Sarah Sundin and her recipe for Boston Cream Pie

Little did I know when I met Sarah Sundin at Mount Hermon Writer’s Conference in 2002 that we would become close, lifelong friends. I was taking the article track and she was taking the major morning,

track on fiction writing. While I have to admit I am not much of a womance (woman’s romance) reader, her subject matter definitely caught my attention since it involved WWII time period.

The following year, she submitted her manuscript for A Distant Melody and over the next five years accumulated a pile of rejection letters. With the tenacity of a prize fighter, the on-call pharmacist and mother of three, continued to work it out and walk it off, fighting discouragement and pushing toward her goal of being published. She had been told by numerous people in the publishing world there wasn’t an interest in WWII genre and encouraged her to look into writing something different. But, because it was the story she felt compelled to write, she stuck to her guns. In 2008, a submission at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference led to the eventual sale of the Wings of Glory series, starting with A Distant Melody.

Since then, she has written Wings of the Nightingale series, a novella “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” for the book Where Treetops
Glisten, and is a sought-after speaker.

Her latest novel Through Waters Deep is the first book in the Waves of Freedom series and is just being released.

As wonderful as the 2011 Mount Hermon Writer of the Year’s books are, what really captivated me was the WHY.

I remember when I asked her the question of why she decided to write. We were sitting in our friend and fellow writer/editor, Marcy Weydemuller’s, home.  What Sarah told me that afternoon was even more powerful than her stories.

“I grew up in a home with lots of books and as a young teen, I remember getting a book from the shelf of the library and reading it,” Sarah recounted. “I can recall the red-hot blush that crept to my cheeks as I read about what the world described as romance. It was the farthest thing from romance I could imagine. The chasm of difference between lust and love was written on the pages I held in my young hands. I wanted to write a book that my teenage daughter could pull off a shelf and read. I wanted her to know that true romance starts in the heart.”

WOW. That is huge! I have a teenage daughter, Amy, who locks herself in her room when the latest Sarah Sundin book arrives. 

Sometimes I think authors, like comedians, rely on the shock factor of throwing in sex scenes to compensate for a dragging story line or undefined characters. I love that her motives were very defined and honoring to the Christ centered standards she lives out in her day-to-day life.

As a mom, I love knowing that Amy is getting something that represents what real romance and love consists of. Sarah has taken her extensive research and woven true parts of WWII history into her story to the point that it helps readers feel like they are on the actual adventure with her characters and not just mere observers.

It has been a joy to watch Sarah’s writing career blossom and inspire others; but even more, it has been a gift to know that no matter where we go in life or what adventures we take, we will always have each other’s backs and are just a phone call away.

I love that the Lord weaves people together in real life, just like Sarah does in her stories.

To find out more about Sarah, visit her website at www.sarahsundin.com.

p.s. We thought it would be fun, since Through Waters Deep takes place in Boston, to have Sarah make her favorite recipe for Boston Cream Pie!

It was so yummy! We hope you enjoy it too.

Boston Cream Pie

[youtube]https://youtu.be/_Y7hAntUPx4[/youtube]

Cake

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 ½ cups milk

½ cup butter, softened

1 ½ tsp vanilla

2 eggs

 Custard

1/3 cup sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

1 cup milk

3 eggs

½ cup heavy cream

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp butter

 Glaze

6 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate

3 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp butter

1 ½ Tbsp corn syrup

¼ tsp salt

 Cake

Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Add milk, butter, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until combined, and then on high speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs. Beat for 2 more minutes. Pour batter into 2 greased and floured round cake pans. Bake at 375° F for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool thoroughly before filling and glazing.

 Custard

Combine cornstarch, sugar, milk, eggs, cream, vanilla, and salt in a saucepan. Whisk until smooth. Bring to boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil 2 more minutes, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Set aside to cool, whisking occasionally. Cool thoroughly before cake assembly.

 Glaze

In a double boiler, combine chocolate, water, butter, corn syrup, and salt. Heat and stir until smooth. Remove top pan of double boiler from heat.

Assemble

When cake and custard are cool, set one cake on a plate, flat side up. Spread custard on top. Set second cake on top of custard, flat side down. Spoon the glaze on top, allowing it to drip down the sides. Refrigerate before slicing and serving, to avoid the “Boston Massacre Pie.”

So grab a fork and your copy of Through Waters Deep and dig in ~ one savory word at a time!