Happy Monday!
Each Monday I would like to take some time to get to know some of our favorite authors. My hope is that this will help readers connect with the authors.
Today I would like to introduce you to: Amanda Barratt!
Amanda’s books are ones that you don’t want to miss! She has become one of my must read authors.
Author bio:
Amanda Barratt is the ECPA best-selling author of over a dozen novels and novellas including The White Rose Resists: A Novel of the German Students Who Defied Hitler and My Dearest Dietrich: A Novel of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Lost Love. She and her family live in northern Michigan.
To help us get to know her, I have given her some questions and here are her responses:
Q: What are you currently working on?
A: Right now, I’m writing a historical novel that takes place in Kraków, Poland during World War II. The novel is set to release in 2022 (stay tuned on social media for the title and cover reveal!). Based on a little-known story of courage, resistance, and sacrifice, this story has completely grabbed hold of my heart, and I can’t wait to share it with readers. Every new novel stretches me as a writer and this one is no exception—questions to ponder, research tangles to unravel, and characters to explore. I love the messy, unbridled process of crafting the first draft, full of discovery and challenges and watching the story take shape.
Q: What are some of your writing must haves? (Drink, snack, supplies, etc.)
A: Because my novels are so steeped in history, research materials at my side are a must-have. On my desk at the moment are at least ten research books, with about twenty more stacked nearby. I reference them constantly as I plot, write, and edit. Another writing must-have is my white noise fan. My office is in an open loft, thus I can hear everything going on in the rest of the house, so I turn on the fan to help minimize noise and distractions.
Q: What is your favorite time period to write about? Or read about?
A: World War II historical fiction is my favorite era to write about and a favorite to read about too. Millions of stories are encapsulated in those six years of war. Delving into the lives of ordinary people thrust into impossible circumstances is both fascinating and deeply moving. I love exploring hidden facets of history, and read a lot of memoirs and diaries, especially those written by women. During a time when holding onto hope and dignity took incredible tenacity, their courage is stunning.
Q: What are some of your favorite books?
A: SUCH a hard question! I could make a list pages long. But here are a few…
Fiction: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (one of the books that inspired me to become a writer), All Manner of Things by Susie Finkbeiner (a beautifully rendered story), The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (an epic novel of WWII France), and everything by Laura Frantz, Joanne Bischof, and Cathy Gohlke.
Nonfiction: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (I also highly recommend his collected letters. I recently read them for the first time. Besides abounding in wisdom, their rich insight into Lewis the man, not just the author made them an absolute treasure to read.), Night by Elie Wiesel (profound), and The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (a yearly reread for me and one I glean new truths from each time).
I have saved my favorite question for last!
Q: What would you like readers to take away from your books?
A: Above all, I pray my stories point readers to Christ and draw them into a deeper relationship with Him. My novels portray the very real brokenness present in the world both today and throughout history, but each one is always painted with brushstrokes of hope. With God, we have the surest hope there is, sustaining us when faced with darkness and strengthening us to be messengers of His hope in the midst of that darkness.
To connect with Amanda, please click on any of the following links: her website and her Facebook.
I’m also featuring her most recent release, The White Rose Resists. This book blew me away! She puts so much detail into her stories. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf and get your copy!
About the book:
Inspired by the incredible true story of a group of ordinary men and women who dared to stand against evil The ideal of a new Germany swept up Sophie Scholl in a maelstrom of patriotic fervor–that is, until she realized the truth behind Hitler’s machinations for the fatherland. Now she and other students in Munich, the cradle of the Nazi government, have banded together to form a group to fight for the truth: the White Rose. Risking everything to print and distribute leaflets calling for Germans to rise up against the evil permeating their country, the White Rose treads a knife’s edge of discovery by the gestapo.
Annalise Brandt came to the University of Munich to study art, not get involved with conspiracy. The daughter of an SS officer, she’s been brought up to believe in the fuhrer’s divinely appointed leadership. But the more she comes to know Sophie and her friends, the more she questions the Nazi propaganda.
Soon Annalise joins their double life–students by day, resisters by night. And as the stakes increase, they’re all forced to confront the deadly consequences meted out to any who dare to oppose the Reich.
A gripping testament to courage, The White Rose Resists illuminates the sacrifice and conviction of an unlikely group of revolutionaries who refused to remain silent-no matter the cost.
All The Bookish Adventures 
I recently read and thoroughly enjoyed Amanda’s novella in the Joy to the World collection. Such a beautiful story!
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I really enjoyed that one too! I hope you get a chance to try her other books!
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