With each book I write, I become ever more thankful for the people in my life who enable this crazy pursuit—from my family to my small group to my writer buddies. I love you all, and I couldn’t do it without you.
Deep thanks to my critique partners, Marcy Weydemuller, Sherry Kyle, Lisa Bogart, and Judy Gann. And special thanks to author friend Michelle Ule, who gave this novel a read-through as a journalist. Any journalistic errors are mine alone!
The key to looking smart as an author is knowing smart people. Thank you to Vinnie Angelo, an excellent Bible teacher at my church, for the transliteration of Hebrew. And overflowing thanks to my sister, Martha Groeber, an outstanding flautist and flute teacher. Not only did she provide pieces appropriate for Libby to play, but my memories of growing up with Martha’s dedicated—and gorgeous—flute practice infused those scenes.
As for Libby White—her name is a thank-you present to Libby Weisman, one of my former Sunday school students. Libby’s mother told me she described my books to her friends as “war-mance.” Isn’t that perfect? Such cleverness deserved a character nod, and I hope Libby White’s sweet and enthusiastic spirit reflects my young friend’s.
Although I’ve told some of my grandfather John Ebelke’s story in my “Dear Reader” letter, I would be remiss to omit him here. His textbook Foundation Course in German, cowritten with Conrad P. Homberger, helped me with Peter’s diction lessons, provided a song for the Hofbräuhaus scene, and bolstered my rusty German skills. Also, his article “An Experiment with Recording and Playback Machines in Academic Foreign Language Teaching” in the December 1948 issue of The Modern Language Journal (the wonders you can find online!) inspired Peter’s Dictaphone research.
As always, I’m indebted to my incredible agent, Rachel Kent of Books and Such, and the phenomenal team at Revell—Vicki Crumpton, Kristin Kornoelje, Michele Misiak, Karen Steele, Gayle Raymer, and countless others who take my little stories and make them look good!
Thank you also to my wonderful readers! Your encouragement and support are an indescribable blessing. Please visit me at www.sarahsundin.com to leave a message, sign up for my email newsletter, and read about the history behind the story. I hope to hear from you.