But as I dove into the research, I discovered how greatly the two World Wars altered everyday life in England, putting an end to the divide between the upper classes and their servants. Being a huge fan of the TV series Downton Abbey, I knew I wanted to take my story in that direction. Audrey and Eve （and their mothers） quickly sprang to life. Then all the rest—their friendship, their rivalry, their loves and losses—fell beautifully into place as these two women searched to redefine who they really were.
One of my favorite parts of writing novels is the research. For this book, my husband and I wandered around London so I could put myself in my characters’ shoes. We enjoyed traveling on the Underground, but I don’t think I would like sleeping there night after night. We visited the Imperial War Museum and sat inside a tiny Anderson shelter during a simulated bombing, and I sympathized with Eve’s claustrophobia. I developed a deep admiration for the women of Britain who served in so many different capacities in order to save their nation, everything from laboring on farms and operating complicated radar systems to driving ambulances into scenes of utter devastation the way Audrey and Eve did. I’m sure that many of them found resources of strength and courage that they didn’t know they possessed.
Aside from the attacks on Pearl Harbor and on 9/11, we don’t really know what it’s like to have our homeland here in America bombed and threatened with invasion. As I read accounts of what the people in Britain endured and the courage they displayed in refusing to surrender, I kept asking myself what I would have done. Would my faith have proven strong enough, or might it have faltered? None of us will really know until our faith is tested. But if and when it is, we will have a marvelous opportunity to see and experience God’s faithfulness.
I know that different readers will see different things in this novel and take away different lessons. But if you learn only one thing, my prayer is that you will begin to believe that God has a unique plan and purpose for your life. And that like Eve and Audrey, you will journey with our loving God to discover what it is. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” （Ephesians 2:10）。
Blessings!
Lynn
Acknowledgments
Writers are always pictured as lonely souls, sitting in our cloistered offices for hours and hours, laboring to bring our stories to life. This can be an accurate picture of my own process at times, except for the “lonely” part. I have discovered over the years that I experience more joy in the creation of each book when I partner with other creative people to bring my vision to fulfillment. I want to stop and thank some of those partners now.
My husband, Ken, is always my first reader, plowing through my half-finished chapters and unresolved plot ideas and listening to me ramble on and on about what might or might not happen. He is also quick to tell me how my male characters would really think and what they would really do. My longtime friends and fellow writers Jane Rubietta and Cleo Lampos are also vitally important to me in the brainstorming and development process. We have been meeting and critiquing each other’s writing for more than twenty-five years, since before any of us was ever published, and I’m quite certain that I couldn’t write a book without them.
My nonwriting friends Ed and Cathy Pruim and Paul and Jacki Kleinheksel are also irreplaceable and essential to my writing process. They allow me to air my frustrations, they pray with me, and they offer me spiritual insights and down-to-earth advice whenever I need it. I’m so grateful to them for keeping me grounded—and for getting me out of my office to have fun!
Christine Bierma is my assistant who is so much more than my assistant! She brought me into the twenty-first century with web pages and blogs and social media and all of that other technology that I still don’t understand. And she doesn’t even laugh at me （much） when I struggle to use it. She is a partner to me in every way, and I would not want to write or launch a book without her and her online business, Launch Right.
My team at Tyndale House are my newest partners and have guided and shaped this book into a finished product. Stephanie Broene has been alongside me from the beginning stages and throughout the rewriting, cover design, and marketing processes. I so appreciate her insight and partnership. My editor, Kathy Olson, has patiently guided me through a new way of doing edits, and has made it （almost） fun and painless. She also made this a better book.
Last, but absolutely not least, is my amazing agent, Natasha Kern. The publishing world is changing so quickly and so dramatically that my writing career would be lost at sea without her knowledge and expertise. But more than that, Natasha offered valuable input into this story and gave me encouragement and advice when I needed it most.