Sarah Varland Interview

Q: Let me start with asking you to tell us a little bit about yourself.
A. I love writing and reading, I’m a wife to my husband John, who’s a pastor up here in Alaska and a mom to my two very rambunctious boys. I’m somewhere between and introvert and an extrovert (I call myself a “friend”-trovert) and I love living in Alaska.

Q: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
A. I started writing stories when I was around eleven, mostly just compiling ideas and starting stories. When I was in high school my sister teased me about never finishing anything, so I finished my first book, a YA novel that was basically what I wanted to read at the time but couldn’t find (I’d already read all the Christy Miller and Sierra Jenson books). Even though it’s not a genre I stayed in, it fanned the flames of my love for writing, and when my high school English teacher expressed belief that I really could do this as a career, that helped me realize it could actually be possible. I’m very blessed to be living my dream.

Q: Do you find certain themes reoccurring in your books? If so, what are they and why? If not, what is the theme in your current release?
A: Definitely! I think the theme in all of my books is something related to how we need to be braver in our lives, especially when it comes to living fully and trusting God.

Q: Would you tell us about your current book release ALASKAN HIDEOUT?
A: This book is the ultimate second chance at love book, at least compared to any others I’ve written. Tyler and Emma are both…sweeter characters than I usually write (I have a thing for stubborn, feisty characters lol), but they’ve got lots of conflicts in their personal life and they’re having to work those out while Tyler tries to keep Emma alive because someone wants her dead.

Q: Where did the idea for this story come from?
A. I knew I wanted to bring some crime into Moose Haven. It’s tricky to have a romantic suspense story in a small town because eventually your small town doesn’t seem so nice if people are always getting murdered in it. So I had planned to have sort of a damsel-in-distress character, and Tyler was the sibling I wanted to write about.

Q: Who/what has influenced your writing career the most?
A. Probably other authors I admire. I have been very influenced by Dee Henderson’s ability to tell a story. I’ve also been influenced through interactions with Robin Jones Gunn at writing conferences, and she has reminded me through the way she lives that being able to write stories is a privilege, a gift, and way to encourage people to draw closer to God.

Q: Would you share with us what you are working on now?
A. I just finished the third book set in Moose Haven, and am working on ideas for the fourth and last book. I’m super excited about this one as it involves characters who have been bantering back and forth throughout the entire series and I’m eager to discover why on earth they won’t admit they’re in love with each other.

Q: Is you were a dessert, what would it be and why?
A: This question is making me hungry. Hmmm, probably something with chocolate.
Q:Is there something about you most people wouldn’t know?
A: Probably not as I love to share random quirky things I’ve done. I’m enjoying learning to dog mush—that’s something all readers might not know even if my friends have heard me talk about it enough to be sick of it.

Q: Is there a place you have always wanted to visit? A vacation spot, historical monument, overseas, etc?
A: I would love to go to Hawaii sometime, mostly to see Pearl Harbor. I’ve read about people’s experiences there, and I want to see for myself. I’ve had a lot of relatives who were in the military and I value the sacrifices made by them and the sacrifices other service men and women have made throughout the years