I’m pleased to welcome 2020 debut author, Sarah Hanks to the blog today!
I love reading Sarah’s genre, and we’ve discovered that we love some of the same authors.
SARAH HANKS Timeslip/Contemporary fiction/historical fiction
BOOK TITLE: Mercy Will Follow Me
DEBUT RELEASE DATE: November 2nd, 2020
Natassa seems to have it all – a devoted husband with a good income, beautiful children, a faithful best friend- but it only takes one night for her world to crumble, catapulting her into a journey of trauma and healing, old pressures and new friendships. Will she learn to stand her ground or will she always live in someone else’s shadow?
DeAndre longs to break free from the neighborhood that keeps dragging him down, but the streets are made of quicksand. Dreams can hardly take flight there, even if he paints them wings. And when he does the unthinkable, could mercy ever be a possibility?
In the 1800s, a mulatto enslaved girl is torn from her mother and left to figure out who she is on her own. Through her time as a house slave in Tennessee and Kentucky, Mercy grapples with her deep ache for her Mama and her understanding of black and white. Which is more important to her? Freedom or loyalty?
Join these three characters, see how their stories intertwine, and dare to believe that mercy will follow you.
ASKING SARAH
What are some fun facts or discoveries you made while researching that didn’t end up in the book?
Steamboats play a role in the historical storyline of Mercy Will Follow Me. I found it so interesting to research the history of steamboats on various river systems. What a unique means of travel! I wove a lot of details throughout the story, but there was much I couldn’t fit in. Steamboat races were popular, and I wish I could have included one, but it would have distracted from the main thrust of Mercy’s journey. Steamboat travel was perilous, and though I hinted at a few of the dangers, it would have been distracting to pile all of them into the account. Thankfully, I had another chance to include more details in book 3, Mercy’s Legacy. It takes place at a later time (1868) and in a different river system (coastal and Alabama River), but I did get to include some elements I had to leave out the first time around.
What is the most challenging part for you, of the writing to publication process?
For me, thinking up the characters and brainstorming settings and situations is a dream. Sitting down and writing everything out is an adventure. Editing? I would rather fold laundry and sweep my floors than edit my work. Re-edit a second, third, or fourth draft? Does anyone need their basement cleaned? By the time a manuscript is ready to publish, I’m so sick of looking at it. It seems the side of my brain used for fine-tuning is significantly less muscular than the side used for painting broad strokes.
Do you have a “go-to” author to read?
I protest this unfair question. Authors should never be talked about in the singular form. I’m joking, of course. But there are so many authors that I adore. Amanda Dykes is magical. Tamera Alexander is a favorite for a solid and meaningful historical. I don’t think Susan Meissner can write a bad book. Susie Finkbeiner, Lisa Wingate, Charles Martin… there are so many. Francine Rivers is the one who got me hooked on Christian fiction and made me want to become a writer. She’s a master.
Are you a snacker when you write, and if so, what do you snack on?
Only healthy things, of course. And also, chocolate-covered almonds. Mostly chocolate almonds.
What’s the next project you’re working on?
As The Mercy Series wraps up (Mercy’s Legacy, book 3 of the series, comes out this winter), I’m brainstorming a new Civil War-era timeslip. I’ve been getting to know the modern-day protagonist for years, jotting about her in a notebook whenever she had something to say to me. But this historical protagonist is new to me, and she’s a trip! I’m enjoying discovering her story so that I can share it with readers.
ABOUT SARAH
Sarah Hanks has spent the last decade delightfully merging her two main passions—writing and equipping children—by writing a variety of Sunday school curricula. She wrote her first novel when she was seventeen and continued to write fiction “on the side” until deciding to pursue writing professionally. She and her husband have eight children, a couple of whom have inherited their mother’s love for playing with words and crafting stories. Though Sarah dreams of a cabin by the beach, the family of ten lives jammed together in beautiful chaos in St. Charles, Missouri. She buys earplugs in bulk.
FIND SARAH ONLINE:
www.sarah-hanks.com
Follow me on Facebook or Instagram.
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