reviews of A Memory Between Us and Blue Skies Tomorrow HERE and HERE. And be on the lookout for my review of With Every Letter - coming soon!

Would you like to learn more about With Every Letter (released a couple of days ago!) and how you can have the chance to win a copy? Then help me welcome Sarah Sundin to the blog!

Amber: Welcome, Sarah! What’s one summer-themed song you would love to hear at an “end-of-summer” party?

Sarah: I’d love to hear Glenn Miller’s “Moonlight Serenade.” Although it’s instrumental, there are lyrics referring to June nights, so I think of it as a summer song. Besides, it’s so beautiful and romantic. Some of the chords in that song just resonate.


Amber: It's quite lovely! And love the people dancing in this video - reminds me of your books!

If the heroine of With Every Letter was planning an “end-of-summer” party, what might it look like?

Sarah: This is fun because With Every Letter ends with an August beach party. Sadly, Mellie Blake isn’t the party-planning type, but that’s all right, because her friend Georgie Taylor lives to plan parties. This particular party serves an important role in Mellie’s love story, plus it celebrates the Allied victory in Sicily in August 1943. It takes place on a Sicilian beach near the airfield where Mellie is stationed. Activities include volleyball, football, swimming, and dancing under the stars. Barbecue is served, and for airmen and nurses used to Army chow, this is a huge treat.

Amber: It's a great ending to a great book! Love how that all worked out! =)

Now for the hero of With Every Letter… What would he look forward to most about autumn?

Sarah: Tom MacGilliver was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so of course, he’s looking forward to the Steelers’ next season, although in 1943, the draft caused a serious shortage of players. The Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles joined forces that year and played as the Phil-Pitt Steagles! (Go figure.) He’ll also root for his college team, the University of Pittsburgh Panthers.

Amber: That's an...interesting...name, LOL! Thanks for sharing the historical tidbits!

Could you share some more about With Every Letter? We’d love a brief snippet if you’d care to share one!

Sarah: With Every Letter is the first book in the "Wings of the Nightingale" series, which follows three flight nurses in the Mediterranean. As part of a morale-building program, World War II flight nurse Lt. Mellie Blake begins an anonymous correspondence with Army engineer Lt. Tom MacGilliver in North Africa. As their letters crisscross the Atlantic, they develop a deep friendship. But when they're both transferred to Algeria, will their future be held hostage by the past—or will they reveal their identities?

The summer scenes are all at the end of the book, so they’d be major spoilers, but the novel starts in October 1942. Here’s the first page…

~ Excerpt from With Every Letter ~ 

Lt. Philomela Blake believed mornings should start gently, with the nighttime melting into golden sunshine and birdsong luring to wakefulness. 

Most nurses on the morning shift assaulted the patients with electric light and harsh voices, but not Mellie. 

She pulled the cord of the blackout curtain and sang “At Last,” and the volume of her tune built with the intensity of light. Hurting and healing men deserved a soft hand. 

On the nearest bed, Corporal Sloan shifted under the blankets. He’d undergone an appendectomy late last night. “Any dame . . .” He cleared his throat, his voice raspy from the ether. “Any dame with the voice of an angel must have a face to match.” 

Mellie’s song and her hands stilled. How many soldiers dreamed of a beautiful nurse who might fall in love with him? 

He rubbed his eyes, looked at her, and his smile flickered. 

Papa called Mellie his exotic orchid, but American men seemed to prefer roses.

~ End of Excerpt ~ 

Amber: Thank you so much for visiting with us today, Sarah! It's always a pleasure to host you!

Readers, Sarah is offering a copy of With Every Letter to one of you! For a chance to win, just leave a comment for Sarah, including your name and e-mail address. All "End of Summer Bash" winners will be announced on Saturday, September 8th.

*This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only.*

Tomorrow's guest is someone who has been regularly featured here - and her exciting historical romances are ones you don't want to miss! Her latest book came out in July, and you can have a chance to win a copy if you stop by!

(Music video found on YouTube.)