How does The Land Beneath Us fit into the bigger picture of your Sunrise at Normandy series?

Many civilians worked at Camp Forrest, so I gave my Leah a job in the camp library. The Rangers trained at Camp Forrest in Tullahoma, Tennessee, a small town that exploded due to this training camp. What inspired you to set The Land Beneath Us in this time and place?Įver since I visited Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, I’ve wanted to tell the story of the Rangers who scaled the cliffs on D-day.

I was drawn to write their stories because of each character’s deep sense of loss and their innate strength. Leah is fresh out of high school, fresh out of the orphanage where she was raised, and she’s longing to make her own way in the world as a librarian. With his future stolen by his brothers’ betrayal, Clay feels he has nothing to live for-except dying for his country. What about these characters made you want to build a story around them?Ĭlay is training as an Army Ranger, hoping to do his best in the upcoming invasion of France. Sarah, tell us about Private Clay Paxton and librarian Leah Jones. In this interview, the author walks us through the benefits of writing romances from a biblical worldview, shares some examples of how her faith impacts her storytelling, and reveals where she draws the line between history and fiction. When he ships out, can a love strong enough to overcome death grow between them before Clay’s recurring dream comes true? After he saves librarian Leah Jones’ life from a brutal attack, he saves her virtue with a marriage of convenience. Set during WWII, Private Clay Paxton has only one thing to live for-fulfilling the recurring dream of his death. Sarah continues her Sunrise at Normandy series with the third book, The Land Beneath Us (Revell). Her novels Through Waters Deep and When Tides Turn were both named on Booklist’s “101 Best Romance Novels of the Last 10 Years.” Sarah Sundin is the bestselling author of several popular WWII series, including Waves of Freedom, Wings of the Nightingale, and Wings of Glory. The author talks about how the theme of her latest novel intruded on her own life.

When Tides Turn by Sarah Sundin