While many of my favorite authors I’ve loved since my teens, in the past year or two I’ve discovered more writers who, with their stories, have quickly found their way into my heart. I’ve mentioned these three here before, but never all together!Sarah Sundin truly has the gift of story, exacting historical detail, and crafting characters so real I feel I know them. Her books have brought World War II to life for me in a new way—not to mention kept me up at night. Check out her newest release this autumn, With Every Letter—I’m looking forward to getting ahold of a copy!
I’ve already written about two of Laura Frantz’s historical novels on this blog, but I must mention her again. Her stories of the Kentucky frontier sweep me away as few other books do, to another time and place with characters who seem to live and breathe, weep and love on the page. I love the sensitive approach to Native American history that weaves through her novels as well, lifting the curtain on a historical perspective often ignored in American fiction and nonfiction alike. 
I loved Neta Jackson and her husband Dave’s Trailblazer books when I was little, but I didn’t realize what an amazing adult novelist she is until my critique partner Sandra, who knows Neta personally, recommended The Yada Yada Prayer Groupto me. Rarely does a contemporary series capture me like a historical one does, but the first Yada Yada book hooked me by the second chapter. My sister quickly fell in love with the series too, and together we’ve made our way through the first four books in the past few months. Neta’s raw honesty and reality in these stories as her characters navigate the sometimes stormy waters of culturally diverse friendships, family crises, and learning to know and trust God never fail to touch me deeply. And they make me laugh too! So many more wonderful authors I could list—but I’ll stop there for now. How about you? Do you have any “book friends” you’d like to share?
